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In this episode of The Motion of Gratitude Podcast, Shannon sits down with spiritual teacher, author, and nonprofit founder Caverly Morgan for a conversation about what it really looks like to live a practice—inside a monastery, inside a school system, and inside everyday life.

Caverly shares her unexpected path into meditation (and eight years of Zen monastic training), how practice became something she could filter her entire life through, and why leaving the monastery was both liberating and deeply challenging. From there, we move into the origin story of Peace in Schools—and how a single invitation from a teacher led to a credited mindfulness course inside public high schools, long before mindfulness in schools was widely understood.

This conversation is honest, practical, and full of hope—especially for parents, educators, and anyone feeling stretched beyond capacity who knows it’s time for new tools.

In This Episode, We Explore

• Caverly’s path from first retreat to eight years of Zen training
• Leaving the monastery and bringing practice into everyday life
• How Peace in Schools began—and why teens are so receptive to these tools
• What’s shifted in schools pre- and post-COVID (more openness and more barriers)
• The idea of “okayness” and starting practice from love, not self-improvement
• Working with autopilot through “yes” and “thank you”
• Caverly’s book The Heart of Who We Are and her upcoming community practice collective

Resources + Links

• Peace in Schools (education partnerships + training institute): peaceinschools.org
• Caverly Morgan (retreats, workshops, online offerings): caverlymorgan.org
• Book: The Heart of Who We Are: Realizing Freedom Together
• Upcoming: Practice collective moving through the book in community (starting around February—see Caverly’s website for details)

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