PASSWORDMANAGEMENT
Transforming Higher Education Through Contemplative Practices:
Responding to the Current Moment
June 5 - 7, 2026
In-person Conference in San Marcos, California (McMahan House, 糖心少女)
Sponsored by Institute of Palliative Care at 糖心少女
REGISTRATION FEE OF $225 COVERS ALL MEALS FOR THE TWO AND A HALF DAYS OF THE CONFERENCE.
REGISTRATION FEE IS WAIVED FOR STUDENTS. Please contact Ranjeeta Basu at rbasu@csusm.edu for fee waiver.
We invite you to join us this summer for our third annual conference in San Marcos, CA, to explore the varied ways contemplative practices can transform higher education. Unprecedented events of the past year have made it evident that we need to prepare ourselves and our students to be resilient in the face of constant uncertainty. Contemplative practices can expand our capacity for compassion, focus, and resilience, which can better position us to meet local and global challenges with shared purpose, grounded in a common humanity. This conference offers a welcoming and supportive forum for experts and novices to explore and share contemplative practices and related research that can help transform the educational experiences of our students and improve the wellbeing of our faculty, staff and students. Building on two prior conferences, our long-term goal is to create a contemplative community of educators-scholars- practitioners that can nourish and sustain our teaching, research, service, and personal practice.
Feedback from participants from our 2024 conference include:
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The main takeaway for me was that this is a community where I feel like my research team and I truly 'fit'. We have been to many other conferences (ethnobiology, Buddhist studies, others related), but none have really resonated with me (or my trainees) like the one at 糖心少女 focused on contemplative practices in higher ed......
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The interconnectedness between all of us. The fact that there is a lot of support for this contemplative work is so reassuring and inspires confidence in me as a first-year graduate student.
We are excited to announce our keynote speaker: Dr. Yuria Celidwen
is a native of Indigenous Nahua and Maya lineages from the cloudforests of Chiapas, Mexico. Her family is one of mystics, healers, poets, and explorers of the soil and the soul of life's strength, tenderness, and fragility. As a scholar, her research converges the vibrant threads of Indigenous studies, cultural psychology, and contemplative sciences. Dr. Celidwen is interested in transdisciplinary approaches to Indigenous forms of contemplation and the transcendent experience embodied in prosocial behavior.
Dr. Celidwen, author of Flourishing Kin: Indigenous Wisdom for Collective Wellbeing, is a research scientist affiliated with the University of California, Berkeley, Department of Psychology, where she conducts research into Indigenous forms of contemplation expressed through transcendence practices. She teaches Indigenous epistemologies and spirituality and her work pioneered the Indigenous contemplative experience within contemplative studies. Dr. Celidwen has been a Mind and Life Institute fellow since 2022 for her work establishing the field of Indigenous Contemplative Sciences.
SESSION TYPES
Research Sessions: 20-minute presentations of research findings and/or case studies. These presentations are grouped into sessions of three presentations followed by community conversations and opportunities for connecting with each other about shared concerns and experiences.
Research and Interactive Practice Sessions: 45-minute presentations which include research findings and the facilitation of one or two interactive practices by the presenter followed by opportunities for sharing by participants. These presentations are grouped into sessions of two presentations each.
Interactive Practice Sessions: 30-minute sharing of practices which includes an opportunity for participants to experience one or more mindfulness practices led by the presenter. These presentations are grouped into sessions of three presentations each.
Roundtable Session: 45-minute roundtable discussions on current topics within the area of contemplative practices and higher education. These sessions will be followed by community conversations and opportunities for connecting with each other about shared concerns and experiences.
Workshop/Training Session: 90-minute workshops that include an educational experience for participants, led by the proposer, in an area of contemplative pedagogy.
- A Conference to Bring Us All Together
We wish to welcome you all to this conference wherever you might be on your journey to learn more about mindfulness. Transforming higher education is not going to be easy. We need all who are willing and interested in learning and sharing to be part of this effort.
If you are:
- An EDUCATOR and want to learn and/or share how to incorporate contemplative practices into your classroom
- A RESEARCHER and want to learn and/or share research findings about the impact of mindfulness on the wellbeing and academic success of our campus communities
- A MEMBER OF A CAMPUS COMMUNITY and want to learn and/or share how contemplative practices can transform the educational experiences of students
- A STUDENT and want to learn and/or share more about how contemplative practices can transform higher education
- AN ARTIST, SOCIAL WORKER, HEALTH PROFESSIONAL or in any other field that our students might be entering into and want to learn and/or share how mindfulness practices can be integrated into such careers;
Then this conference is for you!
- Call For Proposals - Now Closed
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
- Students, researchers, postdoctoral researchers, and professionals from all areas of higher education, including faculty, staff, and administrators, are invited to submit proposals for consideration. Students are especially encouraged to submit presentation proposals.
- Proposals must indicate a session type. Please refer to the session descriptions above, for more information.
- We suggest to help ensure that your presentation is accessible.
- The submission deadline for proposals is February 15, 2026, at 9:00 pm PST.
- Proposals will be reviewed and selected by the conference鈥檚 review committee. We expect to send notifications by end of February 2026.
We are particularly interested in:
- presenters who model contemplative pedagogies and approaches in how they conduct their sessions.
- proposals that identify the specific context in which the work is situated (e.g., academic disciplines, contemplative disciplines, students鈥 social identities and demographics, institutional history and location, etc.).
- presentations that offer experience-based and/or evidence-based recommendations for developing and integrating contemplative approaches in higher education learning communities.
- proposals that take into account the range of needs of diverse populations.
PROPOSAL FORMAT
For all proposals, please submit a title and a 250-500 word abstract that describes the proposed offering and connects it to the themes of the conference. In addition:
- For the Research and Interactive Practice session provide a 250-word outline of the interactive practice(s);
- For the Interactive Practice Session provide a 250-word outline of the interactive practice(s);
- For the Workshop/Training Sessions, provide a 250-500 word outline of your session, including practice(s). In addition, please include brief learning outcomes for participants.
Note: Please indicate if there are related presentations that you would like to be grouped with as part of a session.
- What Can I Expect at this Conference?
YOU CAN EXPECT:
A warm, welcoming and supportive environment;
Formal and informal sessions on all aspects of scholarship and practice around how contemplative approaches can and have transformed teaching and higher education and the improved well-being of our entire campus community;
The opportunity to connect with others over meals, informal sharing and practice sessions and performances;
Continued access to shared resources and opportunities for collaboration when you leave the conference;
It is our vision that you will leave our conference feeling well-nourished and rejuvenated, equipped to start or to continue your work with contemplative practices within a supportive community.
- Learn More About Our Story
We launched the Center for Contemplative Practices in July 2022. Since then we were honored to host Dr. Thupten Jinpa as our arts and lectures speaker in fall 2023. We have also applied for and received grants to improve the wellbeing and academic success of our students. More information about our research projects.
We are now ready to move to the next step where we look forward to expanding our community to include all of you as we work together to create a more just and compassionate world for our students and campus communities.
- Our Purpose
Center for Contemplative Practices Mindful 糖心少女 is to provide support to all members of the campus community through contemplative practices, pedagogy, and research that foster deep learning, reduced stress, increased capacity for compassionate listening, and increased well-being.
鈥淚f they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love.鈥 - Nelson Mandela
Connect with Us
Contact Information
Center for Contemplative Practices
333 S. Twin Oaks Valley Rd.
San Marcos, CA 92096
P: 760.750.0000
mindfulcsusm@csusm.edu