Wise Thinking, Unwise Thinking, and Silence: How Meditation Can Transform Our Relationship to Thought (MB1D27)

Please only register for one of the two formats: On-Land or Online.

Registration closes at 9:00am (Pacific Time) on March 14, 2027. A waiting list will be created if the program fills early. A recording* will be available following the program.

This program offers 4 CEs at $40. For more CE details, see below.

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Description:
Thinking, perhaps more than any other experience, lies at the center of our human experience. The most common report when beginning meditation is, “I cannot believe how much I think.”

Thought can do so much for us, but we tend to ask our mind to work harder than it needs to. With thinking, we hope to find a way through the complexities of life, alleviate our uncertainty, digest painful experiences, and make us feel good about ourselves. We can instead seek to cultivate a relationship with our mind that is caring and responsive by exploring the benefits of action, intuition, equanimity, and silence. Through developing these qualities, we practice asking thinking to stay within the bounds of what it does well and thereby work to gain further wisdom and compassion.

During this daylong, we’ll explore what is understood as wise and unwise thought and the ways that silence can help thought stay in its own lane, supporting intuition and greater attunement. The daylong will include guided and silent meditation practice, dharma talks and time for dialogue.

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Sliding Scale: Our sliding scale options for this program include financial support for our teachers. Please consider paying at the highest rate that you can afford: your generosity supports teachers as well as Spirit Rock and your fellow practitioners who need to pay less.

On-Land Sliding Scale: (MB1D26)**
Benefactor – $310
Sustainer – $235
Basic – $140
Scholarship Rate (BIPOC, Mudita/Karuna, Young Adult) – $70
**Volunteer/Work Exchange opportunities, which include full or partial Scholarships, may be available for the in-person program. For more information, please contact the Volunteer Coordinator at volunteering@spiritrock.org.

Online Sliding Scale: (MB1Z27)***
Benefactor – $175
Sustainer – $95
Basic – $75
Scholarship Rate (BIPOC, Mudita/Karuna, Young Adult) – $45
***Online Program: All are welcome! No one will be turned away for lack of funds as space allows. For more information, please email Registration@spiritrock.org no later than 12:00pm (NOON) PT on the day prior to the program date.

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*Important Notes:

Access to Recording

• Registration includes unlimited access to this program’s recording. You must register by the deadline above. The recording will be available in ~10 days after the program.

On-Land Attendees

• The on-land program will take place in the Community Meditation Center (CMC) in the Great Hall.
• Bring a lunch and a water bottle. Lunch is not provided.
• This is NOT a residential retreat. Overnight accommodations are not provided.

COVID Safety Protocols for non-residential programs: details here.

Cancellation Policy for On-Land: Daylongs, Multiday Programs (1-3 days), Family Programs, CE fees:

• NO REFUNDS.
• Open Credit or Donation to Spirit Rock = cancel 2 or more business days prior to program (Pacific Time)
• No Open Credit = cancel less than 2 business days prior

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Continuing Education (CE) credit available:
This intermediate-level program offers 4 Continuing Education (CE) credits/contact hours for $40.

This program is applicable for licensed and license-eligible mental health and health care professionals, including psychologists, social workers (LCSW, LSW), counselors (LPC, LCPC, LMHC), marriage and family therapists, nurses (RN, NP), chiropractors, and other health care professionals, seeking education in mindfulness and the relationship to thought. Please review our Continuing Education information page for provider details, and to determine if your association or board will accept credits offered for this program by Spirit Rock.

We often ask thinking to function in ways it cannot: to resolve uncertainty, settle painful experiences, and even secure our sense of self-worth. When thought is pressed into these roles, it can become repetitive and unproductive, leading to rumination and worry. Through teaching, guided practice, and dialogue, participants will have the opportunity to distinguish useful from unproductive thinking. We will also examine how action, equanimity, and silence may serve when further analysis does not. This core understanding can support clinical judgment and well-being in service of effective patient care.

Learning Objectives for participating health care professionals-
At the end of the program, participants will be better able to:

• Differentiate adaptive, problem-focused thinking from unproductive repetitive thinking, as it arises in clinical reasoning and decision-making.
• Explain how meditation practice and cultivation of concentration may support new ways of relating to thought, and how this can reduce engagement with rumination and worry, with application to clinical practice.
• Apply a mindfulness practice to recognize and disengage from unproductive thinking in support of clinician well-being.

Attendance policy for CE participants:

• Full, live attendance is required. Incomplete attendance nullifies CE eligibility, as board regulations do not permit partial credit for partial attendance.
• Sign in and out at the CE table, on time, [each day].
• Submit your professional information within one week of receiving the link. This link will be emailed within 2 business days after the program to all participants who met the attendance requirements.
• Certificates are issued only to those who meet the attendance requirements—without exception—to maintain compliance with our provider licenses and ensure the continuation of future CE programs.

Please note:

• Visit our Continuing Education information page for complete provider details and additional CE information, including attendance requirements and our cancellation and grievance policies.
• Continuing Education is sponsored by Mindful CECs.
• Mindful CECs is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Mindful CECs maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
• Mindful CECs is a provider approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider Number CEP17985 for 4 contact hours.
• Participants are responsible for determining whether this program meets the CE requirements of their licensing board or certifying organization. Spirit Rock does not confirm CE applicability for license types beyond the scope of Mindful CECs’ provider approvals.
• Credit is awarded for instructional time only and does not include extended silent meditation. Credit excludes the one-hour lunch period and two 15-minute breaks.
• Conflict of Interest Statement: This instructor may have authored publications relevant to the subjects covered in this course, and may teach additional programs. The instructor might reference these publications and programs during the course, and may receive financial compensation if participants choose to purchase them.

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