Hey there! We may not have met yet, but I’d like to introduce myself. My name is Joey Crume-Hewett, class of 2012. I did my undergrad at Butler in education and now am back for my Master’s degree. Butler is my home away from home and a safe place for me to grow as a learner and a person. I’m writing to invite you to join this opportunity we have all be given. This January, as a member of the Butler community, we have all been gifted a chance to grow and learn more about mindfulness and living in the present. Now you may be wondering, why on earth would you want to add one more thing to your already full plate. However, if you’re wanting to grow into your best self, a version of you who stays present, has healthy relationships with yourself and others, and is continuing to reduce stress and anxiety, I encourage you to read on.
The new year offers people an opportunity for reflection, setting of new goals, and brings unlimited possibilities for how one might grow that year. If you’re like me, you may set intentions for the kind of person you want to be.
If you’re also like me, you may have found yourself frustrated in the dance that happens when you choose to focus on growing yourself but getting caught up in the fast paced world we all live in. I often wonder how I will ever be able to accomplish the to do list that never ends, meeting the needs of my students, doing my best in school, prioritizing my family and friends, etc. the list never ends. We know that the stress and anxiety that we feel is unhealthy, to the point that it impacts our mental and emotional health.
If you’ve been around campus for a while, you may remember the Brain Project. This was a cross campus collaboration to support brain health awareness. The project sparked new thinking about how the university would foster academic excellence while also prioritizing the wellness of the brain. One of the speakers and partners for this project was Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, an esteemed neuroanatomist, known for her TED Talk called My Stroke of Insight.
Photo credit: www.oprah.com
Now I need to introduce you to another player in this project: Eckhart Tolle. Eckhart Tolle is a well respected author and motivational speaker around the topics of mindfulness. As a young man, Tolle struggled with depression and anxiety. At 29, he had an awakening and has subsequently spent years studying the mind, body connection, uncovering how to be intentional and purposeful, and seeking positive mental health practices. His work is well known through the world. Tolle has worked with celebrities such as Oprah and spiritual leaders like the Dalai Lama.
Okay, jumping back to our friend Jill. Following the culmination of the Brain Project, Bolte Taylor and Tolle were with Oprah and got to talking about their work on university campuses and the importance of mindfulness and healthy brains. Bolte Taylor shared the work she had just done with Butler University and recommended Tolle reach out to possibly partner with the university. Since this conversation, the Tolle Foundation has donated several thousand copies of his book, The Power of Now as well as free admission into the School of Awakening, Tolle’s online course to aid in meditation, intentionality, and staying grounded in a world full of distractions and obstacles to being one’s best self.
Through this unique partnership, we are offering book groups that will run starting the last week in January – February. These groups are being run by several Butler professors at various locations and times to best meet everyone’s needs. The hope and purpose behind the book groups is to have a safe place for discussion, idea generation, and to have a community behind you.
Before I started working on this project, I had never heard of Eckart Tolle or his work with mindfulness. After I started reading more about him and his work, it struck me that before he was an author, he was a typical person. Like many of us, he struggled with mental health and knew that his life wasn’t supposed to feel so hard. After his enlightenment, he has dedicated his life to this subject because this is something that everyone is capable of. That’s why I think this opportunity is so huge for our university.
As part of the Butler Way, we are always seeking improvement every day. I sincerely hope you will choose to fill out the Google Form being sent out to you in a few days, to help you with improving every single day, to being the best version of you there can be, and to put your mental and emotional health at the forefront of your work this year.
Register for a group: https://goo.gl/forms/8lCHnNwzBTgVNAuE3
Questions? Contact Joey Crume Hewett: crume.joey@gmail.com