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SUMMARY:Online CE Event – “FROM STRIVING TO STILLNESS: Awakening into Effortless Being” with Martha Stark\, MD
DESCRIPTION:Saturday\, October 17\, 202610:00 am – 1:30 pm (PT) | 1:00 pm – 4:30 pm (ET) \n3 CEs ZOOM EventLIVE and RECORDED for Later Viewing \nPresented by Martha Stark MD | Harvard Medical SchoolSponsored by Wright Institute Los Angeles (WILA) | Los Angeles \n“Just going along … listening to what you cannot hear … and not bothering.”A. A. Milne \n			\n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				PROGRAM DESCRIPTION\nRestriction is our default mode – the perpetual striving “to become\,” without ever finding satisfaction in simply “being.” \nThe 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. \nHere\, the optimal stressor is “spiritual detachment”: the gentle challenge of loosening our grip and discovering that nothing essential is lost. \nWe 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 grasping for the next moment\, stop reaching for ever more – something quietly shifts: awareness expands\, rigidity softens\, tension releases\, and a soft okayness from within begins to make itself known. \nMy 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 breaths – embodies the transition from “effortful doing” to “effortless being\,” with stillness and quiet emerging of their own accord within each moment. Participants will be taught the “physiological sigh\,” an elegant neuropsychological technique that facilitates the body’s shift toward expansive presence. \nInspired 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. \nThese breath-based practices – allowing an easing from defensive contraction into still presence – also resonate with the work of Stephen Porges\, whose Polyvagal Theory describes a parallel movement from dysregulation to regulation: from either too much activation (sympathetic hyperarousal and vigilance) or too little activation (dorsal vagal hypoarousal\, withdrawal\, and shutdown) to just-right – optimal – regulation (ventral vagal safety\, openness\, and receptivity). \nBuilding 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\, the guarding softens\, the striving relents\, and simply being is enough. \nAs 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. \n			\n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				LEARNING OBJECTIVES\nUpon completion of the program participants should be able to: \n\nDescribe Carl Jung’s concept of integrating shadow and self in order to expand consciousness beyond defensive patterns\nArticulate Jon Kabat-Zinn’s concept that mindfulness practice enhances moment-to-moment awareness while fostering of resilience and clarity\nIlluminate Tara Brach’s integration of acceptance and radical self-compassion as guiding the heart toward freedom from self-judgment\n\n			\n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				PRESENTER\n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n					MARTHA STARK MD\, a graduate of Harvard Medical School and the Boston Psychoanalytic Institute\, is a clinical consultant specializing in therapeutic strategies for challenging treatments. She is an innovative psychoanalyst\, internationally recognized author\, dynamic speaker\, and visionary thinker who has devoted her career to translating complex psychodynamic concepts into real-world clinical practice.Dr. Stark is Creator & Developer of THE ST★RK METHOD of PSYCHODYNAMIC SYNERGY\, an integrative model highlighting six dimensions of resilience in the therapeutic process – a multifaceted approach to deep\, embodied transformation and healing.She has served as long-time Clinical Faculty (part-time) at Harvard Medical School and is Co-Founder & Co-Director of the Center for Psychoanalytic Studies at William James College. Additionally\, she holds appointments as Voluntary Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and as Adjunct Faculty in the doctoral counseling program at the Asia Graduate School of Theology in the Philippines.As the Founder & CEO of SynergyMed for MindBodyHealth®\, Dr. Stark is dedicated to the integration of traditional (downstream) medical approaches with nontraditional (upstream) healing practices to incentivize proactive mind-body well-being.An award-winning author of nine influential books – including Relentless Hope: The Refusal to Grieve and Modes of Therapeutic Action: Knowledge\, Experience\, and Relationship – her works have received widespread acclaim and are considered essential reading in psychoanalytic training institutes and psychodynamic psychotherapy training programs across the United States and internationally.Dr. Stark has been steadily gaining recognition for her ability to provide a comprehensive and compelling conceptual framework that illuminates the psychotherapeutic process as a powerful catalyst for personal renewal and resilience.She brings her synergistic paradigm to life – and extends its global reach – through weekly 90-minute F.R.E.E. Spot Supervision Zoom Sessions (both “live” and “recorded” for later viewing on her Private YouTube Channel)\, a vibrant international forum offering clinicians from diverse cultures and disciplines the opportunity to witness and reflect upon the application of THE ST★RK METHOD to the art and science of complex\, nuanced therapeutic work. \n					\n					 \n				\n			\n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				CE INFORMATION\n\n3 CE credits\nThis CE is at the beginner\, intermediate\, and advanced level\nTo receive CE credit you must attend the entire event\n\n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				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. \n			\n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				INSERT GIVE SHORTCODE HERE\n			\n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				  \n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				Rates go up on 10/03/26!Licensed Clinician – $xxWILA Alumni Member – $xxStudent / Pre-licensed Clinician – $xx \n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				WILA Alumni get a discount!Membership gives you many benefits including discounts on CE events like this one. Join or Renew today to save! \n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				Refunds and CancellationsRegistrants who cancel with more than 24 hours’ notice are eligible to receive a 50% refund by emailing WILA’s Business Director \n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				Questions or concerns?Email info@wilaalumni.org for help
URL:https://wilaalumni.org/event/2026-ce-stark/
LOCATION:Zoom (link will be emailed upon registration)
CATEGORIES:CE
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