“By first becoming present to your full self, you open the way for your presence to shine out and inspire your world.”
—Lee Worley, Teaching Presence: Field Notes for Players
Lee Worley, Naropa Professor Emerita, and senior Mudra students led a day-long workshop (“Mudra Space Awareness: Intense Practice for Intense Times”) at Naropa’s Nalanda campus on Saturday, September 22.
Sponsored by the Center for Advancement in Contemplative Education (CACE), the event brought together twenty Naropa alumnae, current students, faculty and community members.
In her book Teaching Presence: Field Notes for Players, Worley writes, “As I grow older, the urge to share my ways of teaching grows.”
The upcoming generation of Mudra teachers include three Naropa alumni, Carla Mueller (MDiv, 2015) L. S. Summer (MA Buddhist Studies, concentration in Sanskrit, 1995) and Joshua Shelton (MDiv, 2015). All three lead exercises at the workshop, providing an opportunity to teach collaboratively and to strengthen confidence in their understanding and presentation of the work.
“Mudra practices highlight our relationship with our bodies, our minds, and the space. Although simple in form, the practice profoundly mirrors back to us the reality of how we operate on a moment by moment basis, thus providing a rare gift—the ability to ascertain how we show up for ourselves and within community,” says senior Mudra student Carla Mueller.
“From here we can investigate the intensity that bombards our daily lives, our communities and our planet, opening up options for how we relate to all of it,” Mueller goes on to say. “I was reminded of how deeply inescapable the intensity can feel at times, and how the vastness of space is an incredible antidote to suffering, and how community practice is necessary to inspire genuine change. “
Another senior Mudra student, L.S. Summer remarks, “I have benefited from Mudra practice in every arena of my life —my own presence in the classroom, willingness to collaborate, and most importantly, the ability to welcome the opened-endedness of space. Lee’s generosity in sharing the Mudra practice has always been inspiring. She personifies the work through her own open presence and sly compassion; never gushy and always on the mark.”
Professor Worley will be teaching Mudra Space Awareness in Hong Kong, Taipei, and Beijing during the month of October.
To order a copy of Teaching Presence: Field Notes for Players, send a check for $20 to Lee Worley, c/o Naropa University, 2130 Arapahoe. Boulder, CO. The price includes the cost of shipping.
Learn more about contemplative practices in higher education at Naropa University.
