Being calm and composed in difficult situations is not only an immensely useful life skill, but a learnable one, "in just 15 minutes a day!" In this talk, you'll not only learn about the what, why, and how of equanimity, but also get an interactive lesson on just how easy it is to cultivate it in your daily life.

1. Tori Amos
“I found the secret to
life. I'm okay when
everything is not okay.”

2. Cultivating Equanimity
Chris LuVogt - Convox 2014

3. What if...you could have
➔mental calmness
➔composure
➔presence of mind
especially in difficult
situations...
...without drugs, in 15 minutes/day?
Equanimity

4. 1. Resistance…
...is futile

5. 2. Going
with the
flow...
...can get you
lost...
© thefloatingcork.com
© Zellner Bros
...or worse...
© whale-world.com

6. © reefnews.com
3. Equanimity - centered resilience

7. © thecolor.com
Life is
always
throwing you
more plates…
...and you’re
always trying
to catch & spin
them.
Why?

8. © thecolor.com
You need
a way to
selectively
choose
which plates
to spin…
...a way to
focus your
attention

10. Anxiety
== not Equanimity

11. Anxiety
== not Equanimity

12. Why Equanimity? Typical Interaction:
ReactionEvent
Emotion / Habit

13. Why Equanimity? Better Interaction:
ReactionEvent
Emotion / Habit
RespondNotice Reflect
Emotion / Habit

14. ➔mental calmness
➔composure
➔presence of mind
Cultivating Equanimity
Practice
Practice
Practice
Mindfulness
Meditation

15. Cultivating Equanimity - Meditation
Reaction
Thought
or
Emotion
Focus
on
Breath
Notice
Reflect
w/o
Judging

16. distraction
negative emotions
rumination
emotional reactivity
anxiety
depression
Scientific
Evidence
Mindfulness
Meditation

17. Scientific
Evidence
Mindfulness
Meditation
distraction
negative emotions rumination
emotional reactivity
anxiety
depression
relationship satisfaction
info processing
cognitive flexibility
immune function
emotion regulation
intuition
resilience
...and the
effects
scale!

18. A Case Study - “The Pit”
Better Relationships
Presence of Mind
Listening
Resilience
Persistence
Noticing Child-like
Wonder
Willpower
Centered
Less Fear
Tolerance
Compassion

19. Cultivating Equanimity
Chris LuVogt - Convox 2014
© reefnews.com

20. Conscientiousness
Persistence
Physical
Behaviors
Mental
Behaviors
Social
Behaviors
Reset Yourself
Daily
Measure
Daily
Healthy Habits
& Paths
Physically
Healthy
Behaviors
Mentally
Healthy
Behaviors
Socially
Healthy
Behaviors
Health
Longevity Happiness
“Measure”
Continuously
Reset
Continuously
Notice
Reflect
Respond