Poetry Slam

Join us on April 1st from 3:30PM to 4:30PM where poets share their thoughts and experience the power of words and the resonance of spoken art at our Poetry Slam! Be inspired as performers captivate your senses, inviting you to explore the depths of human experience through poetry. Whether you’re a seasoned poet or a newcomer to the world of spoken word, come immerse yourself in an atmosphere of creativity and connection. Don’t miss this opportunity to celebrate the beauty of language and the boundless possibilities of expression. 

Grok Session

Join us on April 8th from 3:30PM to 4:30PM as we embark on a journey of self-discovery and interpersonal understanding at our GROK session. GROK fosters a deeper connection with oneself and others and fosters compassion and insight through interactive exercises and mindful reflection. Whether you seek to enhance your relationships, improve communication skills, or simply explore the intricacies of human connection, this session offers a welcoming space for growth and discovery. Come join our community as we cultivate empathy and understanding together. Unlock the power of GROK and embark on a path towards greater harmony and connection in your life.

LinkedIn

Join us on April 15th from 3:30PM to 4:30PM for a LinkedIn Session designed to empower you on your professional journey. Discover the fundamentals of creating and optimizing your LinkedIn profile, building meaningful connections, and leveraging the platform to showcase your skills and expertise. Katy’s Corner will guide you through practical tips and strategies to navigate LinkedIn with confidence. Don’t miss this opportunity to unlock the full potential of your professional network. Elevate your career prospects and join us for an engaging session that will set you on the path to success on LinkedIn.

So You’re About to Transfer

Attention graduating students! As you embark on the exciting transition from student life to the professional world, we invite you to join us on April 22nd from 3:30 PM to 4:30 PM in a safe and supportive space to share your thoughts, concerns, and victories. Whether you’re feeling anxious about the future, celebrating your accomplishments, or simply need to air out your thoughts, our gathering is here for you. Come connect with fellow graduates, exchange experiences, and find solace in knowing that you’re not alone on this journey. Our welcoming environment encourages open dialogue and mutual support, providing a space where you can express yourself freely. Don’t miss this opportunity to find camaraderie and reassurance as you navigate the next chapter of your life. Join us and let’s journey through this transition together.

Tea Leaves and Turning Pages

Katy’s Corner invites you on April 29th from 3:30PM to 4:30PM to Tea Leaves and Turning Pages! Whether you’re a seasoned reader, a tea connoisseur, or someone seeking for a perfect blend of relaxation and inspiration. Tea Leaves and Turning Pages welcomes you to join us for an end-of-the-month book discussion! Come share your favorite books in April and connect with fellow book lovers. Swap book recommendations, engage in lively discussions, and listen to soothing melodies of jazz.

Come for the books, stay for the friendships, and leave with a heart full of memories.

All events will be located in CM332

Compassion Campus: Nurturing Self-Kindness in College

Join us on March 4th from 3:30PM to 4:30PM and explore practical strategies to cultivate kindness, understanding, and resilience towards yourself. Discover how self-compassion can be a powerful antidote to self-criticism, stress, and burnout, empowering you to navigate the challenges of student life with greater ease and compassion.

Whether you’re facing academic stress, struggling with self-criticism, or simply seeking tools to enhance your overall well-being, this workshop is for you. Join us and embark on a journey of self-discovery, self-acceptance, and personal growth.

Mindfulness as a Student 

Join us on March 18th from 3:30PM to 4:30PM and step into the world of mindfulness. Mindfulness as a student refers to being fully present and engaged in the current moment, without judgment. It involves paying deliberate attention to one’s thoughts, feelings, sensations, and surroundings, moment by moment. For students, mindfulness can be a powerful tool for managing stress, improving focus, enhancing academic performance, and fostering overall well-being.

In this workshop, you’ll learn practical techniques to enhance concentration, reduce anxiety, and cultivate inner peace. Whether you’re facing exams and deadlines, or simply seeking balance in your daily routine, mindfulness offers invaluable tools for navigating student life with clarity and resilience.

Overall, mindfulness as a student is about cultivating a mindset of openness, curiosity, and acceptance towards one’s academic journey, while also nurturing a sense of balance and well-being in all aspects of life. By integrating mindfulness into their daily routines, students can enhance their academic success and personal fulfillment.

Tea Leaves and Turning Pages

Katy’s Corner invites you on March 25th from 3:30PM to 4:30PM to Tea Leaves and Turning Pages! Whether you’re a seasoned reader, a tea connoisseur, or someone seeking for a perfect blend of relaxation and inspiration. Tea Leaves and Turning Pages welcomes you to join us for an end-of-the-month book discussion! Come share your favorite books in March and connect with fellow book lovers. Swap book recommendations, engage in lively discussions, and listen to soothing melodies of jazz.

Come for the books, stay for the friendships, and leave with a heart full of memories.

All events will be located in CM332

Join us on February 12th from 3:30PM to 4:30PM and step into the Lunar New Year with a transformative mindset by embracing the power of setting intentions over traditional resolutions. Resolutions often feel restrictive and can lead to discouragement when not achieved, creating a cycle of guilt and disappointment. However, setting intentions focuses on the journey rather than rigid outcomes, allowing for growth, flexibility, and self-discovery.

Intentions act as guiding principles, offering a holistic approach to personal development. Unlike resolutions, which may be abandoned by February, intentions create lasting change by aligning your actions with your values. This mindful approach allows you to cultivate a positive mindset and encourages self-compassion, fostering a sense of accomplishment throughout the year.

Let go of the pressure to conform to unrealistic goals and embrace the idea of setting intentions that resonate with your authentic self. By doing so, you invite a sense of purpose and mindfulness into your daily life, creating a more sustainable path to success and well-being. Embrace the power of intention setting and embark on a journey of self-discovery and personal growth in the New Year.

Thank you for attending the workshop titled, “Commune – Thriving Together” hosted by the Annandale Center for Contemplative Practice. We thoroughly enjoyed offering this workshop, and we hope that you, too, found it to be a meaningful experience.

We are constantly striving to improve the quality, and the atmosphere, of the workshops that we offer through the Annandale Center for Contemplative Practice. When you can, please take a moment to complete the post-event survey so we might improve the workshop experience for the benefit of all.

Thank you for attending the workshop titled, “Flow – Engaging with All from Wherever You Are” hosted by the Annandale Center for Contemplative Practice. We thoroughly enjoyed offering this workshop, and we hope that you, too, found it to be a meaningful experience.

We are constantly striving to improve the quality, and the atmosphere, of the workshops that we offer through the Annandale Center for Contemplative Practice. When you can, please take a moment to complete the post-event survey so we might improve the workshop experience for the benefit of all.

DEI on the Inside: Using Personal Discernment Work to Foster Culturally Responsive Community

Our project, “DEI on the Inside,” centers around the design and implementation of experiences that provide a comprehensive roadmap to guide, assist, and support colleagues who wish to infuse diversity, equity, and inclusion into their way of being. These experiences, including workshops, discussion groups, and guided brainstorming activities, will provide our community the support to move beyond the temptation to question the relevance DEI considerations have to their role at the college. This initiative is designed to aid NOVA staff and faculty in their work to actively re-envision, and re-imagine, and re-frame themselves, our students, and our college through an equity lens.

These offerings are built upon the practices of mindful awareness and non-violent communication. Individually, each of the experiences offered can help bring awareness to issues of cultural conditioning and academic standards that challenge our shared desire for creating a college that serves all in our community.  When taken together, this series will provide a framework that can lead anyone, regardless of their role at the college, to a greater understanding and appreciation of the diverse experiences of all of those that we work with and serve. We have tentatively titled these experiences as follows:

• Cultural Conditioning: Using Mindfulness to Investigate our Norms and Standards
• Questioning Culture: Embracing Ways of Being that Include Awareness of All
• Needs Negotiation: Exploring How Competing Needs Emerge in College Contexts
• Honest Assessment: Discovering Patterns of Thinking and Uncovering Harmful Habits 
• Community Resources: Finding Support in the Peers that Surround Us 

RATIONALE FOR THE PROJECT

This project will help the college community identify cultural conditioning and navigate how those factors influence the work of the college. Tema Okum says, “Culture is powerful precisely because it is so present and at the same time so very difficult to name or identify.” Because cultural conditioning begins and extends well beyond the workplace, our work together is designed to first assist NOVA faculty and staff in the discernment of how their specific personal and professional lives intersect with issues of diversity, equity, and inclusivity. Some of us, regardless of where we are situated at the college, may never have been first-generation college students. Some may not have worked during college, nor experienced schooling in culturally diverse communities, or seen inclusion authentically modeled. As a result, it can be challenging to recognize exclusive or limiting practices and expectations normalized within academic contexts. 

This project is built on the understanding that true awareness and discernment can be facilitated through active participation, group discussion, and contemplative attention. It aims to foster a positive, nurturing environment where discernment can be practiced within an atmosphere of openness, compassion, acknowledgment, and grace. In these conditions, we believe the community will be empowered to better understand the nature of their own culture, particularly as a result of their positionality within the academy – the position they hold, their social position, and the truth of their personal history. Simply put: to create a culturally aware and responsive college, we need a self-reflective and self-aware workforce.

When we developed the name, mission, and vision for the Annandale Center for Contemplative Practice, we were careful to include the word “contemplation” as a cornerstone. Paul and Cheri define contemplation this way: “the direction of the mind’s inquiry to varied sources of information and knowledge.” We believe contemplative practices develop awareness as a result of intentional pause and reflection. The fruits of awareness, when cultivated with courage, might be said to manifest in the following ways:

Inward: Self-Discovery Practices

These practices are the ones that we use to learn about ourselves, and to discover the nuances that make us who we are. These introspective exercises might sometimes bring awareness to how we relate to ourselves and others, and also can identify a deeper sense of how thoughts and emotions move through the body as felt sensations. By working with these practices, we might develop a sense of being more “in tune” with ourselves, what we feel, how we feel things, and in which circumstances they are felt.

Practices that foster self-discovery include meditative practices, discovery writing, such as morning pages, exercises in body awareness and attention, and the development of mindfulness. Through these practices, we can begin to see our thoughts, feelings, and the general sense of the quality of being as the natural result of the causes and conditions in our lives.

Creative: Self-Expressive Practices

Self-Expressive practices are those that manifest what is moving through us at one time or the other through outward expression. Whereas these expressions might be seen, and meant to be seen by others, they do not have to be. However, they emerge, self-expressive practices are for the one expressing them, not just for the ones who observe them. Sometimes, the expressions that we make are planned and structured with a specific product or intention in mind, whereas sometimes the expressions are spontaneous, emerging freely and spontaneously. In these cases, the person who is engaging in self-expression can be informed by what emerges just as those who are witnessing the expression can be informed.

Creative, self-expressive practices include contemplative or reflective writing, dance, singing and / or vocalization, songwriting, painting, drawing, sculpture, or another form of artistic expression, and even yoga, martial arts, or active sports.

Relational: Self-Transitive Practices

These are practices we use to connect with other beings and even with our environments. Much of our communication each day is relational in some way, so what does it mean to bring a contemplative lens to how we relate to the world around us? Often these practices ask us to notice and seek to understand that we are not alone. They ask us to consider how we interact with our planet, our seasons, and our community. They ask us to notice that others we come into contact with, be they family, friends, colleagues, or even strangers, just like us, experience joy and sorrow, and, just like us, are doing the best they can to get their needs met. We cultivate practices that help us to connect beyond ourselves and to do so with kindness and compassion for both ourselves and others in our midst.

Self-transitive practices emerge when we practice self-discovery and self-expressive activities in community with others, as well as when we commune with nature. Self-transitive practices also include non-violent communication, focused meditation practices such as metta and karuna, listening practices (such as circle processing), storytelling, and convergent facilitation.

For a PDF version of this document, please click here -> Courage Practices