SBS LIVING COMPASSION CONFERENCE

COMPASSION IN A COMPETITIVE WORLD

The goal of this conference is to learn about the compassion-inspired work taking place in the NAU and Flagstaff communities. In so doing, we hope to underscore the multi-dimensional nature of compassion: its philosophical, psychological, and spiritual roots; its cultivation and expression; its importance, relevance, and application in our everyday lives.

Today’s program features four presentations, a poster presentation, and three hands-on workshops. There is no registration or registration fee; complimentary lunch and snacks are provided. Student sign-up sheets will be available for students seeking extra credit.

The SBS Compassion Project Program Committee thanks the following programs and people for their generous support:

Dr. Jean Malecki-Friedland

Dr. James Friedland

College of Social & Behavioral Sciences

NAU Consortium for Civic Engagement & Learning

NAU Office of the Provost & Vice Provost

University College

McKenzie Endowment for Democracy

DuBois Ballroom, NAU, Flagstaff, Arizona MARCH 27, 2015

Concurrent Workshops ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 2:45-3:45 pm

Ballroom A

Striking Back at the Empire – Self Compassion Remedies to Cure the Dog-Eat-Dog Paradigm From WithinMarnie Vail, MSS, MD

Self-Compassion and Mindfulness: Practical Tools for Motivation and Positive ChangeShannon Arnett, MA, CEHP, RYT-500, Director of Inner Peace Facilitation and Training, LLCCareer and Academic Advisor, Northern Arizona University

This workshop explores strategies for using self-compassion and mindfulness for anyone working on a goal, feeling stuck, or seeking to find greater intrinsic motivation.  Often in our competitive society self-criticism and comparison are used to drive us forward into the direction of a goal.  Research based exercises reflecting the power of awareness and self-compassion are proving to make dramatic strides over negative efforts toward achievement and motivation.  For those working with others, ways to share these tools in supportive ways are also shared.

“Today everything comes under the laws of competition and the survival of the fittest, where the powerful feed upon the powerless. As a consequence masses of people find themselves excluded and marginalized: without work, without possibilities, without any means of escape,” (Attributed to Pope Francis) “True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring.” (Martin Luther King – from his speech “Beyond Vietnam”) “As long as the soul is always “out there” the world will be “torn into opposing ideologies; walls, psychic and material, will be built to separate enemies.” (Anne Baring paraphrasing Carl Jung) A participatory workshop during which you will brain storm, raise consciousness, and create personal “medicine” which will help you to put competitiveness in its proper place and realize your own perfect piece of the whole. 

Ballroom B

Understand through Compassion, Live Fearless in the Heart: Finding Balance through Kundalini Yoga and Meditation

Laurel Clohessy, BA, RYT-300, International Kundalini Yoga Teachers Association, Program Coordinator at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Flagstaff

In this dynamic workshop, we will use the ancient wisdom of Kundalini Yoga to unlock the ability to live in a state of heart-centered compassion; allowing for opening of feelings, and capacity to love in all ways. Kundalini yoga and meditation is a sacred technology that addresses all systems of the body, mind, and spirit in a way that is do-able for anyone! …Willingness to breathe, and lean in the right direction is all that you need to receive benefits of this practice. We will do a kriya, or yogic set, as well as a gong relaxation, and meditation. Be prepared to move, however no mats are needed. Comfortable clothing is recommended..Warning: you may leave more happy and uplifted than you came. 

Ballroom C

Heidi Wayment, Ph.D. SBS Compassion ProjectOn behalf of the Conference Planning Committee, welcome to this year’s Living Compassion Conference! We welcome students from local high schools, NAU and CCC students, faculty and staff, and members of the northern Arizona communities! We hope you enjoy today’s events!

8:00-8:30 am! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Registration8:30-8:40 am! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Welcome

Cathy Small, Ph.D. Department of Anthropology, NAU Not Me and Not Us: The Cultural Implications of Otherness Us and Them, you and me, can be culturally comforting categories but they often become the basis for our own fear and blindness. We miss the information that allows us to see issues and others clearly; that which is "not us" becomes invisible, feared, or vilified, limiting our ability to connect or to find solutions that go beyond winning wars and and punishing perpetrators. This talk demonstrates how boundaries limit our vision and our compassion and shows the personal and social benefits of blurring/crossing lines.

8:45-10:00 am! ! ! Doors vs. Windows: The Politics of “Us versus Them”Session Chair:Jean Malecki, MD

Luis Fernandez, Ph.D. Program in Sustainable Communities, NAUUs vs. Them: The Politics of Solidarity and Liberation This presentation is grounded on the work of the late Dr. Joel Olson, who wrote extensively on the usefulness of “us vs. them” in building solidarity and liberation movements. It is also a summary of larger book project titled The Politics of Fanaticism. The presentation will discuss the friend vs. enemy dynamics not at the psychological or individual level, but as a group level political strategy for freedom with a long and complicated history. In some specific circumstances, a politics based on identifying a foe can lead to liberation. In fact, in some cases this may be the only option. However, this presentation is not an argument against compassion, per se, but rather a critique of what is missed when the social framework is reduced to a compassionate lens.

Kirk Warren Brown, Ph.D. Department of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University Daniel Ryan Berry, MA “The act of compassion begins with full attention” (Goleman, 2013). Marked by utter simplicity, it is easy to overlook the role of attentiveness to others in empathy, care, and compassion. This presentation will show how attentive presence can have manifold positive consequences for our social relationships. Drawing upon the centuries-old practice and more recent science of mindfulness, we describe the inherent kindness of mindful presence and highlight psychological research showing how mindfulness can reduce defensive attitudes toward those of other races and nationalities. We then show how even brief mindfulness training can increase empathic responses and subsequent helping behavior toward dissimilar others. These studies speak to the potential for mindful attention to catalyze compassionate attitudes and actions across social and cultural lines.

10:10-11:10 ! Compassion in a State of Present-Centered Awareness: How Mindfulness Catalyzes Sensitivity toward Others

Session Chair: Rob Goodman, Ph.D.

Mindfulness and the Legal System! ! ! ! ! ! 12:30-1:20 pmIntroduction: Dr. Robert Schehr, CCJ

Rhonda V. Magee, J.D., MA (Sociology) A Whole New Lawyer? Mindfulness and Compassion in Legal Education and Innovative Law Practices

In the last decade, mindfulness has increasingly been introduced within law schools, law firms, and other professional education settings.  In this interactive presentation, Professor Magee will describe the work of leading lights in this movement, including her own cutting-edge scholarship and teaching on mindfulness and its relationships to law; to teaching for inclusivity and identity safety; and, to social justice. She will highlight research findings in support of these developing trends, and share some of the ways that mindful lawyers have begun to reshape the practice of law to increase collaboration, community-well being and compassion.

Panel Discussion: Compassion in the Face of Adversity ! 1:30-2:30 pm!Facilitator:Jean Malecki, MD

Under adverse conditions or with people who are coping with adversity, is it possible to sustain the active and passive parts of compassion which are so crucial to healing both the body and the mind? Dr. Philippa Pett, MD, SPR Intensive Care Unit, Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital London works in the medical profession, where health care professionals are faced with the challenge of maintaining a compassionate focus. Dr. Philippa will talk about the role of compassion in the context of medical distress (ICU patients) and death and dying Louise Clark, MFA, Doctoral Candidate, Hugh Downs School of Human Communication, ASU will present her findings from a descriptive study completed during a summer camp bereavement experience for children who have lost a sibling or parent. Lori Poloni-Staudinger, Ph.D. Chair, Department of Politics and International Affairs will talk about how compassion arises from and is a critical component of understanding and coping with human suffering, including some insights into the compassionate philosophy of PIA graduate Kayla Mueller that characterized her political work.

Join us for lunch as members from the NAU and Flagstaff community share their work and research on compassion-related topics. Please see the Poster Presentation program for details about the 13 presentations. Topics include self-compassion in counselor training, nursing students working in Guatemala, hospice care in the prison setting, the Compassion charter, Acceptance and Commitment (ACT) counselor training, cultivating compassion at the end of life, a new course on Happiness offered at NAU, practicing compassion in the classroom, how self-compassion can help with the transition to college, introducing the concept of mindfulness and compassion to college students, an EEG study that examines cognitive processes underlying empathy, and a new SUS Mindfulness practice group.

Lunch! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 11:10-12:30 pmPoster Session! ! ! ! ! ! ! 11:20-12:20 pm

Session Coordinators: Dr. Janine Schipper & Emily McRobbie