Nurturing and Awakening Compassion – It’s an Inside Job for All of Us - Mind & Life Institute

SRI 21|Session 5

Overview

We hear a lot about compassion, so much so that it can cause your eyes to glaze over. Reggie Hubbard submits that this is because we don’t take compassion personally, we talk about it in the abstract as an object for review rather than viewing it as something that is rooted in our way of being. And it’s in this lack of a personal connection, we cheapen the power of this word and concept.

Dr. Howard Thurman talked about a love rooted in the deep river of faith as a transformative force that can withstand the foibles of the human experience. ”It may twist and turn, fall back on itself and start again, stumble over an infinite series of hindering rocks, but at last the river must answer the call to the sea.” This is the power of compassion that’s available to us individually and collectively. But we cannot give what we do not have.

Compassion by nature is indefatigable, so we begin to build our resilience, our connection to grace and our capacity to live from this strength and spaciousness. When we do the work on ourselves, we begin to see the interconnection of all beings and all things. When we cultivate compassion with and for ourselves, we begin to naturally see and extend this to other people. It is a process and a practice, that when given time and space grows in ways we cannot fathom. And as it grows, like the analogy offered by Dr. Thurman, compassion must answer the call of love, connection and alleviation of suffering.

SRI 21
11 sessions
June 5, 2024
Garrison, New York
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Speakers

Reggie began his yoga journey in November 2014 seeking to alchemize and navigate extreme professional adversity. Through disciplined practice, ruthless focus and surrender to inner peace he has adopted the yogic path, now as a 500 hour certified yoga teacher who has extensively studied with leading teachers such as Faith Hunter, Amy Ippoliti, Yogarupa Rod Stryker and Sri Dharma Mittra and countless other amazing teachers he has encountered along the way. Reggie teaches Members of Congress, Congressional Staff, leading progressive organizations and individuals, sharing techniques for growing peace and ease as a foundation, not an afterthought. He also advises yoga communities, yoga studios, teachers and the broader wellness industry on the importance of diversity and inclusion, opening the practice to all and eliminating exclusionary cultures and habits. His teaching practice is designed for all levels and lifestyles, the only thing required is an open mind. The focus of his teaching is to bring more peace and balance to activists AND to guide the wellness community toward being more engaged, concerned citizens. Achieving this balance is how we catalyze transformative change. In addition to his yogic activities, Reggie has held many senior strategic and logistical roles across a variety of fields, ranging from global marketing, digital and community organizing, government relations, international education to Presidential campaigning. He currently serves as a senior political strategist for a leading progressive campaigning organization Move On, managing their relationships, impact and communications with Capitol Hill. He received a BA in philosophy from Yale University and an MBA in international strategy from the Vlerick Business School in Belgium.

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