This workshop will be based on Vimalasara (Valerie) Mason-John’s latest book, First Aid Kit for the Mind - Breaking The Cycle of Habitual Behaviours and will explore the cause of habits and addictive behaviors through the lens of the Shaman's Teachings. We will deconstruct the language around addiction, and move towards a more compassionate languaging. This workshop will also have interactive exercises - and time for questions and reflections.

Addiction and trauma expert, author, and public speaker Valerie Mason-John (Vimalasara) is the award-winning author and editor of eleven books. Their debut novel, Borrowed Body, won the 2006 Mind Book of the Year Award. They co-authored the award-winning book Eight Step Recovery: Using the Buddha’s Teachings to Overcome Addiction and authored Detox Your Heart Meditations for Emotional Trauma. They are one of the founding facilitators of Dr. Gabor Mate's Compassionate Inquiry. I Am Still Your Negro: An Homage to James Baldwin won critical acclaim in 2020. Their most Recent book First Aid Kit For The Mind - Breaking The Cycle of Habitual Behaviours was published July 2024. They began writing as an international correspondent covering Aboriginal deaths in custody and land rights in Australia. They are a senior teacher in the Triratna Buddhist Community and one of the leading African descent voices in the field of mindfulness for addiction. They work as an international public speaker and professional trainer in the field of mindfulness approaches for addiction and trauma. They live on the Sunshine Coast, British Columbia. 

CBD 2024: First Aid Kit For The Mind - Decolonizing Addictive and Habitual Behaviours with Valerie Mason-John, is part of the FREE Contemplation by Design Summit, Oct. 23 - Nov. 3, 2024.

The full summit schedule is posted at: https://med.stanford.edu/contemplation/summit.html.

Registration opens Sept. 19, 2024.