Documenting Contemplative Pedagogies at Naropa
An Initiative of the Center for the Advancement of Contemplative Education
The Heritage Project documents some of our faculty’s most treasured contemplative methods, cultivated over the last forty years in our classrooms. Naropa University is collecting this lifetime of transformative work through artifacts from the faculty members’ files, written work, and video interviews; and, in some cases, to create trainings in specific practices.
Goals of the Heritage Project
- Preserve Naropa’s heritage contemplative teaching methods.
- Share information about these methods to help promote Naropa University as the pioneering thought leader in the field of contemplative education.
- Use these methods as the training ground for future contemplative faculty members at Naropa and other universities.
- Further the conversation around the relevance and application of these practices, particularly as they relate to topics of diversity and inclusivity.
- Apply this groundbreaking work beyond the university to pre-school and K-12 educators, health care and social service professionals, pastoral counselors, entrepreneurs, and more.
Examples of Heritage Practices
- The Bow
- Contemplative Dance Practice — The Red Square
- Maitri Space Awareness
- Mudra Space Awareness — The Being Circle
- The Warriors’ Exam
- The Practice of Basic Attendance
Five banners mark the entrance of Naropa University’s campuses, welcoming students to come as they are, unleash their bravery and uncover their inherent wisdom and skillful means offered by the deep insight and compassion of contemplative education.
Resource Library/Video Project:
Please visit our
Classroom Practices and Resources page that includes online resources and video documentation with special focus on preserving and making accessible the vintage Naropa University contemplative methods developed by the founding faculty to introduce students to their respective disciplines. The library also includes relevant articles, resources and practices related to pedagogies and artifacts, that showcase the impact of these modalities at Naropa University for more than forty years.
For more information on Heritage Project practices, trainings and workshops, please visit
Events & Trainings.
