Transformation Through Mindfulness Practice

An audio interview with Amy Edelstein

In this Omega Center interview Brie Stoner engages in conversation with educator, author, and public speaker Amy Edelstein, discussing the powerful transformative impacts she’s witnessed since bringing mindfulness to inner city high school students. As Amy explains, by introducing youth to mindfulness practice they become better equipped to move through challenging times, and empowered to more fully see and reach their potential. Through a contemplative pedagogy and the Inner Strength program that Amy has developed, students are provided with the tools of mindfulness, as well as an exploration of the nature of mind and consciousness through an evolutionary lens.  The learning is supported through an empathetic approach, and sensitive to situations where trauma or high-level anxiety may be present.

Amy also shares how the thinking and vision of Teilhard de Chardin has been a potent influence on her own spiritual life and her understanding of our inter-dependency and evolutionary unfolding. In the final minutes Amy shares a simple guided practice for listeners to follow along.

The quote that Amy mentions in her reference to Teilhard de Chardin is the following (from “The Evolution of Chastity” in Toward the Future):

The day will come when, after harnessing the ether, the winds, the tides, gravitation, we shall harness for God the energies of love. And, on that day, for the second time in the history of the world, man will have discovered fire.

Also see our Omega Center blog by Amy Edelstein: LOVE IN A FRACTURED WORLD: WHOLENESS IN EDUCATION

RESOURCES REFERENCED IN THIS CONVERSATION:

Various writings by Peter A. Levine 

The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma  – by Bessel van der Kolk M.D.

Raising Kids to Thrive: Balancing Love With Expectations and Protection With Trust – by Kenneth R. Ginsburg M.D. FAAP, as well as the website Fostering Resilience, providing resources to parents, community members, and professionals.

LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW HERE (~ 48 minutes):

DOWNLOAD AUDIO MP3 HERE (Chrome, Safari, IE, and other browsers right-click & save to download)