MBSR II: Roots of Mindfulness

Grow and Sustain your Mindfulness Practice in Community

Are you interested in continuing to develop your mindfulness practice? Want to deepen your understanding of mindfulness? Curious about the spiritual roots of contemporary mindfulness teachings? Are you seeking community and support around integrating the habit of daily meditation into your life?

This 8-week online course is for alumni of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program or the Mindful Self-Compassion program who are ready to explore mindfulness more deeply. It was developed by Mindfulness Northwest Founder and Executive Director Tim Burnett.

 

This course will be different each time it is taught, as Tim will explore a different theme and text related to the roots of mindfulness practice:

Class Theme: Four Truths, Eightfold Path

MBSR is based on a core Buddhist concept around how to understand and transfrom suffering (translated as “stress” in MBSR). This fundamental process is explored in an early Buddhist teaching called the Four Noble Truths which include a series of teachings, called the Eightfold Path, on how to understand and live in our world .

We’ll explore how the Four Nobles Truths can offer us a fresh perspective on stress and upset and how the “enactive wisdom” that arises from the Buddha’s teachings on the Eightfold Path can help us transform our suffering.

Our central text will be a wonderfully accesible and user-friendly guide to the 8-Fold Path by Gil Fronsdal:

Gil Fronsdal, Steps to Liberation: The Buddha’s Eightfold Path (2019, Tranquil Books)

Tim also recommends a supplement text: a wonderful anthology of writings by 9 contemporary women Buddhist teachers in the Zen tradition: Jikyo Cheryl Wolfer (ed), The Eightfold Path. (Note that this second book was previously listed as the main text, our appologies – Tim realized the Gil Frondal book is a lot more accessible.).

This course will support you in:

• Setting intentions for your practice of mindfulness
• Incorporating formal and informal mindfulness practices in your daily routine
• Learning ways to relate to the doings of your mind in a more healthy way
• Exploring mindfulness in the context of how you relate with others
• Learning how mindfulness was traditionally understood in Buddhism and how to apply this ancient wisdom to our modern lives
• Going more deeply into the scientific support and exploration of mindfulness and its benefits
• Being in community with other committed practitioners of mindfulness and an experienced teacher for two months

 

In concert with exploring contemporary mindfulness teachings, we’ll orient our exploration around a traditional Buddhist text and touch upon the scientific support for the transformational possibilities of mindfulness practice. The emphasis will be both on developing deeper understanding, and on everyday life integration.

 

 Each week expect:

• Hands-on mindfulness practices, exercises and meditations
• Discussion and exploration of how we’re incorporating mindfulness into our lives
• A deep dive into topics ranging from Buddhist teachings on the Four Foundations of Mindfulness to recent neuroscience
• Weekly home practice assignments, readings, handouts and videos to explore
• Connect with an accountability partner between classes to support your daily practice

 

To learn more about whether the time is right for you to register for this course, please see What Are Our Classes Like? in the FAQs, from Executive Director Tim Burnett.

 

Prerequisite

You must have completed either the 8-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction course or the 8-week Mindful Self-Compassion course (with any teacher or school) before taking MBSR II: Roots of Mindfulness.