Contemplative Practices Learning Community
“Without a context to develop the awareness of the implications of our actions and a clear idea of what is most deeply meaningful to us, we will continue to act in ways that force us into short term, myopic responses to a world increasingly out of control.” (Bush and Barbezat, 2013)
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CONTEMPLATIVE
The Contemplative Practices Learning Community (CPLC) is a cohort of faculty, graduate students, and academic staff interested in engaging in a yearlong exploration of contemplative practices. While these practices are wide ranging (as illustrated by The Center for Contemplative Mind and Society’s Tree of Contemplative Practices), ultimately they can help us to cultivate intercultural competencies, such as building empathy, nurturing curiosity, and deep listening.
We seek to create a place for contemplative practitioners to gather in a supportive community espousing radical care for others and ourselves. We will engage in our own contemplative practices (“inner work”) while learning how to infuse contemplation and reflection into our professional lives (“outer work”). While contemplative practices vary greatly, they focus on the present experience and include a “first-person” orientation that creates opportunities for greater connection and insight.
The CPLC will provide opportunities to:
- Connect with colleagues in a supportive community and engage in a variety of guided contemplative practices
- Understand the underpinnings of contemplative practices within the higher education context
- Reflect on how to integrate contemplative practices into courses, meetings, and other aspects of our professional lives
- Collaborate to develop models of implementation and assessment of contemplative practices within professional settings
AY 24 – 25 Learning Community Format:
- Monthly meetings in the Fall semester (dates and times contingent upon participants’ schedules)
- A one-day mindfulness retreat (January 2025)
- Option to continue to meet in the Spring semester to explore Scholarship for Teaching & Learning research, grant opportunities, and course design strategies
Contemplative Practices Learning Community Coordinating Committee
Laura Hill, Senior Lecturer, Plant Biology Department
Karen Nordstrom, Evaluation Director (USDA REEU project), UVM Extension; Collaborator, UVM Institute for Agroecology
Wendy Verrei, Assistant Director, Center for Teaching & Learning
Priyantha Wijesinghe, Senior Lecturer, Civil and Environmental Engineering