Opening Through Mindful Exploration of Relationship

Bethany Crawley presents

“Opening Through Mindful Exploration of Relationship”

About our Service:
We are often compelled to protect ourselves, emotionally, physically, and energetically, from one another.  Circumstances, personal history, culturally imposed competition, and environments, at times, require that we strive against one another, leaving us feeling potentially isolated and separate from one another and our communities. Mindfulness Practice, on the other hand, encourages access. Mindfulness, as a three thousand year old set of practices, asks us to open in full receptivity to the experience of a present moment. This practice asks much of us. It asks us to receive the unpleasant, the overwhelming, the uncomfortable, and even the feelings of isolation and loneliness that come sometimes with the human experience. And as much as mindfulness practices ask of us, what does our opening- to fully receive a moment, to access entirely the fullness of our experience in relationship with one another-what does that opportunity gift to us? Perhaps we could have a conversation about the potentials of opening to authentic relationship with one another.

About our Speaker:
Bethany trains healthcare professionals in mindfulness. She has worked with and trained medical residents, physicians, nurses, psychologists, administrators, directors, social workers and chaplains working in hospital and clinic settings.  Since 2002, Bethany has been cultivating a personal mindfulness practice. She is certified as a Mindfulness for Professionals Facilitator by esteemed teachers Mark Coleman and Martin Aylward of the Mindfulness Institute. She has been teaching yoga and meditation for over 17 years and co-founded Lotus Yoga in 2008. By education and trade, Bethany is a lawyer, who practiced as a commercial litigator for over 16 years. She’s glad to be doing much less of that these days.

Worship Leader: Jay Gardner
Accompanist: Gary Smart