2024–25 Issue

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Joanna Macy speaking to students in a classroom

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The Legacy of Joanna Macy

The legacy of Joanna Macy is hard to go unnoticed. This interview with Joanna Macy and alumnx David DeVine shows a brief window into her impact at Naropa....
Ringu Tulku Rinpoche gives a talk at Naropa

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Naropa’s Heritage Practices

Since its inception, Naropa has woven innovative contemplative practices into its curriculum and culture. Here are the practices that have stood the test of time....
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Carole Clements holding an object on an altar

BY Carole Clements, MA, MFA

Being Sex: A Contemplative Take on “Doing It”

Contemplative education is both trick and treat. So is sexuality, and needs to be further unpacked—in context and in its complexity, especially at Naropa....
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BY Jordan Quaglia, PhD

Naropa’s Recent Contributions to Contemplative Science

Since the earliest days of contemplative science, insights from ancient wisdom traditions have been significantly informing investigations on mindfulness....
Three men sitting in a small circle, two men are intently listening as the third man speaks.

BY Lisa Birman

Curiosity & Compassion

As executive clinical director and founder of Embodied Mind Mental Health, Daniel Cook (MA Transpersonal Counseling Psychology, 2011) draws on his Naropa education in both his personal and professional life....
Anthony Gallucci on the swing outside of the Ginsberg library.

BY Lisa Birman

Building a Home at Naropa

As a graduate student in Religious Studies, Anthony Gallucci (MA Religious Studies, 2020) made a huge impact both academically and in the wider community of Naropa and Boulder....
Bobbie Louise Hawkins, Stephen Taylor, Amiri Baraka and Allen Ginsberg at the Summer Writing Program.

BY Steven Taylor, PhD

Re-wired for Time

It’s synchronicitous that Mark Miller called his piece “This is the Beginning of Time,” because it applies to my experience studying music at Naropa in the summer of ‘79. That...
Karen Kissel Wegela & Marvin Casper

BY Lindsey Randol, PsychD, LPC & Francis Kaklauskas, PsyD

Compassionate Service to Others

As a young monk, Naropa founder Chögyam Trungpa followed a monastic path of studying the mind through rigorous training in Buddhist philosophy, but more importantly, through contemplative practice within a...
Ram Dass and Allen Ginsberg at a table in an apartment in Boulder

BY Ben Williams, PhD

A Countercultural Institute: Ram Dass & Allen Ginsberg

The American counterculture provided an radical experiments in communal life, gatherings in an interpenetrating network of creative, messy, processes....
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About Naropa

Located in Boulder, Colorado, Naropa University is a Buddhist-inspired, nonsectarian liberal arts university that is recognized as the birthplace of the mindfulness movement. Naropa offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs that emphasize professional and personal growth, intellectual development, and cultivating compassion. 

Academics

Contemplative education brings together the best of Western scholarship and Eastern world wisdom traditions. Therefore, your pursuit of wisdom at Naropa means learning both about academic subjects and about your own place in the world. This innovative approach places Naropa on the cutting edge of the newest and most effective methods of teaching and learning.  

Admissions & Aid

If you’re seeking an education that resonates with both personal fulfillment and global impact, Naropa could be your top choice. At Naropa, you will experience a comprehensive curriculum that integrates the best of Eastern and Western educational approaches. Explore how Naropa can fuel your journey of intellectual and spiritual development.

Life at Naropa

Through its incredibly vibrant and welcoming community,  “Naropa offers a home for those who aren’t willing to conform to convention—the mystic, the healer, the prophet, the rebel, the artist, the revolutionary, the oddball—those who are incredible contributors to the evolution of society and of our planet.”—Core Associate Professor Zvi Ish-Shalom

The Naropa Difference

How is Naropa different from other universities? At Naropa, a liberal arts education balances rigorous academics with powerful interpersonal skills and self-awareness to educate the whole person. Naropa’s contemplative approach is inspired by Buddhist philosophy and the conviction that we can build a diverse, contemplative, enlightened society when we have transformed education to affirm the basic goodness of every person. 

Support Naropa

At a time when the value of higher education is being questioned, Naropa University stands firmly rooted in its mission to create a more just and regenerative world by nurturing insight, awareness, courage, and compassion in its students. By making a gift to Naropa, you play a pivotal role in helping to create the authentic, effective & mindful leaders that the world desperately needs.

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