Mindfulness Awareness Meditation Instructor Training Course

Mindfulness Awareness Meditation Instructor Training Course

Transform Your Mindfulness From Daily Practice to Empowering Others.

From Practitioner to Trusted Instructor

Our world is upside-down and seriously mixed-up, in many ways! The relevance of Mindfulness is growing because the need for it has never been greater. Individuals with proper training, who apply themselves compassionately as instructors/teachers, are in a position to do a great deal of good in a world that is crying out for help.

Health care and workplace professionals increasingly recognize the benefits of Mindfulness as an effective means for helping to address a variety of contemporary societal issues including stress, anxiety, depression, burnout, and information overload. More and more, evidence-based results have been bringing Mindfulness further into the mainstream.

A melding of individual effort and collective purpose ignites participants’ engagement with this 10-month instructor training program, as they embrace the path of education, study, and practice.

Orientation & Practices

“>This Course is secular, unlike sectarian approaches that make use of a religious context. That said, several principles and teachings from the Buddhist tradition that underpin mainstream Mindfulness are included in this curriculum.

The sitting practice that is taught includes both breath awareness and mindfulness awareness forms of meditation, in addition to walking meditation, pausing practice (head and shoulders), loving-kindness practice. and mindfulness in everyday life.

Mindfulness Awareness

The precision and accuracy of mindfulness –being on the dot–combines with awareness: open space, a sense of the environment, and the bigger picture. Mindfulness Awareness has the key reference points of grounding, posture, and outbreath.

Accreditation

The International Mindfulness and Meditation Alliance recognizes Safer Mindfulness as an accredited training provider for this Course.

Participate From Anywhere

This Course is Zoom-based, so you can participate from any location with Internet access, either by computer, smartphone, or tablet.

Two weekend intensives will be hybrid: Zoom plus in-person for those living in or near St. John’s, Newfoundland.

You will participate in the summer meditation retreat either at a rural location outside of St. John’s, an approved facility in your area, or on Zoom.

DATES

Part One runs from January 23rd to May 14th, 2024, 7:30 to 9:00 pm NST (6:00 to 7:30 pm EST). A five-day retreat is in the July/August time frame.
Part Two runs from September 10th to December 12th, 2024.

View Session Topics

Mindfulness Awareness Meditation
Instructor Training Course

Session Topics

PART ONE

MODULE 1: GETTING TO KNOW THE MIND
Session #1: Mindfulness vs. Mindlessness – Breath Awareness
Session #2: Mindfulness Awareness / Roots
Session #3: Suffering, its Cause, & Cessation
Session #4: Eightfold Path for an Honorable Life
Session #5: Basic Goodness……General-interest practitioners, scroll to bottom of page.

MODULE 2: LIVING QUALITIES OF MINDFULNESS & AWARENESS

Session #6: Mindfulness in Everyday Life
Session #7: Loving-Kindness
Session #8: Compassion: The Impulse to Relieve Suffering
Session #9: Thinking of Others
Session #10: Mindful Listening / Communication & Relationships

MODULE 3: THOUGHTS, FEELINGS & EMOTIONS
Session #11: Healthy Relationship with Thoughts I
Session #12: Healthy Relationship with Thoughts II
Session #13: Healthy Relationship with Feelings/Emotions I
Session #14: Healthy Relationship with Feelings/Emotions II

Session #15: Fear & Fearlessness

MODULE 4: MINDFULNESS PILLARS

Session #16: Six Non-Egocentric Actions I
Session #17: Six Non-Egocentric Actions II
Session #18: Ethics of a Meditation Instructor / Teacher
Session #19: Four Foundations of Mindfulness: Body & Life
Session 20: Four Foundations of Mindfulness: Effort & Mind

PART TWO

MODULE 5: FROM EMPTINESS TO DIGITAL DISTRACTION

Session #21: Emptiness
Session #22: The Obstacle of Self-Centeredness
Session #23: Mindfulness Teacher vs. Therapist
Session #24: Science & Research on Mindfulness
Session #25: Mindfulness & the Digital Distraction Minefield

MODULE 6: FROM HEALTH CARE APPLICATIONS TO SENSE OF HUMOUR
Session #26: Health Care Applications of Mindfulness
Session #27: Trauma-Informed Mindfulness
Session #28: Meditation Instructor’s Role
Session #29: Developing an Applied Mindfulness Workshop
Session #30: Sense of Humour

MODULE 7: MEDITATION INSTRUCTION
Session #31: Giving Meditation Instruction: Key Elements
Session #32: Working with a Group
Session #33: Obstacles & Antidotes; Mechanics of Sitting Practice

MODULE 8: APPLIED MINDFULNESS: FROM EDUCATION TO SUICIDAL
THOUGHTS
Session #34: Mindfulness in Education
Session #35: Mindfulness in the Workplace
Session #36: Mindfulness & Stress
Session #37: Mindfulness & Anxiety
Session #38: Mindfulness & Depression
Session #39 Mindfulness & Addictions
Session #40: Mindfulness & Suicidal Thoughts

Becoming a Mindfulness Instructor/Teacher

After practicing mindfulness for some time, we begin to see the positive effect it’s having on our lives. We don’t want to keep it to ourselves! We want to share it with others–but there is a catch…In order to responsibly impart the practice instructions and provide ongoing support, we need to be a trained mindfulness instructor.

After all, we are working with people’s minds! It seems like a pretty simple process, but only with knowledge, insight, and experience, does the instruction and support have the weight of authority.

This training prepares you for giving accurate instruction, answering questions appropriately, guiding students, and encouraging them to develop their all-important personal mindfulness practice.

Who is it for?

Anyone who:

Would like to give mindfulness and mindfulness awareness meditation instruction and/or presentations.
Would like to receive a thorough education and training in Mindfulness.
Would like to learn the content covered in this curriculum.
Has an interest in Applied Mindfulness (mental health, workplace, education).
Wants to learn how mindfulness awareness meditation relates to everyday life.

Prerequisites:

A meditation practitioner for at least two years.
Have, or aspire to have, a regular meditation practice.

This Course provided me with an opportunity to dedicate time each week to learn about and discuss mindfulness with a small group of people from varied backgrounds and perspectives, who also shared an interest in meditation. This learning was done under the excellent guidance of Andrew Safer, a meditation instructor with 50+ years of lived experience in practicing mindfulness. I highly recommend this Course to anyone who wishes to deepen their own practice and to develop skills in guiding others in mindfulness practice.

-Carolyn Walsh, PhD, Associate Professor, Psychology, Memorial University

The training consists of

40 – 1 1/2 hr. weekly program sessions (Zoom)
2 weekend intensives (included above) conducted hybrid (In-Person & Zoom)
7 – 1 1/2 hr. biweekly book study/mentoring sessions (Zoom)
Total for above: 70 hr.
Links to relevant articles and videos, sent by email in between weekly sessions.
Weekly worksheets.
Meditation Retreats: Summer: minimum 4 out of 5 days (July/August), and Winter/Fall: 2 days on weekends.
Total: above retreats: 72 hr.
Student demonstration of meditation instruction / presentation on Mindfulness.
Certificates of Completion will be issued, pending satisfactory participation, including oral/written responses to questions at completion of sessions.
Total time for instruction and retreats: 142 hr. (perfect attendance)

View Session Topics

Mindfulness Awareness Meditation
Instructor Training Course

Session Topics

PART ONE

MODULE 1: GETTING TO KNOW THE MIND
Session #1: Mindfulness vs. Mindlessness – Breath Awareness
Session #2: Mindfulness Awareness / Roots
Session #3: The Four Noble Truths
Session #4: The Noble Eightfold Path
Session #5: Basic Goodness…General-Interest practitioners: see bottom of page.

MODULE 2: LIVING QUALITIES OF MINDFULNESS & AWARENESS

MODULE 3: THOUGHTS, FEELINGS & EMOTIONS
Session #11: Healthy Relationship with Thoughts I
Session #12: Healthy Relationship with Thoughts II
Session #13: Healthy Relationship with Feelings/Emotions I
Session #14: Healthy Relationship with Feelings/Emotions II

Session #15: Fear & Fearlessness

MODULE #4: PILLARS OF MINDFULNESS
Session #16: Six Non-Egocentric Actions I
Session #17: Six Non-Egocentric Actions II
Session #18: Ethics of a Meditation Instructor / Teacher
Session #19: Four Foundations of Mindfulness: Body & Life
Session 20: Four Foundations of Mindfulness: Effort & Mind

PART TWO

MODULE 5: FROM EMPTINESS TO DIGITAL DISTRACTION

MODULE 6: HEALTH CARE APPLICATIONS TO HUMOUR
Session #26: Health Care Applications of Mindfulness
Session #27: Trauma-Informed Mindfulness
Session #28: Meditation Instructor’s Role
Session #29: Developing an Applied Mindfulness Workshop
Session #30: Sense of Humour

MODULE 7: MEDITATION INSTRUCTION
Session #31: Giving Meditation Instruction: Key Elements
Session #32: Working with a Group
Session #33: Obstacles & Antidotes; Mechanics of Sitting Practice

I really took the inaugural Mindfulness Awareness Meditation Instructors Training Course to deepen my understanding of the background of mindfulness awareness meditation rather than to seek a certification as an instructor. That said, throughout the Course, not only did my understanding of meditation deepen, but my personal practice also improved and I have, since completing the course, started to teach and lead meditation. I highly recommend the Course.

— Dan Walker, PhD, Associate Professor, Ocean and Naval Architectural Engineering, Memorial University

Notable

Andrew Safer’s experience: mindfulness practitioner (55 years), meditation instructor (30 years), retreat master (12 years), and
Applied Mindfulness program development and delivery (10 years).
Mindfulness Awareness instruction is unusual for this type of program.
Significant retreat time distinguishes this training.
Participants engage with the instructor, the material, and their peers in real time, as opposed to watching videos. This allows for live Q & A, adapting to evolving situations, and relationship building.
This Course spans 10 months. Maintaining a practice and study routine over this extended time frame facilitates integration of both mindfulness practice and the principles presented.

I found this Course to be a deep dive into mindfulness practice which would benefit both those aspiring to teach meditation, as well as those who want to enrich their own practice.

–Kathy Porter, CBC Reporter / Producer (Retired)
A mindfulness awareness meditation instructor for 5 years, Kathy will be assisting with mentoring during the 2024 Course.

Mentoring

Your mentor will be your flesh-and-blood resource who will guide you
on all aspects of meditation instruction and related issues.

Andrew Safer

Andrew began practicing mindfulness in the Zen tradition in California in 1968, and five years later began studying and practicing in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, which has continued over the ensuing decades.

In the mid-1970s, he undertook formal training in a three-month intensive meditation practice and study program in Colorado. Andrew moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1987, and became a meditation instructor in 1993. He has given Mindfulness Awareness meditation instruction to thousands of students since, and has led silent retreats annually since 2011.

Over the years, Andrew has presented Mindfulness workshops to corporate staff, social workers, student physicians, mental health and addictions staff, Indigenous adults and youth, child and youth care workers, teachers, elementary, middle and high school students, public service staff, breast cancer survivors, and single mothers.

Andrew spent 25 years as a freelance non-fiction writer, which included writing feature articles published in international-circulation trade magazines for the City of St. John’s Ocean Technology Media Program. Between 2020 and 2022, Mindful.org published several of his articles: “A Mindfulness Practice for Changing Your Relationship to Thoughts”, “The Lifecycle of Thoughts and Why Your Brain Needs a Filter”, “Mindfulness for Suicide Prevention: A Teacher’s Experience”, and “Staggering Under the Weight of Anxious Thoughts”.

Books

Andrew wrote Anxiety, Stress & Mindfulness: A Do-It-Yourself Guide to Wellness, published in 2018 (2nd Tier Publishing). His next book, Mindfulness for the Workplace, will be published in Spring 2024 (2nd Tier Publishing). He also co-authored a violence-prevention curriculum and two biographies.

Applied Mindfulness

After moving to St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, in 2010 Andrew began presenting a 6-week Mindfulness workshop series at the Family Life Bureau, Archdiocese of St. John’s.

Since then, he has developed and implemented Applied Mindfulness training programs for people with Addictions, Anxiety and Stress, Depression, and Suicidal Thoughts, as well as for Prison Inmates. Following the pandemic, Andrew developed “Resilience Through Mindfulness”, inspired by researcher Roberta Antonini Philippe’s findings on mindfulness and resilience.

Since 2013, he has delivered these programs to the general public and through partnerships with Canadian Mental Health Association–Newfoundland and Labrador, Canadian Mental Health Association–Nova Scotia, and the Pottle Centre in St. John’s.

Andrew developed “Workplace Mindfulness” , which he has delivered in 10-week and 4-week programs, to Memorial University staff, library staff, faculty, and students; police; engineers and geoscientists; and healthcare managers.

Outcomes

Outcomes from Andrew’s programs are posted here.

Program Cost

Part One: January 23, 2024 to May 14, 2024…..…………….. $1,350 ($ Can.)
Part Two: September 10, 2024 to December 17, 2024… $1,350.00
Total…………………………………………………….……………….………..$2,700.00

LESS 15% HOLIDAY DISCOUNT!

Part One: January 23, 2024 to May 14, 2024……………………$1,150 ($ Can.)

Part Two: September 10, 2024 to December 17, 2024……..$1,150

Total……………………………………………………………………………….$2,300.00

[$250 Deposit for Part One with Registration;

$250 Deposit for Part Two Due by August 15h

+ $200/month x 9 months: January – May, and September – December]

This comes to $16/hr. for instruction and training.

Registration Deadline (Extended): January 19, 2024

General Interest Participants

As per the “Session Topics” listed above, payment for Module 1 (5 weekly sessions) is $175.

$50 Deposit is due with Registration.

Balance is due by January 10, 2024.

Sessions will be on Tuesday nights, 7:30 to 9:00 pm. NST (6:00 to 7:30 EST)

For Instructor Training Course, funds are refundable if entry criteria are not met.

View Session Topics

Mindfulness Awareness Meditation
Instructor Training Course

Session Topics

PART ONE

MODULE 1: GETTING TO KNOW THE MIND
Session #1: Mindfulness vs. Mindlessness – Breath Awareness
Session #2: Mindfulness Awareness / Roots
Session #3: Suffering, its Cause, & Cessation
Session #4: Eightfold Path for an Honorable Life
Session #5: Basic Goodness…General-interest practitioners: pricing @ bottom of main page.

MODULE 2: LIVING QUALITIES OF MINDFULNESS & AWARENESS

Session #15: Fear & Fearlessness

PART TWO

MODULE 5: FROM EMPTINESS TO DIGITAL DISTRACTION
Session #21: Emptiness

Session #22: The Obstacle of Self-Centeredness
Session #23: Mindfulness Teacher vs. Therapist
Session #24: Science & Research on Mindfulness
Session #25: Mindfulness & the Digital Distraction Minefield

MODULE 7: MEDITATION INSTRUCTION
Session #31: Giving Meditation Instruction: Key Elements
Session #32: Working with a Group
Session #33: Obstacles & Antidotes; Mechanics of Sitting Practice

Deadline to register is January 19, 2024.

* This amount covers books, and in-person retreat costs at Safer Mindfulness’ Summer Retreat in Newfoundland.
– $250.00 Deposit (Can. $) (Part One) is due with application*;
– $250.00 Deposit (Part Two) is due by August 15, 2024;
– $244.00 / month for 9 months (January to May (Part One), and September to December (Part Two) is due on the first of each month

Mindfulness Awareness Meditation Instructor Training Course

From Practitioner to Trusted Instructor

Orientation & Practices

Mindfulness Awareness

Accreditation

Participate From Anywhere

DATES

Becoming a Mindfulness Instructor/Teacher

Who is it for?

Anyone who:

Prerequisites:

The training consists of

Notable

Mentoring

Your mentor will be your flesh-and-blood resource who will guide youon all aspects of meditation instruction and related issues.

Andrew Safer

Books

Applied Mindfulness

Outcomes

Program Cost

Deadline to register is January 19, 2024.

Your mentor will be your flesh-and-blood resource who will guide you
on all aspects of meditation instruction and related issues.