Online CE Event (LIVE + RECORDED) –
“FROM STRIVING TO STILLNESS:
Awakening into Effortless Being”
with Martha Stark MD

Saturday, October 17, 2026
10:00 am – 1:30 pm (PT) | 1:00 pm – 4:30 pm (ET)

3 CEs ZOOM Event
LIVE + RECORDED for Later Viewing

Early-Bird Registration through October 3, 2026
(includes live attendance and access to the recording)
$25 (+ $25 for 3 CEs)

Standard Registration after October 3, 2026
(includes live attendance and access to the recording)
$35 (+ $25 for 3 CEs)

Presented by Martha Stark MD | Harvard Medical School
Sponsored by Wright Institute Los Angeles (WILA) | Los Angeles

“Just going along … listening to what you cannot hear … and not bothering.”
A. A. Milne

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

Restriction is our default mode – a relentless striving “to become,” without ever finding satisfaction in simply “being.”

The Pause-in-Striving Perspective of the Spiritual-Transcendent Approach featured in Model 6 of THE ST★RK METHOD of PSYCHODYNAMIC SYNERGY invites us into moments of liberating transition from “restricted, effortful striving” to “awakened, effortless being” – the emergence of a quiet “okayness of being” when striving relents and consciousness awakens.

Here, the optimal stressor is “spiritual detachment”: the gentle challenge of loosening our grip, coming face-to-face with long-hidden truths (often sobering, sometimes painful) that had been there all along, quietly waiting to be found, and settling into holding them without turning away.

We will explore the work of exemplars of awakened consciousness: Jon Kabat-Zinn, Thich Nhat Hanh, Eckhart Tolle, Tara Brach, Jack Kornfield, Pema Chödrön, Carl Jung, Ken Wilber, and Rumi – each illuminating the transformative power of pausing, even briefly, in the midst of daily striving. In these sacred micro-moments – when we stop defending, stop reaching ahead to the next moment, and stop striving for ever more – something quietly shifts: awareness expands, rigidity softens, tension releases, and a soft okayness from within begins to make itself known.

My Pause-in-Striving Perspective is complemented by the groundbreaking work of Ari Whitten, who reframes optimal breathing as a physiological gateway into unrestricted presence. His approach – neither mere abdominal breathing nor simple deep breathing – embodies the transition from “effortful doing” to “effortless being,” with stillness and quiet emerging of their own accord. Participants will be taught the “physiological sigh,” an elegant neurophysiological technique that supports the body’s shift toward expansive presence.

Inspired by Whitten’s work, I developed the concept of “Finding the Pause-in-Breathing StillPoint” – a gentle, intentional practice of briefly holding the breath for progressively longer intervals, thereby increasing tolerance for carbon dioxide, gently calming the autonomic nervous system, and supporting the suspension of effort, tension, narrative, and noise.

Breath-based approaches – allowing an easing from defensive contraction into still presence – resonate as well with the work of Stephen Porges, whose Polyvagal Theory describes a parallel movement from autonomic dysregulation to optimal regulation: from either too much activation (sympathetic hyperarousal and vigilance) or too little activation (dorsal vagal hypoarousal, withdrawal, and shutdown) to just-right regulation (ventral vagal safety, openness, and receptivity).

Building on this awakening of body and mind, Model 6 celebrates consciousness itself. What emerges is the quiet miracle of resting fully in the present: a spacious clarity able to hold the full spectrum of human experience – joy, sorrow, longing, fear, anger, heartbreak – without triggering defensive contraction. In this awakened field, guarding softens, striving relents, and simply being is enough.

As Rumi writes, “When the soul lies down in that grass, the world is too full to talk about.” Step onto the grass. Step into the freedom of detached presence and vibrant aliveness – fully inhabiting each unfolding moment without clinging, without striving, and with the gentle ease of simply being.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Upon completion of the program, participants will be able to:

1. articulate JON KABAT-ZINN’s concept that mindfulness practice enhances moment-to-moment awareness while fostering of resilience and clarity
2. examine THICH NHAT HANH’s teaching that awakened presence emerges from the gentle art of mindful living
3. explore ECKHART TOLLE’s emphasis on the power of now and the freedom that arises when we disengage from the compulsive activity of simply thinking
4. illuminate TARA BRACH’s integration of acceptance and radical self-compassion as guiding the heart toward freedom from self-judgment
5. discuss JACK KORNFIELD’s advocacy of meditation practice as a means of cultivating compassion and mindful openness in everyday life
6. explore PEMA CHÖDRÖN’s teaching that awakening unfolds as we gently release our grasping, remain present to life’s uncertainties, and develop the compassionate capacity to sit with even the most uncomfortable truths
7. describe CARL JUNG’s concept of integrating shadow and self in order to expand consciousness beyond defensive patterns
8. explain KEN WILBER’s concept of the integral (mind, body, and spirit) nature of human experience
9. elaborate upon the relationship between RUMI’s perspective on existence and the Model 6 spiritual-transcendent perspective of THE ST★RK METHOD

PRESENTER

CE INFORMATION

• 3 CEs (+ $25)
• This CE Event is at the beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels.

The Wright Institute Los Angeles (WILA) is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. WILA maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

Beginning Saturday, October 3, 2026
Standard Registration – $35
Additional $25 for 3 CEs

Refunds and Cancellations
Cancellations with more than
24 hours’ notice are eligible
to receive a 50% refund by
emailing WILA’s Business Director  businessdirector@wila.org

Questions?
Email info@wilaalumni.org