Upcoming events.
Cambridge Health Alliance Employee Wellbeing Department Mindfulness in Nature Series
I am excited to partner with the Cambridge Health Alliance Employee Wellbeing Department this spring! They have requested a series of three 2 hour Mindfulness in Nature walks to be held in locations in close proximity to their health centers in Cambridge, Somerville and Malden.
Our locations include:
Middlesex Fells, Stoneham
Mt Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge
Fresh Pond Reservation, Cambridge
The Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA) Employee Wellbeing department strives to create "a workplace where everyone thrives." Our program has 6 core components that strengthen employee well-being: Mental & Emotional Health, Financial Health, Protection from Harm, Connection & Community, Physical Health, and Opportunity for Growth. We aim to care of our healthcare workforce so that they can take the best care of our patients and communities.
Release, Realign, Restore. The Three R's of Resiliency
RELEASE, REALIGN, RESTORE
Three R's of Resilience: Mindful Practices to Nourish Body, Mind, & Spirit Workshop
The Massachusetts Office for Victim Assistance (MOVA) Training Academy (MTA) was developed to meet the emerging needs of direct service providers in the victim services field in Massachusetts. MOVA envisions this academy will unite criminal legal and community advocates across the Commonwealth and provide knowledge that supports trauma informed, culturally responsive, and equitable services that reflect the diverse communities they serve. As a result, the voices and experiences of victims and survivors will be further heard, valued, and amplified across systems.
Cambridge Health Alliance Employee Wellbeing Mindful Walk in Nature
This is the third in a series of three Mindful Walks in Nature commissoned by the Cambridge Health Alliance Employee Wellbeing Department.
Mindful Monday Mornings
Beginning Monday, May 13, 2024, I will be offering weekly nature-based mindfulness practices at Fresh Pond Reservation to start your day.
Throughout May, we will hold these practices at Black's Nook, a small pond adjacent to Fresh Pond which is a protected wildlife sanctuary and coveted bird watching location.
Specific locations may vary month to month but will be held within Fresh Pond Reservation. No registration is necessary but please come dressed for the weather and bring a meditation cushion and/or a yoga mat. Each session will have a brief introduction, 20-30 minute sit or walk and time for reflections.
Mindfulness, Compassion & Resiliency Intersecting with Women in Science
This is a commissioned 2 hour nature-based mindfulness workshop at the Arnold Arboretum for MASS AWIS.
MASS AWIS is the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Association for Women in Science. (AWIS), a non-profit organization hose mission is to support women in all scientific fields and to achieve equity and full participation for women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). By breaking down barriers and creating opportunities, AWIS strives to ensure that women in these fields can achieve their full potential. They organize events to create stronger bonds within their community as well as to improve skill sets collectively either for academia or industry in diverse fields.
Cambridge Health Alliance Employee Wellbeing Mindfulness in Nature Walk Series
This walk , the first in a series of three walks, commissioned by the CHA Employee Wellbeing Department for its employees will take place at The Middlesex Fells in Stoneham, Ma.
Honoring Earth Day
Earth day is a reminder of the importance of environmental conservation and sustainability, encouraging us to come together and take action for a healthier planet and brighter future. We hope that these activities align us with this purpose.
Please join us in honoring Earth Day through mindful activities designed to elicit exploration of both our inner and outer landscapes and the ecosystems in which we live.
In partnership with SPOKE, a South Boston based arts and social action organization dedicated to the transformative power of art to effect change, we will experience, together, the art exhibit, "Ecology Begins With..."
From here we will begin our mindful walk to Castle Island, a penninsula in South Boston on the shore of Boston Harbor. Our path takes us through the Thomas Butler Memorial Park to the William J Day Blvd that overlooks Boston Harbor's Pleasure Bay.
Neponset River GreenWay Walk
This two hour walk will take us along the Neponset River as it winds through a transposition of urban and wetland landscapes.
Be prepared to feel the surprise and sense of wonder that each bend in the river reveals.
These words from the Vietnamese Monk, Thich Nhat Hanh, will guide us along our journey of exploration of both inner and outer landscapes:
"We frequently walk with the sole purpose of getting from one place to another. But where are we in between? With every step, we can feel the miracle of walking on solid ground. We can arrive in the present moment with each step"
Crane's Beach Dune Walk
Join us for a three hour mindfulness in nature walk along trails meandering among pitch pine and scrub oak and along barrier dunes. We will crisscross red maple swamps and fields of marsh grass, sage green Hudsonia, and dune lichen. Each mindful step reveals majesty in both the smallest of plant life and the vastness of the horizon. We will be on the outlook for signs of spot deer, foxes, savannah sparrows and sharp-shinned hawks. Life abounds all around us
As in each walk, we will intersperse mindful practices along the the way.
Fee: $10 admission for non-members of the Trustees of Reservations
$5 for members
Advanced ticket reservations is recommended but not necessary.
Blue Hills Reservation
Leave your phone behind and be ready to slow down, to fully engage your senses and to be amazed by the beauty that exists in the natural world and the interconnectedness of all beings. Come home refreshed and reconnected to yourself, others and the natural world.
Join us for this elemental contemplative half-day retreat that is designed to support our sensing into our connection with the earth. Indoor mindfulness practices will offer us ways in which walk the trails of the Blue Hills. Each trail offering an evocative pathway to explore the elements of fire, water, air and earth and experience how indivisibly intertwined we are with the natural world around us.
No mindfulness experience is necessary only a willingness to be open to new ways of being.
Please dress appropriately for the weather, bring a bag lunch, & plenty of water. Yoga mats, meditation pillows will be available.
Fee: $35. This fee offsets the cost of the space rental. Payment is due at the time of registration.
Museum of Fine Arts: Walk Through the Ages
Every other Thursday evening this February we will discover many of the lands and landscapes within the galleries of Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts. Our mindful walks will take us through the French countryside brought vividly to life by the Plein Air artists of the 19th century, we will discover the dialectic between the calm and the tempest of life during China’s Song Dynasty and walk reverently through the ruins of ancient Egypt.
Each walk will begin at the Huntington entrance where we will gather together, orient ourselves to the evening and collect our museum chairs. Within the gallery chosen for the evening we will use the artwork and sculpture as inspiration for our mindfulness practices.
Admission is free for members. For non-members the entrance fee is $27 to be paid at time of admission. The MFA does offer discounts to students, veterans and active military personnel. There may be other options as well so if interested, please contact the MFA in advance.
Register for each walk separately through the Appalachian Mountain Club.
Museum of Fine Arts Mindful Walks through the Ages
Every other Thursday evening this February we will discover many of the lands and landscapes within the galleries of Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts. Our mindful walks will take us through the French Countryside brought vividly to life by the Plein Air artists of the 19th century, we will discover the dialectic between the calm and the tempest of life during China’s Song Dynasty and walk reverently through the ruins of ancient Egypt. Each walk will begin at the entrance where we will gather together, orient ourselves to the evening and collect our museum chairs. Within the gallery chosen for the evening we will use the artwork and sculpture as inspiration for our mindfulness practices.
Admission is free for members. For non-members the entrance fee is $27 to be paid at time of admission. The MFA does offer discounts to students, veterans and active military personnel. There may be other options as well so if interested, please contact the MFA in advance.
Registration is through the Appalachian Mountain Club.
Dates: 2/1/24, 2/15/24 and 2/29/24
Wachusett Meadow Massachusetts Audubon Sanctuary
Are you longing to feel enlivened by nature and expand beyond the virtual world, revitalizing your senses, body, and heart? Together, with the beauty of Wachusett Meadow’s woodlands, wetlands and meadows, we will access the clarity of the mind, feel the aliveness in the body, and the expansiveness of the heart.
You will learn about the practice of mindfulness — the capacity to be fully present to ourselves and the world around us — and then explore this quality of attention as you enter a contemplative relationship with both your inner and outer nature. You will discover how nature supports cultivating expanded states of joy, wonder, and a loving connection with oneself, others, and the larger web of life.
Longer mindfulness practices will be held in doors and will support our exploration of the natural world around us. To deepen our awareness, a naturalist will join us for one of our walks.
No meditation experience is required simply a willingness to stay curious, attentive and open to being in a new way.
This walk will be attuning to the sights, sounds and felt experience of being in and with nature so participants will be encouraged to refrain from conversation during the walk.
Fee: $20.00 This fee allows us to use the indoor space and benefit from the naturalist’s guidance.
Payment is due at the time of registration. Participation is limited to 10.
Please bring water, a bag lunch and dress appropriately for the weather. More details will follow once registered.
This walk is offered through the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC).Please visit the AMC website to register & learn more.
Explorations of Impermanence, Renewal and Change
Celebrate writer and social activist, James Baldwin's centenary with Violence Transformed at the "Face-It" multi-media arts exhibit .The exhibit aims to help audiences face and embrace the challenges in our society, sparking new ways of perceiving the past, present, and future. By sharing powerful imagery in various media, we can awaken to the obstacles hindering social change and discover paths towards resilience, healing, and recovery.
In conjunction with the exhibit we will be offering a unique series of mindfulness practices that begin in the gallery then extend into the outer landscape of Boston’s South End. Rediscover the wonder and complexity of life around us and reflect on how it mirrors our own nature, both its light and shadow
Drumlin Farm Massachusetts Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary Walk
The Drumlin Farm Retreat will offer natural spaces in which to rest and be kind to ourselves. Through the immediacy of nature our senses reawaken to the wonder and beauty that surrounds us. Each mindful practice is designed to nourish our body, mind and spirit. As we settle into the rhythms of the natural world, our bodies relax, our minds quiet and our hearts open.
Participants will be invited to connect with nature as well as turn inward to see how nature is reflected in our own being. Each breath invites us to tap into the joy, belonging and awe that will support us in the work we do.
The reality of the profound connection between self-care and caring for others will be deeply felt and evident.
About the Retreat:
We will spend the day in quiet reflection except for the morning orientation and welcome, small group discussions and question and answer periods. At the close of the day, we will circle around and share reflections.
Typical Flow for the day:
9:00am Arrival, orientation, Logistics
9:30-12:00 Morning Practices
!2:00-1:00 Lunch : reflections & discussion
Our retreat site is the Pond House at Drumlin Farm. We will hold our orientation and lunch in the cabin and only hold mindfulness practices indoors if the weather is inclement. We will walk the many trails at the sanctuary and if there is interest may visit the farm itself. A farm visit would require an additional farm entrance fee.
Please bring enough water for the day, snacks and a bag lunch. More details will follow once registered.
This is a light rain or shine event. Please dress according to the weather forecast.
Mindful Walk @ The Arnold Arboretum: An Appalachian Mountain Club event
Mindful Walk @ The Arnold Arboretum. An Appalachian Mountain Club event.
Nourish & Flourish Half-Day Retreat
NOURISH & FLOURISH Half-Day Retreat
Initially offered specifically to front-line workers this retreat is now open to all.
The Nourish and Flourish Retreat will offer natural spaces in which to rest and be kind to ourselves. Through the immediacy of nature our senses reawaken to the wonder and beauty that surrounds us. Each mindful practice is designed to nourish our body, mind and spirit. As we settle into the rhythms of the natural world, our bodies relax, our minds quiet and our hearts open.
Participants will be invited to connect with nature as well as turn inward to see how nature is reflected in our own being. Each breath invites us to tap into the joy, belonging and awe that will support us in the work we do.
The reality of the profound connection between self-care and caring for others will be deeply felt and evident.
About the Retreat:
We will spend the day in quiet reflection except for the morning orientation and welcome, small group discussions and question and answer periods. At the close of the day, we will circle around a campfire and share reflections.
Typical Flow for the day:
9:00am Arrival, orientation, Logistics
9:30-12:00 Morning Practices
!2:00-1:00 Lunch by campfire, reflections & discussion
Our retreat site is the Fox Hill Camp ground which includes a covered pavilion, bathrooms, an outdoor natural amphitheater, a large fire pit near the backside of Cat Rock and access to myriad hiking trails.
Please bring enough water for the day, snacks and a bag lunch. More details will follow once registered.
This is a light rain or shine event. Please dress according to the weather forecast.
This retreat is supported by The Transformative Action Project which is funded by the Massachusetts Office for Victim Assistance and is offered FREE of CHARGE.
Broadmoor Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary Walk
Please join us for a mindfully guided walk through the Massachusetts Audubon Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctuary in Natick, Massachusetts. This event is being hosted by the Boston Chapter of the Appalachian Mountain Club.
Leave your “busy-ness” behind and embark on a 2.5 hour journey of allowing the mind and body to relax, to release, to receive as we connect to the stillness of the natural world and to our inner world, our true nature. Connect with other like-minded individuals and explore the profound impact of nature on our well being.
No meditiation experience is required only a willingness to stay curious, attentive and open to being in a new way. Mindfulness practices will include seated, standing and meandering meditations as we wind our way through the forest, along the pond and into a meadow.
Please dress appropriately for the weather. This walk will be attuning to the sights, sounds and felt experience of being in nature so participants will be encouraged to refrain from conversation during the walk though ample time will be set aside for questions and reflections about the practices.
Exploring Awareness in Nature @ Jamaica Pond (Thursdays)
EXPLORING AWARENESS IN NATURE SERIES
This series of hour-long mindfulness in nature sessions began in June and continues through October 2023. This has been a exploration of outer landscapes-in particular those of the Emerald Necklace Conservancy. This incredible urban park was designed by Frederick Law Olmstead. Olmstead, in his designs, tackled social and environmental challenges analogous to those we face now: racism, disease, pollution & inequality. He understood the powerful interface between thoughtful design and social justice prescribing & designing democratic spaces open to all that promoted healthy connections to nature. He thought of urban parks as the “lungs of the city”. His meandering paths moving from gentle cultivated meadows to densely forested wild areas often mirror our own inner wanderings: a perfect setting for our mindfulness in nature practices! These sessions are offered in association with The Transformative Action Project and are free of charge.
Past Event: Half-Day Retreat @ Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge
NATURE’S LANDSCAPES: INNER & OUTER (Past Event)
Great Meadows is one of eight refuges that comprise the Eastern Massachusetts National Wildlife Refuge Complex. The Refuge is roughly 80% freshwater wetlands along the Sudbury and Concord rivers. On our half-day retreat in the Sudbury location we will convene along the Red Maple Trail then take a mindful hike up the Weir Hill Trail along marshes, uplands, woodlands, fields, brook and pond. A naturalist may join us to orient us to our surroundings and support our deepening connection to the rich and diverse ecosystem. We will pause along the way for several nature-based mindful practices.
About the Retreat:
This half-day retreat is open to all. No prior meditation experience is necessary. Noble silence will be honored though the retreat facilitator will offer a brief orientation to each practice before guiding and there will be opportunities for questions and comments. If a naturalist joins us, they will also provide an orientation to the flora and fauna as well as to the history of the land. Unlike an interpretive walk during which discussion is encouraged, we will use the information provided by the naturalist to bring us into a more intimate relationship with the ecosystem, to reawaken our senses, and to anchor us in our meditation practice.
Considerations:
Though this retreat will have sitting practices, for most of the time we will be in movement. We will walk along The Red Maple boardwalk stopping for a standing meditation, then hike up the Weir Hill trail which takes us into deep woodlands. There will some incline and the path will be uneven. We will stop along the path going up for another practice, then once at hilltop will sit again for lunch and Open Awareness practice. The way down will be be a meander at your own pace. We will convene again at a meadow near our starting point for a closing practice and a time for connection and reflection. This agenda is subject to change depending upon weather and trail conditions.
Bring a bag lunch, water and a portable yoga mat or lightweight folding chair. It may be buggy so also bring what ever you use for protection from gnats and mosquitos!
FEE: There is a small fee for this retreat: $25.00. Details on how to make payments will be provided upon registration.
Past Event: Exploring Awareness in Nature Hour-Long Mindfulness Practices (Thursdays) @ The Arnold Arboretum
EXPLORING AWARENESS IN NATURE SERIES
This series of hour-long mindfulness in nature sessions began in June and continues through October 2023. This has been a exploration of outer landscapes-in particular those of the Emerald Necklace Conservancy. This incredible urban park was designed by Frederick Law Olmstead. Olmstead, in his designs, tackled social and environmental challenges analogous to those we face now: racism, disease, pollution & inequality. He understood the powerful interface between thoughtful design and social justice prescribing & designing democratic spaces open to all that promoted healthy connections to nature. He thought of urban parks as the “lungs of the city”. His meandering paths moving from gentle cultivated meadows to densely forested wild areas often mirror our own inner wanderings: a perfect setting for our mindfulness in nature practices!
These sessions are offered free of charge in association with the Transformative Action Project (TAP). Receives funding from the Massachusetts Office of Victim Services.