CANADA’S FIRST
MINDFULNESS
GRAD PROGRAM
TO LAUNCH
This fall, the Uni-
versity of the Fra-
ser Valley, with four
campuses in Brit-
ish Columbia, will
launch a 10-month
mostly online
graduate program
in mindfulness-
based teaching
and learning. It’s
the first Cana-
dian university to
offer a graduate
degree in mindful-
ness; a handful
of universities in
the US have also
added the topicto their graduate
programming.
The UFV program
comprises four
courses provid-
ing personal
exploration of the
topic, a deep dive
into theory and
research in the
field, and training
to facilitate mind-
ful instruction. The
for-credit classes
are also designed
to be transferable
toward numer-
ous professional
graduate study
programs, includ-
ing masters and
doctoral programs
in education.TAKE A MINDFUL SIP
Pour yourself a glass of water.
Notice the weight of the glass in
your hand, how the cool water feels
against your lips. Let the moment
refresh you in body and mind.ACTS OF
kindness
While out for din-
ner with friends in
Oxford, Alabama,
Jamario Howards
noticed a woman
eating alone and
went over to speak
with her. It turned
out to be the day
before her 60th
anniversary with
her late husband.
He invited her
to join him and
his friends, and
they’ve been meet-
ing her regularly
for dinner since.“Regardless of
your industry, the
MBTL gradu-
ate certificate
prepares you to
become a profes-
sional mindful-
ness leader while
deepening your
own mindful-
ness practice
and knowledge,”
the UFV course
description reads.BOOKS BRING
US TOGETHER
In a celebration of
community and
connection, Dutch
street artists Jan
Is de Man and
Deef Feed created
a striking trompe
l’oeil mural on an
apartment build-
ing in Utrecht,
Netherlands. They
asked residents
about their favorite
books and painted
the suggestions
on a massive,
multicultural book-
shelf, representing
eight languages.In the German
town of Bensheim,
a chubby rat got
stuck in a manhole
cover, so a team
of eight rescu-
ers, comprised of
firefighters and
animal rescuers,
spent about 25
minutes helping
the rat escape
to freedom,
unharmed. “Even
animals that are
hated by many
people deserve
respect,” animal
rescuer Michael
Sehr told German
news agency DPA.When 80-year-
old elementary
school janitor Haze
Mabry in Zebulon,
Georgia, showed
up for work on his
birthday, instead
of finding a messy
school to clean,he found nearly
800 students lined
up to sing him a
happy birthday,
hand him buckets
of cards, and give
him hugs.August 2019 mindful 11top of mind
PH
OT
OG
RA
PH
BY
JA
N^
IS^
DE
M
AN