Abstract: You’ve all seen the little raffle ticket, on which is printed this profound message: YOU MUST BE PRESENT TO WIN!

What does it mean to be truly present – to your own experience and to others with whom you communicate and interact?

Usually our minds are bouncing around between the past and the future, rarely in the here and now. It brings to mind this Zen story:

The student respectfully approached the master, bowed, and requested instruction.
            “My mind is very difficult to control,” he explained. “When I want some thoughts to go, they stay. When I want others to stay, they go. How can I control my mind?”
            The master said, “The mind is like a high-spirited wild horse. If you try to control it by locking it up, it will be agitated and restless. If you try to force it to be still, it will kick and fight even more.           
            “Take a bigger view of control. Within the big meadow of awareness, let the wild horse of your mind run here and there. With nothing to struggle against, it will eventually settle down on its own. When it has settled you can tame it, when it is tame you can train it. Then you can ride the horse of your mind and it will swiftly take you wherever you want to go.”

In this session we’ll delve into the practice of Mindful Awareness, the time-tested tool for taming the mind from the Buddhist tradition. Mindful Awareness is just noticing whatever arises in our experience, without comment, judgment or evaluation. It is simply being, without having to do anything about how we’re being. Whatever thoughts, feelings or emotions arise, the practice is to be with them, to feel them without doing anything about them. Instead of running away from or trying to get rid of anything, stay with the thoughts and emotions and look into them. Just staying in the here and now in this way is an expression of bravery.

Mindful Awareness is the ideal foundation for practicing the Art of Reflection. Just as a pool of water must be clear and calm for the surface to reflect the clouds and sky without distortion, so the pool of our mind must be clear and calm in order to reflect upon our experience without distortion. One must be present and open to what arises in one’s mind without bias or judgmental opinions.

Insights into interdependence inform our interactions. We will also explore Authentic Communication. With a foundation of Mindful Awareness, being truly present for others, our communication can express the qualities of spaciousness, clarity, and appropriate responsiveness.

Handouts: Available for download at this link.

Biography: Joseph ("Joe") Parent has coached Performance Psychology for business, life and golf for over 30 years. After completing his Ph.D. in psychology in 1979, Joe trained in the tradition of Mindful Awareness practice, developing a unique blend of modern western psychology and venerable eastern wisdom for stress management and skill development. He has become a renowned and sought-after consultant teaching the path to success through peak performance principles.  His simple yet powerful techniques help people get out of their own way so they can get the most out of their abilities.

Joe receives rave reviews for his inspiring keynote speeches, with titles such as:
“At the Top of Your Game – How to Get There and Stay There”
“The Zen of Success – The Path of Continuous Improvement” and
“Riding the Waves – Strategies for Conquering the Challenge of Change”
He has made presentations at corporate events hosted by companies such as Emerson Electric, Charles Schwab, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, U.S. Trust/Bank of America, Tessco Technologies, Pimco, MedAssets, Fidelity Investments, CBRE, Dreyfus, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, TransAmerica, the World Presidents Organization, among many others.

Joe also offers his cutting-edge insights through executive/
performance coaching for professionals in the fields of management, communications, marketing, sales, financial advising, commodity trading, and acting. He has worked with hundreds of pro and amateur golfers, as well as athletes in a variety of other sports. A distinguished PGA TOUR and LPGA Sports Psychologist/Instructor, Joe has attracted major champions and other top professionals. He has the singular distinction of coaching both a man (Vijay Singh) and a woman (Cristie Kerr) to the #1 World Ranking. 

Golf Digest magazine named Joe to their list of “Top Mental Game Experts” in the world in 2005 and again this year (the only years they have offered such a designation).   His first book, the #1 best-seller ZEN GOLF: Mastering the Mental Game, is now in its fifteenth printing, with over a quarter-million copies sold world-wide, including foreign editions in nine different languages. Golf Digest reviewers say, “Here is a book that is highly original and exciting, destined to become a classic. Dr. Parent is a groundbreaking writer.”

Joe has been featured on CNN, NBC’s “Today in New York,” HBO Sports, ESPN, as well as many appearances on The Golf Channel. The ZEN GOLF book is featured in a widely circulated MasterCard “Priceless” ad, and had its own cameo appearances being read by Ray Romano on “Everybody Loves Raymond” and Malcolm McDowell on “Franklin and Bash.” Joe has coached Ray, Malcolm, Kevin James, George Lopez, Anthony Anderson, Steve Harvey, Michael O’Keefe (who played Danny Noonan in Caddyshack), Richard Schiff, Robby Krieger (The Doors), Marcus Allen, Oscar de la Hoya, and Alonzo Mourning, among many celebrity golfers.

For anyone interested in learning more, Joe teaches Performance Psychology seminars, and golf lessons, at the Ojai Valley Inn and Spa Resort in Ojai, California.

Contact: Joe can be reached by e-mail at drjoe@zengolf.com for additional information about this session.

Website: www.zengolf.com

Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/drjoeparent