Mindfulness Resident
The goal for the Mindfulness Residency Program is to embed a mindfulness practitioner deeply into the Colorado College campus. Sustained engagement with the Mindfulness Resident will allow for formal and informal opportunities to build relationships, test programs and methodologies for introducing mindfulness as a core value of the campus, as well as provide teaching opportunities and curricular collaborations.
Creativity & Innovation welcomes nominations for future Residents from CC faculty, staff, and students. Please email Jessica Hunter-Larsen at jhunterlarsen@coloradocollege.edu with the name of your nominee(s) and a short description of how you might envision them engaging with our community.
Myra L. Jackson, January 15-March 16, 2021
During her residency, Myra will offer a Dynamic Half-Block course, collaborate with faculty to conduct activities within classes, and offer workshops for staff, students, and faculty.
Biography: Electrical engineer, organizational development professional and founding member of the Gaiafield Project, Myra Jackson holds the title of diplomat of the biosphere awarded by Stockholm Resilience Centre. Her primary work is focused on climate change, the planetary commons, culture of peace initiatives, and public policy affecting the wellness of people and planet. Linking local and global policymaking, she is senior advisor, Whole Earth Civics, Geoversiv Foundation. In her role as, UN representative in New York and Geneva, Jackson serves as the focal point on climate change for the Commons Cluster of NGOs and expert on the UN Harmony with Nature Knowledge Network. She facilitated Oprah Winfrey's "Belief" series initiative as an official program of the United Nations hosted by the president of the 70th General Assembly in October 2015.
To introduce Myra to our community, Creativity & Innovation Paraprofessional SethWilson Gray interviewed her about her hopes and goals for her residency at Colorado College in 2021.
SethWilson Gray: Thank you so much for joining me today. I would like to start with hearing a little bit more about yourself, your personal and professional experience and how it's brought you to today.
Myra
Jackson:
So,
you
know,
I've
had
a
few
trips
around
the
sun
and
it's
really
important
to
preface
this
by
saying
that
I've
really
learned
how
to
listen
very
well
to
what
was
mine
to
do.
And
once
I
learned
how
to
listen
to
what
was
mine
to
do,
and
to
locate
where
my
curiosity
was
rising,
it
uncovered
an
important
aspect
of
who
I
am.
And
I
have
to
say,
while
I
found
that
early,
I
had
to
recover
it
after
going
through
a
whole
process
of
education
and
becoming
an
engineer,
which
I
spent
some
time
doing.
I
have
loved
everything
that
I've
tackled.
I've
worked
in
the
real
estate
industry;
that
was
the
family
business,
and
that
business
had
a
lot
to
do
with
land
and
development.
And
I
love
land!
I
liked
looking
at
blueprints.
I
was
geeky,
anyway,
as
a
kid.
I
studied
honors
physics
in
high
school
in
a
preparatory
setting,
and
I
was
really
big
into
music,
too.
My
classical
ear
was
very
strong.
While
I
loved
sitting
around
Balboa
Park
in
San
Diego,
singing
bluegrass
and
Motown,
I
was
also
singing
light
opera
all
the
time,
and
performing
Edwardian
Madrigals
in
costume.
So,
I
mean,
I
had
this
wide
range
of
exposure,
but
all
that
was
just
following
the
natural
wonder
and
awe
that
was
with
me,
all
the
time.
Piano,
violin
-
all
those
things.
You
know,
it
can't
be
better
when
you're
a
kid
than
to
be
able
to
follow
all
those
things
you're
curious
about.
This
Mindfulness
Residency
with
Creativity
&
Innovation,
I
mean,
could
this
have
been
a
more
perfect
opportunity?
I've
been
coming
to
Colorado
College
and
teaching
sustainability
-
who
would've
thought
though
that
I
would
have
a
chance
to
come
back
to
Colorado
College
as
resident,
to
just
be
Myra.
There
is
no
credential
for
being
who
you
are.
There
is
no
more
important
time
than
now
to
be
able
to
walk
in
the
world
whole,
and
be
who
you
are.
There
is
no
more
important
time
than
now
to
show
up
and
be
present
in
a
time
when
we're
seeing
disruption
of
systems,
just
disruption
all
around
us.
It's
a
time
where
creativity
matters
the
most.
I
think
that's
the
opportunity
I'm
being
given
here
at
Colorado
College
in
blocks
5
and
6,
and
I'm
so
excited
about
that
because,
I
mean,
that's
where
I
can
show
up,
full-on!
I
don't
have
to
leave
any
part
of
myself
outside
the
door
-
or
maybe
I
do,
but
we'll
see,
you
know.
SethWilson: Can you tell us a little bit about the Dynamic Half-Block workshop that you'll be teaching at CC in January?
Myra:
Yeah,
well,
that
gets
into
what
I've
also
discovered,
which
is
that
we're
wired
to
be
living
through
this
time.
I
want
get
into
that
idea
in
the
Half-Block
workshop:
that
the
innate
part
of
our
human
experience
can
be
turned
on,
we
can
access
that
part
of
ourselves
to
get
us
through
these
times.
We're
on
a
changing
planet,
and
there's
a
lot
of
what
we
have
intrinsically
loaded
within
us
that
we
can
actually
work
with
to
help
us
move
through
this
time
in
a
way
that
makes
sense,
a
way
that
we
can
catch
our
breath,
and
slow
down
time.
Most
of
all,
I
want
to
help
students
learn
something
from
this
time
that
they
can
utilize
for
their
entire
lifetimes.
So
that's
what
I
want
to
be
about
during
that
Half
Block.
And
it's
going
be
fun,
because
we're
going
to
partner
with
nature.
And
to
partner
with
nature
is
to
find
our
own
connection
to
nature.
I
think
that
nature
is
where
we're
the
most
resilient,
and
where
we're
the
strongest.
It
is
where
we
can
breathe
more
deeply
-
we
need
to
breathe
more
deeply!
We
need
to
find
the
ways
in
which
we
can
show
up
as
more
human
than
ever.
So,
I
love
playing
in
that
sandbox,
and
I
have
lots
of
tools
and
I'm
going
to
trot
them
out
during
the
Half-Block,
because
if
I
had
my
tools
earlier
in
life,
that
would
have
been
better.
So
I
want
to
impart
those
and
share
those
tools
with
students
now.
Every
time
I
do
this,
I
learn,
I
pick
up
new
skills
from
others.
So
it's
a
two-way
street.
SethWilson: And what are some of your hopes and dreams for this Half-Block in terms of what the students will take with them afterwards?
Myra:
I
hope
that
they
will
have
discovered
a
way
to
slow
down
their
experiences,
to
catch
their
breath,
and
to
tap
into
something
that
lives
in
them
deeply,
something
that
serves
as
a
resource
for
their
learning
and
for
their
explorations
in
life.
Something
that
allows
them
to
use
their
sentient
intelligence
to
build
community
and
to
be
friends
with
one
another
-
because
it's
the
friendships
between
us,
and
our
ability
to
create
community,
that
is
really
the
accelerator
for
anything
that
we're
about
right
now.
The
other
thing
that
comes
out
of
the
workshop
is
a
way
to
access
that
power
that
lies
within
us
to
really
dial
in
and
focus.
It's
a
natural
bio-hack,
if
you
will,
to
tap
into
our
own
innate
sensorium
of
capacities,
then
to
apply
those
capacities
to
the
life
we're
living,
or
focus
them
toward
an
endeavor
that
we
have,
or
toward
a
project,
or
even
toward
our
studies.
We
can
use
our
power
everywhere.
SethWilson: What are some of your plans for your Block 5 and 6 residency? What are some of the energies that you're going to be bringing to campus and to the students here?
Myra:
One
of
the
biggest
challenges
we
have
is
like:
how
do
we
create
connections
if
all
of
our
learning
is
online.
That
is
clearly
a
whole
new
challenge.
Because
so
much
of
what
I
do
really
is
tied
to
making
the
connections
to
nature,
we
have
to
figure
out
how
to
work
with
nature
through
this
virtual
medium.
I
think
that
this
challenge
is
sparking
my
own
creativity
in
a
very
interesting
way.
So,
I've
already
been
playing
and
dreaming
with
that
and
all,
and
I'm
getting
a
lot
out
of
it
from
doing
it.
I
also
hope
that
I'll
be
able
to
visit
many,
many
classrooms,
and
drop
in,
and
who
knows
how
those
opportunities
are
going
to
open
up.
Going
into
classes
will
depend
on
collaborations
with
faculty,
but
I
hope
to
offer
an
array
of
exciting
one-hour
workshops
or
seminars
that
can
easily
come
into
a
science
class
or
an
anthropology
class,
you
name
it.
I
hope
these
experiences
will
contribute
to
the
learning
experience
for
students,
because
so
often
when
we
are
moving
so
fast
to
produce
during
a
block,
as
you
know,
it's
nice
to
find
a
way
to
break
up
that
energy
so
that
everyone
can
catch
their
breath
and
grab
onto
some
tools
that
will
help
them
complete
projects.
So,
I
hope
I
can
infuse
that
kind
of
opening
into
classes,
help
create
that
place
where
we
can
rise
up
and
see
the
bigger
picture
and
work
creatively
toward
our
learning
experiences.
I
want
to
bring
those
experiences
into
classrooms,
where
students
and
faculty
will
gather.
So
I
want
to
bring
an
infusion
of
energy,
so
we
can
see
the
opportunities
that
are
before
us
more
clearly.
Students
are
encouraged
to
register
for
Myra's
Dynamic
Half-Block
workshop:
Innate
Mindfulness:
Exploring
our
Inner
Ecology
for
Thriving
on
a
Changing
Planet
January
18-22,
11
a.m.
to
1
p.m.
MT
each
day
For
more
information
about
the
class
and
to
register,
visit
https://www.coloradocollege.edu/offices/careercenter/our-programs/non-credit-half-block.html
Barbara Bash 2019-2020
Barbara Bash
Our first Resident, Barbara Bash, is a calligrapher, illustrator, author and performance artist who has practiced Buddhism for over 30 years. She has written and illustrated many books on natural history for adults and children. She also teaches workshops in illustrated journaling, expressive brush calligraphy, and non-violent communication practices.
Barbara spent her childhood in Barrington, Illinois and studied dance and drawing in college before immersing herself in the study of calligraphy. This art form led her to a successful career as a graphic artist and teacher of book arts, first in the California Bay Area and then at Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. During these years she collaborated with storytellers, dancers and musicians in performance. She also began to study the natural world through writing and illustrating books for children. The research for her books has taken her all over the world and opened her to the practice of illustrated journal keeping. True Nature was her first published journal. She now lives and works in the Hudson Valley of New York where she creates her books and does expressive calligraphic performance art. Her workshops have been presented in Buddhist centers and corporate settings, as well as prisons and mental health facilities, creating a space for everyone to make their mark in the world.