Connecticut Mindfulness Collaborative

 Mindfulness Meditation is a discipline that cultivates wakefulness and openness through intentionally attending to one's moment by moment experience without judgment.  When practiced regularly, mindfulness has the potential to enable a person to respond to life's stressors with more calm, and to perceive and think more clearly.

The Connecticut Mindfulness Collaborative provides a  group forum for the sharing of information and education pertaining to mindfulness-based practices that is independent of any religious or spiritual organization.  It aims to be a resource for all individuals who have an interest in practicing and learning more about mindfulness:

• Professionals involved in the field of healthcare in Connecticut applying mindfulness in their work
• Persons who have learned to practice mindfulness at a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) class who are looking for further  opportunities to practice with others
• Persons who are just curious about mindfulness. 

What We Do, Or Plan to Do

• Host practice sessions of mindfulness meditation
• Provide instruction in mindfulness meditation and/or referral, if requested, to instructors from various traditions (Zen, Tibetan, Theravada, etc.)
• Host meditation retreats
• Provide educational programs pertaining to mindfulness meditation and its relationship to basic health and respond to requests for speakers on these subjects
• Provide linkages to related contemplative organizations, educational resources, and training opportunities

Founder:

The Connecticut Mindfulness Collaborative was initiated by Randy Kaplan, PhD.   Dr. Kaplan is a licensed Marital and Family therapist and has been practicing mindfulness meditation for over 30 years.  He was an early graduate of the Contemplative Psychotherapy Program at Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado, and has spent his career identifying linkages between western behavioral health practices and eastern contemplative traditions.   He has received training in Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) at the University of Massachusetts Center For Mindfulness, and is an authorized Meditation Instructor within the Shambhala International Buddhist Organization.  Dr. Kaplan teaches classes in MBSR, retreats in mindfulness practice, and workshops for behavioral health professionals in mindfulness meditation and its applications as a tool in the training of psychotherapists and as a method for augmenting treatment of a variety of clinical issues.

When & Where

• Continuing, on Mondays, starting March 8, from 6 to 7 pm there will be a free bi-weekly mindfulness practice group sponsored by Mindfulness Programs Connecticut, a collective of instructors who teach MBSR.  This group will be open to people who have received instruction either through attending an MBSR program or through a similar mindfulness-based program.  Check out www.mindfulnessprogramsct.com under links 

• Dr. Kaplan will be teaching a program in Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) through Hartford Hospital in Summer of 2010, on Tuesday evenings from 5:15 p.m to 7:15 p.m. from July 20 to Sept. 7.  He will also teach a class in the fall beginning Tuesday October 12, and ending December 14, also from 5:15 to 7:15 p.m. Information  regarding registration is available on the calendar page.

• Location of retreats and other programs of interest in the area will be posted as soon as information becomes available