Welcome! If you’re eager to experience the transformative power of meditation for health, performance, wellbeing, and growth, Mindful Skills was made for you. Here you will find programs, articles, videos, and resources to support you on your mindfulness journey within a global community of likeminded practitioners.
Private Consultations
By appointment
In person or virtual
Many people turn to meditation only after they have exhausted other means of finding relief from afflictions like anxiety, stress, and depression. But there’s an important distinction between meditation and what we commonly think of as “therapy”. Therapy emphasizes our stories and dramas; meditation aims at “suchness” — a direct encounter with the present moment, unmediated by our opinions and personal histories. At first, training our minds to abide in “suchness” seems counterintuitive, even nonsensical. But after just a few weeks of regular practice, we notice our perceptions, intentions, words, and actions starting to shift to a more spacious and compassionate ground of being. This gives us the insight and the space we need to reframe our story in the context of healing and growth.
Private sessions range from 60-75 minutes, and are individually tailored to the needs of the client. For further information and to book a session, please send a message through our Contact page.
“George is genuinely committed to helping his students improve their lives through the practice of meditation. His experience and knowledge of the field is deep and wide. He is remarkably non-judgmental, patient and friendly. I highly recommend him as a teacher."
— Gary Trosclair, DMA, LCSW, psychotherapist, Jungian analyst, and author of The Healthy Compulsive Project book, blog and podcast.
Public Seminars
By appointment
Please book at least two months in advance
Of all the skills I have ever learned, mindfulness is without a doubt the most powerful and universally accessible. I am passionate about sharing this knowledge, and I especially love public forums. My programs for schools, colleges, prisons, and companies emphasize practice over theory, and results over ideology. Each session includes content from neuroscience, meditation exercises from 5-20 minutes long, Q&A and sharing. My background in the corporate world, where I was a director at a Fortune-500 company, enables me, as necessary, to integrate your organization’s goals and objectives into the lesson plan.
For more information about how your institution can host a mindfulness seminar, send me a message today via our Contact page.
“George Chen was recruited to our school as a mindfulness teacher. We are a public urban school with 475 students from Pre-K - 6th grade. George reached every student and staff member and dozens of parents with the tenets of mindfulness. The overall emotional climate of our school improved immensely. George's services should be in every organization, school, and corporation in the world. “
— Timo Hughes, School Principal
Emergency Stress Management
By appointment
In person or virtual
If you’re stressed right now, try breathing along with the animation above. Do it for three to five breath cycles, and then pause and observe how you’re feeling. Amazing, right? It’s called 4-7-8 breathing, and it’s a scientifically proven way to take the edge off of stress and anxiety in real time. I have many tools like this that are very effective in emergencies, and I am eager to share them with you. They fall into a category that I call proto-meditation, and I believe that simple versions of some of them were practiced by our prehistoric ancestors. Over eons of time, these ancient methods evolved into the meditation techniques that we know today.
So don’t worry if you don’t think you’re interested in meditation. You don’t have to be. If you’re suffering from chronic stress and want relief, click on the Contact button and send me a message.
“I was referred to George by a friend. The results have been astonishing. Even many of my health markers like blood pressure and blood sugar have improved since starting my practice. Working with George is the best thing I've ever done for myself.”
— Bob Feinberg, Auto executive, Yonkers, NY
Cedar Knolls Sangha
Weekly on Saturdays (10:30 AM - Noon ET) Virtual
In this group, offered free-of-charge on a voluntary donation basis, we meditate, study, and share in the tradition of Vietnamese Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh. Buddhism is one of the most ingenious and accessible systems of wisdom and spiritual cultivation ever devised. Even so, Thich Nhat Hanh often said, “Don’t become a Buddhist. Take what you learn here and use it to refresh your own tradition.” In this spirit, Cedar Knolls Sangha is ecumenical and nondenominational. Our mission is to freely share time-honored tools for establishing, nourishing, and maintaining your own transformative meditation practice in the midst of ordinary, day-to-day life.
Visitors, including those who are new to meditation, are most welcome to our sangha on any Saturday. To join us, please send a request from the Contact page.
“Participating with George in his weekly Sangha (at 7:30 Saturday morning California time) provides me with an opportunity to renew my meditation practice, to learn new resources, to enhance my overall wellbeing, to take time for myself despite whatever chaos is bubbling in my surroundings. These 90-minute sessions are an oasis of tranquility, education and self care for which I am grateful.”
— Lois K-F, Ph.D., Palm Desert, CA
Nonviolent Communication (NVC) Study Group
Sundays 7:30 - 9:00 PM
Virtual
NVC is a system designed to deepen connections and resolve disputes. Its founder, Marshall Rosenberg, Ph.D., played a key role in desegregating American schools, mediated violent conflicts in dozens of countries, and was the recipient of many international accolades and humanitarian awards. In this weekly session, we practice and share new ways of hearing others and resolving conflicts through deep awareness of perceptions, feelings, needs, and requests, with a particular emphasis on the attitudinal underpinnings of the system.
To facilitate this process, we also bring personality archetypes to bear, using the Enneagram, a well-respected typology system. This personality-informed perspective enables us to more readily understand our own and others' needs, and to distinguish between needs that perpetuate dysfunctional patterns from those that engender spiritual transformation.
This study group is open to anyone with a sincere interest in using NVC as a framework to explore and apply the principles of Right View, Right Intention, and Right Speech. To join us, please send a request from our Contact page.
“The NVC Study Group has literally transformed my life by making me aware that our usual language of dominance and obligation can, with a little effort, truly be transformed into a language of love. The use of personality archetypes injects an added dimension of insight and inspiration into this process.”
— Ed Schmitt, MD, Soldotna, AK
Groupe de Méditation Francophone
Hebdomadaire le lundi à midi (heure de New York) Réunion virtuelle
Cette session hebdomadaire, offerte gratuitement sur la base d'un don volontaire, s'adresse aux méditants francophones souhaitant bénéficier de la facilité de la méditation en groupe. L'accent est mis sur la résolution des problèmes courants qui surviennent au cours de la pratique de la méditation.
Cette session s'adresse aux méditants de tous niveaux, du débutant au avancé. Pour vous inscrire, veuillez envoyer une demande à partir de notre page Contact.
“George Chen est l'un des meilleurs guides de méditation et de spiritualité au monde aujourd'hui.”
— Thierry Arpino, Batteur / Percussionniste, Montpellier, France
Thursday Mindfulness Group
Weekly on Thursdays (1 - 2 PM ET) Virtual
This weekly practice session, offered on a donation basis, is designed especially for private students wishing to benefit from the ease of meditation in a group setting. The emphasis is on practical solutions to common problems that come up in the course of meditation practice.
This session is for meditators of all levels, from beginner to advanced. To join us, please send a request from our Contact page.
“George is kind, compassionate, endlessly knowledgeable, and above all patient. My life has changed for the better having met him. I am grateful."
— Chris Bunney, New York, NY