About me & MBSR
Why me?
After 20 years of ordained ministry (in parishes and on Diocesan staffs), I stepped aside into graduate school to pursue an MS in Communication Science and Disorders. My lifelong fascination with meditation, and early experiences teaching yoga while a high school student, naturally segued into my discovery and practice of MBSR to mitigate the effects of stress.
During my 30+ years in ordained ministry, I have lost too many friends and colleagues to diseases of both the body and the mind. I pray that as we continue to navigate the effects of the pandemic and the unrelenting stress of the news cycle, MBSR will be a gift to others, too.
The Rev. Cricket Cooper has been teaching and guiding mindfulness practices since 1989. In addition to her own continuing education in MBSR and meditation, she has pursued advanced coursework in preaching at the National Cathedral’s College of Preachers, in managing power differentials in clergy teams at the Alban Institute, in grant writing and visioning at the Foundations for Leadership at Duke, and in the neuroscience of communication at the University of Vermont.
A founding board member for Music That Makes Community, she is fascinated by the intersections of music making, language, and neuroscience. She brings decades of retreat experience as both a leader and participant to her classes.
Cricket has received her qualification to teach MBSR through the Mindfulness Center at Brown University.
Her essays and anthologized meditations have been published by Forward Movement. She is also the author of Chemo Pilgrim, an autobiographical journey to a series of holy sites during her months of cancer treatment.
Why You?
People come to MBSR for many reasons: Curiosity. Weariness. Excitement. Even skepticism!
That’s as it should be. Come as you are!
Wherever you are in your life and work, MBSR can help or enhance your sense of well-being. Learn to offer to yourself the kind of loving-kindness that you offer to other people.
This work is a gift to you, in this present moment.
Why Maple Tree?
The maple tree has always been my favorite.
Shady in summer, glorious in fall, strong in winter, and hopeful in spring…. the maple tree illustrates how we can move through change while remaining grounded and essentially ourselves.