Discovering Wisdom Amid Chaos: An Introduction to Contemplative Psychology
with Melissa Moore & Carolyn Sykes
This two-day workshop will take a deep dive into the transformative power of the heart: a power great enough to transmute anger into clear seeing, jealousy and envy into engaged social action, poverty into generosity, greed and passion into discernment, and claustrophobia into all accommodating space. That is how powerful the heart is, especially when we take the time to infuse ourselves with embodied love, compassion, joy, and equanimity.
Amid an election year, we will experientially explore the chaos of our lives in terms of the times we live in, and in doing so, we will aspire to tap into our innate wisdom and equanimity. That can be a tall order, yet with methods of loving-kindness and compassion; we can explore the most benevolent means to tap the wisdom out of our confusion; we call it Compassionate Exchange in Karuna Training.
Please come and explore the potency of the heart for a weekend. This course introduces a more considerable training that will begin in September 2024. However, the weekend is a solid stand-alone program and will offer participants an experiential taste of Contemplative psychology as it has arisen out of Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado.
This program is open to all, with no prerequisites or previous experience required.
What to Expect:
- Short guided meditation periods, walking meditation, and a short meditation interview.
- Introduction to the view of Contemplative Psychology: Intrinsic Health, Compassionate Exchange, and the Four Immeasurables: love, compassion, joy, and equanimity.
- Short investigations into emotions with some vulnerable sharing in dyads and small groups.
- Experiencing the potency of staying with emotions, compassionate exchange, and awakening our heart potency.
Participants will learn:
- How can we be more present in an embodied way with ourselves and others in the face of challenging emotions?
- A brief introduction to Contemplative Psychology as presented in Karuna Training.
- Increased capacity to tap into emotional intelligence in relationship to the heart.
About the Instructors
Melissa Moore, Ph.D, has been the steward of Karuna Training North America since 2014 and a co-founder of Karuna Europe since 1996. Melissa has her MA in Contemplative Psychotherapy from Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado, and her Ph.D. in Psychological Anthropology from the California Institute of Integral Studies. Melissa has been a student of Vajrayana Buddhism since 1979. Melissa has taught Karuna Training in nine countries and throughout the U.S. She is the author of The Diamonds Within Us: Uncovering Brilliant Sanity Through Contemplative Psychology: https://thediamondswithinus.org.
Carolyn Sykes is based in Los Angeles and has been practicing and studying meditation since 1999. She is a meditation instructor and teaches contemplative Buddhist classes, Karuna Training, and Dharma art. She studied Karuna Training from 2016 – 2019, graduating from the basic training and the graduate programs. Carolyn is a professional musician and plays the harp. Originally from Australia, she has performed in Australia, Asia, Europe, and the United States for the past 40 years. She came to Los Angeles in 1995 to study for her master's Degree at the California Institute of the Arts. Since then, she has established her private teaching and performing studio and harp dealership, Pacific Harps.
