Ben Connelly – Mindfulness and Intimacy

Mindfulness is an ancient and powerful practice of awareness and nonjudgmental discernment that can help us ground ourselves in the present moment, with the world and our lives just as they are. But there’s a risk: by focusing our attention on something (or someone), we might always see it as something other, as separate from ourselves. To close this distance, mindfulness can be paired with a focus on intimacy, community, and interdependence.

About Ben Connelly: Ben Connelly is a Soto Zen teacher and Dharma heir in the Katagiri lineage. He also teaches mindfulness in a wide variety of secular contexts including police and corporate training, correctional facilities, and addiction recovery and wellness groups. Ben is based at Minnesota Zen Meditation Center, travels to teach across the United States, writes for Tricycle magazine, and is author of three books for Wisdom Publications. He lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.