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About Us
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A Contemplative Creative Community for Personal and Professional Growth in Embodied Mind Training
Our Story
At The Lojong Center for Contemplative Creative Science, we are dedicated to integrating the wisdom of contemplative Buddhism with the insights of Western psychology and neuroscience. Our mission is to foster knowledge, practices, and ways of living that support liberating patterns of thought, emotion, and behaviour. These transformative pathways enable individuals to break free from cycles of pain and suffering, guiding them toward empowerment, healing, and deeper connection.
Through our experiential workshops, continuing education courses, and professional trainings, we nourish body, mind, and spirit by making the timeless teachings of Buddhist psychology, meditation, and contemplative arts accessible. Our programs support clinicians, healthcare providers, educators, and contemplatives in cultivating ways of living that are in harmony with self, others, and the planet.
The center is founded on the principles of Contemplative Creative Therapy (CCT), a multimodal therapeutic approach that integrates contemplative traditions, creative expression, and embodied mind training. CCT is grounded in Buddhist philosophy and art, while remaining open, accessible, and deeply relevant to the challenges of modern life.
The Founder
Emma JM. Ates is a registered psychotherapist and art therapist, as well as the founder of The Lojong Center for Contemplative Creative Science. She is the creator of the Contemplative Creative Therapy (CCT) model, an integrative approach rooted in Buddhist psychology, contemplative science, and creative arts therapy. Emma’s work bridges meditation, Dharma Art, and neuroscience with contemporary therapeutic practices. She has taught at leading institutions and offers training programs that support clinicians and contemplatives in cultivating insight, creativity, and embodied healing.
[Meet the Founder →]
Our Mission
At The Lojong Center, our mission is to integrate the wisdom of contemplative Buddhism with the insights of Western science to promote practices, knowledge, and ways of living that support liberation from suffering and foster inner and outer harmony.
Through experiential workshops and professional training, we aim to nourish the body, mind, and spirit by making accessible the timeless teachings of Buddhist psychology, contemplative arts, and modern therapeutic approaches. Our programs are designed to foster transformative patterns of thought, emotion, and behaviour—guiding individuals toward healing, empowerment, and a deeper connection with self, others, and the planet.
Our Philosophy
At The Lojong Center, our philosophy is rooted in the integration of contemplative wisdom and creative expression as pathways to healing, transformation, and inner freedom. We believe that each person holds the potential for insight, compassion, and renewal—and that this potential can be awakened through contemplative and embodied engagement with the mind, emotions, and perceptions.
We draw from both Buddhist and Western psychological traditions, honouring their shared commitment to understanding suffering and the means to its transformation. Our work is informed by the practices of meditation, mindfulness, compassion, and Dharma Art, as well as contemporary approaches in psychotherapy, neuroscience, and the creative arts therapies.
We view the mind as a dynamic, relational, and creative field—shaped by experience but also capable of re-patterning through awareness, meaning-making, and creative acts. Healing, in this view, is not only a return to balance but an opening to a deeper sense of being, belonging, and purpose.
What is Contemplative Creative Science?
Contemplative Creative Science is an interdisciplinary field that integrates Buddhist psychology, contemplative practice, and creative expression with insights from neuroscience, psychology, and the arts. It explores how embodied awareness, symbolic processes, and creative engagement support emotional healing, cognitive transformation, and the development of liberating ways of being.
At its core, Contemplative Creative Science is dedicated to understanding the embodied mind—not only through analytical insight, but through direct experience, contemplative inquiry, and the creative unfolding of meaning. It serves as the theoretical foundation for Contemplative Creative Therapy (CCT), providing a framework for personal and collective transformation that is grounded in both ancient wisdom and contemporary clinical practice.
Loizzo (2023), during the opening of the Embodied Philosophy's conference on "Embodied Brain - Yoga, Neuroplasticity, and the New Scientific Paradigm," said: I think something fascinating is happening in the convergence between science and spirituality or science and contemplative practice that's allowing us, finally, to approach the mind in a much more robust, and authentic way (p.1-13). [This is a] new multidisciplinary science of mind, the meeting between contemplative or experiential approaches to the mind and modern science.
Contemplative Creative Science (CCS) is a branch of Contemplative Science and Psychotherapy, as defined by the Nalanda Institute and the Mind and Life Institute and Research. Contemplative creative science is a discipline of first-person, subjective internal and external inquiry (CCR 2021*) into the embodied mind and its multiple layers of reality experience and interdependence with other beings, life on this planet, and beyond.
TO READ MORE:
*Ates, E. JM. (2024), Contemplative Creative Therapy (CCT): A Novel Approach to Train the Embodied Mind.
*Center for Contemplative Research (2021), What is Contemplative Science? Retrieved from: https://centerforcontemplativeresearch.org/contemplative-science/what-is-contemplative-science/
Our CCT Approach
The Contemplative Creative Therapy (CCT) model is an integrative, trauma-informed approach that combines Buddhist and Western psychologies, contemplative arts, art psychotherapy, and bio-psycho-spiritual frameworks. At its core, CCT is designed to retrain the embodied mind, shifting from reactive patterns to conscious, compassionate, and adaptable responses.
CCT expands our understanding of the embodied mind’s functions, processes, and symbolic content. Through contemplative and creative practice, clients and clinicians alike cultivate a broader awareness that fosters clarity, emotional regulation, and inner freedom. This expanded consciousness supports greater choice, agency, and transformation within therapeutic work.
Rooted in Dharma teachings, Buddhist psychology, and embodied creativity, the CCT model offers a comprehensive set of contemplative and psychosomatic training tools. These practices are grounded in first-person inquiry and support the development of insight, wisdom, and compassion—essential qualities for healing and therapeutic presence.
At The Lojong Center, we believe that healing and transformation arise through the union of contemplative awareness, creative expression, and embodied presence. Whether you are a clinician, a contemplative practitioner, or someone on a personal path of growth, we welcome you to explore our programs, engage with our community, and discover how Contemplative Creative Therapy can support your journey toward wisdom, compassion, and inner freedom.
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