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One Eye Open, One Eye Closed – Addressing Personal & Planetary Health with Mindfulness
“One Eye Open, One Eye Closed” is a new 2026 series from the Mindfulness in Medicine initiative where seasonally we explore four different global crises one at a time: racism, climate emergency, a medical system in deep transformation, and societal polarizations. We tend to meet these extreme challenges with a sense of urgency not realizing this “hurrying up” may keep us in the very reactivity that might be causing some of the crises.
Mindfulness invites us to slow down and turn towards these crises with courage and compassion so that together we can digest overwhelming experiences, connect with hidden resources, and disentangle from systemic harms and biases that cloud our vision. As we better access our collective creativity, we may find we embody a larger capacity to meet the challenges ahead with both eyes open.
These sessions are open to anyone supporting rural healthcare. No experience in mindfulness is necessary. Each session will include some guided mindfulness practices, reflections from subject matter experts, and dialogue in small and large groups.
Spring session: Addressing Personal & Planetary Health with Mindfulness
Date: June 10, 2026, 7:00pm-8:30pm
Facilitators: Dr. Rahul Gupta with guests Margot Parkes and Bob Woollard
Cost: Free
Eligibility: Anyone supporting rural healthcare. No experience in mindfulness is necessary.
Location: Online via Zoom
Session Details: Each session will include some guided mindfulness practices, reflections from subject matter experts, and dialogue in small and large groups.
Overview:
This second session we will be exploring mindfulness practices and reflections that first help us directly sense ourselves as part of a living, breathing web of life. Through experiencing our connectedness to each other and the more than human world, we can better turn towards and feel the emotional, psychological and spiritual impacts of living in this time of profound ecological change. We can collectively recognize the harms that many of our lives are embedded in, as well as the benefits of regenerative mindsets and ancestral resources that awaken fresh ways of seeing and being. We equip ourselves to go forth sensing wider possibilities and deeper solidarity.
“By refreshing our sense of belonging in the world, we widen the web of relationships that nourishes us and protects us from burnout.”
― Joanna Macy & Chris Johnstone, Active Hope
Speaker Bios:
Dr. Rahul Gupta is a settler born on the lands of the Anishinaabe people and now lives and works on the ancestral and unceded lands of the shíshálh and Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Nations. He works as an integrative medical physician, professional coach, mindfulness instructor, and advocate for provider wellness. He also is a Somatic Experiencing (SE) Practitioner and integrates trauma-sensitive approaches into all trainings. He has over 18 years of supporting healthcare providers and teams in cultivating compassionate self & situational awareness.
Dr. Bob Woollard is Professor Emeritus of Family Practice at the University of British Columbia, with extensive national and international experience in medical education, social accountability in medical schools, ecosystem health approaches, and sustainable development. He had two decades as a country doc, 16 years of which was in Clearwater BC. He chaired the Department of Family Practice at UBC for ten years during its province wide expansion and increased presence in the curriculum. He recently served several months as Post Graduate Program Director in Family Practice. He is Associate Director of RCCbc and has extensive connections with teaching programs and Health Authorities across the Province. He has particular interest in First Nations and Metis peoples and communities. He holds leadership positions in several national and international organizations and chairs the Interational Advisory Board (IAB) of the newly established University of Nepal, a public liberal arts university. His work in East Africa and Asia focuses on sustainable development, social accountability, primary care, rural health, and accreditation systems. He is a husband, father and grandfather.
Dr. Margot Parkes was born in Aotearoa/New Zealand and now lives and works on the unceded territory of the Lheidli T’enneh in northern British Columbia. She is a Professor in the School of Health Sciences and Northern Medical Program at the University of Northern British Columbia, and former Canada Research Chair in Health, Ecosystems and Society. Her work brings together clinical medicine, public health, and ecohealth to explore how land, water, and living systems are foundational to health, equity, and well-being. Margot prioritizes collaborative, Indigenous-informed, and partnership-based approaches, working across disciplines and communities to address the interconnected challenges of climate change, resource extraction, and health in rural, remote, and Indigenous contexts.
Registration: To register for the One Eye Open, One Eye Closed session, please complete the registration form below. A calendar invitation will follow within one week.
