Mindfulness & Compassion
Cultivating inner well-being
What is Mindful Awareness, Loving Kindness & Compassion?
Mindfulness is the knowing quality of mind. It is an essential quality that everyone has – anyone can mindful. When we pay attention in this open, present, non-judgemental way, we are cultivating awareness. This awareness applies to our experiences, environment, ourselves and those around us. Developing the capacity for self-awareness allows us to know our experience and make wise choices regarding our actions. Once we know our mind, we can cultivate positive habits that support health and wellness. There is a large – and growing – body of research to support the benefits of mindful awareness practices.
More about Mindfulness as a Practice
Originating in Buddhist practice, mindfulness is a non-religious approach to understanding one’s mind. Awareness is simply the quality of mind that knows experience. Over time we can learn to cultivate recognition of awareness, becoming more present and attentive every day. Cator has trained in mindful awareness practices for over 30 years. When appropriate she incorporates mindfulness tools for the benefit of her clients.
Loving-kindness and compassion are natural expressions of mindful awareness. These are positive qualities of mind that we all have, and which can also be recognized. Cator’s work with others is rooted in applying compassion and loving-kindness in every relationship, with the intent to support individuals on their healing journey.
Cator began mindfulness practice in 1990 to support healing from chronic illness. From 1993-95 she lived in Buddhist centers and spiritual communities. She continues to take regular periods for intensive practice annually. Cator was an intern at the Worcester Medical Center Mindfulness Clinic (now the UMass memorial health center for Mindfulness) in the spring of 1995 where she trained to provide Mindfulness based stress reduction to others. She was a weekly volunteer at the Zen Hospice Project in San Francisco for 5 years (2000-2004). A member of the Spirit Rock Teen Council, Cator taught mindfulness and meditation to teens and families from 2001-2006. As the founder of Youth Yoga Dharma, Cator developed curriculum for yoga and mindfulness programs for youth and teachers and trained people internationally (2002-2012). She has a certificate in Buddhist Chaplaincy from the Sati Center (2019) and is in the 2024 cohort of the Meditation Teacher Program at Tergar International under the auspices of Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche. Her other teachers include Ruth Denison, who she assisted for several years before her passing in 2015, and Ajahn Pasanno, former abbot of Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery.
Resources for Further Reading
- Brown – https://www.brown.edu/public-health/mindfulness/home
- California/Davis – https://healthy.ucdavis.edu/mental-emotional/resource-library/general/mindfulness
- California/Los Angeles – https://www.uclahealth.org/programs/marc
- California/San Diego – https://cih.ucsd.edu/mindfulness
- Harvard: https://www.mindfulpublichealth.org/
- Stanford – https://ccare.stanford.edu/
- University of Wisconsin – Madison – https://centerhealthyminds.org/
