by Michelle Becker
How compassion for our partner and ourselves can help when disillusionment and negativity bias kick in.
Blog

Self-Compassionate Parenting Through Addiction Recovery
by Catherine Polan Orzech
Mothers in recovery face the challenges as parents that others of us will never have to face. But they also face many of the same internal hurdles that bedevil all parents. We can learn from them, and with them, how learning to parent ourselves with mindfulness and compassion can help us engage with and recover from our own daily challenges in the amazing journey of being a parent.

MSC-T Teacher Training Comes to Australia
Teens often live in a world where they constantly feel under scrutiny. Every waking moment is filled with a sense that they are being watched, their flaws exposed as if under a microscope. They compare themselves to their peers and feel that they come up short. They feel inadequate, unworthy, and often consumed with shame. The feeling of emotional safety often eludes them.

Free Webinar: Recruiting Men for Your Self-Compassion Courses
As an MSC teacher, you have no doubt noticed that men tend to be a very small percentage of your classes. Learn more about the particular challenges most men face when considering and participating in MSC classes. This webinar will provide information about some of the underlying causes of this tendency as well as possible ways to engage men more effectively.

Privilege, Power and a Pair of Plastic Earrings: The Inner Capacity of Self-Compassion
Written by Dr. Steve Hickman
Her radiance, the lack of self-consciousness, the spirit of a Carioca (a resident of Rio) all shone through because she could embrace her true nature as a glorious, lively, perfectly imperfect human being who simply wants to be happy and free from suffering.

Policies for Hosting MSC Teacher Trainings
CMSC takes seriously our role as the world’s authority on self-compassion training. The format, content and teaching team for each TT are critical to their effectiveness so CMSC maintains close oversight and control of these programs.

Zoom Consultation Sessions: More Than Just a Nice Idea
It has come to our attention that there are a number of people teaching MSC around the world who have never attended or completed the mandatory group Zoom consultation sessions required of all teachers to attain Trained Teacher Status. This rather alarming news has prompted CMSC to further state and clarify our policy about teaching MSC and the process for becoming a Trained Teacher of Mindful Self-Compassion.

Why Women Need Fierce Self-Compassion
Written by Dr. Kristin Neff
In many ways the #MeToo movement can be seen as the collective arising of female yang. We are finally speaking up to protect ourselves, our sisters, our daughters and sons. Thank goodness. Women need to fully embrace and integrate both tender and fierce compassion if we are ever going to free ourselves from patriarchy.
Fill Classes, Gain Credibility, and Stand United with Your MSC Colleagues Around the Globe
With the recent publication and of the Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook by Kristin and Chris, more people than ever are visiting the CMSC website to explore MSC courses in their area….
Teacher Festival Videos and Supporting Documents Now Available!
You can now enjoy all the recorded sessions of the 2018 MSC Teacher Festival! Please click here and log in to access the videos on Power School Learning. If you…

Let’s stay connected
At CMSC, we would like to have the most accurate and up-to-date information on all our teachers so that we can keep in touch and target our communications more effectively. For example, we are currently missing a lot of teachers’ geographical locations and language preferences. If you provide this for us, we can send you information that is the most relevant and timely for you.

12 Questions to Ask a Potential Co-Teacher
Finding the right co-teacher is probably more of an art than a science. Here are 12 questions to help you along the way.

Who Am I NOT to Teach?
Who am I to teach MSC? I’ve no Masters in Mindfulness. I don’t hold a PhD in Self-Compassion. I am not a researcher, a clinician or a psychologist. I am no expert in this field. I cannot quote chapter and verse regarding the research of MSC and I cannot remember all the science behind all the benefits. Sometimes I can barely remember what day it is!
Well Adjusted?
As a zoom host and MSC Mentor, I often hear about how people are adjusting the MSC curriculum. I also field questions about when and how to decide to make an adjustment. While there are some adaptations that are important and skillful, beautiful actually, others seem to actually detract from the program. …

Meet Beth Sternlieb, Mindful Self-Compassion Sponsored Retreat Teacher, co-leader of the upcoming Mindfulness and Self-Compassion Retreat, July 22-27
An Interview with Kimberly Sogge, MSC Volunteer Retreat Coordinator It was such a delight to spend an hour on May 1, 2018 reaching out from snowy Canada to sunny Los…
Meet the Mentor: Tina Gibson
Professional Biography: I am an experienced and passionate Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) and Mindfulness Teacher, having facilitated programs within the Education System (to both children and teachers), Cancer Support, Women’s Health…

MSC Teacher selected as one of China’s Top 50 Influential Figures in the Mental Health Sector
Our China-based Certified MSC Teacher and Teacher Trainer, Hailan Guo was selected as one of China’s Top 50 Influential Figures in the Mental Health Sector by YiXinli, China’s largest mental health education and consultation platform with over 17 million subscribers.

How is a Retreat Like Rock Music?
Written by Dr. Kimberly Sogge
After an evening of soaking in Pink Floyd’s iconoclastic sound, I came away convinced that their legendary rock music is the perfect metaphor for the processes of transformation at work in the human psyche on a meditation retreat. If you are considering making an extended retreat part of your practice, consider the following and then, as my first zen teacher used to say “believe nothing I tell you; go, and find out for yourself”.
CMSC Seeking Volunteers to Support Our Work!
As MSC continues to make its way around the globe and more people learn about the power of self-compassion, the non-profit Center for Mindful Self-Compassion has done its best to…
“I love you Bro, you’re gonna get through this …” Lessons in Self-Compassion From a U.S. Prison
What could possibly be the role of self-compassion in a prison? And how could such a concept ever be of use to hardened lifers in one of the toughest prisons in the United States?

Self-Compassion and Teen Suicide: A Mother’s Quest to Break Barriers
My son Benji reminds me of Lovejoy, the glowing green comet that visited earth a few years ago for the first time in 11,500 years. Both are beautiful and rare, other-worldly phenomena transiting my life.
Mindful Parenting: Resilient Children: Parenting in a Rapidly Changing World
Families today live in a society that is rapidly changing, increasingly demanding, faster moving, overly stimulating, increasingly unpredictable, and financially insecure. In the midst of this, stress-related symptoms and conditions in adults and children alike have become common, and cross all socioeconomic lines.

Free monthly online peer support sessions available for Trained Teachers of MSC
Have you gained your trained teacher status? The support you’ve received along the way can continue, as each month there are different dates and times to choose from to connect…

Deepening your practice with MSC silent retreats
“Go to the Forest, the Root of a Tree or an Empty Hut.” – Satipattana Sutta View all retreats taught by MSC Teachers Deepening your practice with silent retreats By…

On Teaching a Healthcare Adaptation of MSC
By Natalie Bell, Certified MSC Teacher Many teachers have asked about offering a shorter, adapted version of the 8-week MSC program. We know that for some populations, i.e. professional caregivers…

Burning Desire, Telling Truth
I recall my visceral response to Chris Germer’s question: ‘What burns most in your heart that has to be done in this lifetime?’

Maintaining Consistency and Integrity of MSC
As MSC goes far and wide, we feel an obligation to our teachers and prospective students to help maintain the consistency and integrity of the program.

Teacher Insights: How do you fill your MSC classes?
Remember the first time you taught MSC? Those early days can feel daunting, and receiving wisdom from those who have walked the path before us can be so supportive.

Taking Compassion into the World
Just the other day, I spent two hours partying with 80 inmates on one of the yards at R.J. Donovan Prison in San Diego. That’s a statement I never imagined I would write…