engaged
mindfulness
practices
engaged mindfulness: a way to bring about re-worlding
Engaged Mindfulness is built from Engaged Buddhism, coined by The Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese Buddhist monk and peace activist. Engaged Mindfulness/Buddhism invites us transform suffering within so we can transform suffering with-out... and it all starts with harnessing inner peace.
~ Learn more about Engaged Buddhism below ~
our engaged mindfulness practices
drop-in
practices
Our Drop-In practices take place year-round, by donation. Each practice is offered regularly, and you are able to drop-in as you please. Please be welcome to note that some of our offerings may require pre-requisites through some of our intensive offerings. Register or express interest by selecting the tile of the offering you are interested in.
DROP-IN:
MINDFULNESS FOR HUMANITY (USA)
A DROP-IN weekly mindfulness practice to enhancing connection to humanity. For individuals and families.
Practices: Mindfulness, meditation
Start Date: Ongoing/Open Enrolment
When: Sundays at 11am to 12pm EST (Bell rings every 15 minutes for early exit)
Where: Online | Virtual
Recommended Donation (if possible): $20-25 per session
Be welcome to practice with us if donation is not in your means.
DROP-IN:
MINDFULNESS FOR HUMANITY (Canada)
A DROP-IN weekly mindfulness practice to enhancing connection to humanity. For individuals and families.
Practices: Mindfulness, meditation
Start Date: Ongoing/Open Enrolment
When: Sundays at 11am to 12pm EST (Bell rings every 15 minutes for early exit)
Where: Online | Virtual
Recommended Donation (if possible): $20-25 per session
Be welcome to practice with us if donation is not in your means.
DROP-IN:
Engaged Mindfulness for Families (USA & Canada)
A drop-in biweekly practice for families who have taken our INTENSIVE and seeking accountable for their continued commitment. Each week, we explore a new practice.
Practices: Engaged mindfulness activities
Start Date: COMING SOON!
When: Wednesdays at 6-7pm EST
Where: Online | Virtual
Recommended Donation (if possible): $20-25 per session
Please be welcome to practice with us if donation is not in your means.
intensive
practices
Our Intensive practices take place seasonally, by donation. Most commonly, our practices tend to be 4-6 weeks in length, with sessions occurring at a weekly cadence. Pre-registration/enrolment is required. Please be welcome to note that some of our offerings may be pre-requisites for some of our drop-in offerings. Register or express interest by selecting the tile of the offering you are interested in.
INTENSIVE:
Mindful Living and Gathas
A 4-week intensive exploring gathas (“mindfulness verses”) that promote healing, transformation, and community engagement.
Practices: Mindfulness, Gathas, Journal
Start Date: COMING SOON!
Length: 4 weeks
When: Sundays 2-4pm EST *2 HOURS*
Where: Online | Virtual
Recommended Donation (if possible): $150 (8 hours)
Please be welcome to practice with us if donation is not in your means.
INTENSIVE:
Engaged Mindfulness for Families
A 4-week intensive for families interested in incorporating Engaged Mindfulness practices into their lives. Best for individuals who are new to Engaged Mindfulness.
Practices: Engaged mindfulness activities
Dates: COMING SOON!
Length: 4 weeks
When: Wednesdays at 7-8pm EST
Where: Online | Virtual
Recommended Donation (if possible): $80 (4 hours)
Please be welcome to practice with us if donation is not in your means.
INTENSIVE:
A Space to Breathe for Climate Activists
A 6-week intensive for climate activists and movers. Engage in mindfulness for restorative purposes and to deepen your connection to Earth.
Practices: Mindfulness, yoga, breathwork
Start Date: COMING SOON!
Length: 6 weeks
When: Wednesdays at 8-9pm EST
Location: Online | Virtual
Recommended Donation (if possible): $120 (6 hours)
Be welcome to practice with us if donation is not in your means.
INTENSIVE:
A Space to Breathe from Colonial Violence
A 6-week intensive for anyone, especially activists, impacted by colonial violence globally, including Palestine, Sudan, Syria, and Congo.
Practices: Mindfulness, yoga, breathwork.
Start Date: COMING SOON!
Length: 6 weeks
When: Thursdays at 8-9pm EST
Where: Online | Virtual
Recommended Donation (if possible): $120 (6 hours)
Be welcome to practice with us if donation is not in your means.
INTENSIVE:
Intro to Engaged Mindfulness
A 4-week introductory level intensive for individuals interested in learning about Engaged (Eng.) Mindfulness and incorporating into your life. Best for anyone new to Engaged Mindfulness.
Practice: Eng. mindfulness + historical context
Start Date: COMING SOON!
Length: 4 weeks
When: Tuesdays 7-8pm EST
Where: Online | Virtual
Recommended Donation (if possible): $80 (4 hours)
Please be welcome to practice with us if donation is not in your means.
INTENSIVE:
The Art of Forgiveness & Letting Go
A 6-week intensive using mindfulness techniques to safely explore inner suffering that no longer serves you and equips you to move it through the body.
Practices: Mindfulness, breathwork, journalling
Start Date: COMING SOON!
Length: 6 weeks
When: Mondays at 8-9pm EST
Where: Online | Virtual
Recommended Donation (if possible): $120 (6 hours)
Be welcome to practice with us if donation is not in your means.
Your Instructor: Vanessa Ferlaino
Vanessa Ferlaino holds a 200-hr Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification, professional designation (CMT-P), from The Lab of Meditation, recognized by The International Mindfulness Teacher's Association. This training is grounded in Buddhism and specialized in trauma-informed offerings and social justice. Vanessa has also received somatics training by completing Staci Haines' “Politics of Trauma” course, focused on social justice and building collective soma. As founder of The Being Human Foundation, she leads all of our offerings, as a way to give back to community and co-create community with all of us.
community guidelines
a graceful invitation to hold space
We invite you to engage with us, especially in our practices, in ways that align with the Community Guidelines offered below. Please be welcome to note that you are required to acknowledge these guidelines upon enrolment in our practices. The Being Human Foundation will invite practitioners to gracefully exit, if necessary, to honour the space.
qNa
Q: Can I still participate in your Engaged Mindfulness offerings even if I don’t donate?
A: Y E S !!!!! Yes, of course. Our practices are open to anyone who would like to participate. We do not want to limit anyone from practicing with us. You can even vote for community projects of your fellow Engaged Mindfulness practitioners if you’d like the Re-Worlding Community Fund to support them!
Q: How do we enrol in your Drop-In and/or Intensive offerings?
A: To enrol in our offerings that are currently available, please select the tile of the offering you are interested in, and you will be brought to our Enrolment Form for that offering, hosted by Zeffy. Through Zeffy, you can:
Fill out the contact information
Select your donation option
Option 1 - Recommended Donation: This will be a preset value and you can select how many "tickets" you'd like at this donation amount
Option 2 - Custom Donation: This will have no preset value. You can select how many "tickets" you'd like, and then input your own "custom donation" in the indicated box on the form.
Option 3 - Zero Donation: This will have a $0 preset value. You can select how many "tickets" you'd like at this donation amount.
Answer the questions for our instructor to plan the sessions accordingly.
Once you have submitted the form, we will be in touch with you within 24-72 hours with the session information, calendar invitation, and link for the Google Meet.
To enrol in our offerings that are not currently available or marked as "COMING SOON", please select the tile of the offering you are interested in, and you will be brought to our Interest Form for that offering, hosted by Google Forms. We will email you when the offering is available.
Q: Are all ages welcome?
A: Yes, anyone over age 13 is able to join any of our mindfulness practices alone. If you are under age 13, we invite you to join us with a parent/guardian through our family offerings. For youth already engaged in our programs, we uphold to online safety for youth and our community guidelines; we invite youth to connect with us at namaste@thebeinghumanfoundation.org if there are any questions, comments, concerns, feedback, or interactions within our community that we need to know about or impact your continued interest in our offerings and practices.
Q: What if an INTENSIVE offering has already begun? Can I still participate?
A: Yes! As our practices are offered by donation, be welcome to join us if an offering is underway! Just donate what you have believe the rest of the offering is worth, or pro-rate it based on how many weeks have gone by. We're honured to advise on this as well, just be welcome to get in touch with us at namaste@thebeinghumanfoundation.org. We are inclusive in all meanings of the word, including opening offerings up to people even if they've already started!
Q: Are there certain minimum requirements to participate in your Engaged Mindfulness offerings?
A: Our practices are open for ALL levels of mindfulness and meditation practitioners. The only expectation we have is that our Community Guidelines must be met. We invite you to connected with us at namaste@thebeinghumanfoundation.org if you have more questions, comments, concerns, feedback, or interactions within our community that we need to know about or impact your continued interest in our offerings and practices.
Q: How can we connect with you if we have other questions?
A: We invite you to connected with us at namaste@thebeinghumanfoundation.org if you have more questions, comments, concerns, or feedback.
engaged buddhism
“Engaged Buddhism is the kind of wisdom that responds to anything that happens in the here and the now — global warming, climate change, the destruction of the ecosystem, the lack of communication, war, conflict, suicide, divorce.”
- Thich Nhat Hanh, Dharma Talk: History of Engaged Buddhism, The Mindfulness Bell, Parrallax Press here, Oct 2008.
resources
Engaged Mindfulness comes from the definition of Engaged Buddhism offered above by Thich Nhat Hanh, a well-known Vietnamese monk who brought mindfulness into peacemaking, activism, and social justice. Read more about Thich Nhat Hanh here.
To us at The Being Human Foundation, Engaged Mindfulness is the way to bring about re-worlding; we bring mindfulness and community together, inviting us to contribute to community and thereby, re-worlding, at the same time. Together.
Want to learn more about Engaged Mindfulness? Check out some resources here:
Plum Village: Mindfulness and Engaged Buddhism articles
The Plum Village App: Offers many mindfulness and engaged mindfulness practices for adults and adults
The Lion’s Roar: The Fourteen Precepts of Engaged Buddhism article
Harvard University: Buddhism and Social Action: Engaged Buddhism article
Socially Engaged Buddhism: Book by Sallie B. King here
Mountain Rain Zen Community: Engaged Buddhist Practices here
Don’t forget to learn about ways you can contribute to community below!