Teaching & Consulting

Teaching and Consulting

Launched a Coursera MOOC, Mindfulness, Dignity and the Art of Human Connection (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSJ6Rb3VYW4), a socially responsible mindfulness program available free of charge to U of M students, faculty, staff, and alumni.

“While our world is becoming increasingly interconnected, people report increasing anxiety, depression, and loneliness. With “Mindfulness, Dignity, and the Art of Human Connection,” you’ll explore innovative mindfulness techniques that foster a more profound understanding of dignity within yourself and others.

This course provides a comprehensive understanding of the holistic mindfulness perspective, which focuses on strengthening your relationships with the self, others, and nature. It covers mindfulness from three perspectives: Buddhist psychology, critical theory, and contemplative studies. This interdisciplinary approach allows you to learn major aspects of the Banyan Tree mindset framework and provides an inclusive perspective that builds a greater sense of understanding for others with diverse experiences. The course explores current research on mindfulness and offers various contemplative activities such as meditation, art, poetry, photovoice, and journaling to practice mindfulness.

By developing a vision for leading a dignified life, you’ll strengthen your grasp on how to integrate mindfulness practices into your daily life and better understand the world around you.” https://online.umich.edu/…/mindfulness-dignity-and-the…/

Consider these elements about how  mindfulness might “preserve our dignity and the dignity of others” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBsItrzn1Es we might “notice the miracles around us” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emhxNN0jWWg we might “foster trust, joy and peace around us” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3l4gScM9tRs you might develop the “Banyan Tree (pictured!) mindset”… at least an introductory minute to this contemplative practice https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqKTOhOryDw

International Education and Transformative Experiential Learning Programs

• Designed an experiential learning program, Dialog across Margins, under the ages of Global Intercultural Education for Undergraduates (GIEU), to foster dialog between Dalit Women and African American Women at the intersections of race, caste, and social class (Co-PI, Professor Pamela Reid)
• Designed an experiential program, Globalization, and Gender in India: An intersectionality perspective, to learn about gender in three social locations in Tamilnadu (PI)
• Designed and taught a Spring course, Mindful Leadership and Creativity, under the ages at Michigan State University in Hikone, Japan.
• Developed a Global Peace Leadership Fellows Program for the Barger Leadership Institute, University of Michigan. I developed an experiential learning program where I took students to Hiroshima to hear the stories of Hibakusha, followed by a Zen temple retreat to develop a personal and socially engaged vision for peace and harmony.
• Developed an experiential learning program, Global Leadership, Unions, and Shared Governance in Europe, as part of the Global Peace Leadership program at the Barger Leadership Institute. I took students to France and Belgium to learn about Social Contracts and Unionization in two different countries in Europe.
• Developing a holistic mindfulness-based art therapy for children of janitors and precarious households in India.