Lou Carcasole – P. Eng., MBA, M. Ed. I began my Mindfulness training with teacher Shinzen Young in 1987 and started teaching it in 1996. Over the years, I’ve taught Mindfulness to thousands on people. In 1999, I trained with Jon Kabat-Zinn and learned about the MBSR (Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction) program that he developed. From the beginning, I’ve been less interested in whether participants enjoyed my teaching, and more about whether I was actually making a difference in their lives. I began trying to measure results as objectively as possible, using tools that I got from Jon Kabat-Zinn’s training program. The measured results achieved have ALWAYS been positive, almost always impressive, and sometimes quite spectacular.
I have an engineering background. Engineers are known for being practical, down to earth, nuts-and-bolts kind of people. I feel this background is useful in that it helps me to explain the nuts and bolts of Mindfulness and to talk about it in ways that are clear, simple, and readily understandable.
I also have a business background. If you are part of a business organization. I know what business is about because I’ve been there. I also know that helping people to reduce the stress in their lives, is not only the right thing to do – individually and, if possible, for everyone in the organization, but that it makes solid business sense. When you look at the math – Mindfulness has got to be one of the best investments anyone and any organization could make, no matter whether you measure the bottom line in financial terms, health, productivity, or general well-being.
I have a background in adult education – more specifically, in Human Resources Development. That is to say – how to grow an organization or business, by helping its members grow and function at higher levels. In this regard, my background includes such areas as psychology, behavioral science, leadership, and group development.
Mindfulness is sometimes referred to as Buddhist Psychology. To understand Mindfulness is to understand human behavior in a very different way compared to the more traditional schools of psychology we’re familiar with. This understanding is useful to help people better adapt adapt to change and/or to help bring about the positive changes individuals wish to make within themselves.
If you want to know even more about me – how an engineer became a Mindfulness Meditation teacher, you can read my longer biography.