For nearly four decades, the Mind & Life Institute has illuminated the dazzling potential of the human mind to foster inner transformation and catalyze lasting, positive change in the world. Inspired by the vision of our co-founders—His Holiness the Dalai Lama, neuroscientist Francisco Varela, and social entrepreneur Adam Engle—we forged the now-thriving field of contemplative research by bridging rigorous scientific inquiry with contemplative wisdom.
This work catalyzed new scientific laboratories and applied research centers globally, created new fields of study across and between disciplines, and transformed how we understand human flourishing.
Now we ask: What is uniquely ours to do next?
In late 2024, our Board of Directors approved a bold, forward-looking strategy to guide Mind & Life through the next three years. This vision—shaped through extensive consultation with hundreds of voices from our community—is grounded in our core strengths and energized by a sense of urgency to translate what works into lasting solutions available to everyone. At its heart, our new strategy is about translating insight into impact, and scaling what works to meet the defining challenges of our time. We will achieve this by strengthening the core of what we do and through bold experimentation.
Strengthening the Core
Our flagship programs—the Mind & Life Dialogues, Francisco J. Varela Research Grants, and the Summer Research Institute—have helped spark entire fields of inquiry. Now, we aim to amplify their impact.
This includes:
- Embedding systems thinking into our grantmaking criteria so grantees design their research with impact and scalability in mind.
- Welcoming new voices to our convenings—from economists to implementation scientists, business leaders to policy makers.
- Expanding access through hybrid models, including livestreaming our 2025 Summer Research Institute, Reimagining Contemplative Education.
- Partnering with organizations to deliver proven solutions to those who need them most.
We are focusing our efforts upstream, aiming to shift the underlying systems that shape well-being rather than simply addressing downstream effects.
Our new strategy reflects the voices of hundreds of Mind & Life community members.
Bold Experimentation
Mind & Life has always operated at the leading edge of discovery. Our next phase demands even greater courage—to experiment, to collaborate across boundaries, and to pursue research that informs both policy and practice.
Our new strategy reflects what we heard from our global community through dialogue, polling, and at our landmark 2024 gathering, Envisioning the Future of Contemplative Research. Based on what we heard, our Board prioritized the following areas to explore over the next three years.
- AI & Technology—We are convening scientists, contemplative practitioners, ethicists, technologists, and partner organizations to shape the future of AI in alignment with human flourishing and ethical responsibility.
- Interconnectedness & Climate Change—We are funding and elevating research on the role of contemplative practices in cultivating a felt sense of interconnection—and in helping people respond constructively to the climate crisis.
- Polarization—We are advancing scientific understanding of polarization at the level of the mind and body with the aim of fostering reconciliation and collective healing in a fractured world.
- Systems Change—We are strengthening the contemplative research field’s capacity for systemic impact. Through understanding systems, impact measurement, implementation science, and scaling up.
Grantees and donors alike have roundly endorsed our heightened focus on systems change. “It will be worth the investment of time,” says Varela grantee Pooja Sanhi, who is studying the impact of nature-based education on student attention in India, “if we can get the findings to policymakers and contribute to bringing nature back to schools and education.”
These ambitions come to life through collaborations with partners who share our values. One such milestone will be our 2025 Mind & Life Dialogue, “Minds, Artificial Intelligence, and Ethics,” co-hosted with Mind & Life Europe at the Dalai Lama Library and Archives in Dharamsala, India. There, we’ll gather luminaries across sectors to ask: What does it mean to develop AI in service of humanity?
We’ll also deepen our efforts to advance scientific understanding of earth awareness practices, supporting research and dialogue around how such practices can nurture understanding of our interconnection. Ultimately, we seek to help people better cope with the climate crisis, recognize their responsibility as stewards of the natural world, and assume greater agency in driving forward solutions.
This next chapter for Mind & Life is not simply a continuation—it is a transformation. It calls for audacity, clarity, and community. It is powered by the conviction that when science and contemplative wisdom align, we unlock new possibilities for humanity.
