“Life consists of only moments, nothing more than that. And since this moment is the only moment that we ever have, nothing matters more than this moment. Therefore when we make this moment matter, Life is All that matters...if just for a moment”
Mindfulness is being in the present moment, aware of what is happening in that moment as it's happening, with a nonjudgmental attitude. The GEN2050®️ Program was designed with mindfulness-based practices as its foundation. Youth learn mindfulness-based practices and how to integrate mindfulness into their everyday lives, enhancing their social emotional wellness, reducing the impacts of stress, as well as increasing their capacity to practice gratitude and compassion.
Mindfulness as we know it today has been largely shaped by Jon Kabat-Zinn. Dr. Kabat-Zinn founded the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) method which has contributed to the growing mindfulness movement to institutions and society.
Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn has a number of written resources and videos that provide guided meditations on his website.
GEN2050®️ Mindfulness Instructors
Gus Castellanos, M.D., retired neurologist, graduated from the University of Miami Medical School in 1980. He practiced neurology and sleep medicine in Palm Beach County from 1987-2007. He has been a practitioner of mindfulness since 1999 and a teacher since 2009 (mindfulness-based stress reduction and mindfulness-based attention training), trained by the University of Massachusetts Medical School Center for Mindfulness and the University of Miami Neuroscience Lab.
Gus Castellanos, MD.
Luisa (Luchi) Estevez
Luisa (Luchi) Estevez is an activist, journalist, filmmaker, performance artist, fashion designer, Kundalini Yoga teacher, Meditation Teacher, and founder of La Luchi Foundation. Through La Luchi Foundation, Luchi and her staff provide holistic programs to guide children and youth towards a natural, healthier way of living.
GEN2050®️ Forest Bathing
In the 1980s, Dr. Quig Li, MD began developing forest medicine as a methodology for reducing stress levels, blood pressure, strengthening the immune system, cardiovascular systems, and improving the social emotional wellness aspects of health. In 2021, Dr. Li’s concepts, named shinrin-yoku in Japanese or “forest bathing” or “taking in the forest atmosphere”, were incorporated into the @gen2050youth curriculum “Ethnobotany and the Expressive Arts for Change.” In addition to Dr. Li’s book, we are utilizing the book “Grounded” by Dr. Patricia H. Hasbach, PhD. Patch of Heaven Sanctuary is our outdoor laboratory for this curriculum. Dilcia Muñoz-Billman created this lovely video below to document one of her forest bathing classes during Summer 2022.
GEN2050®️ Forest Bathing at Patch of Heaven Sanctuary
GEN2050®️ Behavioral Health Advisor
Vanessa Freeman, MD.
Vanessa E. Freeman, M.D., MAJ, MC, USA. A board certified psychiatrist, Dr. Freeman’s passion is to guide individuals to a place of self-determined balance with newfound ability to integrate information about themselves, others, and the world in which they live with accuracy. Dr. Freeman received her B.S. in Nutrition and Inequality Studies from Cornell University in 2013 and received her medical degree from Florida International University Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine in 2017. Noted for excellence in clinical care and compassion, she became a member of the Gold Humanism Honor Society in 2017 while a medical student at FIU. In 2019, she was again honored to become a member of the Gold Humanism Honor Society as a 4th year Psychiatry Resident at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Dr. Freeman served as Chief Resident of Psychiatry during her fourth year of residency at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. She currently serves as a staff psychiatrist in the U.S. Army.
(Dr. Freeman’s views are her own and do not reflect that of the United States Army, United States Department of Defense.)
Here is a challenge for you: Practice the above mindfulness exercises for 30 days and let us know how mindfulness has helped you! Tag @gen2050youth on Instagram.