There are many ways you can engage with the Bakken Center - whether it is participating in one of our arts and healing events, learning more about topics like mindfulness, nature and wellbeing, or food and healing, or by meeting with our team to explore how you can support our work.
We invite you to Support the Center, make a gift, or contact Virginia Kaczmarek - the Center's Development officer - to discuss the many ways you can help advance our work into the future.
Ways to Engage
Food and Wellbeing
One of the most important decisions you make each day is choosing which foods to eat. Whole, nutrient-dense foods are a necessary part of a healthy lifestyle. In addition, how you eat has an impact on wellbeing. Do you rush through meals, eating on the go? Or do you sit down with loved ones and savor your time together?
Nature & Wellbeing
Nature reduces our anger, fear, and depression and increases our positive mood and psychological wellbeing. This not only increases our happiness, it makes us feel better physically.
Time in nature also brings us out of ourselves and our narrow concerns and connects us to a larger world where we find beauty and interest. Thus the environment is connected not only to our physical, emotional, and spiritual health, but to purpose and community. Enhance your wellbeing in nature.
Environment
Our environment is everything around us, including the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, the places we live and work, and the natural world. It is important for our wellbeing because it provides us with the resources we need to survive and thrive. A healthy environment can help us to feel better physically and emotionally. It can also help us to connect with others and to feel a sense of belonging. A polluted environment, on the other hand, can lead to health problems, such as respiratory illnesses, heart disease, and cancer. It can also lead to stress, anxiety, and depression.
Visit our Taking Charge of Your Wellbeing website to learn more about how nature and the environment impact your wellbeing, and how you can nurture nature for a better future.
Arts & Healing: Waking the Oracle
Waking the Oracle is an ongoing project that creates immersive experiences activating intergenerational community wisdom sharing, healing, and wellbeing through music, dance, storytelling, participatory arts, and dialogue. Waking the Oracle events foster meaningful connection to self, community, and the planet as we build our capacities to learn and heal together in these challenging times and create our positive futures together.
Learn more about Waking the Oracle - an interactive arts and healing program at the Bakken Center.
Relationships & Belonging
Healthy relationships are a vital component of overall health. We humans are social animals and as such, we have an innate need to be involved with other people. Strong family ties, friendships, and involvement in social activities can increase our sense of security and self-esteem and provide a psychological buffer against stress, anxiety and depression.
Social networks also provide a sense of belonging, security, and a community where people can share their concerns and needs and support others.
Safety & Security
We all have a basic human need to feel safe: to be free from threats, to have trust and support, to be able to relax. Security – the sense of being safe physically, emotionally, and environmentally – impacts wellbeing in many ways, including physical health, emotional wellbeing, and how we manage stress. In addition, when you feel safe, you can focus on higher pursuits, such as your calling or sense of purpose in life.
Our Mindfulness Programs
Mindfulness is an awareness of one’s present moment experience with curiosity, kindness and a non-judgmental attitude. Mindfulness is also other-oriented, as it involves social/environmental awareness. When we are mindful, we are often able to see and respond to others with greater sensitivity and understanding.
Our community mindfulness programs have served thousands of people, and include in-person and online opportunities such as Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, Mindful Mondays, and Mindfulness at Work.
Free Online Wellbeing Webinars
The Bakken Center offers free, monthly webinars via Zoom on a variety of topics designed to help you take charge of your health and wellbeing! Webinars are free but registration is required.
Our Academic Courses and Degrees
For three decades, the University of Minnesota's Earl E. Bakken Center for Spirituality & Healing has offered academic courses that focus on integrative healing and wellbeing. View all of our academic courses.
The Center offers many interdisciplinary learning opportunities. You may pursue our master’s degree in integrative health and wellbeing coaching, a certificate and/or graduate minor in integrative therapies and healing practices, or take courses for personal growth and professional development.