As I teach, I encounter a great deal of anxiety about the pandemic, racial injustice, and political polarization. But the pervasive sense of separateness, divisiveness, and fear are not totally new, they have been present long before this year. To respond we first need to hold these struggles and collective fears with compassion. And then …
Continue reading “What Contemplative Wisdom Can Teach Us About Navigating Challenging Times”
What if human minds hold the key to bringing our world together? When the Mind & Life Institute began over three decades ago, our founders envisioned a future where science and contemplative wisdom would come together to promote human flourishing. In collaboration with hundreds of scientists, contemplatives, and changemakers, Mind & Life has since helped …
One in five college students reports declining mental health as a result of the COVID pandemic. This is on top of a recent generational rise in rates of anxiety and depression among college-aged youth. Could a unique course that blends academic and experiential learning help prepare first-year students for the stressors that lie ahead during …
Continue reading “Student Flourishing Initiative: Building Resiliency Among College Students”
What is a Land and Peoples Acknowledgement, and Why is it Important A Land and Peoples Acknowledgement is a formal statement rooted in Indigenous protocol that recognizes the peoples who traditionally inhabited the land where you live or work and the relationship that continues to exist between Indigenous Peoples and their traditional territories. It’s a …
At the heart of the Mind & Life Institute’s work is nurturing understanding and action toward a world that embraces our shared humanity. We recognize that barriers to realizing our fundamental interconnectedness exist not only in the human mind, but are deeply embedded within institutions and structures. Our commitment to dismantling institutional racism begins at …
Continue reading “Our Commitment to Racial Equity and Inclusion”
In the midst of the COVID pandemic, health care is in the news daily. But there’s an often-overlooked element in many hospital systems: the role of chaplains. For patients experiencing loneliness, isolation, fear, and physical pain, chaplains offer much needed emotional support, spiritual guidance, and hope. But could chaplains and the patients they support also …
Continue reading “Cultivating Compassion in Healthcare: One Researcher’s Journey”
Trayvon Martin. Eric Garner. Michael Brown. Freddie Gray. Sandra Bland. Ferguson. Baltimore. Charleston. Alton Sterling. Philando Castile. In the wake of so many recent tragedies involving racial discrimination, Americans are taking a hard look at this systemic and divisive issue in our culture, and asking what can be done to change it.
Held against the backdrop of a global pandemic and worldwide protests against police brutality and systemic racism, Mind & Life’s 17th annual Summer Research Institute (SRI) offered participants in 22 countries a unique opportunity to reflect on recent events and their roles in contributing to individual and societal healing. “This is a critical moment in …
Continue reading “Cultivating Pro-Sociality at a Time of Unprecedented Change”
In a world besieged by the COVID-19 pandemic and rocked by anti-racism protests, more than 1.3 million people tuned-in to a livestream event, simultaneously translated into 14 languages, to hear the Dalai Lama offer insights on the way forward. Hosted by the Mind & Life Institute, the June 19 “Conversation with the Dalai Lama on …
We sit with heavy hearts in the wake of George Floyd’s murder. This senseless loss has deepened wounds in the United States at a time when ongoing health and economic crises continue to disproportionately harm Black people. We are profoundly aware of the horrors of racism, reverberating with societal disconnection and continued fear and grief …
