Classes and Events

UCLA's Mindful Awareness Research Center offers classes, daylong events, workshops, a weekly podcast, year-long programs, free guided meditations, and free virtual drop-in meditations.

|MC_PREVIEW_TEXT|

UPCOMING EVENTS

Oct 8
Relational Mindfulness for All Ages
An interactive four-week workshop.

In relational mindfulness, we practice mindfulness in interactions with other people. Paying attention to others and receiving attention from others can help us deepen concentration and mindfulness. Relational mindfulness is always grounded in the practices of kindness and joy. In this workshop we will cultivate curious, open attention amid live interactions with other people. We are offering simultaneous classes for all ages, with age-appropriate relational mindfulness exercises facilitated by a trusted leader. During this series people of all ages will deepen their capacity to enjoy the simplest sorts of interactions with others.

Facilitator:

Nirosha Ruwan

Ages: 6-8
A space for kids to express themselves and connect with each other during these challenging times. We will meditate, move, listen and talk in a virtual social setting with friends and community.

Facilitator:

Tina Carlson

Ages: 9-11

Relational Mindfulness gives 9-11 year olds a chance to explore how they relate to others and to themselves, especially helpful at this age as they develop greater executive function skills and form stronger peer relationships.

Facilitator:

Chris Burton

Ages: middle school (12-14)

Opportunity to socialize with other students and meet new friends. Have fun while sharing experiences in and out of zoom. Provide or curate engagement that can foster and cultivate social intelligence.

Facilitator:

Samantha Snowden

Ages: high school (15-18)
Relationships are everything in life. They support not only our mental health but every aspect of our physical health as well. The quality of our relationships hugely impacts our happiness and meaning throughout our lives. In this class, you will get the chance to get to know people in a much deeper way.

Facilitator:

Tanzanite Msola

Ages: 18+

Relational Mindfulness is a chance to really try on showing up as our caring, fun, and unapologetic self. The time will be spent doing meditation, practicing active listening, & engaging in some fun conversation!

Dates: Thursdays, October 8th-29th, 2020
Times: 6 PM - 7 PM, PST
Venue: Online via Zoom

For More Information and to Register

Various Start Dates
Live Online Classes

These live online classes are held in a small community format led by senior MARC teachers as well as affiliate MARC teachers you’ve come to know and love. This is a good choice for those who want to go through MAPs with a group of others, live teacher support, and is date/time specific. Class start dates and times vary, choose the times that work best for you!

Classes include:
MAPs I for Daily Living
MAPs II: Next Steps- Improve Your Meditation
MAPs III: Continuing Group Practice
MAPs Applications: The Buddhist Roots of Mindfulness

Dates: Class times and dates vary, see schedule for more information.
NEW: Manila Time Zone class and Live- In person class in Prague!

For More Information and To Register

Oct 12
MAPs Applications: The Buddhist Roots of Mindfulness
with Diana Winston

This class will explore the core Buddhist teachings that are implicit in mindfulness practice. In particular, we will look at the Four Noble Truths, which in classical Buddhism are said to incorporate the whole of the Buddhist teachings. We will investigate these Noble Truths personally, how they are understood in Buddhist philosophy, and how they can deepen and enhance our meditation practice.

Dates: Mondays, October 12 - November 2, 2020
Times: 5 PM - 7 PM, PST
Venue: Online via Zoom

For More Information and to Register

October 19 Deadline
Natural Awareness Study Group Based on The Little Book of Being
with Diana Winston

This is a monthly study group for practitioners who wish to explore more deeply Natural Awareness and the techniques from Diana’s book, The Little Book of Being: Practices and Guidance for Uncovering your Natural Awareness. This book covers a Spectrum of Awareness Practices, from Focused Awareness to Natural Awareness, with an emphasis on Glimpse practices to access Natural Awareness in meditation and daily life. Natural Awareness is the open spacious, effortless end of the Spectrum, and can be thought of as awareness of awareness.

The study group is intended for people who wish to deepen their practice of Natural Awareness.

This six-month program will include the following:

Monthly meeting with Diana to practice together, discuss themes, ask questions, and delve more deeply into Natural Awareness practice.
Optional Weekly Group Meditation with peers
Discussion board for students to share discoveries and questions with each other

Dates: Second Tuesday of the month, starting November 10 - April 13, 2021
Times: 5-7pm PST
Venue: Online via Zoom
Application Required

For More Information and to Apply

Oct 23 Deadline
2021 Training in Mindfulness Facilitation

This year-long program provides training, support, and supervision to those wishing to incorporate mindfulness into their occupation or to share mindfulness with individuals, groups, communities, or institutions. The program consists of four live-online practicums, each 4-5 days long, and additional meetings by phone or online.

Successful completion of this program provides a document of completion as a Trained Mindfulness Facilitator (TMF) from the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior.

Application Deadline: Friday, October 23, 2020

For More Information and To Apply

Oct 24
Day of Mindfulness: Thirteen Thank You’s: A Daylong in-Nature Retreat
With Gael Belden

Join mindfulness educator and storyteller, Gael Belden, for a day of gratitude and mindfulness practice. Together, we will take the hard edges of these times and weave new stories into them.

We will spend the day as close to the natural world as possible. This online retreat will include silence, small groups, time in nature, and making something with our hands to offer as a blessing for the earth. The practices of expanding our innate capacities for well-being serve to increase our mental capacities for loving kindness, joy, gratitude, and equanimity.

You are invited to be anywhere outdoors where you can still access zoom. This could be a campground, your backyard, near a river, a park….
If you do not have access to nature, and still want to join, you will be invited to use the sky and rock and water that live in your imagination.

No experience is necessary. All are welcome.

Dates: Saturday, October 24, 2020
Time: 10 AM - 4 PM PST
Venue: Online via Zoom

For More Information and to Register

Every Monday
Pre-Recorded Online Classes

In addition to the Live Webinar Classes with Diana Winston and Marvin G. Belzer and other trusted affiliate teachers, we also offer pre-recorded online classes with limited additional teacher interaction.

This is a good choice for someone who wants a webinar without much community interaction.

Classes include:

MAPs I for Daily Living
MAPs II: Next Steps - Improve Your Meditation
MAPs II: Cultivating Positive Emotions
MAPs II: Working with Difficult Emotions
MAPs II: Turning Obstacles into Allies
Cultivating Forgiveness

Dates: New class sessions begin every Monday.

For More Information and to Register

Community Corner

Oct 14-15
The Embodiment Conference
A Free Online Event for Medical Professionals

Join Diana Winston at The Embodiment Conference. It will be a rich opportunity to come home to your body, in our chaotic world. Many of the planet’s best teachers will be there, and it costs nothing to be a part of.

Yoga, leadership, dance, creativity, social change, intimacy, martial arts, meditation, breathwork, coaching body therapy, anatomy, ecology and trauma are all represented! The event is unique in size, but also in how it will help you find what you’ll most love, and connect you to others, using some clever new technology.

At the conference you can: