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Jack Kornfield and Congressman Tim Ryan will discuss the role of stillness, quiet, contemplation and mindfulness in the dynamic process of Healing America, as described in Ryan’s book by that title. (Healing America was previously titled A Mindful Nation.)
Mindful magazine in April 2019, asked Congressman Tim Ryan whether he thinks mindfulness can heal the fractured civil discourse that is rampant today.
Ryan replied: “I believe finding ways to be quiet together will be fundamental to the healing process. I’m hoping that we can get people on both sides of the aisle to move away from the turbulence that is dominating the surface of our politics, and the media covering our politics. Let’s get to a little bit of a deeper place where we can reconnect to some better values, American values. Values grounded in the Constitution and the founding documents: providing for the general welfare, providing for the common defense—these are the values in our country that we need to get back to.”
He also was asked about why he connects mindfulness with different secular and non-secular traditions.
Ryan said: “Part of it is my personal experience starting with centering prayer, which led me to mindfulness and other contemplative practices and really opened me up to this different aspect of myself. I think encouraging people to start where they are, and many times that’s within their own religious practice, is a good idea. If someone is more comfortable with centering prayer, it will more than likely have a beneficial effect. Let’s all start with some quiet. If that quiet comes out of a religion you grew up with or were raised in, that’s tied to your culture, that’s all to the good.”
Jack Kornfield, PhD, is one of the foremost teachers of mindfulness in the West. Trained as a Buddhist monk, he is also a psychologist, founder of Spirit Rock Center, and author whose books have sold over a million copies.
Congressman Tim Ryan represents Ohio’s 13th District, including the cities of Akron and Youngstown. He was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2002 and has been reelected seven times. Congressman Ryan, who is a Democrat, currently serves as a member of the House Appropriations Committee. He is also co-chair of the Congressional Manufacturing Caucus, which works to strengthen America’s manufacturing base and reform U.S. trade policies.
Ryan is the author of two books: Healing America: How a Simple Practice Can Help Us Reduce Stress, Improve Performance, and Recapture the American Spirit, and The Real Food Revolution: Healthy Eating, Green Groceries, and the Return of the American Family Farm.
More information is at timryanforamerica.com