Welcome
The 2022 Contemplative Practices for Higher Education (CPHE) Conference will be the ninth year we have offered an opportunity for a variety of contemplative practitioners to come together in order to share the good work they have accomplished within their respected fields. This gathering is sponsored by the Mid-Atlantic Contemplative Higher Educatiion Alliance for Research, Teaching and Services (C-HEARTS). Please see the C-HEARTS page for a listing of previous conferences and symposiums.
The 2022 conference is targeted toward professionals interested in integrating contemplative practices with their academic discipline or passion. Individuals who are currently involved or those who are interested in becoming involved in contemplative practices are welcome to attend. The conference is intended to provide an incubator for long-term working partnerships leading to growth in related professional activities. The intention is to provide an intimate atmosphere for the development of sustainable interactions as well as generate new ideas.
The intention of this conference is to foster and encourage the integration and sustainability of contemplative practices into our professional lives: in the classroom, in the research laboratory, in the office, in healthcare, in the arts, and in the workplace.
The conference is organized to examine the foundations of contemplative practices, to share current practices, and to explore ways to incorporate contemplative practices into our chosen academic fields. Woven throughout the conference are experiential opportunities for guided mind-body practices as well as contemplation.
The conference will begin on Thursday with optional pre-conference workshops, followed by the opening Keynote address by Arawana Hayashi, titled, Embodied Knowing: The Heart of Education.
Arawana’s pioneering work as an innovator, performer, and educator is deeply sourced in both improvisation and traditional Japanese dance. She teaches meditation and creative process in Shambhala, a community committed to the creation of an enlightened society. She is the author of Social Presencing Theater: The Art of Making a True Move published by PI Press.
Friday will be a day of learning and practice with conference presentations, panel discussions, roundtable chats, and opportunities to engage in contemplative practice sessions. The day will conclude with a closing Keynote address by Dr. David Loy, titled, Does This Change Everything?
David is a prolific author and teacher in the Sanbo Zen tradition of Japanese Buddhism. His writings and essays have appeared in numours scholarly journals and popular magazines. He is especially concerned about current social and ecological issues. David is one of the founders of the new Rocky Mountain Ecodharma Retreat Center in Colorado and his recently released a new book titled, Ecodharma: Buddhist teachings for the ecological crisis.
Saturday we will host our traditional half-day retreat with Ramaswami Mahalingam. Ram's retreat is titled, Mindful mindset: Cherishing life with Dignity.
Ram is a cultural psychologist, award-winning researcher, teacher, mentor, artist, and filmmaker (www.mindfuldignity.com). He is committed to developing passionate leaders with a mindful commitment to promoting workplace dignity and well-being. In addition to several journal articles, he co-edited/edited two books – Multicultural Curriculum: New Directions for Social Theory, Practice and Policy and Cultural Psychology of Immigrants. Currently, he is the Director of the Barger Leadership Institute (BLI) and the Barger Leadership Institute Professor at the Psychology Department at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Please visit our Speakers page to learn more about our six pre-conference workshops, invited speakers, and the retreat on Saturday.
COVID-19 Regulations at MSMU
Mount St. Mary's University COVID-19 Visitor policy states that anyone who has tested positive for COVID in the last ten days is not allowed on campus, and those who are not vaccinated and exhibit COVID symptoms are not permitted on campus either. All visitors are required to wear a mask while indoors unless they are eating and drinking.
For more information please visit https://inside.msmary.edu/return-to-the-mount/visitor-policies.html
Important Dates
- Call for Proposals opens - Monday, October 25, 2021
- Call for Proposals closes - Monday, December 12, 2021
- Proposal Acceptance notification - Friday, January 7, 2022
- Early Bird Registration opens - Friday, January 7, 2022
- Regular Registration starts - Thursday, February 3, 2022
- Registration closes/No Refunds after - Friday, March 4, 2022
- Conference Convenes - March 3-5, 2022
Further Background on the Conference
Since 2012, the annual CPHE gatherings invite students, academics, professionals, contemplatives, practitioners, and researchers from fields such as Education, Arts, Health, Business, Science, Technology and Student Affairs to engage in conversations about the role of contemplative mind-body practices for advancing innovation, creativity, and reflection as well as the three core mission areas of higher education - Teaching, Research, and Service - providing a foundation for an enriched life experience.
Across fields, roles and disciplines, we are all members of the global community and hold in common a goal to help others to achieve their full potential and to seek solutions to today’s increasing complex global, social, and environmental challenges. In this conferece, we explore the possibility that contemplative mind-body practices may provide a holistic approach to the challenges of the 21st century by integrating the many contributions and innovations from all of these fields while honoring the commonality of the human experience.
A starting point for this conversation can be found in a wide variety of contemplative mind-body practices like mindfulness and other forms of meditation, movement practices like tai chi and yoga, and creative practices using art, writing, and deep listening. In this conference, we explore the possibility that contemplative practices can have a direct impact on the academic experience within higher education. We explore the possibility that contemplative practices can provide a foundation for health, wellness, and life-long learning which can be carried into the workplace experience as well as our personal lives.
In our annual conferences, we offer participants the opportunity to engage in contemplative practice and conversation through keynote lectures, practice sessions, presentations, roundtable discussions, and community building. We are dedicated to coming together to explore commonality and mutual understanding for a safer, saner, more compassionate world as we invent our future.