THURSDAY, February 25, 2016

10-12 noon   Keynote

• The Wisdom of the Heart: Social Connectedness, Love & Health

Joan Borysenko, Ph.D.

Harvard Medical School trained cell biologist, health psychologist and New York Times bestselling author.  A pioneer in stress management, resilience, and personalized nutrition. She is the author or co-author of 16 books including Minding the Body, Mending the Mind.

Intuitively, human beings understand that love heals. Sociologically and scientifically, we’re beginning to understand why. From the role of oxytocin and bonding in women’s response to stress, to the healing power of pets, to the importance of community, to data from the emerging field of psychoneuroimmunology, we can trace the effects of love, connection and compassion on health, peace of mind and well-being.

1:30-3 p.m.  Concurrent Presentations

• Relationship as a Spiritual Path

Pat Love, Ed.D.

Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Distinguished Professor, and long-standing AAMFT Clinical Member and Approved Supervisor.  Author, six books including the best-selling Hot Monogamy.

If you want to assess; look at distress. To evaluate mindfulness, compassion and wisdom look at your most troubled relationships. Learn strategies for using relationship as a spiritual path.

• Six Wisdom-Based Ways to Approach Anger

Gail Brenner, Ph.D.

A clinical psychologist with over 20 years of experience with a special expertise working with older adults and their families, bringing clear seeing and compassion to the transitions of aging, death, and dying. She is clinical faculty at University of California, San Francisco, and authored numerous articles on coping with stress and chronic medical illness.

For some of us, anger festers inside, eating away at our happiness. For others, it explodes out into our closest relationships causing pain and distress for all involved. Explore a wisdom-based approach to anger informed by acceptance and understanding.  

3:15-4:45 p.m.   Concurrent Presentations

• The Line Between Mindfulness & Mine Field

Pat Love, Ed.D.

Healthy boundaries can make the difference between conscious living and chaos. Review practical approaches to differentiation and decision-making.

• Experiencing Resiliency and Well-Being in Every Moment

Richard Miller, Ph.D.

Clinical psychologist, author, researcher, yogic scholar, and spiritual teacher. Richard is the founding president of the Integrative Restoration Institute, co-founder of the International Association of Yoga Therapists, founding editor of the peer reviewed International Journal of Yoga Therapy and a founding member and past president of the Institute for Spirituality and Psychology.

Dr. Miller has developed a program called Integrative Restoration - iRest^® Yoga Nidra Meditation, which promotes core relaxation and deep healing of body and mind, nourishes resilience and well-being.  iRest offers a comprehensive program that research has shown to promote resiliency and well-being while reducing stress, anxiety, insomnia, chronic pain, depression and more.      

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FRIDAY, February 26, 2016

All Day with Tara Brach, Ph.D.

• Cultivating a Forgiving Heart- Healing the Wounds of Severed Belonging 

We each have experienced the pain of rejection, betrayal, being unseen or misunderstood. When our needs for security and connection are unmet, our heart armors itself in anger and blame to protect from feeling the rawness of pain. Sadly, this only deepens the patterning of feeling separate, and perpetuates interpersonal and societal conflict.

The recently evolved capacity for forgiveness is an intrinsic part of healing and freeing our hearts.  It is also the hope for a more peaceful planet. Drawing on the wisdom of Buddhist psychology, Western therapies and neuroscience, this daylong will include a series of experiential practices that awaken mindfulness and compassion and enable the “letting go” of a forgiving heart. 

 

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SATURDAY, February 27, 2016

9-10:30 a.m.       Keynote

• Compassion an Appropriate Response

Frank Ostaseski

Founder of the Metta Institute; Co-founder of Zen Hospice Project; One of America’s leading voices in contemplative care of the dying.

The practice of mindfulness and self-awareness includes the cultivation of a compassionate and wise heart. The development of compassion arises from an investigation into the profound nature of self and other. Without this understanding of an absence of separateness we run the risk of thinking about compassion from old models. Embracing suffering becomes dependent on some individual power instead of being seen as a naturally arising essential quality that emerges as an appropriate and wise response to the presence of suffering.

10:45-12:15 p.m.  Keynote

• Compassion in Action

Frank Ostaseski

 Compassion is sensitivity to the experience of suffering, coupled with a deep commitment to alleviate that suffering.  While compassion is often associated with feelings like warmth, empathy or sadness for another, it is more appropriate to view compassion as a motivational drive. We will explore how we can take compassionate action and care profoundly for others without becoming overwhelmed, emotionally exhausted or getting lost in the suffering of the situation.

 1:30-3 p.m.         Concurrent Presentations

• Uncovering Happiness: Part I-The Science and Practice of Mindfulness & Self-Compassion

Elisha Goldstein, Ph.D.

Psychologist, West Los Angeles, CA; Author, The Now Effect: How this Moment can Change the Rest of your Life, and Co-author of A Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Workbook

Although the most widespread treatment for depression today is the use of antidepressants, current research is showing that mindfulness, self-compassion and a few other key mindsets can be equally potent for releasing natural antidepressants in the brain. Part I of this keynote will explore how the latest neuroscience research can illuminate our approach with depressed clients, especially the discovery of the parallels between the effects of trauma and depression on the brain. 

• Recovering through Mindfulness: An Introduction to Refuge Recovery

Dave Smith

Buddhist meditation teacher, addiction treatment specialist, speaker & author. Dave is the Program Director of the Against the Stream Nashville Meditation Center and working with Refuge Recovery Centers.

An introduction to a mindfulness-based addiction treatment program using Buddhist philosophy as the cornerstone of the curriculum.

3:15-4:45 p.m.   Concurrent Presentations

• Uncovering Happiness: Part II-The Science and Practice of Play, Purpose & Mastery

Elisha Goldstein, Ph.D.

Part II of Uncovering Happiness will help participants understand the science and practice of natural anti-depressants such as play, purpose and a key mindset mindset that can make the difference between sinking deeper into a rut versus bouncing back with greater resiliency. Drawing from proven mindfulness-based programs, acceptance and commitment therapy, work by Brene Brown and others, this approach will help clients learn how to develop core strengths that not only help them bounce back sooner, but uncover an innate sense of confidence and joy that can lead to a more enduring sense of well-being. 

• Suffering is Optional: Wisdom-Based Ways of Working with Emotions

Gail Brenner, Ph.D.

Emotions are a natural part of being human. But when we’re caught in their grip, we feel separate from the ease and vibrancy of the present moment. Together, we’ll take the radical step of turning toward our emotions with openheartedness and wisdom. We’ll learn skills to end the war with our experience and discover the treasures of peace and freedom at the heart of even the most painful emotions.

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