This half-day workshop with Dr. Thurston will feature elements from his courses at George Mason University.  Integrating scientific findings from Positive Psychology along with traditional wisdom of spiritual development, this workshop will offer practical insights for increasing your capacity to deal with the challenges of modern life.

Resiliency is defined as "the ability to persist in the face of challenges and to bounce back from adversity."  Those who have honed the faculty of resiliency fare better when faced with life's uncertainty and challenges.  All of us can benefit from learning more about resiliency.  We can all learn how to develop and wisely use this tool to help us rebound from life's challenges and traumas.

However, as spiritual seekers, we know that there is more available to us than what the common understanding of resiliency offers.  What are the deeper roots – even the spiritual underpinnings – of this faculty?   How can we move from the traditional sense of resilience as  "the ability to persist in the face of challenges and to bounce back from adversity" to a new kind of resilience –  "transformative resilience"  – that emphasizes the capacity to respond to adversity in such a way that one becomes stronger, wiser, and more capable.

Mark Thurston, Ph.D. is Senior Fellow at George Mason University’s Center for Consciousness and Transformation.  With an academic background in psychology, Mark has worked for 35 years in adult education related to consciousness, holistic health, and personal transformation.  He is author of numerous books related to personal spirituality, dream psychology, meditation, and the transformation of consciousness, including Spirituality for Busy People, and Twelve Positive Habits of Spiritually Centered People.  This workshop is based on material he offers through his academic courses at George Mason University, as well as through the Personal Transformation and Courage Institute, a non-profit educational organization for which he is a cofounder and course leader