Cultivating Reverence for Living: A Stress Reduction Program - Virtual Hybrid
Our legacy 6-week stress reduction program is now available online
Virtual Cohort Schedule
| Cohort | Dates and Time | Registration |
| Cohort #99 |
April 29 - June 10, 2025 Tues: 11:30a - 12:30p CT / 12:30p - 1:30p ET |
Closed |
| Cohort #100 |
May 1 - June 12, 2025 Thurs: 11:30a - 12:30p CT / 12:30p - 1:30p ET |
Closed |
| Cohort #101 | Aug 19 - Sept 30, 2025 Tues: 11:30a - 12:30p CT / 12:30p - 1:30p ET |
Open Register now! |
| Cohort #102 | Aug 21 - Oct 2, 2025 Thurs: 11:30a - 12:30p CT / 12:30p - 1:30p ET |
Open Register now! |
Cultivating Reverence for Living
is a structured, experiential, evidence-based program that teaches principles of the mind-body-spirit connection and how to apply them to stress, illness and the demands of daily life.
A Brief History of the Program
Cultivating Reverence for Living: A Stress Reduction Program (CRL) began in the late 1990’s with an Innovation Award from Ascension. The program was developed and facilitated by Dr. Gordon Peerman and Timm Glover, both then of Ascension St. Thomas Hospital in Nashville TN, and included a research component in collaboration with Vanderbilt University.
In fashioning the program, they drew on clinical research from Harvard, Duke, Stanford, and the University of Massachusetts Medical Center. While the Ascension program shared elements with the programs established in these institutions, what sets it apart is the opportunity to connect one’s faith and spirituality (whatever that may be) with care for the body and one’s mental and emotional life.
Virtual Hybrid Program: Building on 20+ Years of Experience
This six-week hybrid version of the CRL program consists of web-based lessons and practices supported by weekly live group sessions using the Zoom meeting platform. Each week’s lessons reside on the Ascension Mission website and may be accessed with any mobile device or personal computer. The materials are presented in video, audio, and written form. As in the in-person offering, participants are encouraged to engage with the materials and practice for 20 minutes each day.
- In-Person CRL (Legacy): CRL began in Indiana in 2002. On average, participants in the in-person program have reported over a 19% reduction in perceived stress.
- Virtual Hybrid CRL: Starting in 2022, this version of the program includes a mix of asynchronous and synchronous experiential content. On average, participants in the virtual program have reported over a 32% reduction in perceived stress.
What sets this program apart is the opportunity to connect one's faith with care for the body and one's mental and emotional life. The training given to participants in meditation and centering prayer distinguishes our program as one uniquely rooted in spiritual practice. By integrating the insights of Behavioral Medicine with the wisdom of disciple and spiritual practice, we unite in this program the healing traditions of both medicine and ministry.
Would You Like To:
- Quiet racing thoughts and get to sleep?
- Be more patient and less irritable with yourself and others?
- Have some sense of being in control?
- Be more present with those who you serve?
- Reduce negative feelings?
- Increase contentment and joy in living?
Cultivating Reverence for Living is:
- A mind-body-spirit, practice-based program rooted in mindfulness with a 20+ year Ascension history
- A first of its kind, including both live and at-your-own-pace online elements
- A seven-week commitment with live weekly sessions, online lessons, and at-home practice of 20 minutes six days per week
Program Details
Online Content
New content is released weekly.
| Themes |
|---|
| Week 1: Introduction to Mindful Living |
| Week 2: Taking Hold of Your Mind: Mental Noting |
| Week 3: Emotion Regulation Skills |
| Week 4: Distress Tolerance Skills |
| Week 5: Interpersonal Effectiveness Skills |
| Week 6: A Practice for Life: Unconditional Friendliness |
| Follow-Up and Course Completion |
Live Weekly Virtual Calls
Each week, we will gather for an hour via Zoom to introduce the online content and practices.
Instructors
Carol Filkins
Instructor
Carol Filkins, MS, serves as a Manager of Ministry Formation, Mission Integration at Ascension St. Vincent Indiana. She has over 30 years experience providing programs and services, in group and one-on-one settings, for the target audience of people experiencing stress and/or wanting to develop additional stress reduction practices. Carol has a Masters in Wellness Management with an emphasis in counseling psychology. Since 2001 she has primarily focused her professional efforts in the area of learning and facilitating stress reduction programs and practices. Carol is a Wellcoaches® Certified Health and Well-being Coach, certified Enneagram facilitator, and has Advanced Certification in the field of Formative Spirituality. Carol has co-facilitated Cultivating Reverence for Living since 2001.
Daniel Jackson
Instructor
Daniel B. Jackson, LCSW, has provided mental health counseling to individuals, families, and children, presented educational seminars in a diverse group of businesses, provided consultation to supervisors, and consulted with companies to assist them in achieving human resource goals. He has engaged in fact finding to assist executives in crucial decision making and played a major role in business development and marketing within EAP. Now retired, Dan previously served on the following committees: Stress Reduction, Cultural Competency, Diversity and EAP Marketing. Dan has co-facilitated Cultivating Reverence for Living since 2001.
Bob Vahary
Instructor
Bob Vahary, MSW, LCSW, OSW-C, OPN-CG, is a patient navigator working for St Vincent Cancer Care since 2003. He has a master’s degree in social work and has been a Licensed Clinical Social Worker for 30 years. Bob’s background includes counseling, pain management, stress reduction, biofeedback, and he has an Advanced Certification in Formative Spirituality. Bob has received the Healing Spirit award from the Cancer Support Community and is an Oncology Certified Social Worker through the Association of Oncology Social Workers. Bob was certified in 2016 as an Oncology Patient Navigator through the Academy of Oncology Nurse and Patient Navigators. Bob has co-facilitated Cultivating Reverence for Living since 2001.
Wendy Lemasters
Instructor
Wendy LeMasters, PharmD, has over 15 years of experience as a preceptor for pharmacy students. She serves in many management roles including business development and associate engagement. Wendy has been a mindfulness practitioner since 2009 and has co-facilitated Cultivating Reverence for Living since 2015.
Laura Guzzi
Instructor
Laura Guzzi, MSW, LCSW, has over 29 years of experience working with individuals and families in the health care setting as a medical social worker. Laura became a Certified Infant Massage Instructor in 2003 and has been providing training for parents since that time. In addition, she has pursued training in mental health, critical incident stress management, mindfulness, aromatherapy and integrative therapy techniques and has been incorporating these techniques in her work with patients, their families and the broader community. She has worked with local middle school educators and parents to address the topic of anxiety in the middle school setting, with emphasis on incorporating mindfulness tools. In May of 2012, Laura worked with St. Vincent Carmel Leadership to develop Carmel’s Integrative Therapy Program. In 2017, Laura developed a support group for mothers experiencing post partum mood disorders which serves families throughout the Indianapolis area. Laura was recognized in January of 2020 as one of the nation’s 10 Most Dedicated Social Workers by Social Work Today Magazine. Laura has co-facilitated Cultivating Reverence for Living since 2015.
Will Boesl
Facilitator
Will Boesl, MA serves as a Formation Manager at Ascension. With certification and education in the Enneagram, meditation, prayer, labyrinth, and spiritual direction, they enjoy working with a wide variety of individuals and groups seeking to deepen their spirituality. Integrating their vocation of deep listening, Will is passionate about the connection between spirituality and creative expression. They have a Master of Arts in Spiritual Formation with a focus in Spiritual Direction and creativity from Seminary of the Southwest and a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and Business minor from Texas A&M University.
Gina Dieringer
Facilitator
Gina Dieringer (she/her) currently serves as a Manager of Ministry Formation at Ascension, Texas. As a spiritual director, certified Enneagram instructor, and group facilitator, she is passionate about cultivating spaces to allow others to reflect on their identity, which can lead to greater spiritual flourishing, both individually and in loving community with others.
Gina is completing her Master of Arts in Spiritual Formation at the Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, Texas, and holds a Bachelor of Science in Applied Learning and Development from the University of Texas at Austin. She has been trained in Narrative Focused Trauma Care at the Allender Center, Seattle School.
Theresa Tucker
Facilitator
Theresa Tucker serves Ascension St. Vincent, Indiana as a Facilitator of Ministry Formation. Together with the team at Seton Cove Spirituality Center, she works to provide more equitable access to Formation programs and experiences, with special emphasis on associates, clinicians and leaders. Originally a Cultivating Reverence for Living participant, her repeated engagement opened a path into Formation, where she continues her pursuit of uplifting care teams through mindfulness based practices and cultivating a spiritually centered life.
Kim Hasselbrink
Facilitator
Kim serves as the Sr. Specialist for the Performance Management national team. She came to Ascension in 2015 and has served in various roles within Human Resources. Kim has a Masters of Education and a Bachelors of Science both with an emphasis in Aerospace. She is a certified Corporate Coach U facilitator and is certified in Human Performance Improvement. Her passion is people. She was drawn to Ascension because of her love for missions and serving those most vulnerable in her community. Kim was introduced to meditation in 2017. She participated in the inaugural virtual Cultivating Reference for Living Cohort #77. She continued to participate because of the benefits she saw in her own life. Her desire is to “pay it forward” in teaching others balance by living more presently. Her favorite quote because it rang true for her, “Everyone comes to Cultivating Reverence for Living when they are ready.” -Carol Filkins
Brian Woolworth
Facilitator
Brian Woolworth is a Mindfulness educator and meditation facilitator who uses ancient practices to empower modern people to move beyond the mind’s stressful thoughts, upsetting emotions, and unpleasant sensations. With nearly 30 years of clinical nursing experience, Brian brings an intimate knowledge of the physiological effects of stressful suffering on the body. He is a leader in making mindfulness available to hospitals and medical practices as part of a balanced integrated care program.
Diane Rane Jones
Facilitator
Diane Rane Jones serves as a Formation Facilitator at Ascension Texas. She has practiced and taught meditation in various settings for the past decade, drawing on various wisdom traditions and frameworks to support people in experiencing more peace in their lives. Diane completed a 2-year mindfulness teacher training program and has been trained as a mindful self-compassion teacher, spiritual director, and integral coach.