A wholehearted journey in Mindfulness, Compassion and Gratefulness Practices to plant seeds for inner & outer transformation
"With beauty before me may I walk
With beauty behind me may I walk
With beauty above me may I walk
With beauty all around me, may I walk."
Walk in beauty is the translation of the Navajo term for the spiritual path of celebrating the sacredness of life. Thinking and acting in a Beauty Way sheds light on how we walk, feel physically and emotionally, and how we explore our own inner wilderness in relation to everyone and all life. To walk in beauty refers to being in balance and conscious relationship with a natural way of life, cultivating the intention to deeper understand the wisdom of nature. It is about remembering the mystery that all inter-is.
Walk in beauty also means remembering the spark of light in each of us, even in midst of challenging moments in our collective human experience. „Feel the preciousness of life", Bernie Glassman said in his last Bearing Witness Retreat in Auschwitz-Birkenau in 2017. As social human beings, we are equipped to feel with the joy and the suffering of others, ourselves and life on this precious planet Earth. By experience, we also know the desire to contribute to something vaster than just ourselves. We long for meaning to be happy.
Therefore, we need each other and the energy of community. To walk in beauty together and exploring the deeper meaning of interbeing is the overarching vision and solid ground of my work, teaching mindfulness, compassion and gratefulness practices. It is a lived path towards peace.
In this phase of my life, I offer to you planting seeds and walking together on a path that is inspired by my experience as a Certified Teacher in Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC), a Certified Teacher of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Yoga instructor (BDY/EYU, 500 hours). I work also as Certified Teacher with Mark Coleman’s "Awake in the Wild" year-long training in contemplative nature practice. I love to integrate elements of the EcoSattva training with OneEarth Sangha and Earth Holding practices from the Plumvillage Community. Trained in the Mindful Schools K12-Curriculum. Experienced in Council Practice (Zen Peace Makers) and various contemplative dialog formats (Bohm Dialog, Interpersonal Mindfulness by G. Kramer); trained in the Foundation Course “Time to Think”. Continuous trainings like "White Awake", "Cultural Healing, Restoring Kinship", based on "My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma" by Resmaa Menakem, "Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness" with David Treleaven. Trained in related MSC formats like "MSC for Healthcare", "MSC for Shame" and "Fierce Self-Compassion". Consultant and team member at Monviso Institute, Piemonte, a real-world laboratory for research, education, entrepreneurship and new living on sustainability transitions and regenerative design for a more resilient and just society; a contributor to the MOOC and CAS at ETH Zurich "Designing Resilient Regenerative Systems". An active team member in Jeremy Lent's "Deep Transformation Network". Co-founder of the Inner Development Goal (IDG) "Empathy and Compassion Hub" and official contributor to the Inner Development Goal Summit 2023 in Stockholm by co-hosting the RELATING domain space and co-facilitating in the BEING space, Un-Conference and After Glow with mindful self-compassion-based practices. Currently, teacher training in MBST, Mindfulness-Based SustainableTransformation, by Inner Green Deal.
By career, I hold one Master of Art (MA) degree in International Cultural & Business Studies (European Studies), and one MA in Development Cooperation & NGO Management. My work builds on 15 years of previous experience in international consultancy in development cooperation as project manager and consultant in evaluation in fields like education and health, among others, mostly for the European Commission, other international agencies or national governments and NGOs. In 2008, life invited me unexpectedly to change direction, arriving closer within, leaving the consultancy work and starting to practice and learn mindfulness, meditation, yoga and (self-)compassion practices. Since then, I feel immersed into continuous exploring, learning, teaching and training in the fields of mindfulness practices. For me, these trainings are supportive bridges into important fields like regeneration, anti-racism practices and awareness about the impact of our world views on how we live life and engage with others and our planet. I still love painting, being creative in many ways, backpack and immerse in the outdoors, as I was lucky to do plenty as a child. Playing Shakuhachi flute, handpan and dance enrich my life. And mostly, our three teens are my wise teachers.
While home base is Freiburg, Germany, I have worked and lived in France, Spain, Italy, Brazil, Peru, California, and other countries. I am fluent in German, English, Spanish, skilled in French and Italian and still keeping up basic Portuguese language skills.
While being trained in a broad range of mindfulness-based teachings formats (mindfulness understood as heartfulness, awareness and relationality), in my experience and vision, all formats flow together and support each other on a path towards a lived “Yes to belonging” and “Peace in oneself, Peace in the World”, experiencing our interconnectedness within the mysterious web of life.
October 7, 2024
"Friedlich leben beginnt in uns selbst"
November 11, 2024
Deepening what is alive in us in Council Practice format - monthly follow up on the topic of the DTN Live Event on each 1st Tuesday
November 21, 2024
Join us at the IDG "EMPATHY & COMPASSION" HUB for a monthly practice invitation - "HUMILITY"
December 1, 2024
Unser Herz berühren, Frieden finden und die Seele in der Natur Andalusiens baumeln lassen
December 11, 2024
Experiencing and co-creating a field of mindful dialog and grateful living in a world-wide community
December 16, 2024
Building Momentum Through Daily Practice with the "Awake in the Wild" Community
December 17, 2024
MSC-Meditationsgruppe ONLINE
January 23, 2025
"Dankbares Leben ist ein Weg zum Heilwerden der Welt.“ (Br. David Steindl-Rast). Wir möchten in diesem Kurs die Haltung dankbaren Lebens und unsere Verbundenheit mit dem Leben stärken, um in uns selbst und gemeinsam aktiv eine Basis für transformative, systemische Prozesse und Grundlagen für ein friedvolleres Miteinander mitzugestalten.
May 15, 2025
Achtsames Selbstmitgefühl, ergänzt durch Naturmeditation, achtsame Bewegung und Dyadenpraxis - ein Friedensbeitrag
September 1, 2025
A time to befriend yourself in community and deepen your connection to Planet Earth and your relation to the IDGs (Inner Development Goals)
For any questions, collaborations or just a simple 'Hello' you can reach me at mirjam@walk-in-beauty.org
You can also sign up for my newsletter to get the latest updates on new courses, talks or blog entries:
Inner and outer, mental and physical connection: Laboratory days on developing new teaching offers at the MonViso Institute
Mai 2020 bei AVE-Institut (45 min.)
The wild animals are lonely for us. We are lonely for them. We have become disconnected from each other. What would happen if we expanded our sense of community to truly include all living beings in our thinking and planning? Imagine what the state of our environment would then be. A conversation and an invitation.
The Center for Mindful Self-Compassion is proud to offer free, online Circles of Practice. There are Circles of Practice - Public Offering sessions which are open to the general public.
What is mindfulness? Talk and Guided Morning mindfulness meditation framing (video) and two practices (audio meditations 10-15 min.)
"Meditation in Auschwitz" - Aktueller Beitrag Spätsommer 2021 zu unseren Erfahrungen mit einem "Bearing Witness Retreat" der Zen Peace Makers mit Bernie Glassman in Auschwitz. Beitrag von Christine Brähler und Mirjam Luthe