Mindful Presence Compassionate Care for Self & Others

Being fully present to those in our lives with whom we care for, love and interact can be a challenge, particularly in these stressful times.  Compassionate care for self and others requires that we operate from a place of balance so that we can be fully present to those with whom we interact.

Each week during this 8-week class we will explore an aspect of the Mindful Presence Model with hands-on practices designed to manage stress and, most importantly, develop the skills to be deeply compassionate to others in our lives. There will be a new theme presented weekly. The themes are intentionally sequenced to allow the development of the core skills for building compassion in ourselves and in our subsequent ability to be there for others. There will be in-class activities related to the weekly theme as well as out-of-class suggestions for practicing the skills. Starting with Week Two, we will open class with a review of our weekly practices.

Series Objectives:

Following the completion of this series, the participants will be able to:

1. Identify both the “inward training” and “outward connection” components as applied to themselves and others.
2. Create a plan for daily practices that will prepare them to be fully present to themselves.
3. Devise a set of strategies for compassionate care for self and others.
4. Integrate these strategies into their daily practices.

Weekly Themes:

Week One: The Mindful Presence Model – rationale for the model and process and understanding our bodily responses to stress.

Week Two: Working and Being with Emotions I

Week Three: Working Being with Emotions II

Week Four: Understanding How Thoughts Impact our Stress and Others

Week Five: Gratitude – the Bridge from Me to We

Week Six: Identifying and Working with Our Strengths

Week Seven: Using Our Strengths to Engage Compassion for Self and Others

Week Eight: Putting it All Together and Taking It Outward

Date: Tuesdays September 13th-November 1, 2022

Time: 3:30-5:00 pm

Location: Crow Wing County Land Services Building, Lower level Room 1 (Room location will change after the 1st class, instructor will give direction each week where the next week’s class will be located.)

Cost: $0

This workshop will be led by Steve Hoover.

Dr. Steve Hoover is the Healthy Aging Coordinator for the Central Minnesota Council on Aging. Formerly, he was a professor at St. Cloud State University for 30 years. He has taught stress reduction and stress management classes as well as the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Program (MBSR). He developed the Mindful Presence class based on his experiences as a professor and the MBSR class.