Lt. Richard Goerling is the creator of mindfulbadge.com. Richard is an active lieutenant with the Hillsboro Police Department, a suburb of Portland, OR. A decade ago, Richard was like most of us, muddling through is career but feeling a sense of unease he couldn’t quite put a finger on. It was then that he began doing yoga to prevent some of the physical problems we experience. Slowly, Richard became introduced to the work of Jon Kabot-Zinn and his course work in mindfulness and resilience. To say that Richard went down the rabbit-hole would be accurate, and he’s now leading classes devoted to first responders.
Richard’s theory, supported by plenty of experience and science, is that if we, as first responders, can be more mindful, then we are better at our jobs, we are safer, and we are healthier. During the show, I share some of my own experiences that support Richard’s hypothesis, which is growing in popularity.
Richard is also a retired U.S. Coast Guard Commander, an affiliate Assistant Professor at Pacific University, a faculty member at the Engaged Mindfulness Institute, and an instructor at Claremeont Graduate University. Richard has an undergraduate degree in economics, and an M.B.A., and underwent a year-long training in mindfulness at UCLA’s Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior. He is a certified Mindfulness Facilitator and he has completed the Mindfulness-Based Stress Resilience course work.
To read more about Richard, check out his website, mindfulbadge.com.
Here’s his TedX talk that I mention in the show.
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