Center for Continuing Studies - Innovative Leadership for Lifelong Learning

The Path of Simply Being

The Path of Simply Being:

Skillfully Overcome Fear and Embrace Compassion

 

 A Retreat and Workshop on Mindfulness by

Thomas Roberts, LCSW, LMFT

Friday, April 24, 2009, 4-8pm

Saturday, April 25, 2009, 9-5pm

  

St. Cloud State University

Atwood Memorial Center

 

Brought to you by:

St. Cloud State University …

Community Psychology Club

Community Counseling Graduate Student Association

Marriage and Family Therapy Club

Education Leadership and Community Psychology Program

&

The Center for Continuing Studies

 

Download the Registration Form ( Word Format): Registration form.

Who Should Attend: Any one interested in applying mindful living to their life. This would include professional and non-professional persons. There are no religious or spiritual requirements for any of the attendees.

Overview: Your journey during The Path of Simply Being will help you explore the ways you have been creating difficulties in your life:

• Your first step (and you can’t skip this step!) is to become familiar with the ways you have created and maintained mindless living in your life. Specifically, how fear and the strategies you have used to deal with your fear are the very foundation of your suffering. Your suffering arises through your fears that show up as self-preserving reactive emotional and behavioral strategies. If you do not begin with addressing the ways your mindless living strategies trip you up, you will continue to trip yourself up. Right away, you will have the chance to watch and learn how your mindless living strategies work. You will be introduced to the Big Deal Mind process. Becoming familiar with Big Deal Mind strategies will prevent you from continually being hooked by them.

• You will then learn how to create spaciousness in the presence of your life. You will learn the crucial role that spaciousness plays in allowing you to develop and maintain mindful presence without resorting to mindless reactions. From spaciousness arise the mindful qualities of patience, openness, and compassion. The more you are spaciously in the presence of the flow that is your life the more significant your patient, open, compassionate – mindful - responses become. Spaciousness creates the room, the space, as you will, for deep and meaningful mindful responses to emerge in more and more areas in your life. Quite simply, if you do not create spacious presence, mindful responses will not emerge. No spaciousness no mindfulness.

You will have many opportunities to deeply explore and address the core issues of your daily experiences. You will examine the many facets of your life in order to awaken amidst the everyday circumstance of your life. The more you work with these elemental notions the greater your life will benefit from mindful being. You will come to understand the sources of your suffering in order for you to create and embrace the inherent joy of spacious awareness, the opening of your heart, the enlightening of your mind.

 Program Highlights: Friday evening (4pm – 8pm) will be more of a mindfulness retreat format. This will be primarily experiential. The meal on Friday night will be a silent mindful eating experience. Saturday will also be largely experiential but with more presentation, and discussion.

Meet Your Presenter: Thomas Roberts, LCSW, LMFT, is a Psychotherapist and a Clinical Hypnotherapist in private practice where he is the Director at Innerchange Counseling in Onalaska, Wisconsin. He specializes in hypnotherapy with particular emphasis on treating medical conditions which do not traditionally respond to conventional treatments.

Tom is licensed in the state of Wisconsin as an Independent Clinical Social Worker, Marriage and Family Therapist, and is certified as an Addictions Counselor in the State of Wisconsin. He also holds Fellow status with both the National Board of Clinical Hypnotherapists and The American Association of Integrative Medicine; he is a Diplomate with the American Psychotherapy Association.

He has had articles published in peer reviewed journals and numerous magazines and newspapers related to his mind-body approach to hypnotherapy as well as the application of mindfulness both personally and professionally. He has also presented over 250 trainings and workshops at the local, regional, and national levels.

Over the past 25 years, Tom has worked in a variety of settings from addiction treatment programs to his present private practice, where he specializes in hypnotherapy with particular emphasis on developing the use of Ericksonian Hypnotherapy for mind-body healing.  Tom is an engaging speaker who has helped professional and non-professional persons across the country to more effectively use both mindfulness and mind body interventions in their personal and professional lives.

Comments from previous workshop participants:

• Thanks for a wonderful seminar on mindfulness.  I learned many practical things for myself and found new ways to invite my clients and students to become more mindful in their daily lives. (Illinois)

• I took your seminar last week on Mindfulness - thank you - it was excellent. (West Virginia)

• Tom, as I’d said earlier to you – your class on Mindfulness was far more than expected! TREMENDOUS! You displayed the needed and professional insight to handle a class like this. Any individual … from most any profession would find much gain for their professional and personal lives from this unique training. Highly Recommended!!! (Virginia)

• Your mindfulness workshop was wonderful and I used some of your techniques in my sessions yesterday with remarkable results – THANK YOU SO MUCH!!  I’m so excited to continue my own personal growth in this area as well as becoming more effective with my clients through greater mindfulness. Thank you for this wonderful gift!! (Colorado)

• I attended your mindfulness workshop recently.  Thank you for a truly wonderful presentation. You presented Mindfulness in a manner that seems feasible and much more practical. I was just so excited after the presentation.  Yes, I was looking for CEU’s but when I get both CEU’s AND something as exciting as this, it was quite the deal! (Iowa)

You will:

• Reduce the negative impact of stress, anxiety, worry, pain, depression
• Learn the three elements of mindful practice and how to apply them in clinical practice
• Enhance awareness, clarity, and acceptance in everyday living.
• Practice mindfulness techniques to liberate yourself and your clients from the tyranny of the past and future.
• Help clients gain greater acceptance, presence and control of their life
• Apply Alert Mind, Open Heart in both your personal and professional life
• Learn the inter-relationship between Mindfulness and overall health and well-being
• Cite three references the illustrate the clinical benefits of mindful practices

Activities: Presentation, discussion, experiential exercises which demonstrate how to apply mindful living skills to the participants life.

Requirements: Wear comfortable clothing.

Each Participant will receive: A workbook and extensive reading list. They will also have the opportunity to purchase CD’s that help enhance their mindfulness practices

Workshop Details/Topics:

Location: St. Cloud State University Campus

                  Atwood Memorial Center (as indicated below) 

Date / Time:     Sign in: 45 minutes prior to each program 

Mindfulness Retreat

Friday, April 24, 2009

Atwood Memorial Center, Cascade Room

              4:00 - 9:00 p.m.             

The Path of Simply Being: Skillfully Overcome Fear and Embrace Compassion

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Atwood Memorial Center, Theatre

              9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Fees

Fees includes workshop materials, meals, and refreshments

Pre-Registration Rates if postmarked or delivered by April 17th 2009.

*Free for SCSU Students

*$20.00 for non-SCSU students and Community Psychology alumni (graduate and undergraduate)

*$50 for SCSU Faculty and Staff, and

*$70 for Community Members.

Registration Rates if postmarked or delivered after April 17th 2009.

*$20 for SCSU Students

*$40.00 for non-SCSU students and Community Psychology alumni (graduate and undergraduate)

*$70 for SCSU Faculty and Staff, and

*$90 for Community Members.

*There is an additional $25 cost for Continuing Education Units.  Applications are pending but if approved, (CEUs) will be available.  Please indicate on the registration form if a CEU certificate is desired.

We are seeking Continuing Education Units (CEUs) from the following Minnesota Boards:

• Minnesota Board of Behavioral Health & Therapy (LPC & LPCC)
• Minnesota Board of Behavioral Health & Therapy (LADC)
• Minnesota Board of Marriage & Family Therapy
• Minnesota Board of Social Work
• Minnesota Board of Psychology

Registration

Please register on the Registration form. The registration deadline is April 17, 2009.  Early registration is encouraged as seats are limited.

Note:  A confirmation letter, map, and workshop preparation materials will be mailed to all registered participants 

To register by phone, please call:  320-308-4723.  For additional information, contact Gail Ruhland at:  Gruhland@stcloudstate.edu

Special Accommodations 

To ensure full participation in this workshop, please inform us about any dietary requirements or physical challenges which should be addressed prior to your arrival.

Please call if you would like more information or have questions. Contact Gail Ruhland at (320) 308-3081.

Customized Corporate Education

The Center for Continuing Studies invites inquiries from businesses and organizations throughout the State of Minnesota regarding targeted programs specific to individual needs.

If you or your business is interested in having a training package designed for your needs, contact:

 

Gail Ruhland
Director of Training Program Development
St. Cloud State University, Center for Continuing Studies
320-308-3081 or gmruhland@stcloudstate.edu