In Person MEETING this Sunday! Post Election Sanity Saver

This week's meeting of Central Midlands Good Troublemakers will be a special treat, devoted to caring for ourselves during this post-election world.  In this time when we are stressed, feeling grief, perhaps fear and concern, Beth Padgett is going to lead us in a session devoted to mindfulness and self compassion.   

Beth is a healer by profession.  She presently pursues her calling by serving professionally as Director of the Lawyers Helping Lawyers program at the SC Bar Association.  Beth writes that mindfulness and other contemplative practices have been the foundation of her life and work for over twenty years.  She completed the Mindfulness for Professionals Program at Duke Integrative Medicine Center in 2011, Phase I of Koru Mindfulness Teacher Certification, a mindfulness program for emerging adults developed at Duke University; a 200-hour yoga teacher training course in 2014, teacher training in Y12SR (Yoga for 12-Step Recovery) in 2015, and numerous continuing education hours in yoga, including laughter yoga and yoga for grief recovery, and mindfulness, including Mindfulness Based Addiction Recovery.  

Beth received a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of South Carolina, a Master of Education from the University of South Carolina and a Master of Arts in Human Behavior and Conflict Management from Columbia College.  She has completed numerous graduate hours in counseling and addiction studies at USC and holds a certification in drug and alcohol counseling through the South Carolina Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors.  She recently completed certification as a Grief Specialist through University of Wisconsin at Madison Continuing Education Program.  

In describing the benefit of mindfulness and self compassion, Beth writes:  

"Mindfulness is a practice and a lifestyle with present moment awareness as the foundation.  If we develop the capacity to experience present moment awareness we likely will experience less anxiety and more capacity for joy and other positive emotions.  We could become more able to understand our negative emotions and discern what healthy actions might relieve our distress.  

Self-Compassion practice is a way to quiet the self-critical voices in our minds and to develop more compassion for all beings.  Mindfulness is a key component of self-compassion practice, giving us means to access a deep sense of appreciation for ourselves and for our common humanity.  

Mindfulness and self-compassion do not come easily when we are angry, confused, or fearful.  We might prefer to use the energy of anger to attack our problems.   This is not sustainable.  We might believe softer emotions will make us complacent.   The emotional resilience we build through these practices can bring us clarity, energy, and improved relationships with others.  These are vital for thriving during difficult times."