Mind & Life recognizes that even the best intentioned efforts to address the climate crisis often fail to address root causes— namely, our disconnection from one another and the Earth. Contemplative practices that nurture the human-earth connection hold great promise for healing this disconnection; yet scientific understanding of these practices remains limited, inhibiting their wider adoption in society.
In 2025, Mind & Life entered into a partnership with the BESS Family Foundation to support contemplative research and advance knowledge around the impact of earth awareness practices on human and planetary well-being.
Through this partnership, we will award up to two Mind & Life Research Grants annually investigating the impact of earth awareness practices on human well-being, and the extent to which such practices foster greater understanding of our interconnection and reciprocity with nature. Ultimately, we seek to advance scientific understanding of earth awareness practices with the goal of helping people better cope with the climate crisis, recognize their responsibility as stewards of the natural world, and assume greater agency in driving forward solutions.
Examples of previous Mind & Life grants focused on earth awareness can be found below:
