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Staying Open & Engaging in Nonviolent Communication

The complexity of this moment in our history can be overwhelming.

If you didn’t know anything about the ongoing pandemic, Afghan crisis, climate change, border disputes, income disparity, or the alarming rise in crime and mental illness, you may think things are just fine.

Beauty, kindness, and love exist right alongside ugliness, hostility, and fear. I am realizing that what appears to be my lovely “community” may actually be stressed-out people tearing at the seams of their own connection.

Last night, my mom told me that her faith circle abruptly disbanded. She was saddened that this long-standing group of women, who had been a helpful spiritual support system, started to fight with each other because one member wouldn’t get vaccinated and they couldn’t agree on what to do.

“Didn’t you try to find an alternative way to resolve it?” I asked. “Like going back to Zoom?”

“Angry and fearful emails have taken over the communication,” she said. “Nobody will discuss it, so they decided to not meet at all.”

Sunday Morning on CBS did a story about the growing phenomenon of estrangement in families. According to research by Cornell Professor of Sociology, Karl Pillemer, there are currently 70 million people in the US estranged from family members. “And that number is growing.”

Fragmentation of our closest groups may be the result of the increased overwhelm and stress people are experiencing, particularly since stress and fear shut down the prefrontal cortex and limits our capacity to listen, empathically, to another side of a story.

We become so distraught trying to meet our own needs we don’t realize we are making things worse.

As the late Marshall Rosenberg, Ph.D., founder of The Center for Nonviolent Communication wrote, “Criticism, analysis, and insults are tragic expressions of unmet needs”.

It isn’t easy to stay open when engaging in conflict, but it is possible.

Since it’s not possible to change others, the wisest decision may be to temporarily create space in an unhealthy relationship or group. The key is to learn to cultivate our own capacity to have hard conversations with others from a state of love instead of fear.

In this way, the relationship can continue to be as full of love and potential as is possible. Often it isn’t what we say but the way it is communicated that makes the difference between an enemy and a noble comrade with whom we disagree.

Mindfulness and meditation practice softens the egoic need to fix other people so we can access empathy, even when triggered. We can learn to become comfortable staying open to engaging in nonviolent communication.

The blog is written by Kimberly Ruggiero.

Kimberly Ruggiero is a long-time meditator. She also works as a transformational coach and artist. She has a BS in Chemistry, MA in Consciousness Studies and studied at the Lyme Academy College of Fine Art. Kim has training in MBSR and is certified through the Engaged Mindfulness Institute.

She works as a Program Coordinator in Integrative Health and Healing and facilitates a Mindfulness Meditation Group at TGI – every Tuesday evening online – https://learn.edu/events/

If you like this blog learn more about Kim and her teachings by attending our Mindfulness Meditation group every Tuesday. This friendly, open-hearted group is for anyone interested in meditation and exploring awareness training. Newcomers are always welcome. The basic structure is guided meditation, conscious sharing, and topic discussion. We go about 90 minutes, sometimes more or less but you are welcome to arrive and depart as your schedule allows.

Learn more:

Mindfulness Meditation Class with Kim

@ 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM EDT
https://learn.edu/events

nailia Nov 24, 2021 COMMUNICATION, HOLIDAY STRESS, mindfulness No Comments

PRIDE – Honoring Authenticity in a Rapidly Changing Culture

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PRIDE – Honoring Authenticity in a Rapidly Changing Culture

Pride – Welcoming Authenticity in a Rapidly Changing Culture

One hallmark of an education with The Graduate Institute is how students, cohorts, and faculty learn and grow together, including exploring and developing each of our authentic selves.

For more than twenty years, TGI has been about holistic and transformative education. None of us exists in a vacuum, we are all parts of communities, families, and tribes, and we all live in societies.

We honor all growth trajectories wherever we are in the journey and we want to make sure all members of our community feel welcomed and celebrated and acknowledged, whether they are in the majority or in a traditionally marginalized position in society.

We believe that it is important to honor and recognize all of our authentic expressions of ourselves.

This month we honor our LGBTQ+ siblings by writing about Pride.

Around the world, the LGBTQ+ community and their loved ones — families, friends, coworkers — are hosting events, gathering together (virtually and in-person), and celebrating all expressions of community.

When folks gather they gather for many reasons. Pride is several things: a protest, a memorial, and a celebration.

Pride is Protest. When folks in the LGBTQ+ community express their authentic selves they live a life of protest — protesting the impact of societal norms that reinforce heteronormativity, harmful masculinity, and patriarchy. The lives of our LGBTQ+ siblings invite all of us to examine our own beliefs.

Pride is Memorial. We memorialize the past so we don’t forget what has happened to our siblings. We remember those lost in the violence of hate crimes, the silencing of transgender voices, the impact of the HIV/AIDS crisis on communities. We remember those who are not safe and are in harm’s way every day simply because they are living out a life they know and believe to be true and real.

Pride is Celebration. Together we celebrate the fullness of humanness in gender expression, romantic inclination and sexual orientation. It is both the grandeur of a parade and the simplicity of a rainbow patch on a jacket; it is that flag outside a church, and the ability to hold hands in public; all without fear, and all with joy.

All of us are on a journey of discovery, growth, and becoming.

Ubuntu is an African term that describes a new vision of humanity. Here is how Nobel Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu describes Ubuntu:

“It is the essence of being human. It speaks of the fact that my humanity is caught up and is inextricably bound up in yours. I am human because I belong. It speaks about wholeness, it speaks about compassion. A person with Ubuntu is welcoming, hospitable, warm and generous, willing to share. Such people are open and available to others, willing to be vulnerable, affirming of others, do not feel threatened that others are able and good, for they have a proper self-assurance that comes from knowing that they belong in a greater whole. They know that they are diminished when others are humiliated, diminished when others are oppressed, diminished when others are treated as if they were less than who they are. The quality of Ubuntu gives people resilience, enabling them to survive and emerge still human despite all efforts to dehumanize them.”

My humanity is caught up and is inextricably bound up in yours. I am human because I belong.
-Desmond Tutu

Let us live, feel and be together in Ubuntu.

Bruce Cryer, President & Carrie E. Neal, Chief Operating Officer

nailia Jun 27, 2021 culture, pride No Comments

Let us live, feel and be together in Ubuntu. Let us celebrate Juneteenth!

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Let us live, feel and be together in Ubuntu. Let us celebrate Juneteenth!

Dear TGI Community – let us celebrate Juneteenth and honor freedom!

Today marks the first celebration of Juneteenth – the anniversary of the day that the Emancipation Proclamation reached the last U.S. state under confederate control to bring freedom to enslaved Africans.

We know the story of America is violent, hopeful, aspirational and complicated.

The Graduate Institute fosters holistic thinking and perspectives that help our community develop capacity together so we can hold multiple perspectives, build empathy, and live with ambiguity.

We learn and grow together both in the classroom, as well as with our families, our work colleagues, and in our home communities.

As we join with our Black siblings in remembrance and celebration today, we focus on freedom and hope.

Juneteenth band. Photograph by Grace Murray Stephenson of celebrations in Eastwoods Park, Austin, 1900.

It took two years for the Union army to reach all of the confederate states and declare liberation for the enslaved Africans there. Freedom wasn’t immediate, and relief wasn’t guaranteed. We know the history of African slavery in this country is traumatic, and African Americans, and Black Americans continue to be marginalized across all sectors of society. And yet, there was celebration in the streets.
That year and in the 156 years since, Juneteenth celebrations are a recognition of hope for a future that was different from the present, and are, in themselves, an act of resistance.
Today we remember together the pain and the suffering. And today we celebrate freedom and liberating futures.
Ubuntu is an African term that describes a new vision of humanity.
Here is how Nobel Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu describes Ubuntu:

“It is the essence of being human. It speaks of the fact that my humanity is caught up and is inextricably bound up in yours. I am human because I belong. It speaks about wholeness, it speaks about compassion. A person with Ubuntu is welcoming, hospitable, warm and generous, willing to share. Such people are open and available to others, willing to be vulnerable, affirming of others, do not feel threatened that others are able and good, for they have a proper self-assurance that comes from knowing that they belong in a greater whole. They know that they are diminished when others are humiliated, diminished when others are oppressed, diminished when others are treated as if they were less than who they are. The quality of Ubuntu gives people resilience, enabling them to survive and emerge still human despite all efforts to dehumanize them.”
We encourage you to learn more about Black liberation in the U.S. by engaging with this reading list from the New York Public Library, Schomburg Center, for adults, and this one for kids and teens.
You can read scholarly articles, curated by the Journal Storage Digital Library, here.
Let us live, feel and be together in Ubuntu.

nailia Jun 10, 2021 community, consciousness, equality, mindfulness, solidarity No Comments

Why we need to become “whole people” now. We’d love your help!

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Why we need to become “whole people” now. We’d love your help!

As part of our mission and vision, we want to help shape a more resilient future for our students and alumni by providing MORE free educational webinars as well as Tuition waivers and partial scholarships.

2020 saw many successes for TGI even though our beloved in-person cohort model had to morph into an entirely virtual model.

Was it ideal?

No.

Was it better than the only other alternative — no classes at all?

Yes!

Even with the dramatic change to our educational model, we heard many rave comments from our students and even faculty.

We are proud of the fact that during the pandemic in 2020 we were able to provide more than $50,000 in financial assistance to our students.

The reason we could provide this assistance is because of donations, grants, and volunteering by alumni and friends.

As we enter our third decade as the East Coast’s premier graduate school for holistic studies, we decided to host this fundraiser through the Great Give platform, where you can choose to contribute at the Entry Level at $20, Level Two at $120, Level 3 at $200 and beyond.

Every donation is much appreciated and will go to supporting our students to have access to extraordinary programs, teachers as well as financial support.

Even though we are a small institution, we believe each graduate is our way of creating a profound ripple effect in the world.

Your donation to the upcoming May 4/5 Great Give campaign can allow us to continue to support our incoming students with their financial needs.
You can help us make an impact today by visiting the site here: the Great Give.

We believe that society is waking up to this holistic “whole person” nature, and we’d love for you to be a part of our future!

Today, allow us to tell a little more of our story and the heritage of TGI.

This is at the heart of TGI, that in order for an individual to become a skillful and effective contributor to their family, their community and the world, we must each first invest in ourselves and nurture those skills and relations which are instrumental to the holistic way.

All educational institutions are challenged during the Pandemic.

However as part of our mission and vision, we want to help shape a more resilient future for our students and alumni by providing MORE free educational webinars as well as Tuition waivers and partial scholarships.

GREAT GIVE MAY 4 & 5

TGI provided more than $50,000 in direct financial assistance to our students in 2020 alone. Your donation to the upcoming May 4/5 Great Give campaign can allow us to continue to support our incoming students with their financial needs.”

If you would like to help TGI reach out to new prospective students in need, please consider visiting our new campaign starting in May called the Great Give.

Gratefully, TGI Team!

This brief interview from the renowned Dr. Norm Shealy (along with TGI’s recent past president Cathleen Buchanan) demonstrates how this medical visionary has articulated this philosophy and sparks our vision today.

nailia May 02, 2021 No Comments

Cultivating a Holistic Mind: Physics, Poetry, Spring and Love

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Cultivating a Holistic Mind: Physics, Poetry, Spring and Love

Let’s talk about Cultivating a Holistic Mind.

What prevents us from having a Holistic Mind? I like to consider the nature of the universe and try to make sense of why it is so hard for most of us to accept the interconnectedness of all things. Maybe part of it is because many of us have a scientific, reductive worldview that has not entirely integrated what indigenous and contemplative minds have always known. That we are one interconnected whole.

New Sciences Point to Connection

Maybe science tries to reduce everything into parts in an effort to understand the universe better, not realizing that the very nature of reality is not entirely understandable by the human mind.

According to quantum physicist, David Bohm, “Both observer and observed are merging and interpenetrating aspects of one whole reality, which is indivisible and unanalyzable.”

David Bohm and F. David Peat were quantum physicists and influential authors. Both were passionate about finding a mathematical expression for the vision of an interconnected, enfolded implicate order, from which an explicate order, the world of classical physics elegantly unfolds.

Peat wrote, “Quantum theory stresses the irreducible link between observer and observed and the basic holism of all phenomena. Indigenous science also holds that there is no separation between the individual and society, between matter and spirit, between each one of us and the whole of nature.”

Their co-authored book, Science, Order and Creativity makes the interesting point that in order to solve problems faced by society, we cannot just look at “orders in between” (as a form of compromise between other orders), but rather to creatively extend to new “orders beyond” which brings different orders together in another form.

As an example of an “order beyond”, the authors cite work of Bohm and his colleague Basil Hiley toward finding an underlying “pre-space” which would allow the incompatibilities of quantum theory and relativity to be addressed. Creativity, including the search for “orders beyond,” makes it possible to move toward a new consciousness.

So how do we find “pre-space” that invites a new consciousness?

“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” – A. Einstein

The Holistic Mind Clues can be found in Poetry

With the arrival of spring, many are cleaning closets and gardens to prepare for the new season. Maybe it’s also time to clean out old thinking.

I am always playing with new ways to stop “old mind” habits. Throughout the day, I will ask myself, “Where are you?” “What are you participating with?” If I find myself lost in thought, I might say, “Drop the story,” as a way to drop into a direct experience of the moment.

The artist in me loves a blank page. As I write this, I’m wondering what would happen if everyone decided to suspend old beliefs and create a space for something new to emerge in this season of renewal?

In other words, cultivate a garden of “don’t know” or “beginner’s” mind.

We are all heavily conditioned to perceive the world through concepts and beliefs. For example, if I think of spring, a world of images and beliefs come to mind. Easter, family, marshmallow peeps, Cadbury eggs, bunnies and crocuses come to mind. While these images can be wonderful, this “old mind” makes it challenging to actually experience this spring directly.

Spring Cleaning of the Mind

I came across a little gem of a poem by Mary Oliver. It’s not like usual spring poems about daffodils or songbirds. It is about a black bear awakening from hibernation and showing her “perfect love” by doing what bears do in the spring. I think the term “perfect love” is actually a way to view the new holistic, integrated mind. Being directly with life as it is.

Spring

By Mary Oliver

Somewhere
a black bear
has just risen from sleep
and is staring
down the mountain.
All night
in the brisk and shallow restlessness
of early spring
I think of her,
her four black fists
flicking the gravel,
her tongue
like a red fire
touching the grass,
the cold water.
There is only one question:
how to love this world.
I think of her
rising
like a black and leafy ledge
to sharpen her claws against
the silence
of the trees.
Whatever else
my life is
with its poems
and its music
and its glass cities,
it is also this dazzling darkness
coming
down the mountain,
breathing and tasting;
all day I think of her —
her white teeth,
her wordlessness,
her perfect love.

Source energy is a universal force providing the innate intelligence for plants to know to grow toward the sun or humans and animals to listen to their bodies. The bear knows how to be connected with herself and the environment. She doesn’t stare down the mountain thinking about how to solve the problems of the day. She simply knows that it’s time to come down the mountain.

Many believe that the emerging mind is non-dual and holistic. It still contains the “old mind” that wants to focus on fixing problems the way it used to, but it can also hold space open for what is innate knowledge so that the mystery and intelligence of the universe (source energy) can power the dance.

As Oliver’s beautiful poem states, “There is only one question, how to love this world.”

This also resonates with Indian philosopher Krishnamurti who considers observation without evaluation to be the highest form of human intelligence.

As Bohm said, “What is needed is to learn afresh, to observe, and to discover for ourselves the meaning of wholeness.”

Maybe physicists, poets, and mystics are all saying the same thing.

Blog is written by Kimberly Ruggiero.

Kimberly Ruggiero is a long-time meditator. She works as a Program Coordinator in Integrative Health and Healing and facilitates a Mindfulness Meditation Group at TGI – every Tuesday evening online – https://learn.edu/events/

Kim also works as a transformational coach and artist. She has a BS in Chemistry, MA in Consciousness Studies and studied at the Lyme Academy College of Fine Art. Kim has training in MBSR and is certified through the Engaged Mindfulness Institute.

nailia May 01, 2021 No Comments

Why Holistic Transformative Education is Essential Post-Pandemic

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Why Holistic Transformative Education is Essential Post-Pandemic

If there was any doubt that humanity and Mother Earth are one interconnected system, the pandemic should have erased that notion for good.

Never in the history of this planet (bold statement right?) has one event affected everyone physically, mentally, emotionally, and financially at the same time — and we are all aware that we are all going through this together!

One whole interconnected system.

Just like you and me. All of us are inextricably integrated as physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual beings.

In late November 2009 I sat in my doctor’s office nervously as I was about to hear the results of tests. After the words “it’s definitely cancer” came out of his mouth, do you think mine was just a physical reaction? Of course not. Every part of me was on high alert – mentally, emotionally, spiritually and of course physically.

Because each one of us — every single human and every other organism on this blue jewel of a planet — is a whole system.

Every day we interact, sometimes harmoniously, sometimes incoherently, with other whole systems.

We can’t separate one part from another. Of course, we do create separation all the time. We ignore the promptings of our heart or body and tell ourselves we’ll be fine. We spin uncontrollably in mental loops and assume this won’t impact our health.

The list goes on and on of ways we have been trained to separate ourselves instead of unite and integrate ourselves.
Thinking, Being, Feeling, and Seeing Holistically – The Graduate Institute.

Holistic thinking is not new to me but to find an institution of higher education on the East Coast that teaches precisely these ideas was thrilling when in November 2019 I learned of The Graduate Institute for Holistic Studies (TGI) for the first time.

Based in Connecticut, TGI was founded in 1999 to provide masters’ degrees and certificate programs in five areas of holistic studies. As I started learning more about the organization I was struck by how much potential there could be to develop these ideas more broadly for a world in crisis.

The Cohort Model

I discovered — through talking with dozens of enthusiastic alumni – that a core strength of TGI is its cohort-based learning model, where for one weekend per month for one or two years, you work together with others with your same interest, sharing, growing and learning holistic practices and principles together. As one whole system, with its unique individuated parts like you.

I was asked to become an Advisor to TGI and the visionary side of me kicked into high gear.

I began envisioning a network of aligned organizations all over the world, all dedicated in their unique ways to fostering holistic approaches to learning, health, community-building, breaking down barriers between people, opening up hearts and minds to see life from more holistic, wholesome, connected, and compassionate ways.

When in June 2020 I was asked to become President, I knew an exciting transformative journey of personal and professional growth was about to begin.

Dive into our holistic world and see what resonates for you. Our enrollment is happening and there’s still time to join the TGI family.

Integrative Health & Healing
Learning & Thinking
Coaching with Spirit (ICF certified)
Consciousness Studies & Transpersonal Psychology

The pandemic has brought everyone in every part of planet earth new challenges to grow or stagnate.

It has forced organizations to re-think and re-envision their purpose and how they create an impact in the world.

We at TGI are also in a big transition period to see how to take our beautiful educational model — which has already touched and transformed the lives of thousands of individuals – and bring it to a larger more global audience.

We would love for you to get to know us, so check out our Events page for regular webinars.

We believe that the future is holistic and we’d love for you to be a part of this future!

Gratefully,

Bruce Cryer
President

nailia Apr 13, 2021 No Comments

Would you like to Facilitate Transformation in Others?

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Would you like to Facilitate Transformation in Others?

Coaching With Spirit is our most popular non-academic program and many of our students have been attracted to this Certification in addition to their graduate education.

Do you believe that coaches are here to heal the world, to help end suffering, to bring the light of love to others? The creator of our Coaching with Spirit (CWS), Guthrie Sayen, would say so and he adds, “To do that, we must heal ourselves. We must come home to ourselves, so we can help others make the same journey home. We are bearers of light.”

“The road to mastery leads through the temple of your own heart. Your heart contains every treasure you are looking for. When you uncover your own light, you can help others uncover theirs.”

Would you like to Facilitate Transformation in Others?

We asked Guthrie, “What have you learned about yourself while teaching Coaching With Spirit?”

We are attaching some of his words of wisdom below as well as his recent video interview – if you would like to experience the depth of conversation which is waiting for you tonight!
We often think that our pain comes from our circumstances: our job, our finances, our partner, our lack of a partner, our overloaded schedules, our childhood wounds. Whatever it is, it seems to stand in the way of our happiness and to prevent us from answering our deeper calling.

Here’s the paradox. The circumstance we most want to change or remove is the doorway to the treasures we seek. Pain is the portal to self-acceptance, a self-acceptance that is so deep that it transforms how we relate to ourselves, to others, to the source of all life and love.

You arrived here because you are called. Your calling shows up as curiosity, confusion, or discomfort. Your discomfort or pain—sometimes in the background, sometimes in the foreground—is a gift. Your pain is your bridge from where you are to where you long to be.

One way to cross the bridge is to go on the inner journey of self-acceptance. Do you want to learn more about this journey?

Another way to cross the bridge is to find your soul’s purpose, that is, your deepest calling, the reason you were born. Do you want to find your soul’s purpose?

Finally, you may be a coach who wants to cross the bridge into full mastery of your unique set of gifts. Do you want to go deeper in your own process so that you take your clients deeper? Do you feel called to bring more light into the world through coaching?

Presenter:

Guthrie Sayen created and leads Coaching With Spirit, the ICF-accredited coach-training program offered through The Graduate Institute; he also creates and leads advanced training programs for coaches and faculty at Leadership That Works, an ICF-accredited coaching school; and he co-created and offered advanced training for coaches at the True Purpose Institute, dedicated to serving change agents, messengers, and visionaries. Guthrie mentors coaches at all levels of their careers from beginners to seasoned masters. In his private practice, he works with wounded healers, helping them do for themselves what they are called to do for others. He also helps seekers come into the presence of the Divine so that they can live their soul’s purpose. His mission is to end suffering on this planet. His website is www.BridgetotheDivine.com.

Do you ever ask yourself: why can’t I do for myself what I am doing for my clients?

Coaches often harbor a secret sense of not being good enough. Few things are more painful than being called and feeling that you are falling short at your calling.

Your pain is the hidden door into who you are and what you are most skilled at doing for others. This is true no matter where you are in your career, whether you are a coach in training or a competent coach moving into mastery or a master coach moving into artistry.

We often think that our pain comes from our circumstances: our job, our finances, our partner, our lack of a partner, our overloaded schedules, our childhood wounds. Whatever it is, it seems to stand in the way of our happiness and to prevent us from answering our deeper calling.

Coaches are here to heal the world, to end suffering, to bring the light of love to others. To do that, we must heal ourselves. We must come home to ourselves, so we can help others make the same journey home. We are bearers of light. We are technicians of the sacred.

The road to mastery leads through the temple of your own heart. Your heart contains every treasure you are looking for. When you uncover your own light, you can help others uncover theirs.

One way to cross the bridge is to go on the inner journey of self-acceptance. Do you want to learn more about this journey?

nailia Mar 28, 2021 coaching, coaching program No Comments

Mindful Engagement Online: Avoiding Virtual Exhaustion & Burnout

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Mindful Engagement Online: Avoiding Virtual Exhaustion & Burnout

Mindful Engagement Online: Avoiding Virtual Exhaustion and Burnout

“Burnout is what happens when we ignore the soul whispering against an unhealthy job or relationship.”

—Dina Glouberman, PhD, Psychotherapist and Author

Lately, I’ve noticed the way extensive Zoom calls have been zapping my energy and spirit, and I am experiencing an unhealthy relationship with my computer. So when asked to write an article about virtual exhaustion, I realized I’m not the only one.

But how do you function in a pandemic without the internet?

It feels unnatural for a human being to sit in front of a screen and be “on” for hours.

Indeed, the psychological consequences of “Zoom fatigue” are so widespread, they are now being studied at Stanford University. This month, Professor Jeremy Bailenson, founding director of the Stanford Virtual Human Interaction Lab, published the first peer-reviewed article on the subject.

Bailenson’s study systematically deconstructs “Zoom fatigue” from a psychological standpoint and identifies four reasons why it happens, along with suggestions to help relieve the stress.

Four basic reasons for Zoom fatigue and exhaustion:

Excessive amounts of close-up eye contact
Seeing yourself during video chats
Limited physical mobility
Increase in cognitive load (trying to read and give gestures)

Bailenson’s suggested solutions for Zoom exhaustion and burnout:

Reduce the face size of participants by shifting out of full screen mode and increase the space between yourself and the monitor,
Use “hide self-view” button,
Adjust your camera so you can pace or doodle in a virtual meeting and turn off video periodically,
Take “audio only” breaks and turn the body away from screen occasionally so you aren’t bombarded by the gestures of others.

Our Eyes Are Zoom Fatigued

Focusing the eyes in one spot all day can affect our vision. Computer Vision Syndrome was explored by California optometrist, Jeffrey Anshel. He developed a way to relieve computer eye strain called the 20-20-20 rule published in Optometry Times. (This can also be a way to connect and recharge with nature.)

Every 20 minutes, refocus the eyes to something 20 feet away for 20 seconds.

Avoiding Burnout through Mindfulness:

Invite Mindfulness Online

From a mindfulness perspective, we can cultivate an online practice to notice what is happening inside our minds, bodies, and hearts. It begins with recognizing our relationship to our computer and workspace. Is it difficult or comfortable; hostile or nurturing?”

“Set peace of mind as your highest goal and organize your life around it.”

—Brian Tracy

The moment we notice that we’re lost in a mindless online vortex, we become present. This simple shift opens space to recognize the level of fatigue in the body and spirit.

Becoming aware of the effects of virtual exhaustion and taking steps to nurture ourselves can shift the relationship with technology and invite a renewed feeling of empowerment and ease.

In any moment, we can gently check in:

Is it necessary to be online?
What is my energy level?
How does my body feel?
What am I participating with?

Similar to the way mind chatter unconsciously controls mood and behavior, mindless use of technology can become habituated and addictive. Without noticing, we become drained, disconnected, and unaware of this unhealthy pattern.

Many of us feel like we’re at the mercy of our virtual lives, but with some nonjudgmental, open-hearted awareness, we can begin to shift our relationship with technology and experiment with new ways of nurturing mind, body, and spirit, opening space and relieving exhaustion.

“Awareness is the greatest agent for change.”

—Eckhart Tolle

Blog is written by Kimberly Ruggiero.

Kimberly Ruggiero is a long time meditator. She works as a transformational coach and artist. She has a BS in Chemistry, MA in Consciousness Studies and studied at the Lyme Academy College of Fine Art. Kim has training in MBSR and is certified through the Engaged Mindfulness Institute. She works as a Program Coordinator in Integrative Health and Healing and facilitates a Mindfulness Meditation Group at TGI – every Tuesday evening online – https://learn.edu/events/

nailia Mar 04, 2021 No Comments

Mindfulness Meditation Class is offered weekly for the TGI community.

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Mindfulness Meditation Class is offered weekly for the TGI community.

Mindfulness Meditation Class is offered weekly for the TGI community.

What are the benefits of this practice you may wonder? When we train in mindfulness, we welcome the vertical dimension of reality or the timeless and spaceless because awareness is outside of space and time. It is not conceptual or knowable. This doesn’t sit well with the ego which is why it can be very difficult to relax in the moment and simply be.

Learning to shift into being is a radical departure from the old dualistic mind that wants to control reality and force outcomes. Because we are so identified with the mind, surrender is considered a weakness or failure. But if we can identify with awareness, we allow the mind to relax and submit to the vastness of the lived moment where creativity and coherence are possible.

This concept is tricky. We all spend so much of our days absorbed in thoughts about the past and the future. With modern technology, it’s possible to spend an entire lifetime distracted by thoughts.

Einstein believed that ‘time is an illusion’ created by the mind to help us conceptualize the vast ocean of space.

It’s scary to think that there is no past or future when that is what occupies most of our daily lives. But if you really consider it, we can only ever be present. That pull of the mind to worry about what happened or to get someplace better is a conditioned reaction to finding comfort and avoiding pain. This grasping for something better and rejecting what is here perpetuates all human suffering.

As a spiritual teacher, Eckhart Tolle states so beautifully, “You are the universe expressing itself as a human for a little while.”

Like participating with beautiful music, the mind, body, and spirit intuitively align with something far more alive and liberating.

“The future is a concept, it doesn’t exist. There is no such thing as tomorrow. There never will be, because time is always now. That’s one of the things we discover when we stop talking to ourselves and stop thinking. We find there is only the present, only an eternal now.”
–Alan Watts, Philosopher, Author and Spiritual Teacher.

Weekly TGI Mindfulness Meditation Group – Every Tuesday Online – led by Kim Ruggiero, MA

This friendly, open-hearted group is for anyone interested in meditation and exploring awareness training. Newcomers are always welcome. The basic structure is guided meditation, conscious sharing, and topic discussion. We go about 90 minutes, sometimes more or less but you are welcome to arrive and depart as your schedule allows.

About Kim

Mindfulness Meditation Class: 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm EST – learn more here: https://learn.edu/events/

This post was originally published on Kim’s personal website.

nailia Feb 23, 2021 No Comments

Transform your ‘Daily Grind’ into a ‘Sacred Grind’ with Kara & Doreen, the Holistic Nurse

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Transform your ‘Daily Grind’ into a ‘Sacred Grind’ with Kara & Doreen, the Holistic Nurse

Would you like your ‘Daily Grind’ to feel more like a ‘Sacred Grind’? And are you feeling drained and overwhelmed by the pandemic?

Join us for an exclusive 3-part webinar with Emmy Award Winning News Anchor Kara Sundlun and Holistic Nurse Doreen Fishman on how to manage stress, daily demands and emotions to create meaningful change in your hectic life without quitting your day job!

Learn how to transform overwhelm to joy and ease without quitting your day job!

Sponsored by WFSB-TV in support of The Denise D’Ascenzo Foundation

Part 1: February 11

Master your Day

Kara Sundlun mainstreams the metaphysical with Spiritual Life Coach and Board-Certified Holistic Nurse Doreen Fishman to teach simple yet powerful meditation and manifestation techniques to ease overwhelm and soar in 2021.

Master a morning routine to create more joy all day by learning how to connect to your heart center
Access the most powerful part of your being to create the real change you want this year
Time management to meet your soul goals: How to plug your energy drains to manifest your desires

LIVE Q&A for personalized coaching

Part 2: February 18

Master the Art of Communication

Kara reveals the secrets broadcasters use to communicate with confidence so you can ace your next zoom! Plus learn how to use Denise D’Ascenzo’ s principles for success to align with your purpose: Be Open. Be Brave. Be Kind

Doreen will show us how to use the wisdom of metaphysics to heal relationships and ease family conflict during the quarantine.

Part 3: February 25

Supercharge Your Body

Join Kara and Naturopath Dr. Artemis Morris for cutting-edge nutritional solutions to increase energy, lose weight, improve moods and superpower your immune system during the pandemic.

Kara will guide you on a fun and inspirational journey of personal growth!

Clear way the energy drains of 2020 to release what no longer serves us while integrating the gifts of these challenging times.

A 3-Part Zoom Webinar Series

February 11, 18 & 25 from 6:30 – 8 pm EST

THE GRADUATE INSTITUTE

3-PART WEBINAR FOR A NEW YEAR RESET

Registration for the entire series: just $75:

Each session will be recorded for your convenience in case you have to miss any or all of one of the sessions, and a link will be sent to you after each presentation.

Save your spot & register here.

Questions?

Please contact Joyce Logan joyzelle@aol.com

You may also hear from our President, Bruce Cryer, when you join the webinar here!

nailia Jan 26, 2021 No Comments

Let’s talk about Cultivating a Holistic Mind.

The Holistic Mind Clues can be found in Poetry

Spring Cleaning of the Mind

Presenter:

But how do you function in a pandemic without the internet?

It feels unnatural for a human being to sit in front of a screen and be “on” for hours.

Four basic reasons for Zoom fatigue and exhaustion:

Part 1: February 11

Part 2: February 18

Part 3: February 25

A 3-Part Zoom Webinar Series

February 11, 18 & 25 from 6:30 – 8 pm EST

THE GRADUATE INSTITUTE

Join our community and stay connected for upcoming events and free educational webinars