IU Jacobs School of Music, Mindful Drop-Ins, Weekly during Fall 2019
Carrigan Lecture, University of Michigan, November 4, 2019
Indiana University Project Jumpstart, Mindfulness Weekend, October 11-12, 2019
Research Unplugged, Indiana University, September 27, 2019
Indiana Public Media, Interview with Frank Diaz, MBWP Director, January 6, 2019
Music, Mind, and Movement Podcast, Interview with Frank Diaz, MBWP Director, September 25, 2018
News at IU, Mindful Parenting, September 13, 2017
MTSU Distinguished Lecture Workshops, January 25-26, 2017
Huffington Post, Mindfulness Meditation Boosts Musical Engagement, February 6, 2013
The initial stages of MBWP are focused on developing physiological regulation and embodied grounding as a means of aiding meditative practice and artistic expression. Working with our breath and bodies helps to calm our nervous system, facilitating our ability to anchor our awareness in the present moment.
During the middle stages of the curriculum, concentration and awareness are cultivated through mindful and deliberate exploration of our senses, emotions, and patterns of thought, leading to greater clarity, stability, and equanimity.
As we non-judgmentally examine our habitual ways of feeling, thinking, and acting, we gain insight into how our perceptions color reality, giving us the opportunity to let go of unfruitful ways of experiencing and responding to ourselves and others. We then work on reframing our experiences such that they are aligned with our personal values.
During the final stages of MBWP training, after reducing our reactivity through mindful awareness, we develop the capacity to act intentionally in the world, using our experiences, aspirations, values, and ethics as a compass for wise and compassionate action.