Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a rising epidemic worldwide and poses a significant public health challenge. GDM adversely affects women’s emotional well-being, health outcomes including future development of Type II diabetes and cardiovascular disease, and infant health such as preeclampsia, mortality, and heightened risks for diabetes and other metabolic issues. A mindfulness-based intervention approach, coupled …
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Making data more accessible: Visualizing the Contemplative Coping during COVID-19 project
The purpose of this project is to make results from the Contemplative Coping during COVID-19 (CCC) research study accessible to a variety of stakeholders. The CCC study investigates the lived experience of ~350 meditation practitioners in the US during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Our aim is to understand how people are making use of meditation practices …
Effects and mechanisms of smartphone-based mindfulness training on emotional well-being in at-risk college students
Emotional well-being (EWB) is an important component of mental and physical health that includes both positive emotions and an absence of emotional symptoms (e.g., depressive- and anxiety-related). EWB has declined dramatically among college students, a trend only exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. We need to develop solutions that can improve college students’ EWB and can …
How One Global Company is Using Mindfulness — and a new Mind & Life Film — to Nurture Compassion and Connection
How might an understanding of conscious evolution and the African philosophy of ubuntu help nurture open dialogue, teamwork, and leadership skills within a fast-paced corporate culture? In September, employees at the pharmaceutical giant Novartis had the chance to find out when roughly 400 team members around the globe attended online screenings of the Mind & …
Inspiring Minds – January 2022
Our January 2022 conversation features Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche and Elissa Epel. They discuss how contemplative practice can build resilience to address injustice and the climate crisis.
2021 Mind & Life Conversation
Our December 2021 conversation with the Dalai Lama features Elissa Epel, Michelle Shiota, and John Dunne. The program asks: What is the role of activating hope in pursuing a positive vision of the future? Can action come with a heavy heart, and before we have a clear vision of the radical changes needed? How can we cultivate joy amidst adversity?
Contemplative Environmental Mentoring Communities
Professors of Environmental Studies face a unique pedagogical challenge. They must teach about the immensity of global environmental harm without falling into deep cynicism. Professors can meet this challenge by facing up to their own fears and developing the courage to share insights as honestly as possible. This requires a high level of self-awareness and …
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Contemplative Practices for Well-being of Low-income Children and Teachers in India
The ongoing humanitarian crisis in India is aggravating economic and social disparities. Majority of Indian children from low-income backgrounds have been deprived education, face an uncertain future, with stress and emotional trauma. Therefore, there is an urgent need for teachers, schools and communities to be equipped with field-tested approaches to address the emotional well-being of …
Embodying DEI: Trauma-informed and Mindfulness-based Approaches to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Higher Education
The past year has renewed higher education’s urgency to address historical racial violence. Yet the outpouring of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) efforts we have seen over the course of the past year have often neglected the demands of people of color to oppose racism not only intellectually or semantically, but to address historical racialized …
Community Suicide Prevention Project for Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)
The DRC in general and the city of Goma in particular, with a majority population that is poor and unemployed, is caught in endless cycles of wars, and the calamity of armed conflicts. This constant exposure to trauma predisposes many to severe psychological distress. Given this level of trauma exposure we expect higher rates of …
