These days mindfulness is promoted everywhere from TV shows and major magazines to the website of the Mayo Clinic. However, it’s a subtle construct that many people find difficult to grasp and even harder to practice. This talk will dissect what mindfulness really means, discuss recent research on why it’s valuable, and offer a few tips on how to integrate it into your life.

Doc Heide is best known locally as co-founder, performer, artistic advisor, board member, and writer for Northern Sky Theater. He has appeared on the Peninsula State Park stage since 1973 and co-authored 20 musicals including Belgians in Heaven, Packer Fans from Outer Space, Guys & Does, and the forthcoming Hell’s Belgians. A summa cum laude graduate of UWGB, he holds a doctorate in clinical psychology from The Pennsylvania State University. Doc is an award-winning professor on the graduate faculty of the California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant International University in San Francisco and co-founder of the Huston Smith Center for Psychological and Spiritual Development. He has published in professional journals on meditation, charisma, paradoxical reactions to practicing relaxation, the power of musicals to affect attitudes, and other topics.