Bush’s contributions include co-founding influential organizations such as the Center for Contemplative Mind in Society (CMind) and Seva Foundation and co-developing Google's widely recognized mindfulness-based emotional intelligence program, Search Inside Yourself.

https://mirabaibush.com/

https://secularbuddhistnetwork.org/

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-secular-buddhist/id333093081

Currently, there is a trend in addiction treatment services to view recovery as unobtainable without first ‘resolving trauma’. Definitions of trauma are vague, poorly defined, and often trivial. This practice flies in the face of traditional recovery wisdom which sees recovery as possible despite ongoing mental health issues, and that such issues should be treated sequentially, not concurrently. In this debate, Dave and Alastair discuss possible motivations for this growing trend, including commercial self-interest on the part of treatment providers and therapists. Theories of ‘trauma’ being biologically embedded and treatable via a range of ‘somatic’ therapies are also critiqued.

Alastair Mordey is one of the world’s premier addiction treatment specialists. Alastair has founded some of the world’s largest treatment centres, and is recognized as one of the pioneers of Thailand’s thriving addiction treatment industry. Alastair founded the first rehab in the world to use Thai boxing training regimens to help young men overcome their addictions. To date he has overseen the treatment of more than 6,000 addicted people and continues to pioneer cutting edge treatment methods in behavioral health and addiction recovery for people all over the world. https://onesteprehab.com/

Current understanding of the meaning crisis argues that contemporary Western society is facing a deepening and pervasive psychological distress. This is not merely an issue of individual failings but a widespread cultural phenomenon, manifested by an increasing sense of loneliness, incoherence, and insignificance, which directly fuels the rise in mental health issues like anxiety and depression.

This crisis traces this crisis back to a historical and cultural rupture: the erosion of the traditional "worldview" that once provided a deep, communal sense of connection, purpose, and wisdom. The ascent of the modern scientific, secular perspective has effectively undermined these traditional sources—such as religion and community—without successfully establishing systematic, communal, and scientifically grounded alternatives for the cultivation of meaning, wisdom, and self-transcendence.

https://www.jaymichaelson.net/

www.briandeanwilliams.com

www.facebook.com/briandeanwilliams

www.instagram.com/briandeanwilliamstherapy

https://www.vallecitos.org/

Reflective Meditation

Sati Sangha

Pine Street Sangha

Reflective Counsel

https://seculardharmafoundation.com/programs/

https://drrochellecalvert.com/

Dr. Calvert leads courses and retreats in mindfulness, somatic experiencing and Awake in the Wild, nature-based mindfulness. She also facilitates professional trainings in mindfulness for clinicians and travels the country teaching retreats and seminars. She is the director of the Ecotherapy Program at SouthWestern College and New Earth Institute in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She is a certified mindfulness teacher with the Mindfulness Teaching Institute, the International Mindfulness Teachers Association and Awake In The Wild organization.

Rochelle is the founder and clinical director of New Mindful Life, which offers mindfulness, nature-based, and somatic experiencing therapies. She teaches individual meditations with nature that assist in healing from trauma. She supports her clients and takes them into nature with the aid of Bertha Grace, a Sprinter van that serves as a mobile therapy office.

Rochelle now lives in Taos, New Mexico and has a private practice in both Taos New Mexico and San Diego, California. She enjoys spending her free time in nature, hiking, practicing yoga, exploring Indigenous heritage, and resting with trees. She practices mindfulness-based meditation rooted in the Buddhist Theravada Tradition and practices meditation outside in nature daily.

During this live event we will explore two questions. The session will be 90 minutes. 

1. In what ways can contemporary Buddhism and Dharma practice be misleading in the context of modern life?   

2. How can we balance aspiration and realism when it comes to making progress in ethics, meditation, mindfulness, and our overall relationship to the world?

These monthly events will explore a range of topics that are both rooted in early Buddhist thought and are relevant to the challenges and issues that we face in our current lived experience.
 

The format will not follow a traditional Dharma talk, but will take place in a dialogue format that is intended to raise more questions than provide answers. As the practice of the Dharma continues to make inroads into our culture through various channels, these dialogues have been created to address ideas, topics, and tensions that are not generally addressed in the greater arena of mindfulness, Dharma, and Buddhism.

Our hope is to address the existential, therapeutic, contemplative, and ethical dimensions of our humanity that can skillfully bring to light pragmatic and realistic sets of practices and perspectives that can have a meaningful impact on what it means to live in this world. Here and now.

Jay Michaelson is a professor, journalist, rabbi, and meditation teacher. He is a visiting professor at Harvard Law School, where he is convening the first-ever conference on psychedelics in Abrahamic religious traditions.ay was a teacher and editor at Ten Percent Happier for five years, and is authorized to teach in a the Theravadan Buddhist lineage of Ayya Khema.  He has had leadership roles at the New York Insight Meditation Center and the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies.

https://jaymichaelson.substack.com/

Jay also is a journalist – he’s a commentator on CNN and a contributor to Rolling Stone, The Forward, and other publications, and he previously worked for ten years as an LGBTQ activist.  He is the author of ten books, and holds a Ph.D. in Jewish Thought from Hebrew University, a J.D. from Yale Law School, and nondenominational rabbinic ordination.  So, yes, he is Rabbi Doctor Jay Michaelson.

Jess Morey is a meditation teacher and contemplative coach. https://jessicamorey.org/

She began practicing meditation at age 14 on teen retreats offered by the Insight Meditation Society (IMS), and has maintained a consistent commitment to meditation since. Diving head first into meditation at such a key developmental stage makes the revelatory perspective of mindfulness & compassion her natural home turf, and gives her an easy, conversational teaching style anyone can relate to.

She is also a lead teacher, cofounder and former executive director of Inward Bound Mindfulness Education which runs in-depth mindfulness programming for youth, and the parents and professionals who support them across the US, and internationally.

Before dedicating her professional life to teaching mindfulness, Jess studied engineering and worked in clean energy finance. She has no doubt in the technical brilliance of humanity to solve the challenges facing us – including climate change and systemic injustice. Where she believes we need some help is in our inner & interpersonal intelligence.

Two questions are explored in dialog between Dave Smith and Stephen Batchelor 

1. What is a secular approach to the dharma?

2. How can this approach alter, enhance, or challenge our practice in a meaningful way?

These monthly events will explore a range of topics that are both rooted in early Buddhist thought and are relevant to the challenges and issues that we face in our current lived experience.

The format will not follow a traditional Dharma talk, but will take place in a dialogue format that is intended to raise more questions than provide answers. As the practice of the Dharma continues to make inroads into our culture through various channels, these dialogues have been created to address ideas, topics, and tensions that are not generally addressed in the greater arena of mindfulness, Dharma, and Buddhism.

Any donations offered for this program are greatly appreciated. You can support us through making a tax free donation via PAYPAL. https://seculardharmafoundation.com/donate/

The mission of the Secular Dharma Foundation (501c) is to foster the advancement of emotional and psychological well-being through the education and integration of mindfulness, psychology, nature-based programming, and various therapeutic modalities. We provide educational tools and resources, mindfulness and emotional skills training through online programs, podcasts, trainings, and retreats.

Website:  True Success For All      https://www.truesuccessforall.com/
Upcoming Training in Essence-Oriented Therapy True Success Boston Training

Find out more: https://secularbuddhistnetwork.org/

Get the book: https://tuwhiri.org/products/mindful-solidarity

Jay is a contributing writer to New York Magazine, Rolling Stone, The Daily Beast, and other publications, where he most frequently writes about the Supreme Court, religion, LGBTQ issues, and climate change. He has appeared on NPR, CNN, and MSNBC, and in 2013, he wrote the landmark report Redefining Religious Liberty: The Covert Campaign against Civil Rights. Jay has twice won the New York Society of Professional Journalists ‘Deadline Club’ award for opinion writing.

Jay is also a teacher, podcast host, and editor at the Ten Percent Happier meditation startup, which makes serious contemplative practice available to a contemporary audience.  He has written several books about meditation and spirituality, including The Gate of Tears: Sadness and the Spiritual Path  and Evolving Dharma: Meditation, Buddhism, and the Next Generation of Enlightenment. He is also  a nondenominational rabbi and frequently writes and teaches about Jewish theology and mysticism. Books on that subject include Everything is God: The Radical Path of Nondual Judaism and God in Your Body: Kabbalah, Mindfulness, and Embodied Spiritual Practice. Jay has been a scholar in residence at numerous universities, synagogues, and other institutions.  Samples of this work can be found on this site’s multimedia page and on Jay’s YouTube channel.  Testimonials can be found here.

Finally, Jay is an affiliated assistant professor at Chicago Theological Seminary and a visiting fellow at the Center for LGBTQ & Gender Studies in Religion, where he teaches and writes about religion and sexuality, law and religion, and Jewish theology and mysticism. He holds a Ph.D from Hebrew University and a J.D. from Yale Law School. He previously held teaching positions at Boston University Law School and City College of New York. Dr. Michaelson’s academic CV and publication list is here.

From 2003 to 2013, Jay was a professional LGBT activist; he founded two LGBT organizations and spoke at over 100 religious institutions in support of his bestselling book God vs. Gay? The Religious Case for Equality. In 1998-99, Jay clerked for Judge Merrick Garland of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

Amma’s teaching style emphasizes deep listening, authenticity, inquiry, fierce compassion, warmth, humor and an unwavering commitment to presence. She feels a special calling to do her own work so that students from diverse communities feel supported and belonging; where the community members are able to connect across differences of culture, race, gender, sexuality and ability. She invites an openness to pause and inquire into the truth of the present moment, integrating adaptive skillful means and rooted traditional approaches.

https://awakeningtruth.org/

https://awakeningtruth.org/integrated-meditation/

Oren is the author of several books, including the best-seller Say What You Mean: A Mindful Approach to Nonviolent Communication, a practical guidebook for having more effective, satisfying conversations. His latest book, Your Heart Was Made For This: Contemplative Practices to Meet a World in Crisis with Courage, Integrity and Love, explores the relevance of contemplative practice for our current moment in history. He is also co-author of two books on teaching mindfulness to adolescents: The Mindful Schools Curriculum for Adolescents and Teaching Mindfulness to Empower Teens.

Oren first became interested in contemplative practice in high school, when he picked up a little book called The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff. He went on to complete a degree in Comparative Religion from Columbia University, and later spent two and a half years of living as an Anagarika (renunciate) at branch monasteries in the Ajahn Chah Thai Forest lineage. Today, his teaching combines classical Buddhist training with the accessible language of secular mindfulness.

https://www.orenjaysofer.com/about

https://eveekman.com/

Andrew is licensed by the State of Tennessee to practice psychotherapy (LCSW 7188). He has also been authorized to facilitate mindfulness and empowered as a Buddhist Teacher through Spirit Rock Meditation Center after completing the Community Dharma Leader Training Program in the Spring of 2017. Andrew has spent over 6 months of his life on intensive silent meditation retreat, with a steadfast commitment to his personal meditation practice. He has been a guest lecturer at Vanderbilt University, Belmont University, Nashville Psychotherapy Institute, University of Tennessee, and Meharry Medical College, speaking to students, faculty, as well as mental health professionals. In addition to his psychotherapy practice, Andrew offers mindfulness-based therapeutic groups and workshops at several mental health and addictions treatment centers in the greater Nashville area.

He teaches innovation and AI workshops at Stanford’s Hasso Plattner Institute of Design and is the Director of Strategy and Implementation at the Center for the Study of Apparent Selves, working on applied AI ethics, funded by a two-year Templeton Foundation grant. He holds a Research Fellowship at Kathmandu University as part of this effort.

He was an engineering executive at Google for nine years, leading the production engineering teams for websearch infrastructure and then Google Workspace (gmail, docs, calendar, etc.) responsible for scaling these services worldwide during hypergrowth. After becoming curious about burnout, performance and culture, he started a second career at Google, establishing the role of Superintendent of Wellbeing and creating successful programs to explore the intersection of performance and human flourishing for the following five years.

He is on the advisory board of Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute, a Fellowship Advisor to the Just Economy Institute and advisor to several for-profit and nonprofit startups.

https://apparentselves.org/

https://evanthompson.me/

I’m a Licensed Psychologist (PSY25229) in the the state of California. Most of my work has involved working with high-risk and marginalized youth in the juvenile justice system, foster care system, and those suffering from addiction issues. I’ve previously worked at the Chemical Dependency program at Kaiser Permanente with teens and their families, in a number of juvenile halls conducting psychotherapy, psychological evaluations, and  researching the efficacy of mindfulness-based interventions with incarcerated and underserved adolescent populations. I am the  author of multiple scholarly journal articles and three books, I travel the country speaking at conferences and conducting professional trainings, and I am the founder and president of the Center for Adolescent Studies. 

I am passionate about training professionals from multiple disciplines in creating authentic, healing relationships with adolescents that contribute to positive outcomes. Most of my speaking lies at the intersection of building authentic relationships, trauma-informed care, and teaching mindfulness to youth. 

I am a formerly incarcerated youth myself and was privileged to change my life from a path of drugs, violence, crime, and self-destruction to that of healing and transformation. My mission is to help young people become aware of the power of self-awareness and transformation, and train professionals with similar interests. Learn more about my philosophy and approach in his books: A Mindfulness-Based Approach to Working with High-Risk Adolescents (Routledge, 2013), Mindfulness-Based Substance Abuse Treatment for Adolescents: A 12-Session Curriculum (Routledge, 2015), and Trauma-Informed Mindfulness With Teens: A Guide for Mental Health Professionals (Norton, forthcoming).

https://samhimelstein.com/

https://centerforadolescentstudies.com/

Mirabai holds a unique background of organizational management, teaching, and spiritual practice. She co-developed the curriculum for Search Inside Yourself for Google, the first program in mindfulness-based emotional intelligence; it has been attended by thousands of Google employees. A founding board member of the Seva Foundation, an international public health organization, she directed the Seva Guatemala Project, which supports sustainable agriculture and integrated community development. Also at Seva, she co-developed Sustaining Compassion, Sustaining the Earth, a series of retreats and events for grassroots environmental activists on the interconnection of spirit and action. She is co-author with Ram Dass of Walking Each Other Home: Conversations on Loving and Dying and Compassion in Action: Setting Out on the Path of Service, published by Random House; co-author with Daniel Barbezat of Contemplative Practices in Higher Education: Powerful Methods to Transform Teaching and Learning; and editor of Contemplation Nation: How Ancient Practices Are Changing the Way We Live. She is currently working on a memoir.

Mirabai formerly taught writing and English literature at SUNY Buffalo, and directed an innovative program there for diversifying the university and preparing students of color for academic challenges. She also taught in the Smith College School of Social Work and leads an orientation class in mindfulness for first-year Amherst College students. Her spiritual studies include meditation in Bodh Gaya, India, with Shri S.N. Goenka and Anagarika Munindra; bhakti yoga with Hindu teacher Neemkaroli Baba; and studies with Tibetan lamas Kalu Rinpoche, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Kyabje Gehlek Rinpoche, Tsoknyi Rinpoche, and others. She was also a student of aikido master Kanai Sensei.

https://mirabaibush.com/

Joseph first became interested in Buddhism as a Peace Corps volunteer in Thailand in 1965. Since 1967 he has studied and practiced different forms of Buddhist meditation under eminent teachers from India, Burma and Tibet. He is the author of Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Awakening, A Heart Full of Peace, One Dharma: The Emerging Western Buddhism, Insight Meditation: The Practice of Freedom, The Experience of Insight, and co-author of Seeking the Heart of Wisdom and Insight Meditation: A Correspondence Course.

Adam also founded the Kids’ Association for Mindfulness in Education, and the international online Mindful Kids Peace Summit.

Adam Avin is a certified in Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction for Teens, Kidding Around Yoga, and the Emotion Code, and is the youngest meditation instructor at Yoga International and Inner Explorer.

He also has been in publications such as Mindful Magazine, Psychology Today, Tiger Woods Foundation Magazine, goop Magazine, CASEL newsletter, LA Yoga, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Think Positive Live Happy, and many others.

Adam gave a TEDxYouth@KC Talk about getting mindful and social emotional learning programs into our education system, why mental health education is so important to stopping the violence, and using our voice to make a positive difference in the world.

Adam also served as a part of the inaugural fellowship cohort for the Kevin Love Fund, a non-profit organization that focuses on inspiring people to live their healthiest lives and is working to get mental health curriculum into schools.

Adam is a Posse Scholar for the Syracuse University Newhouse School Class of 2026. He is majoring in Broadcast and Digital Journalism and minoring in both Sports Management and Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies. His book, Stress Less: Mindfulness for Teens will be released in September of 2023 by Trigger Publishing.

https://www.adamavin.com/

The mission of the Secular Dharma Foundation (501c) is to foster the advancement of emotional and psychological well-being through the education and integration of mindfulness, psychology, nature-based programming, and various therapeutic modalities. We provide educational tools and resources, mindfulness and emotional skills training through online programs, podcasts, trainings, and retreats.

What is secular dharma?

A secular perspective is one that is concerned with the world in which we live, here and now. Secularity has no allegiance to any religious, spiritual, or political point of view. The primary emphasis is the study and promotion of human welfare and human flourishing through material means, psychological and emotional health and serving the greater good as its primary duty and ultimate concern.

The study, practice, and integration of dharma is the process of understanding how things come to be, and how to develop a constructive relationship with what happens. We acknowledge that any person can cultivate the contemplative tools needed to develop unshakable inner resources for well-being, health, and happiness. Our theory of dharma is drawn from the early Buddhist tradition as found within the teachings of the Pali canon. We utilize a secular approach to Buddhist texts by seeking to understand the social, historical, psychological, and ethical implications of these ideas rather than literal interpretations or strict adherence to any particular set of views, traditions or dogmas. Openness, tolerance, and continued dialog are our core principles.

Brennon leads week long-trauma healing retreats and family workshops. During these retreats Brennon helps guide individuals through the darkest parts of their stories in a fully immersive and experiential way. He also speaks nationally on the subjects of childhood trauma, attachment, and addictive disorders. In January of 2017 his first book was released, "Finding a New Tribe: Helping Young Men Recover from Childhood Sexual Abuse and Addiction", and in May of 2018 Brennon opened Skyline Recovery; an outpatient and transitional living program for young men in Bend, Oregon. 
https://www.skylinerecoverybend.com/

An artist, Amy is also a sacred ceremony designer and public speaker. She brings with her a lifetime of training, teachings, and knowledge from an eclectic background of work in the field of human holistic mental health. She empowers those who work with her with mindful self-compassion and radical acceptance.

Amy shares, “I’ve spent my career in service to others, working with adults and children in multiple arenas, including groups, workshops, coaching, and retreats for personal transformation. There is nothing else in the world as satisfying as watching a student/client create the change in their life that they long for and then thrive in it!”

https://www.hoffmaninstitute.org/podcast/s7e6-amy-thompson/

https://secularbuddhism.org/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ted-meissner/

For more info: https://bodhi-college.org/presenters/17-john-peacock/

I started cultivating a spiritual practice over 30 years ago and picked up my first Buddhist book, Start Where You Are by Pema Chödrön soon after that. It resonated with me so completely – this was the life I was attempting to live. I practiced meditation sporadically over the next several years and had a regular yoga practice. In 2005 I began studying with Noah Levine and eventually completed the first cohort of his teacher training. I was empowered to teach Buddhadharma in 2009 and have been facilitating groups and teaching ever since. I have also studied with Arinna Weisman, Ruth King, Gil Fronsdal and James Baraz.

As part of my teaching life I taught meditation in recovery centers in Los Angeles. These practices can offer a way out for so many suffering from addiction and indeed, have helped me in my own recovery of over 37 years. I also completed the Chaplaincy Training Program through the Sati Center and served as a volunteer chaplain at Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital in Los Angeles.  The Year to Live practice, based on the book by Stephen Levine, was transformational for me and I have facilitated several groups over the years and continue to bring this much needed practice and reflection on our mortality and humanity to my students. For me info: https://marystancavage.org/

For more info on the Secular Dharma Foundation or to learn more about our programs you can find us HERE

The mission of the Secular Dharma Foundation (501c) is to foster the advancement of emotional and psychological well-being through the education and integration of mindfulness, psychology, nature-based programming, and various therapeutic modalities. We provide educational tools and resources, mindfulness and emotional skills training through online programs, podcasts, trainings, and retreats.