Empowered Learning by Design, LLC

05/29/2025

We know practice is important to self-development and growth. But I know from personal experience, questions of "How do I structure the practice?"; "How long is the practice?"; "How do I find time to practice?" have kept from just practicing. I'm experimenting now with creating tiny practices - here is the first in that experiment. 10 minutes to practice somatic awareness. This video includes a 6 minute guided meditation and 3 minute writing practice. Its a great way to start the day or the week; or to reset during the day when things have gotten challenging.

A 10 minute mindfulness practice that includes a 6 minute guided meditation and a 3 minute writing practice, supporting you to connect with yourself. Somatic...

12/21/2023

A friend of mine shared this beautiful poem by David Whyte the other day. A perfect solstice poem. "you can belong to everything by simply listening".

The Winter of Listening

No one but me by the fire,
my hands burning
red in the palms while
the night wind carries
everything away outside.

All this petty worry
while the great cloak
of the sky grows dark
and intense
round every living thing.

What is precious
inside us does not
care to be known
by the mind
in ways that diminish
its presence.

What we strive for
in perfection
is not what turns us
into the lit angel
we desire,

what disturbs
and then nourishes
has everything
we need.

What we hate
in ourselves
is what we cannot know
in ourselves but
what is true to the pattern
does not need
to be explained.

Inside everyone
is a great shout of joy
waiting to be born.

Even with the summer
so far off
I feel it grown in me
now and ready
to arrive in the world.

All those years
listening to those
who had
nothing to say.

All those years
forgetting
how everything
has its own voice
to make
itself heard.

All those years
forgetting
how easily
you can belong
to everything
simply by listening.

And the slow
difficulty
of remembering
how everything
is born from
an opposite
and miraculous
otherness.
Silence and winter
has led me to that
otherness.

So let this winter
of listening
be enough
for the new life
I must call my own.

~ David Whyte ~

12/15/2023

Like anything, cultivating appreciation is a practice - the more we do it, the better we get! I wrote about a 2 minute practice that I do that helps me better appreciate - well - everything around me. Would love to hear your experiences with the practice.

Also - links to Viastrengths survey as well as an amazing Youtube video of a Crystal Glass player! What does that have to do with anything? Click below to find out!

New Blog Post up on the Website: empoweredlearningbydesign.com/blog

11/09/2023

Ever wonder why it is so difficult to stay in relationship AND also get things done? It's NOT you! Well...it is you, and ALL of us! It's because of the way our brains are wired!

Read my blog post on my website: empoweredlearningbydesign.com/blog

OR on Linked IN:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/two-track-mind-how-neuroscience-discovery-can-make-you-comstock-j2b3

09/13/2022

Join me for a Monthly Somatic Sangha - a 45 minute meditation and mindfulness session, Fridays at Noon, free of charge. First Session will be September 23rd.

Register here:

Somatic Sangha* is a monthly gathering where we practice body-based mindfulness and meditation. This is an opportunity to "tune in" to the body and hear what the body has to say. Noticing and observing what is happening within us, we can open up space to breathe, to notice, to bring awareness and to...

09/09/2022

Critical Response Process is a method developed by Liz Lerman (Choreographer and Artist) for giving constructive feedback. Her method emphasizes the agency of the person sharing their work. The process puts the maker in the driver's seat, able to request the feedback they want and to share what they are trying to accomplish, and the method is nuanced enough to avoid the typical pitfalls of criticism - that is, being subjected to the whims of individuals' tastes, rather than getting juicy information that is motivating and enlivening for the maker's purposes.

I would like to offer a free monthly space where we can practice this process. I envision one or two people sharing their work and receiving feedback. This could be art, dance, music, poetry, writing, or even approaching everyday life.

Please leave a note if you are interested.

For more information about the Critical Response Process, click the link below, which will direct you to Liz Lerman's site.

Liz Lerman’s Critical Response Process is a method for giving and getting feedback on work in progress, whether it's a dance, a lecture, or even a cake.