How We Engage

Does the thought of attending to your well-being feel overwhelming? Good news-- we've operationalized a framework to get you cooking in no time! Come learn more and earn CLE/CJE in the process. This is an on-demand recording, handout, and transcript of the live CLE that was presented on January 31, 2024. The program is approximately 1 hour long and has been approved by the Indiana Office of Admissions and Continuing Education for 1 hour of ethics CLE (Course 337177). This course is available for CLE credit until January 31, 2025. This CLE is freely offered.

This CLE is freely offered and co-sponsored by Thought Kitchen and the Indiana State Bar Association's Well-Being Committee. Well-Being in the Legal Profession: Oxygen, Aspirin, or Bling? Discussion about well-being in law is more common now, but do we believe that well-being is essential to our professional conduct (oxygen)? Is it something we attend to when we're already unwell or when our ethics have been questioned (aspirin)? Or is it still considered a "nice to have" (bling)? This is an on-demand recording and transcript of the live CLE that was presented on November 8, 2023. The program is approximately 1 hour long and has been approved by the Indiana Office of Admissions and Continuing Education for 1 hour of ethics CLE (Course 330215). This course is available for CLE credit until November 8, 2024.

Are you overcommitted and exhausted because you’ve said yes to too many things? You’re not alone. Saying no is a key ingredient of clear boundaries and healthy relationships but putting it into practice can be intimidating and uncomfortable. This five-week course will help you build the skills you need to say a wholehearted yes to the things you really want to do and to clearly and kindly say no to the rest.

Traditional judicial education has focused mainly on the “substantive” aspects of judging, such as procedure, statutes, and case law, with little focus on the emotional/human relations aspects of judging.  As Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor wrote in My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist’s Personal Journey, “Most of us think of ourselves as thinking creatures that feel, but we are actually feeling creatures that think.”  Ignoring this reality is unkind to judicial officers and detrimental to their professional conduct, especially in the area of judicial demeanor as set forth in the Model Code of Judicial Conduct Rules 1.2, 2.2, and 2.8. Thought Kitchen’s work is grounded in the belief that addressing the emotional experience of judging results in judicial officers who are not only healthier and happier, but who also make better decisions and behave in a way that is more aligned with the Model Code of Judicial Conduct.  This belief is supported by a growing body of research led by professor and scholar of judicial temperament, Terry Maroney of Vanderbilt University.  The course materials also include discussion of 2017’s The Path to Lawyer Well-Being: Practical Recommendations for Positive Change, published by the National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being as well as 2020’s Stress and Resiliency in the U.S. Judiciary, published in Journal of the Professional Lawyer.

A transformative program that synergizes mindfulness practices with evidence-based coaching techniques. This unique approach empowers participants to cultivate greater self-awareness, emotional regulation, and communication skills, all of which are essential for developing healthy and effective boundaries in their personal and professional lives.

This course, An Introduction to the Brahmavihāras: For Lawyers, Law Students, & Judicial Officers, is the creative project developed for Jill Carnell's Master of Arts in Mindfulness Studies thesis project, published in September 2021. It consists of seven asynchronous modules, each of which includes a video teaching, formal practice (guided audio meditation), informal practice ideas, written journal prompts, and an online space to connect and share with other participants, all intended to support learning and practice. Module 1: Introduction & grounding practice Module 2: Mettā [kindness] Module 3: Self-compassion Module 4: Karunā [compassion] Module 5: Muditā [joy] Module 6: Upekkhā [equanimity] Module 7: Supporting ongoing practice The reason that Jill chose this topic for her thesis project is that in reviewing the literature about mindfulness and lawyers, law students, and judicial officers, there was quite a bit about the benefits of improving concentration and reducing stress, but very little about the Buddhist psychology teachings of the heart, apart from mettā, kindness. Since the assignment was to find a gap for her project to address, this project arose. Now, in September 2023, Jill has updated it a bit, especially in adding closed captions and including transcripts of audio and video recordings, for re-release. This course is appropriate for anyone who wants to explore these teachings at their own pace. It is freely offered.