Earlier this year, the Mindful editorial team had the joy of interviewing 10 women leading the charge to make the world a more kind, connected place for our 2025 edition of the Powerful Women of the Mindfulness Movement feature article. With each conversation, we were inspired by these women’s stories, heartened by their dedication to true compassion, and puzzled over how we were going to fit so much wisdom into such short profiles. Spoiler alert: Despite our best efforts, a lot of great stuff ended up having to be cut. Here, we’re sharing some of their wise words about mindfulness that didn’t make it into the feature, but deserve to be shared.
To learn more about The Powerful Women of the Mindfulness Movement: 2025, check out the feature article here, and guided meditations by the women here.
13 Quotes About Mindfulness and Meditation
1. “I think the absolute superpower of mindfulness is that it’s always available. We can find mindfulness in any moment. We don’t need any equipment.” – Vidyamala Burch
2. “If you put 50 different brains together in a circle and you look at all of them, they’re all going to be completely different. They’re all going to be thinking and perceiving their environment in individual and unique ways. And they’re all perfect exactly as they are. Same with mindfulness: Every single person who sits down to meditate is doing so through the fabric of their wiring and their brain structure, so it’s going to be different for every single solitary person.” – Sue Hutton
“Every single person who sits down to meditate is doing so through the fabric of their wiring and their brain structure, so it’s going to be different for every single solitary person.”
Sue Hutton
3. “Mindfulness doesn’t have to be all serious, something we only do when we’re stuck or when there’s suffering. We can even play with mindfulness. When we are having a good time, a good conversation, in the good moments when everything is going well for us, we tend to forget about mindfulness.” – Shalini Bahl
4. “What I understand, through my practice, is that we all get the journeys we’re meant to have.” – Nanea Reeves
5. “As a pastor, I believe in this process of mindfulness meditation. You have to own your own space, and so it’s not one-size-fits-all. Everybody approaches it differently. Nevertheless, it’s still mindfulness. It’s still meditation, it’s still tuning in, and it’s still allowing yourself to be present with yourself in the moment. You’re not in control of externals, but you do own the process, your own reckoning, your body structure and system.” – Brenda K. Mitchell
“You have to own your own space, and so it’s not one-size-fits-all. Everybody approaches it differently. Nevertheless, it’s still mindfulness.”
Brenda K. Mitchell
6. “The power of contemplative practice is that it makes us observe what we are bringing, and then question that. Not falling to the inflation of, like, ‘All of what we do is right,’ but rather like, ‘Wait a second, is this truly helpful?’ And if not, what needs to change?” – Yuria Celidwen
7. “Be present. Let go of clinging. Release into flow and love. Breathe in, breathe out. And that’s kind of it, really.” – Vidyamala Burch
8. “When we are disconnected from the humanity of ourselves, we behave in ways that are less humane, and that paves the way to see others not in their humanity.” – Shelly Harrell
9. “The more we can bathe ourselves in self-compassion and realize we’re okay exactly as we are, then we can build that strength, and that gives us a little bit more of a foundation to handle the tough stuff.” – Sue Hutton
10. “Just by sitting in the moment to connect to our breath, to try to shift our mindset to just being grateful for the gift of life—which, you know, a breathing practice will definitely connect you to—even if I don’t feel good about who I am in the world in that moment, the fact that I’m taking that time to approach self-care is an act of self-love.” – Nanea Reeves
“Who we truly are, what we truly are, has been calling us home.”
Caverly Morgan
11. “What we long for is our very being. We are what we’ve been striving after. Who we truly are, what we truly are, has been calling us home. It’s possible, then, to rest in who you are rather than trying to become who you think you should be. So if you meditate to be a better person or to be more compassionate, you’ll always be busy trying to be a better person or trying to be more compassionate. But if you practice mindfulness because you’re just in love with resting in your own luminous, infinite being, you’ll always be in love.” – Caverly Morgan
12. “Clearly, within mindfulness, if we really look at the teachings more deeply, interconnectedness is core, but a lot of the teaching front-facing is how it can help you with stress and be more happy and be more individually not attached to the world in some way…There’s a different vibe you can feel when you’re in spaces that are emphasizing things like detachment and bliss.” – Shelly Harrell
13. “What we call pain is a mixture of all those factors: sensations, resistance, resentment, breath holding, tension, stress, anxiety, fear, all that. And what we can do with mindfulness is we can interrupt that cascade.” – Vidyamala Burch
Earlier this year, the Mindful editorial team had the joy of interviewing 10 women leading the charge to make the world a more kind, connected place for our 2025 edition of the Powerful Women of the Mindfulness Movement feature article. With each conversation, we were inspired by these women’s stories, heartened by their dedication to true compassion, and puzzled over how we were going to fit so much wisdom into such short profiles. Spoiler alert: Despite our best efforts, a lot of great stuff ended up having to be cut. Here, we’re sharing some of their wise words and life lessons that didn’t make it into the feature, but deserve to be shared.
To learn more about The Powerful Women of the Mindfulness Movement: 2025, check out the feature article here, and guided meditations by the women here.
13 Quotes About Life From Women Leading the Mindfulness Movement
1. “Oftentimes being the only woman in the room, working in the video game industry, I could really just drop into the moment because I do an open-eye meditation. No one knows what I’m doing. I can choose to not react to how I might be feeling in that moment in a way that could be self-destructive. And sometimes not speaking up can be self-destructive. So it’s really just learning how to insert that pause, and then make the choice that’s the right one for me in that moment.” – Nanea Reeves
2. “I didn’t start a mindfulness practice because I was interested in Zen Buddhism or enlightenment. I started a mindfulness practice because, to put it bluntly, I had this holy s*** moment of realizing that something had been running my life that I didn’t even know was running it.” – Caverly Morgan
“It’s been awesome to honor the space that belongs to my son, because that piece of me has never left me. The love resides, and we occupy the same space.”
Brenda K. Mitchell
3. “I lost a son to gun violence, and there is an understanding that there will never be a new norm for you. Normal is not something that I look for. It will never happen. But what I did learn to do [through mindful practices] was to create a new narrative for myself that allowed space to be happy. It’s been awesome to honor the space that belongs to my son, because that piece of me has never left me. The love resides, and we occupy the same space.” – Brenda K. Mitchell
4. “What I sometimes say these days is that the highest teaching of all is to relax the bum. Because if you like, you just try it right now. If you relax your bum, it’s very hard to be mentally and physically agitated with a soft bum. The other thing about that that makes it the highest teaching is it’s good humored, because that’s another thing about mindfulness: the more I practice it, the more I realize it’s innately associated with lightheartedness, which I find really interesting because we can think mindfulness would make you a very serious, kind of earnest person.” – Vidyamala Burch
5. “Soul is not a noun, it’s a verb. Soul is experience—of inner aliveness, of being touched and moved and this depth of experience and this real sense of interconnectedness.” – Shelly Harrell
6. “That was a really huge realization for me, that strength is kind of like a skill, like riding a bike or learning to drive a car or learning the steps of a dance, like you can actually learn it and then get competent at it and then it can become like second nature. When I heard that, for me it was like a beacon of hope.” – Melli O’Brien
7. “There’s so much craving. Like when my husband [who has dementia] can speak a whole sentence, I go, ‘Oh wow, good!’ and then when he forgets and gets frustrated in expressing himself, my heart sinks. So all of this is happening and I’m very glad that I’ve got this practice of knowing that all this is human, and going, Can I create space to watch it come and go?” – S. Helen Ma
8. “My late husband was a beautiful meditator, and very traditional. And I feel like our life together informed what I’m building now in a way that, you know, part of his energy is still continuing.” – Nanea Reeves
9. “When the inner critic speaks, we meet that voice with an unconditionally loving reassurance. And it’s really important to acknowledge that reassurances are just a voice that says the opposite of the inner critic. So it’s not responding to the voice that says, You’re not smart enough with another voice that says, You’re the smartest person in the room! An unconditionally loving reassurance says, I love you no matter what. You’re going to have days where you feel like you nailed it and you’re going to have days where you feel like you flopped. And I’m here and worthy, no matter what. That’s where the real healing is.” – Caverly Morgan
“If you want to see me in my fullness, it’s not just on your terms or what makes you comfortable to only see part of me or some fragment of me, but to see the whole me.”
Shelly Harrell
10. “Someone actually told me my blackness was not invited into the meditation space. Like I should detach from that, that that would be a better thing to do, that we all should just not even see race, so to speak. That is not the message that is going to make mindfulness inclusive to a diverse population whose real lived experience says, This is what’s happening. If you want to see me in my fullness, it’s not just on your terms or what makes you comfortable to only see part of me or some fragment of me, but to see the whole me.” – Shelly Harrell
11. “I was so broken, and the trauma changed everything about me. I didn’t want to see another mother go through that. But I’m so grateful to become this new person that I am. I’m still thriving, and I’m still learning. I’m happily on a mindfulness meditation journey and sharing that healing journey with other people.” – Brenda K. Mitchell
12. “The reason I started this work, and the reason I continue this work, is thinking back to when I was a 25-year-old young woman lying in a hospital bed and being told there wasn’t anything medically that could be done to help me. My back was damaged in such ways that there was no medical solution and I had to figure it all out for myself, how to create a good life with this body. For, you know, a lot of that time it has been very lonely and difficult so I’ve always thought, If I can help one person have an easier time of it, then that is my life’s work. The fact is, it’s now hundreds of thousands of people who have learned this superpower where any given moment you have this choice: Do you crank your pain up or do you dial it down? It’s so accessible. It’s just amazing.” – Vidyamala Burch
13. “Dance became a place, particularly when I started choreographing, that was a refuge. It was a place where I could connect deeply to my body and allow my body to be a mode of expression. It was a place I could come home to. I very much began to experience my body as home. Coming home to my somatic experience was part of what dance did. Coming home but also allowing expression of whatever that inner experience was, it came out through movement and so movement became meditation.” – Shelly Harrell
Earlier this year, the Mindful editorial team had the joy of interviewing 10 women leading the charge to make the world a more kind, connected place for our 2025 edition of the Powerful Women of the Mindfulness Movement feature article. With each conversation, we were inspired by these women’s stories, heartened by their dedication to true compassion, and puzzled over how we were going to fit so much wisdom into such short profiles. Spoiler alert: Despite our best efforts, a lot of great stuff ended up having to be cut. Here, we’re sharing some of their wise words that didn’t make it into the feature, but deserve to be shared.
To learn more about The Powerful Women of the Mindfulness Movement: 2025, check out the feature article here, and guided meditations by the women here.
12 Inspirational Quotes About Compassion
1. “If the backbone of compassion stands that we want all beings to benefit from these practices, then that includes the vast array of wiring and diversity of people that we have in this world.” – Sue Hutton
2. “As research shows, we feel empathy naturally for people who are in the in-group and for not the outgroup, so that’s where the practice of compassion comes in. We cannot just rely on our human instincts to feel compassion, because we live in a world where people have different identities, different worldviews, different cultures and habits. Especially right now with social media creating more divisiveness, actively cultivating compassion becomes really important.” – Shalini Bahl
“Compassion is very clear-eyed. It’s not sentimental, it’s very clear-eyed and wise and objective.”
Vidyamala Burch
3. “Compassion is very clear-eyed. It’s not sentimental, it’s very clear-eyed and wise and objective.” – Vidyamala Burch
4. “The goal of meditation is not focus. It’s not calm. Those are avenues. The goal is ultimately to get to present awareness, and then we become aware of how we treat others, the impact we’re having. We can make adjustments in real time where we can expand who we are, expand our compassion, expand our impact on the world.” – Nanea Reeves
5. “The ethics of belonging pushes us to question those narratives that we have created, those cultural narratives, and then also our own idea of self, into then breaking that pattern of not seeing life in everything that is, or every being that is—and then approaching all of our experiential life and all phenomena as our kin.” – Yuria Celidwen
“I think when we are really mindful, we can’t help but be compassionate.”
S. Helen Mall
6.“I think when we are really mindful, we can’t help but be compassionate.” – S. Helen Ma
7. “The work of self-compassion is incredibly transformative work. But some people approach it from the perspective of, I’m going to get these practices and tools that will help me become a better person. There’s a tinge of self-improvement. In my experience, compassion is not something that we have to strive to get, that we either succeed or fail at. It is a byproduct of resting as ourselves.” – Caverly Morgan
8. “Disconnection is reflected in dehumanization, in disengagement, and in domination—all these ways oppression and traumas pull us out of our connection to ourselves, to humanity…The idea of reconnection is the path.” – Shelly Harrell
9. “If you’re going on a journey with someone, what kind of person do you want to go on a journey with? It’s really hard to enjoy the journey when there’s somebody in the seat beside you heckling you, putting you down, and telling you you’re not enough all the time. You’ll be a much nicer companion for your journey through life if you’re supportive and kind and respectful and encouraging.” – Melli O’Brien
“How do we learn to listen to the world, to the whole living, beautiful mother planet that we inhabit?”
Yuria Celidwen
10. “Even when we may feel emotionally aroused or disinterested, we can still sit there to listen to others. And by others, I don’t only mean other human experiences, but rather the whole natural thing. How do we learn to listen to the world, to the whole living, beautiful mother planet that we inhabit?” – Yuria Celidwen
11. “We can use all kinds of words and feel warm and fuzzy in ourselves—which is a start, to warm our own hearts through practice—but compassion and love have to have a connected quality where we also care about how it’s expressed, how it lands, and how it’s experienced. It’s that distinction between intention and impact. We can have the greatest intentions and the impact can still be harmful.” – Shelly Harrell
12. “For me personally, not just mindfulness, but self-compassion equally has been an absolute super power in my life because I can’t do anything that I’m doing in this world, I can’t share my gifts with the world, if I’m hooked by a voice in my head that that’s just like Everything I do sucks.” – Melli O’Brien
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Sorting through and letting go of physical objects we no longer need teaches us about all the things we’re holding onto. As Barry Boyce realizes, it can also help us find kinder, wiser ways of decluttering our mind.
Every Friday for the past two months, together with a couple of friends I’ve enlisted, I’ve been spending half the day going through stuff and sending it away—either to donation bins, friends, recycling, or the landfill. Don’t get me wrong. This is not a Marie Kondo-type thing. I’ve got a long way to go before my place would reach the pinnacle of utter simplicity she asks us to aspire to.
I’m also not a hoarder, though. I’m just a middle-of-the-pack accumulator of stuff who has lived in the same place for 35 years, where we’ve raised some children, had some home offices, and indulged my predilection for kitchen gadgetry.
I’ve done several purges before, but this one I’ve been putting off for far too long, surrounded by nests of stuff beckoning to me: What’s going to happen to me when you’re gone. When I told some friends about it, they put me on to Margareta Magnusson’s book with the gruesome titleThe Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and Your Family from a Lifetime of Clutter. Yikes. I could not bring myself to label what I was doing as Swedish Death Cleaning. That’s just a little too on the nose.
I also learned from friends who blazed this path before me that there’s lots of stuff nobody, including my children, wants. They don’t want the furniture I inherited from my parents (too old fashioned and no room for it anyway in the smaller-footprint places they live in), and their lifestyle has little to do with heirloom china, silver, and crystal. An article in Forbes confirmed that I’m far from alone. Apparently, says the magazine, all my furniture is lumped under the category of “brown pieces,” and nobody wants old brown pieces.
This time around, though, I haven’t even gotten to the furniture: I was drowning in shelves and shelves of books, ancient records, mementos and souvenirs, old clothes and shoes, orphaned pieces of hardware, toys and games, and small mountains of obsolete electronics and mysterious cords and connectors. At times, when I wasn’t pulling my hair out trying to decide what to keep and what to discard (thank heaven for having friends there to break me out of that trance), I could crack a smile and remember George Carlin’s bit on stuff:
A house is just a pile of stuff with a cover on it. You can see that when you’re taking off in an airplane. You look down, you see everybody’s got a little pile of stuff. All the little piles of stuff … That’s what your house is, a place to keep your stuff while you go out and get…more stuff!
In the middle of all this something surprising happened. Something kind of wonderful. I started to see past the stuff, to understand that objects take on meaning we cling to, but when that meaning is stripped away it becomes what it is: simply stuff. It’s the Buddhist principle of emptiness, which isn’t about a gaping black void, but rather about how the things of our world are empty of the deep meaning we attach to them. That old sweatshirt I loved so much is now nothing more than a rag
Then, there’s the stuff of the mind, and that’s where the wonderful part comes in. Just as our worldly abode collects clutter, so too does our mental abode. It fills up with old ideas and viewpoints, grudges, regrets, hates and loves, opinions and mythologies, and memories of things we’ve done wrong that we sweep under the rug. Stuff we may not have looked at in a long time. But make no mistake: It’s there and it can guide our behavior.
It can be just as valuable, and probably more so, to do some “Swedish Death Cleaning” with the clutter in our mind. As I started to embrace this fact—not for the first time in my life but more so this time—I began to appreciate the lightening and freedom that can come from going through my old mental stuff and doing some aerating and discarding. Every spiritual tradition has some form of going through your stuff, often called confession or atonement, and twelve-step programs ask one to make a “searching and fearless moral inventory.”
Just as our worldly abode collects clutter, so too does our mental abode. It fills up with old ideas and viewpoints, grudges, regrets, hates and loves, opinions and mythologies, and memories of things we’ve done wrong that we sweep under the rug. Stuff we may not have looked at in a long time.
Just how we approach the old mental stuff we’re holding is critically important, though.
For the icky and even ugly stuff we unearth, it’s so easy to beat ourselves up about it, which we falsely think will help matters. In fact, though, we need to forgive first, because if we don’t, the aggression we wield blocks out the light we need to shine on what we’ve done and how we’ve been holding it. If we get past the knee-jerk aggressive response, we may be able to see what we can learn from the past, repair anything that may be reparable, and then send that old mental stuff to the recycling bin.
Decluttering the place where you live can bring spaciousness into your home. Decluttering what’s clogging up your mind lets space into every corner of your life.
10 things you learn from having a mindfulness practice that help foster resilience in the face of whatever life brings.
Here’s what I know from my practice. I know that:
1. Things change. Emotions change, thoughts change, the breath changes. Nothing is static. And ideologies change; political movements come and go. And if I try to hold on to the way I think things are supposed to be, I will surely suffer.
2. That doesn’t mean I can’t have opinions. It is not UN-mindful to deeply want the world to be a certain way.
3. It’s normal to feel any emotion right now: despair, betrayal, outrage, loss… Someone else is feeling elation, joy, and righteousness. Or maybe you’re feeling nothing—shock or numbness. Mindfulness tells us to be open to any emotion as it is part of the human condition. But the more important question is, how can I practice with it?
4. Practicing with my emotions means—feeling them in my body in vivo. Can I feel my stomach clenched? Can I feel my heart racing? What is happening right in this moment, in my body? When I can feel it, without trying to change it, I can allow the emotion to be. I can make space for it, without getting overwhelmed.
5. The same with thoughts: When I’m entangled in my worries for my child, or my worst-case scenarios, I can remember to return to the present moment. What do I feel right here, right now? My toes on the floor. My breath in my belly. That’s all there is right now. I can prevent thoughts from snowballing out of control just by returning to the present moment.
6. Equanimity—balance and even-mindedness are the fruit of mindfulness practice. The more I sit with my inner experience without reactivity, the more I foster resilience in the face of whatever life brings.
The more I sit with my inner experience without reactivity, the more I foster resilience in the face of whatever life brings.
7. This does not mean I don’t act. That is a misunderstanding. It means that I do act, but act with awareness. When I act out of anger or fear, I’m not usually happy with the results. I know this. Acting from equanimity leads to wiser and more skillful actions. But I need to take my time with this. Appropriate action may not be evident immediately.
8. Peace begins with me. The peace activist A. J. Muste said, “There is no way to peace, peace is the way.” The only way to promote peace is to be it. Now. Through my practice.
9. Having my meditation practice is the single healthiest thing I can do right now. Having a place to cultivate more capacity to accept change, work with my emotions and thoughts, and cultivate equanimity is what is going to get me through.
10. Kindness is what matters. In our deeply divisive world, so many of us are at odds with each other. It’s time for us to practice regular acts of kindness—to listen deeply to ourselves and to others. Our meditation practice teaches us not to turn people into enemies, that we are all connected. Can we dig deep within us to find a way to kindness, even in polarized times? I know we can.
While many of us lean on mindfulness to help us through times of inner and outer chaos, we can cultivate the greatest resilience through consistency in our practice, even when it doesn’t feel urgent.
In this practice framework, each letter of the word “breath” serves to remind us of our responsibility to honor and promote equity.
To begin this practice, let’s ground ourselves in deep gratitude. Gratitude for all those who have come before us and those who have paved the way for us to sit in this moment with a sense of relative safety. Whose tireless efforts allow us to be and move within the spaces we navigate each day. Acknowledging the responsibility we also share in making the world a better place than we found it. In this way, we can recognize our own sense of belonging as we take time now at the start of our practice to breathe for belonging.
In this mindfulness framework, each letter of the word “breath” serves to remind us of our responsibility to ourselves and to others to honor and promote equity. “B” invites us to breathe for belonging. “R” for restoration and renewal. “E” to exercise equity. “A” to activate and advocate. “T” asks us to trust the power. “H” is for healing.
A Guided Meditation to Celebrate the Power of Pausing Together
Let’s pause for a few breaths to allow us to focus on our breathing for belonging. As we focus on the positive elements of belonging and our gratitude for all that has made this possible, begin to feel a sense of restoration and renewal.
Belonging. Restoration and renewal. The first two letters of our equity breath will prepare us to receive the world with as much positivity and energy as we can. With this in mind, take some time to breathe for belonging as well as our collective restoration and renewal.
Allow a welcome pause. For several breaths focus on restoration and renewal. Take some time to turn inward and focus on a sense of belonging, restoration, and renewal.
Let’s turn our attention outward to the rich diversity of people in our lives and everyday interactions. With that, we will begin to reflect on how we exercise equity as well as activate and advocate for that equity—the “E” and “A” in our equity breath.
Now we can turn our attention to opening our hearts and minds to the vast intersectionality of our world in ways that cause us to examine things like: Who holds power across our communities and across facets of our society? What is grounded in the ways that we live, work, and play?
In our collective efforts to advance intersectional equity, may we take the necessary steps to recognize and value each of our many identities. May we exercise equity through our genuine care and concern for one another. Through sharing, openness, and curiosity. Through open invitations to participate, broadening access and opportunity, and through collaboration and co-creation with those impacted by institutions, systems, and communities. Holding those most affected in our hearts and directing this practice toward justice. May we breathe for safety for ourselves and one another. May we breathe together for justice, for the positive change we see each day in the march toward social justice. May we honor and nourish the relationships so necessary in advancing equity in our world as this cannot be done alone.
Let’s pause again and enjoy a few deep breaths to focus on our vast potential to exercise equity. To activate and advocate. Anchoring ourselves in our equity breath as we now turn ourselves to the end of our practice. We use the breath as a tool to focus on breathing for belonging, restoration, and renewal, exercising equity, activating and advocating, trusting the power, and healing through hope.
Holding ourselves with the utmost compassion, we move into the last two elements of our equity breath, allowing ourselves to trust the past and heal through hope. Anchoring our awareness on the breath; focusing on simply breathing in and breathing out. Aware of our body, let us release all of the tension and pain.
Now, let’s bring our awareness to our hearts. Welcome tenderness to our hearts, bringing our awareness to our emotions. Holding in compassion. Smiling. Easing and releasing with the breath. As we notice our own suffering, notice how it manifests in the body, in our emotions, in our tone, and in our words and actions. Try to hold the suffering with deep compassion. Easing suffering with the beautiful power of our breath. Being aware of suffering as a pattern in the world. Visualizing how it affects so many. As we take in this pattern of suffering, hold it in compassion, and send ease with each out-breath.
As we notice the suffering of others, what are you aware of? What do you feel in your body? What emotions? Hold it all with compassion, sending ease and relief to your mind.
Now slowly return awareness to the breath. Welcome ease and with each out-breath, release any tension. Notice the suffering of those that hold privilege. Recognize guilt and disconnection. Feel this energy and hold it with deep passion as we release it with ease and send relief.
Return awareness to the entire body. Our heads, our hearts, our hands, and our feet. From this awareness, honor your deepest intentions to address suffering and what we need to do in order to create conditions to thrive. Strengthening and bringing into awareness the steps we take next. How does this feel in your body, in your head, in your heart? Hands and feet? What are you? What are we? Carrying forth from today may we keep the flames of determination, courage, and conviction burning no matter what difficulty or odds arise.
Change ripples out from the places we heal ourselves, writes editor-in-chief Heather Hurlock. And when we connect, we’re capable of great things. Read More
Point of View Podcast Episode 7: Exploring how we’re missing out on the joys of our rich human community, and how mindfulness can help us dismantle the subtle patterns and habits that separate us from each other. Read More
Relationships of all kinds are dynamic. There are ups and downs, seasons of flourishing, and seasons that feel frustrating and dry. Whether romantic, familial, or platonic, they all require care, attention, and intention to thrive.
Our days are so filled with obligations, pressures, and distractions. It’s easy to slip into autopilot, where communication becomes transactional, and moments of connection feel few and far between.
Before we know it, we’re just not connecting in the ways we need the most. Communication might feel tense or rushed. Resentment can build up. Where we long to feel trust and easy intimacy, we might feel distance.
When connection feels thin, there’s usually a main culprit: We’ve forgotten how to be fully present with this person we care about so much. If we’re wrapped up in the past, holding on to frustrations or grievances, we’re more likely to miss moments of potential gratitude, closeness, and support. If we’re caught up in worry about the future, we’re more likely to miss the goodness that abounds in the here and now.
The newly launched Relationship Affirmations Deck explores the many ways in which mindfulness offers a powerful antidote to this disconnect. By incorporating mindfulness into our relationships, we can cultivate deeper understanding, empathy, playfulness, and appreciation for those we hold dear.
4 Simple, Mindful Practices to Nourish Relationships
Whether you’re looking to reconnect after a period of distance, or you just want to build on what you already have, mindful relationship practices can help. Let’s look at four mindful ways to nourish connection in your relationships, helping them grow stronger and more fulfilling over time.
1. Practice Active Listening
Here’s a question to gently ask yourself: How often do I truly listen to others without planning a response, letting my thoughts wander, or interrupting? It’s more challenging than you might think.
Active listening is a cornerstone of mindfulness in relationships, requiring full presence and an open heart.
What is active listening?
Active listening involves giving your undivided attention to the speaker, genuinely seeking to understand their perspective. This means suspending judgment, refraining from offering solutions unless asked, and showing that you value their words.
How to incorporate active listening into your relationship
Here are three ways you can boost your active listening skills.
Don’t let distraction get the upper hand. Put away devices like phones or laptops. Face the person you’re speaking with, maintain eye contact, and let them know they have your attention.
Use verbal and nonverbal cues. Nod, lean in, smile, or say things like, “I hear you,” or “Tell me more.” These small gestures show engagement and encouragement.
Reflect and validate. When your conversation partner is done talking, it can help to summarize what they’ve said to confirm you understand. For example: “It sounds like you felt hurt when that happened. Is that right?” Remember, validation doesn’t mean agreeing; it simply acknowledges their feelings as real and understandable.
By practicing active listening, you create a reliable space for your partner or loved one to share openly, which strengthens trust and intimacy.
2. Be Intentional About Gratitude and Appreciation
In long-term relationships, it’s easy to take the other person for granted. Over time, we may focus more on what’s lacking or on minor annoyances than on the things we admire about our partner, family members, or close friends.
Why gratitude matters in relationships
Gratitude shifts attention to the positive aspects of your relationship, reminding you of the qualities and experiences you cherish. When expressed regularly, appreciation fosters feelings of being seen, valued, and loved.
At first it can feel awkward to be intentional about gratitude. Calling out specific examples might even feel a little silly. But this practice has been shown again and again to shift our perspective, to sharpen our awareness of all the goodness around us and all the ways we’re held up and supported. All of this makes us better friends, partners, parents, and co-workers, deepening the bonds we share.
How to practice gratitude together
If you want to boost your experience of gratitude and aren’t sure where to begin, here are three simple strategies that can get you started.
Start a daily gratitude practice. This does not have to be complicated or drawn out! Each day, share one thing you’re grateful for about your partner or your relationship. It could be something small, like how they made you coffee, or something significant, like their support during a tough time.
Write thank-you or love notes. Leave a heartfelt note expressing appreciation for something specific they’ve done. Over time, these little gestures build a reservoir of positive feelings.
Celebrate the small wins. Acknowledge and celebrate each other’s achievements, no matter how minor. Recognizing effort strengthens your bond and boosts mutual respect.
When gratitude becomes a habit, it acts as a glue that holds your relationship together through ups and downs. Over time, noticing what’s working becomes the default. When frustrations or disappointments occur—which they inevitably will in our imperfect human relationships—you’ll have this large bank of truthful, positive reminders to draw from.
3. Be Present for Shared Experiences
Relationships thrive on shared experiences, but the depth of connection depends on how present you are in those moments. Whether it’s a dinner date, a weekend hike, or simply watching a movie together, mindfulness can transform routine activities into meaningful bonding opportunities.
What is shared presence and why does it matter?
It’s easy to assume that spending time together automatically equals connection. But proximity isn’t the same as presence. You can sit next to someone for hours and still feel a million miles apart. What transforms time into connection is being fully there.
“Being present” is a phrase you’ll see a lot in mindful spaces. While it can sound a little vague and New Agey, in reality, it’s a very practical approach to investing in our ordinary, everyday lives.
When we talk about being fully present, what we mean is that we’re marshaling our attention on purpose. That looks like putting our focus on the person we’re with, opening our ears and our hearts to them. It also involves being in our bodies—noticing sights, sounds, smells, and sensations—instead of always stuck in our heads and the stories we get hooked on. We’re not getting caught up in something that happened earlier or something that’s going to happen later. When our attention drifts, which it will, we just gently bring it back.
When you’re fully present, even mundane moments become an opportunity for connection. Presence fosters intimacy, as it shows the person you’re with that they are worth your undivided attention.
Ideas for mindful shared experiences
There are so many fun and creative ways to build shared experiences. Here are just a few ideas you can try:
Mindful meals. Shared meals used to be a cornerstone of cultural connection, and in some places, people are trying to bring them back to combat the epidemic of loneliness that has seeped into Western culture. A mindful meal is simply a meal without distractions. It doesn’t have to be fancy at all. The focus is on savoring the flavors, enjoying the ambiance, and engaging in conversation.
Digital detox dates. Set aside time to disconnect from screens and connect with each other. Use this time to talk, play a game, or try something new together.
Explore something new. Novelty and spontaneity strengthen bonds by creating new, positive associations. Take a dance class, cook a new recipe, or visit a place neither of you has been before.
Practice mindfulness together. Meditate, do yoga, or simply sit quietly and breathe together. Shared mindfulness practices can deepen your emotional connection and align your energies.
One additional benefit of intentional presence? We remember things more vividly. By being fully present during shared experiences, you create memories that are rich in connection and joy.
4. Practice Compassion and Forgiveness
No relationship is immune to conflict or mistakes. In these moments, the way we respond determines whether we drift apart or grow closer. Practicing compassion and forgiveness is a mindful approach to navigating challenges while strengthening the bond between you.
Why compassion and forgiveness are so crucial to connection
Compassion involves understanding and caring for your partner’s feelings, even when you disagree or feel hurt. It’s about recognizing their humanity and approaching difficulties with kindness rather than judgment.
Forgiveness is an emotionally-complicated and often-misunderstood concept. People sometimes fear that forgiveness is the same as saying what happened was okay, or that it means we “forget” or pretend it never happened. That isn’t the case with healthy forgiveness.
Holding onto resentment creates barriers to intimacy. Forgiveness doesn’t mean condoning hurtful behavior, but rather letting go of the emotional weight it carries, so you can move forward together.
How to practice compassion and forgiveness
Studies have shown that a regular mindfulness practice makes forgiveness easier, in part because it expands our compassion and makes seeing another perspective less difficult. Here are five habits that foster real, healthy compassion and forgiveness.
Pause before reacting. When emotions flare, take a breath. That pause can be the difference between a response that builds connection and one that tears it down.
Include yourself. Often the person we are hardest on is ourselves. The more we practice taming our ferocious inner critic, the more likely we are to be able to extend that same grace to others.
Seek understanding. Ask yourself: What might they be feeling or fearing? What’s beneath their words or actions?
Apologize and accept apologies. A sincere “I’m sorry” can be healing. So can saying, “I forgive you.” Neither one erases the hurt, but both open the door to repair.
Let go of what no longer serves you. Resentment is heavy. Releasing it—through mindfulness, journaling, or therapy—creates space for something lighter.
Compassion and forgiveness aren’t always easy. Some might say that these can be the most challenging part of a mindfulness journey, but they are what allows relationships to grow through challenges rather than crumble beneath them.
Building a Relationship That Feels Alive
Mindfulness in relationships isn’t about perfection. It’s about presence—about showing up, over and over, in small but meaningful ways. When we listen deeply, express gratitude, share moments with presence, and choose compassion, we create a relationship that feels alive, tender, and worth tending to.
And here’s the beautiful thing: every moment is a chance to begin again. So, whether you’re navigating a tough season or just looking to strengthen what’s already good, start small. Start today. The relationships that matter most are worth it.
Put the Focus Back On Connection with Relationship Affirmations
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A simple wooden holder to display each day’s card. A QR code on the back of each card that links to 25 bonus premium digital practices, like coaching and guided meditations.
This deck provides a simple reminder that brings your attention back to gratitude, compassion, honest communication, and healthy interactions. Whether used alone or with a loved one, these cards can provide the gentle structure and support to help you grow your relationships with care and intention.
In times of deep division and uncertainty, many of us feel pressure to “move on” or “come together” quickly, before we’ve properly processed our feelings. This tendency to rush past our emotions can lead to superficial healing at best, and deeper wounds at worst. True healing—whether personal or collective—begins with creating space to process post-election emotions by feeling what we feel without judgment.
1. Notice Your Protective Patterns
Before we can heal, we need to recognize how we might be bypassing our emotions. Which of these patterns feel familiar?
Keeping Busy: Immediately jumping into “fix-it” mode or taking on extra projects when feeling vulnerable, using constant activity as a way to avoid sitting with uncomfortable feelings
Pretending: Maintaining a polished exterior while internally struggling, especially in professional settings or with family—often, it’s saying “I’m fine” when you’re actually not
Analyzing: Analyzing feelings from a safe mental distance rather than experiencing them, turning emotional experiences into problems to be solved rather than feelings to be felt
Distracting: Using endless scrolling, excessive exercise, or other activities that serve to redirect our attention away from our emotions
Numbing: Coping with alcohol or other substances, comfort eating, to dull difficult emotions and temporarily escape discomfort
Caretaking: Over-focusing on others’ needs while neglecting our own emotional landscape, using service to others as a way to avoid our own inner work
Spiritual Bypassing: Using spiritual practices or positive thinking as an escape route rather than as genuine tools for processing, rushing to “transcend” difficult emotions before fully acknowledging them
True healing—whether personal or collective—begins with creating space to feel what we feel without judgment.
2. Give Yourself Permission to Pause
Now that you’ve recognized your patterns of avoiding discomfort, the next step is simple but powerful: pause. This means temporarily stepping away from our habits of constant doing, fixing, and analyzing.
Consider this an invitation to:
Step away from the constant barrage of news and social media. (If you want to stay informed, set specific times to check the news.)
For a few moments, let go of striving to “fix” anything. Notice how this feels in your body and your mind.
Give yourself and others grace during this emotional time. Remember that everyone processes differently and at their own pace.
Trust that understanding and connection will come, but they can’t be forced.
While pausing is essential, healing also requires active practices that engage our body and senses. Research offers clear guidance on what works.
3. Create Space to Feel and Heal
Find your own ways to intentionally create spaces for healing with activities that engage your sensory awareness—for example, cooking, making and listening to music, painting, writing, and other art forms. You may enjoy these activities on your own or in community.
In particular, two evidence-based strategies to heal and manage stress are being in nature and moving our body.
The Science of Nature and Healing
Research shows our innate connection to nature (biophilia) has real healing effects. A landmark study found that hospital patients with views of nature recovered faster and needed less pain medication than those facing brick walls. Even brief nature encounters can reduce stress hormones and improve well-being.
Try these science-backed nature practices:
Mindful Window Moments: Take 3-5 minutes to observe nature outside your window—notice the movement of leaves, birds, or clouds. Studies show even brief nature views can lower heart rate and blood pressure.
Nature Walking: Find a green space for a 15-minute walk. Notice the touch of the air on your face, the sound of leaves or gravel under your feet, the rhythm of your steps. Research shows walking in nature reduces rumination and anxiety more effectively than urban walks.
Movement as Medicine
If running, yoga, or other sports don’t speak to you, try dancing. Dance therapy research shows movement helps process emotions trapped in our bodies. Dance is known to promote emotional, social, cognitive, physical, and spiritual integration leading to improved health and well-being.
When we feel stuck, simple movement can shift our state:
Kitchen Dancing: Put on an inspiring song and let your body move freely. Notice how different parts of your body want to express themselves.
Gentle Shaking: Stand comfortably and gently shake your body for 1-2 minutes, letting tension release. Notice areas that feel tight or free.
Now that we’ve explored ways to pause and engage in healing practices, let’s bring it all together with a guided meditation that helps us return to ourselves, listen deeply, and begin taking mindful action.
A Healing Meditation to Process Post-Election Emotions
Too often, we finish a meditation session and then rush back into life without taking time to reflect and listen to our needs. Not taking this time means we’re more likely to default to our usual ways of thinking and reacting in the real world, despite our best intentions. Before we begin our interactions, it’s important to remember to return to our intentions and insights.
Healing can’t be rushed. By creating space for our emotions now, we build a stronger foundation for whatever comes next.
Let’s practice together, with three steps: return, listen, and begin.
Return to our present moment experience (3-5 minutes)
The first step in mindfulness meditation is to stabilize the mind by returning to an anchor, whether it’s the feeling or sound of your breath, body sensations, or sounds in the environment. For a few minutes let go of any rushing, judging, or striving.
Take a few deep breaths, letting your exhales be slow and complete. Now let your breath find its natural rhythm. Notice the sensation of breathing—perhaps the slight coolness of air at your nostrils, or the gentle rise and fall of your chest.
As you sit here, become aware of the points of contact between your body and your seat, your feet and the floor. Feel the support beneath you. When your mind wanders to election concerns or other thoughts, gently acknowledge them and return to these sensations of support and breathing.
Now scan your body slowly, noticing any areas of tension. Are your shoulders raised? Is your jaw clenched? Without trying to change anything, simply notice what’s here. Let each exhale invite a tiny bit more softening. Once you feel centered in your body, shift to the next step of listening within.
Listen within and ask what you need (3-5 minutes)
Once you feel connected with yourself, you can start to inwardly listen, becoming aware of your thoughts and emotions. What feelings are present? Perhaps anxiety, anger, fear, hope, or numbness. Make room for all you are feeling without needing to fix or change anything.
Notice where these emotions live in your body. Does anxiety swirl in your stomach? Does fear create tightness in the chest? Does sadness feel heavy in your shoulders? Let each feeling have space to be felt and heard.
Now gently ask yourself: “What do I need in this moment?” Maybe it’s rest, connection, movement, or quiet. Let the answer emerge naturally from your body’s wisdom rather than your thinking mind. Trust your inner knowing.
Begin to take actions that nurture you (5-7 minutes)
As this practice draws to a close, consider one small way to care for yourself today. Perhaps it’s taking a walk at lunch, calling a supportive friend, or setting a boundary with news consumption.
Choose something specific and achievable. Rather than “I should exercise more,” perhaps you decide, “I’ll step outside for five minutes at lunch.” Rather than “I need to stay informed,” maybe your intention is “I’ll check news once in the evening for 15 minutes.”
Take a moment to imagine yourself doing this one small thing. See the details—where you’ll be, what time of day, what it will feel like in your body.
Before opening your eyes, take three slow breaths, feeling the support beneath you and your own capacity for self-care and healing.
Remember, you can return to any part of this practice throughout your day—a few conscious breaths, a moment of listening to your needs or recommitting to one small caring action.
Healing can’t be rushed. By creating space to process our post-election emotions now, we build a stronger foundation for whatever comes next. Start small, be gentle with yourself, and trust your path to genuine healing. From this place of inner calm and clarity we can begin the work of understanding and bridging our differences.
The original version of this article was published at knowyourmind.training.
