Stepping up to: Engagement

Welcome to Week 5 of Stepping Up Together! Stepping Up Together is all about embracing the power of community and stepping boldly into our highest potential. Each week of this campaign features a theme for reflection, inviting us to consider how we may step up, join hands, and be the change we wish to see in the world. This week features the final theme of our campaign, and perhaps the most important—engagement. ❤️  

If we were to ask you what mindfulness looked like, what would you say? Many of us would conjure up images of silent retreats, quiet cups of tea, morning meditations, and reflective yoga practices. But what if we told you that one of the most essential forms of mindfulness is not quiet or passive at all? What if we told you that mindfulness could move mountains, heal injustices, and inspire magnificent social change? 

This form of engaged mindfulness—or, as we like to call it, compassionate action—happens when we get up off our meditation cushions, gather all the jewels of our practices, and share them with the world.  

According to Oxford Languages, the word engage means, “to participate or become involved in.” So, engaged mindfulness happens when we become involved with the world in a mindful way. Engaged mindfulness means taking the wisdom and insights from meditation into the real world, and applying it to situations of social, political, environmental and economic suffering and injustice. 

Just like one hand washes the other—mindfulness practices and compassionate action are supportive and interdependent practices. A quiet mindfulness practice creates the foundation for non-violent, compassionate action. This action then builds empathy and understanding for others, which deepens and strengthens our mindfulness practices. In order to live fully we need to balance this yin and yang of practice—to be engaged and aware of the real problems of the world, while being anchored to our quiet, inner light. It’s a beautiful cycle that allows us to cultivate not only individual healing, but collective healing.  

Questions & Reflections: 

Write down your own personal engaged purpose – why are you there—at your desk, home, event, or anywhere, right now?  Write it down and place it somewhere you’ll see it every day.   

Observe, recognize and appreciate: How can I balance the “yin” of my more passive, mindfulness practices with the “yang” of engaged, compassionate action? Where do I need more balance?

Let's hear more from Dani Scott, our Director of Integrity and Growth:

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Stepping up to: Possibility

We are now entering Week 4 of our Stepping Up Together campaign, featuring Possibility. Stepping Up Together is all about embracing the power of community and stepping boldly into our highest potential. Each week of this campaign features a theme for reflection, inviting us to consider how we may step up, join hands, and be the change we wish to see in the world. This week’s theme is possibility. ❤️

We invite you to take a deep breath, close your eyes, and enter the realm of possibility—the container for your dreams, hopes, wishes, and the voice of your most daring and authentic self. When we nurture this inner world of possibility, our outer world responds. Gradually, we start living from a place of childlike wonder. We rekindle the light of hope—a tiny spark which soon grows into a brilliant, dazzling light. We begin to think, speak, and act our dreams into existence. 

Better yet, this embodiment of possibility is contagious. It touches and inspires everyone in our paths, radiating waves of hope and inspiring movements of radical, positive change. 

So, how do we begin living with a mindset of possibility? We believe it all starts by returning to stillness— back to the silent place within our hearts, where the realm of possibility can be found. Br. David Steindl-Rast ,a 96 year-old author, scholar, and Benedictine monk teaches a powerful method for this process called, “Stop, Look, Go.”  

First, we STOP. Slow down, pause, become still, and drop into the present moment. 

Next, we LOOK. Listen and observe with a "beginner’s mind." Be curious about your experience in this moment, and honor all of your feelings and sensations. 

Finally, we GO. What seed for action is this moment offering you? Listen for your inner guidance—the voice of possibility—then go and act.  

With all of this in mind, we invite you to reflect on the following:

How would this moment change if I were to approach it with a curious, non-judgemental "beginner's mind"?

Where is my inner compass leading me?

How would it feel to let go of doubt and open the doors to hope, possibility, and childlike wonder?

Let's hear more about possibility from dedicated board member and facilitator, Regina Long:

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Stepping up to: Collaboration

We are thrilled to introduce you to Week 3 of our Stepping Up Together campaign, featuring Collaboration. Stepping Up Together is all about embracing the power of community and stepping boldly into our highest potential. Each week of this campaign features a theme for reflection, inviting us to consider how we may step up, join hands, and be the change we wish to see in the world. This week’s theme is collaboration. 

Collaboration is one of those “buzz words” that sounds rosy in theory, but when put into practice it can be downright hard. In fact, we consider collaboration to be a spiritual practice in and of itself. Working with others provides us a mirror to better understand ourselves—our triggers, strengths, shadows, and human-ness. Effective collaboration requires building trust, shared intention, curiosity, creativity, and persistence, all served up with a big daily dose of compassion (both for ourselves and for others).   

While collaboration isn’t always comfortable, it is certainly WORTH IT and has the potential to create magnificent and magical results. When we are willing to be vulnerable, listen deeply, share authentically, give openly, and receive gratefully—we have the potential to uplift and enlighten our entire globe. As Helen Keller once said, “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.”

So, this week, we invite you to reflect on the following:

Have I had an experience in which collaboration felt difficult? What lessons could that experience be teaching me?

Have I had an experience in which collaboration felt easy and joyful? What lessons could that experience be teaching me?

How would my life be enriched by further embracing opportunities for collaboration?

Let's hear more about collaboration and the work of Brian Thompson, our Director of Community Engagement:

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Stepping up to: Hospitality

Stepping up to Hospitality, with our Hospitality Director—Karen Sevenoff

How was your holiday weekend? We hope you are feeling rested, healthy, and refreshed! Last week, we introduced you to Week 1 of our Stepping up Together campaign—featuring a special message from the Chair of our Board, Chuck Joseph. Today, we are diving a bit deeper and exploring the theme of hospitality.

To us, stepping up together is all about embracing the power of community and stepping boldly into our highest potential. By joining hands, and stepping up together, we have the ability to create a brighter, more resilient world. All it takes is one small step, and as Howard Zinn so wisely stated—"Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world."

Each week of this campaign will feature a theme for reflection, helping us consider how we may step up and be the change we wish to see in the world. Today's theme is hospitality.

What does hospitality mean to you in your daily life? To us, hospitality is the way show up for others and our willingness to honor the light within every person who crosses our paths. We call it Big Hospitality. From the way we greet our guests, offer programs, daily online meditations, and festivals, to how we support activism in our communities and the world, we rest on Maya Angelou's quote that "People will forget what you do, they'll forget what you said. But they never will forget how you make them feel."  This week, we invite you to reflect on the following:

What does hospitality mean within the context of my daily life?

Can I approach hospitality from a mindset of interconnectedness, knowing that everything I offer to the world, I offer to myself as well?

What would it mean to transform my life into an act of service?

What would it mean to show up in the world with a mindset of giving versus receiving? 

Hospitality is a selfish pleasure, “It feels great to make other people feel good"

Source: Unreasonable Hospitality: The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect. Will Guidara

Join us in striving to embody this enlarged sense of hospitality in every part of our lives, pursuing reinvention, and nurturing partnerships—all infused by a constant awareness of what people need. Your donation is one way to offer a mindful gesture of loving kindness to support our work. We'd be honored if you'd consider supporting our hospitality department with the following:

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Stepping up Together: Week One

Stepping Up Together with our Chair, Chuck Joseph:

Is it just us, or did the year 2022 seem to disappear in a flash? As the days roll by and the New Year approaches, we’ve been reflecting on the past and dreaming about the future.  

The last few years have been a wild ride for many of us. Our mindfulness practices have anchored and guided us through every twist and turn, and we feel more passionate than ever about sharing our mission with the world. Never were sharing mindfulness practices and compassionate action more important. As we head into this bright new chapter we are feeling ready to step up...  

It is time for us to step up to be the change we wish to see in the world.  

It is time for us to step up to our mission of spreading mindfulness and compassionate action to ALL—regardless of income level, race, gender, sexual identity, etc. 

It is time for us to step up TOGETHER, join hands, and create a movement of positive change—because alone we are strong, but together we are stronger. 

Copper Beech is a community of dedicated staff, volunteers and participants bound together in our desire to make our world a better place for all. Our mission could not exist without YOU. In order to function optimally and continue making an impact in 2023, we need to raise $25,000 by December 31. Please step up with us and help us create a brighter world for all!

Step Up [phrasal verb]:
1. To take action where there is a need or opportunity for it.

2. To foster growth or development of an endeavor.

Source: dictionary.cambridge.org

A special message from our founder, Brandon ❤️

Dearest friends,

Please forgive the impersonal nature this email. I wish I could reach out to each of you individually, but so many of you have cared for me and Copper Beech over the years, that it’s just impossible. Over the next 10 weeks, I will be transitioning into a new role, and I would love to share my reflections on how this has unfolded in my heart.

Having spent my entire life working with words, I am incredibly humbled to find myself at a loss to describe the profound gratitude I feel for each of you. Whether you are newer to our mission or have walked shoulder to shoulder with us for years, your time, energy, and care have loved Copper Beech into existence over and over again for nearly a decade. We are the thriving global community of compassion because of your mindful presence, your steadfast trust, and your unwavering belief that we could be more together than we could ever be alone.

How could I be anything but thankful to be part of this community? We have reached many tens of thousands of people who repeatedly tell us that our work changes lives. People have sought refuge in our circles through some of the most challenging moments of their lives-cancer, loss, confusion, pandemic, imprisonment, and homelessness; countless more have also found in our community new reasons to rejoice, to embrace, and to live authentically. Each one of you has been integral to who we have become—a brave community of belonging.

Still, after deep reflection, it has become clear to me that it is time for me to move on from Copper Beech. Admittedly, there are infinite reasons to stay awhile longer—a brilliant staff, a wise board, incredibly generous donors, and radiant community members who challenge me to grow on a daily basis; even amid the pandemic, we’ve continued to innovate as we tirelessly seek new ways to be faithful to our mission to ease the suffering of an aching world. Even with our many successes, I’m all too conscious of my shortcomings to know that you have also been patient with my imperfections, forgiving of my faults, and gracious with your kindness in times of challenge. Through it all, I’ve been surrounded by trusted colleagues and dear friends--an embarrassment of blessings to be sure.

Still, I have always tried to encourage others to trust in the still small voice that guides each of us. I’ve shared that we ignore this voice at our own peril. The practice of mindfulness opens in us a space to listen to this sacred call. For ten years, Copper Beech has been my sacred calling. Now, it’s time for me to heed my own teaching and follow what I believe is a calling away from a community I love dearly. That voice has echoed within me for long enough to know that I cannot ignore it. It’s time for another leader to guide our beloved community as we live into the next chapter of Copper Beech.

I have accepted a position as the founding Executive Director of Leadership Programs at Yale Divinity School, specifically, at Berkeley Divinity School at Yale. They have invited me to create a new center for leadership and innovation to support and guide a new generation of spiritual leaders seeking fresh ways of sharing spiritual wisdom. After much prayer and meditation, I believe that this is the path that I am being called to walk. I will begin this position in November and will continue on at Copper Beech in a consultative role through the new year to provide any support that is necessary to ensure a smooth transition to our next leader. In the coming days, the board will share further details around a transition plan.

Thank you again for all your compassion and encouragement over the years. Thank you for all the visible and invisible ways you have helped Copper Beech grow. Thank you for helping create a community where I could belong. I want to thank Chuck Joseph, our wonderfully wise and tireless board chair who has led our board so expertly. I also want to express incredible appreciation for Fr. David Cinquegrani, Fr. Terry Kristofak, and all the wonderful people at Holy Family Passionist Retreat Center whose support and trust have created a beautiful home for Copper Beech for all these years.

It’s been my life’s privilege to serve as your leader, and I will cherish our time together for all of my days. 

I look forward to watching how the Copper Beech mission continues to expand, heal, and serve our aching world in the months and years ahead.

With a smile of appreciation and a deep bow of gratitude,

Brandon

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR COPPER BEECH?

Copper Beech is here to stay! We are feeling proud and excited for Brandon as he begins this new journey. While it is certainly a bittersweet moment for our community, we are looking forward to continued growth and a bright future ahead. ❤️

All programming will continue to run as normal and our mission of spreading mindfulness and compassionate action will grow and thrive in the years ahead!

For questions or replies, please feel free to reach out to Brandon:
Brandon@copperbeechinstitute.org