Curiosity & Compassion

As executive clinical director and founder of Embodied Mind Mental Health, a private mental health practice and training program in New York City, Daniel Cook (MA Transpersonal Counseling Psychology, 2011) draws on his Naropa education in both his personal and professional life. “The experiential learning deepened my commitment to self-care and inquiry, compassion-based practices cultivated my heart in a way that allows my work in the world to be sustainable… These qualities not only extend to my clinical and teaching work, though also to my approach as a business owner and organizational leader.”

 

As a licensed mental health counselor and psychotherapist, Cook specializes in men’s mental and relational health, “an overwhelmed and underserved demographic.” In addition to working with clients, he supervises early-career psychotherapists and students and consults with diverse institutions regarding integrative and trauma-informed practice. He is also a certified psychedelic-assisted psychotherapist, offering services to those seeking alternative paths to mental wellness.

 

“My heart is ignited by humanity’s courage in the face of suffering. To witness our drive for meaning, creativity, connection, beauty, and play in the midst of the inevitability of pain is truly igniting.” Not only does he find this in his work, but also in his “two amazing, hilarious, passionate, and loving kiddos who, not to sound cliche, but it’s true, are my greatest teachers (along with my students and clients)… The way they smile to each other touches something so deep.”

 

For Cook, everything comes back to curiosity and compassion—“both cornerstones to Naropa’s education and my life in general.” He explains, “It’s apparent that the way we humans are wired for safety perpetuates binaries within ourselves (good/bad, right/wrong, body/mind, pain/pleasure, subject/ object, man/woman) and thus how we see and relate to the world. Unfortunately, these dualities perpetuate so much of our suffering as well as how we objectify and thus exploit each other and our home, Earth. Not to sound woo woo, though I truly believe Naropa’s mission is to equip humanity with the tools to elevate our consciousness by cutting through dualistic thought and behavior through the emotional technologies of curiosity and compassion.”

To learn more about his work and Embodied Mind Mental Health, visit www.embodiedmindnyc.com.

Related Articles

BY Lisa Birman

“As a therapist, my work encompasses all of the worlds that comprise a person: outside and inside the individual, and the multitude of dynamics in between,” says Marie Janiszewski (MA Clinical Mental Health Counseling, 2023).

BY Lisa Birman

“Injustice is my greatest illuminator,” says educator, biodynamic farmer, and artist, Tai Amri Spann-Ryan (BA Writing & Literature, ’05). “The war on the poor, the war in Palestine and Israel. The war against those who are gender nonconforming....”

BY Lisa Birman

Grasmick works in private practice as a transpersonal somatic psychedelic therapist, yoga and meditation teacher, and breathwork guide

BY Cassandra Smith

In the early 1970s, psychedelic use encompassed a spectrum of motivations beyond mere recreation, including cultural, philosophical, exploratory, and sacramental purposes.

Search Naropa University

Search

YOU ARE READY.

This is where experiential learning meets academic rigor. Where you challenge your intellect and uncover your potential. Where you discover the work you’re moved to do—then use it to transform our world.

“*” indicates required fields

Naropa Logo

Naropa Campuses Closed on Friday, March 15, 2024

Due to adverse weather conditions, all Naropa campuses will be closed Friday, March 15, 2024.  All classes that require a physical presence on campus will be canceled. All online and low-residency programs are to meet as scheduled.

Based on the current weather forecast, the Healing with the Ancestors Talk & Breeze of Simplicity program scheduled for Friday evening, Saturday, and Sunday will be held as planned.

Staff that do not work remotely or are scheduled to work on campus, can work remotely. Staff that routinely work remotely are expected to continue to do so.

As a reminder, notifications will be sent by e-mail and the LiveSafe app.  

Regardless of Naropa University’s decision, if you ever believe the weather conditions are unsafe, please contact your supervisor and professors.  Naropa University trusts you to make thoughtful and wise decisions based on the conditions and situation in which you find yourself in.