The Mindful Word

THE “UGLY AMERICAN” SHADOW: How the Dalai Lama and Toni Morrison can dispel its darkness

James Farwell — Wed, 12 Aug 2026 18:00:00 +0000

We’re living at a time when lying, misinformation, alternative facts and conspiracy theories have replaced truth itself. American citizens are frequently caught between different pieces of misinformation, and often, people can’t tell the difference between misinformation and truth. The problem is: If we can’t believe what we’re being told, how can we make essential decisions regarding the welfare of our country? The truth is: We can’t. A good example of this is the creeping re-entry of White Christian Nationalism into […]

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THE INNER CONVERSATION: Using imagination to change our state of being

Michael Sutherland — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 18:00:00 +0000

I didn’t come to this work through curiosity. I came to it through a crisis. In my late teens, I walked away from a strict, rule-heavy upbringing that had given me plenty of answers but very little room to actually question anything. For the next 25 years, I drifted. I wasn’t lost, exactly, but I was searching in the way a lot of people search: through work, through relationships, through whatever seemed like it might finally make things click into […]

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THE RITUALS WE CARRY: Religion is just one expression of the human desire to create meaning

George Cassidy Payne — Mon, 03 Aug 2026 18:00:00 +0000

Long before we built temples, wrote scriptures or gathered beneath stained-glass windows, human beings were already searching. We looked into the darkness of the night sky and wondered. We buried our dead with tenderness and ceremony. We marked the turning of seasons, the arrival of children, the passage from one stage of life into another. We created songs, stories, symbols and rituals to remind ourselves that we weren’t alone. Religion emerged from this ancient human longing: The desire to find […]

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RENUNCIATION: How to practice it with the help of the Buddha’s 4 Noble Truths

Emma Terry — Wed, 29 Jul 2026 18:00:00 +0000

“Renunciation” is a word associated with Buddhist monks that often conjures a mental image of men with shaved heads, clad in orange, walking silently in a line. We don’t tend to think of renunciation as a daily practice for ordinary mindfulness practitioners to implement in their lives. And that’s a shame, because I’d argue that it’s an accessible practice anyone can use to eliminate suffering, have fewer problems and handle life maturely. If you practice mindfulness, whether it’s secular or […]

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THE MISSING PIECE OF SELF-CARE: Without self-compassion, it won’t last

Jenn Sims — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 18:00:00 +0000

When people think of self-care, they often picture bubble baths, vacations, spa days or taking a break from work. While those moments can be enjoyable, they’re only temporary. True self-care isn’t something we do occasionally; it’s the way we consistently treat ourselves every day. At the heart of sustainable self-care is something much deeper: self-compassion. Self-care without self-compassion won’t last Many of us are experts at caring for others. We encourage our children, support our co-workers, comfort our friends and […]

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A PRACTICE THAT TOUCHES VIPASSANA, SAMADHI AND SAMATHA: By using nothing but a piano piece

Yiyang Tian — Thu, 23 Jul 2026 18:00:00 +0000

A reflection on getting in touch with vipassana, samadhi and samatha—using nothing but a piano piece. I was guiding a morning meditation session recently, and I had a piano piece playing in the background—one I’ve actually used for years, because I just find it calming. Nothing fancy about it. But this time, something different happened. I found myself giving an instruction I hadn’t planned: “Try to listen carefully. See if you can separate the left-hand notes from the right-hand notes.” […]

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SECRETS OF THE HORSE: How a diagnosis of AuDHD led to a new degree of empathy towards horses

Contributor — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 18:00:00 +0000

On a personal level, I’ve felt many emotions and lived through many situations that align with how I was taught to handle horses and what I’ve witnessed others do to horses. For my entire life, I’ve felt as if I was on a different wavelength than most everyone around me—like I’m a radio frequency others just can’t pick up. For years, I tried to connect and to be seen, only to realize that many people were fundamentally unable to see […]

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FIND JOY THROUGH MINDFULNESS: The hidden power of optimism

Jenn Sims — Mon, 13 Jul 2026 18:00:00 +0000

When people hear the word optimism, they often imagine someone who is endlessly cheerful, always looking on the bright side, or pretending that difficult things don’t exist. Mindfulness offers us a different perspective. True optimism isn’t about denying life’s challenges. It’s about trusting that we have the capacity to meet them with awareness, resilience and compassion. Joy, in the same way, isn’t something we chase or wait to arrive. It’s something we learn to notice. In our busy lives, our […]

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FROM A DISTANCE: Recognizing and avoiding the “comparison trap”

Dhara Vijayakumar — Tue, 07 Jul 2026 18:00:00 +0000

In the middle of ordinary days between office work, household responsibilities, children’s needs and the endless mental checklist that never seems to end, thoughts often pass through the mind quietly. Some stay for a moment and leave. Some linger longer. And the thought that didn’t leave this time was this: Perhaps one of the quietest ways we suffer as human beings is through Comparison. Not always because life is unfair, difficult or lacking. But because the mind has a remarkable […]

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THE CACTUS IN THE BOX: When burnout is the cost of trying to fit in the wrong room

Feon Chau — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 18:00:00 +0000

In one of my final meetings at a workplace I’d eventually leave, the whole staff was brought together to learn about a major new initiative. We were told it was something they had been thinking about for years. For many of us, however, it was the first time we had ever heard of it. We did what responsible people do during serious conversations. We analyzed the proposal and considered how the idea would work in practice. We named strengths and […]

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