Sunday, October 3, 2010 3 PM–5 PM
Balance, Renewal, and Wellness: Embracing the Rhythms of Wellness
What might the ancient yet evergreen rhythms of Benedictine spiritual life have to teach us about life balance and wellness? Does the monastic model suggest a way of being that can enhance our approach to both wellness and caregiving? Can attention to radical balance in our own lives provide options for self-care alongside more effective care for our patients?
Gather with physician Siddharth Shah, medical educator Greg Finch, and mind/body specialist Lynne Shaner to consider the vital connections between life balance and wellness. Designed for healthcare professionals, individual caregivers, and anyone interested in the influence of spiritual practice upon wellness, this session explores various strands of spiritual wisdom woven throughout contemporary mind/body practices.
The afternoon includes dialogue, evidence-based insight, practical reflection, and time for personal renewal. Discover ways the rhythms of spiritual practice and life-balance modeled in monastic community can shape the theory and practice of medicine and generate renewing gifts of self-care.
For any who are new to the Community of Reconciliation at Washington Cathedral, relax, the guest is always welcome. This time together is one of shared exploration, discovery, and experience. Wherever you are on the spiritual journey—whatever faith tradition or perspective—you are welcome.
Note change in time and location (see above).
About Balance, Renewal, Wellness
For more than 1,500 years, monastic life in the tradition of Saint Benedict has contributed to community, wisdom practice, and transformation throughout the world. In a society that experienced upheaval, purposelessness, and the isolation of the individual, Saint Benedict and his followers modeled lives of stability, meaning, and relationship. This balanced life of prayer and action ultimately transformed their world and continues to transform ours today.
With this intention, the Community of Reconciliation at Washington National Cathedral exists as a “monastery beyond walls” to help individuals from all walks of life discover the balance and harmony found in a cloistered community—right in our own environments—family, the workplace, and daily life in a complex world. Together, we learn to contextualize the ancient Christian wisdom and practices of Benedictine spirituality as an alternative way of life to our often-fragmented existence.
This Balance, Renewal, Wellness series is a pilot project designed to bring together spiritual wisdom and practical application in response to common need in our shared world. Through gatherings, workshops, retreats, affinity gatherings, and pilgrimage projects participants in this and future events will help articulate a vital model for wellness that integrates spiritual life and practical action.
To learn more about the series and ways you can participate, contact Greg Finch at (202) 537-6217 or companions@cathedral.org
About Dr. Greg Finch
Gregory L. Finch, DMin, MDiv, MTS, BEd, is executive director of the Community of Reconciliation at Washington National Cathedral and founder of the consulting firm Wild Geese Among Us in Washington, D.C.
About Dr. Siddharth Ashvin Shah
Siddharth Ashvin Shah, MD, MPH, is the founder and medical director of Greenleaf Integrative Strategies, a consulting firm dedicated to psychosocial problem-solving and wellness for people working in traumatic environments. He is a speaker, educator, and author on the subjects of psychosocial first aid, disaster mental health, mind-body techniques for anxiety, cross-cultural adaptation, ethnomedical competence, vicarious (secondary) trauma, international and national staff self-care. As a physician and public health scientist, he blends knowledge of humanitarian aid work, integrative medicine, East-West health systems, group psychology, trauma recovery, and stress management research.
About Lynne Shaner
Lynne Shaner, MA, CHT, EFT Practitioner, is a mind/body specialist, hypnotherapist, and founder and director of Praxis: Wellness in Life. Lynne works with a number of healing practices including hypnotherapy, Reiki, and EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques). She teaches, speaks, and writes on the subject, and is coauthor of The EFTFree Manual and cofounder of EFTFree.net, a public website devoted to EFT and mind/body education.