Health Journal Online

Category: Mental Health

  • Game Over? Tips and Techniques for Mindful Gaming

    Game Over? Tips and Techniques for Mindful Gaming

    Playing video games can help you feel energized and engaged, but they can also be a huge drain on your well-being. Here’s an intro to gaming mindfully, using simple habits to help you keep playing (and feeling) your best.

    Video games offer endless sense-rocking pleasure, welcoming you into an incredible multiverse of art and story, the dopamine rush of points, the pure escapism of an all-consuming on-screen experience. It can be hard to pull yourself away from the screen, even when you really need to. Here’s what’s important to know: Constant sensory super-charge is like constantly revving your engine, without giving it time to cool down. Mindful strategies can help you game the game by learning how to rev down, which will help you sleep, which will help you feel less exhausted, making you stronger and more savvy in the game of life.

    In life, and in the game, when something comes your way that you don’t want and can’t avoid, you might feel powerless, cornered, or destabilized. The key to regaining strength and agility—health points, if you will—is seeing what is right in front of you, ready to be used to help you bounce back. This might include super-simple and highly effective rejuvenators like standing up once an hour, stretching and walking around the room, going to work or class, talking to people you love, petting your dog, cuddling with your goldfish, and generally maintaining your connection to the vividness of life, on and offscreen.

    The key to regaining strength and agility—health points, if you will—is seeing what is right in front of you, ready to be used to help you bounce back.

    This is mindfulness. Other mindfulness practices include the following ways to help you keep your eye on the prize when life is pwning you.

    3 Mindful Gaming Techniques

    1. A simple breath technique can help you be more present, stable, and energized, in and out of the game. Bonus points: Training yourself to focus on breathing can help when upsetting thoughts threaten to bring you down.  

    Try This: Once you take a seat at your monitor, take a moment to feel what happens when your body breathes in and out. Notice the belly rise, the back expand and any ways that you experience your body breathing. Focus your attention, as best you can, on feeling yourself breathing in and out three times.

    Level up: To bring deeper calm, engage the body’s relaxation response by experimenting with making your out-breath longer than your in-breath. Extending your out-breath soothes the parasympathetic nervous system, which will also help you feel more relaxed and focused. 

    Try breathing in for a count of three and breathing out for a count of five. Do this for three or more breaths. Find your ideal ratio: Is it two breaths in and four breaths out?  Or maybe five breaths in and seven breaths out? 

    Explore the ratio that brings you greatest calm.

    2. Tuning in to your senses is another technique that’s great for gaming. Give yourself five seconds throughout your day to intentionally focus on one or more of your senses. Five seconds of acute listening. Five seconds of feeling your body being held by the chair.

    Level Up: When you leave the familiar and welcoming world of the game, you might find it can take time to transition from that sensurround world to being able to joyfully and fully connect to life outside of the game.  Paying close attention to your senses, rather than the burbling of your mind can give you somewhere to anchor other than terrified thoughts about an uncertain future or negative chatter about the past.  Your senses can only be experienced in the here and now. If you start to feel overwhelmed in daily life, regain ground by diving into touch, taste, smell, sight, and hearing to increase a feeling of okayness.

    Try This: A 5-Second Sensory Mission 

    Explore Sound

    • Bring your attention to your ears and deeply listen to the sounds in the room for five seconds. 
    • Then, bring your attention to fully listening to the music and immersive soundscape of the video game.
    • Heighten awareness by noticing how the creators have used adaptive music and sound to create a fantastical world.  

    Seeing Is Believing

    • Look around the room or at your screen and find something that’s been right in front of your eyes this whole time, but you never noticed it. 
    • For five seconds, take in the artwork, the colors, the impressive detail. Don’t just rush by. Appreciate what you are seeing. (This helps increase the flow of dopamine, endorphins, serotonin, and oxytocin—the feel-good chemicals.)
    • Notice what happens to your busy mind when you take five seconds to tune in to what you can see, or any of your other senses. 

    3. Try a little IRL movement. Feeling fidgety? Been sitting playing all night? Just Died and waiting for the scene to load again? Don’t forget you have a body that also needs refreshing to support your AAA game. 

    Just Died and waiting for the scene to load again? Don’t forget you have a body that also needs refreshing to help support your AAA game.

    Try This: Stand up and walk around your room. While you are walking, bring your attention to the ordinary sensations of movement that you normally wouldn’t take the time to notice. Feel yourself walking: picking up a foot, moving it through the air, feeling the foot touching the ground. Just keep bringing your attention back to the feeling of picking up your foot, moving it through space, and putting it down. Easter Egg: You’ve just unlocked the synergy between body and mind. 

    Level Up: Going outside to catch at least 5-15 minutes of morning sun every day will feed your bones, help you sleep, and keep you buff.

    Try these short mindful gaming exercises, using your senses to connect you to the present, to help you to feel more alive and give you more game. Feel your feet touching the ground as you walk to your gaming chair. Be gently alert, because going gently allows you to be more precise and takes a lot less energy than wasting fire power that isn’t needed. You are cultivating mindfulness and focus by gathering your energy before you even sit down. Well Played.



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  • Collective Healing Starts with Deeper Understanding

    Collective Healing Starts with Deeper Understanding

    In today’s interconnected yet paradoxically divided world, the path to understanding each other requires more than just good intentions or calls for unity. While practices like loving-kindness meditation can help soften our hearts, true bridge-building demands something more: the cultivation of a deeper understanding.

    What Is Deeper Understanding?

    Mindfulness practices, including compassion meditations, settle the mind and prepare us to see the bigger picture beyond our immediate judgments. Yet a common mistake we all make is that once we feel calmer, we rush back into our worlds and don’t make time to gain a deeper understanding of the dissatisfactory situations we find ourselves in. If we don’t know the root causes for these situations, we can’t find the right solutions to resolve them.

    Meditation is an important first step. It’s like shining a light on the surface of a lake—it illuminates our immediate thoughts, reactions, and judgments without our getting caught in them. This initial glimpse brings us closer to our present moment experience and is a starting point for discovering what is underlying our reactions.

    Deep understanding is like diving below the illuminated surface to deeper waters, where light gradually dims. Through patient listening to ourselves and others, we begin to uncover hidden layers of meaning:

    • The root causes of our behaviors
    • The subtle biases that shape our views
    • Our needs and intentions
    • The complex web of interconnections between our experiences

    As we venture deeper, each level reveals new insights previously concealed from view, from our personal patterns to our shared human experiences.

    When we take time to listen with genuine openness, we can trace surface reactions back to their sources, examining the assumptions and beliefs that lie in deeper waters. This patient exploration helps us understand not just the immediate situation, but the broader context that created it: the historical patterns that shaped it, the various perspectives that surround it, and the potential consequences of our responses to it.

    This process of illumination and deep listening creates space for transformation. By understanding both what floats on the surface and what lies in the depths, we can begin to shift our habitual patterns and make choices that arise from genuine wisdom rather than reactive impulses.

    The Power of Understanding

    We are all shaped by our experiences, fears, and hopes. Our inherent biases may cloud our ability to see our interconnectedness, but they don’t negate it. The path forward isn’t about eliminating differences—it’s about building bridges of understanding across them.

    The path forward isn’t about eliminating differences—it’s about building bridges of understanding across them.

    What might change if we could:

    • Stop rushing to judgment and truly listen?
    • See our own fears reflected in others?
    • Recognize that everyone is acting from their best understanding?
    • Look beyond political labels to our shared humanity?
    • Address the root causes of our divisiveness?

    Pausing to step back for a deeper understanding is particularly important in the modern world to step out of our echo chambers.

    The Echo Chamber Effect

    Our modern information landscape often amplifies our differences while obscuring our common humanity. Social media algorithms, targeted advertising, and news feeds tend to create echo chambers where we mainly encounter views that confirm our existing beliefs (known as confirmation bias). This is not to say that there aren’t real and significant disagreements around some social and political issues. Yet in many cases, this digital architecture of division can transform different lifestyle choices or policy preferences into seemingly unbridgeable moral chasms.

    Breaking free from these echo chambers requires both personal boundaries and intentional engagement. While working with a group of researchers, I studied the lived experiences of young Black women to understand how to navigate these digital spaces more effectively. Together, we created educational materials including a freely downloadable handbook—“The Intentional User”—for empowered social media use.

    While the handbook was designed for young Black women, it contains useful strategies and skills for everyone to benefit from the opportunities social networks offer for skill building, connecting, and getting our message out while creating boundaries to protect our time and psychological well-being. The handbook also shares crucial skills—curiosity and compassion—for engaging across differences, helping users step outside their algorithmic bubbles while maintaining healthy digital boundaries.

    This dual approach—setting personal limits while reaching across divides—offers a path toward using social media in service of both individual growth and broader understanding. However, shifting the ways we engage with social media is only the beginning.

    Deeper Understanding to Intentional Action: A Three-Step Framework for Collective Healing

    In polarized times, meaningful change starts with how we show up in our communities. We don’t have to wait for the elections or the next big incident to start taking action, individually and collectively.

    If the above statement feels impossible for you right now, know that it’s OK to feel this way. When emotions run high and uncertainty prevails, we first need a framework for processing our experience and beginning to heal within. And, as we know, true healing also calls us to move beyond self-care to engage in dialogue and intentional action based on deeper understanding.

    Below, I share a mindful framework to return, listen, and begin taking practical steps to move from division to connection. The three steps are cyclical and work together.

    Step 1: Return to Non-Judging Awareness

    The first step, before responding on the spot or making decisions, is to return to our non-judging awareness of our present moment experience. Depending upon the situation and available time, choose from mindfulness-based practices such as the ones below:

    i. Pause and Center

    This is an invitation to simply pause and return to centered awareness before responding:

    • Take a few conscious breaths. 
    • Feel the breath moving and creating spaciousness in your body
    • Ground yourself physically—for example, feel your feet on the ground
    • Practice mindful walking, stretching, or being in nature

    ii. Inner Awareness 

    Turn your attention towards your inner experience with non-judgment and curiosity: 

    • Notice physical sensations (tension, racing heart, clenched jaw)
    • Observe thoughts without getting caught in them 
    • Name emotions as they arise, without trying to avoid, justify, or fix them (“There’s anger,” “There’s fear”)
    • Watch for automatic reactions and habitual patterns

    iii. External Awareness

    Once you feel centered in your own experience, direct your attention outward, with non-judgment and curiosity:

    • Observe others’ facial expressions and body language
    • Notice tone of voice and choice of words
    • Pay attention to the broader environment and context
    • Watch for collective emotions in groups
    • Notice what’s being said and what’s left unsaid

    Step 2: Listen for Deeper Understanding

    Once we feel connected with our inner and outer awareness, we can start to listen for a deeper understanding beyond surface reactions. When we hear someone express views that differ from ours, our first instinct might be to argue or dismiss. Instead, try these approaches:

        i. Practice Active Listening

    We use the filters, or default biases, shaped by our past conditioning to listen and react. It is helpful to rehearse strategies for disrupting your default biases and listen with an open mind:

    • Count to five before responding
    • Use phrases like “Help me understand…”
    •  Use phrases like “What I hear you saying is…” to check understanding
    •  Notice when you’re planning a rebuttal instead of truly hearing
    • Ask follow-up questions that deepen understanding rather than pose a challenge

         ii. Acknowledge Valid Concerns and Shared Values

    In my capacity as a town councilor, I worked in a community that was highly polarized on many critical issues. Yet, we shared legitimate fears of change and uncertainty, along with care for our loved ones and the community. In that, we were more similar than different. Experiment with the following suggestions:

    • Instead of “They don’t understand,” ask “What experiences shaped their view?”
    • Shift from “They’re wrong,” to “They’re responding based on their lived experiences”
    • Focus on common desires: safe communities, good schools, economic security
    • Identify mutual concerns: healthcare costs, environmental changes, children’s future

    Instead of “They don’t understand,” ask “What experiences shaped their view?”

       iii. Move Beyond Stereotypes

    No matter how good our intentions are to view situations in a balanced way, each of us brings a conditioned lens which automatically focuses on certain aspects of the situation while leaving out others. Here are a few practical ways to disrupt our stereotypes:

    • Question your assumptions about “those people”
    • Look for individual stories behind group labels
    • Remember times your own views have evolved
    • Seek out diverse perspectives intentionally
    • Notice binary thinking and expand possibilities

       iv. Explore Creative Solutions  

    When we let go of our attachments to our beliefs and assumptions, we make room for new possibilities. Trust that you will know what you need to know. Here are a few suggestions to engage fully and intentionally:

    • Engage with both/and instead of either/or thinking to explore new possibilities
    • Consider multiple truths existing together
    • Focus on shared aspirations
    • Build on others’ ideas

    Step 3: Begin Taking Action

    While our good intentions and deepening understanding are essential, the challenges we face call for engaged action aligned with our intentions and insights for collective healing. In our fast-paced, polarized culture, it’s natural to feel overwhelmed and step back from difficult situations. We might find ourselves avoiding uncomfortable conversations or disengaging from collective challenges that feel too complex or contentious.

    The challenges we face call for engaged action aligned with our intentions and insights for collective healing.

    Yet each of us has the capacity to contribute to positive change, even in small ways. By bringing mindful awareness and a deeper understanding to our various roles—as consumers, leaders, and community members—we can take meaningful steps toward building more connected communities. Here are some practical ways to begin:

    As Conscious Consumers

    Often, we may not see how our daily choices as consumers connect to our deeper values and impact our communities. Yet each purchase we make is an opportunity to support the kind of world we want to create. Our spending decisions ripple out to affect local cultures, environments, and the well-being of our neighbors. 

    Even in times of national division, we can strengthen our local communities through mindful choices about where and how we spend our resources. Here are some ways to align our consumer choices with our values:

    • Support local businesses across community divides
    • Join community-supported agriculture programs
    • Use local financial services that reinvest in your area
    • Participate in resource-sharing networks
    • Consider the values and consequences of the business on suppliers, employees, consumers, and the environment before giving your purchase dollars and attention to that business

    As Leaders

    Leaders have unique opportunities to create environments that foster understanding and bridge divides. Whether leading teams, organizations, or community initiatives, we can use our influence to build structures that support both individual growth and collective healing. Drawing from a deeper understanding of different perspectives and needs, here are ways to lead with intention for collective healing and growth:

    • Model respectful disagreement
    • Build diverse, inclusive teams that bring multiple viewpoints together
    • Create forums for open discussion
    • Implement fair policies that respect different viewpoints
    • Make time and space for developing skills for deeper understanding through workshops, training, and practice sessions
    • Allocate resources for ongoing learning and healing practices within the organization

    As Community Members

    We can seek out opportunities to build bridges across divides by aligning our thoughts, speech, and actions with our insights and intentions based on a deeper understanding of our shared humanity and unique journeys:

    • Join cross-cultural community projects
    • Participate in local government meetings
    • Start neighborhood initiatives that require cooperation
    • Create and join spaces for regular dialogue

    Moving Forward

    True resilience grows through consistent, intentional action emerging from a calm mind and deeper understanding. Each time we return to our non-judging awareness, listen deeply for a deeper understanding, and begin taking action, we create ripples of positive change throughout our communities. The goal isn’t to eliminate differences but to create spaces where differences contribute to our collective strength.

    Remember: Small actions, emerging from deeper understanding and repeated consistently, create lasting change. Start where you are, with what you have, and build from there. Each step toward understanding, no matter how small, contributes to our collective healing.



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  • The Power of Running and Meditation: A Guide to Mindful Movement

    The Power of Running and Meditation: A Guide to Mindful Movement

    While this article has been reviewed for accuracy and fairness by Mindful editors, some material in this article was generated by AI. To learn more about our AI practices and why we sometimes use AI to generate content, please see our statement here.

    Combining running and meditation can create a powerful experience known as mindful running, which enhances both mental and physical health. This article will explore the benefits of integrating mindfulness into your running routine, offering insights into how this practice can improve your well-being and overall quality of life.

    Whether you’re a seasoned runner or new to the concept of mindfulness, this guide provides practical tips and techniques to help you embrace the power of running meditation, stay focused on the present moment, and enjoy a more fulfilling running experience.

    Key Takeaways

    • Mindful running is a powerful tool for improving mental and physical health, and can be adapted to suit individual needs and goals.
    • By incorporating mindfulness into your running routine, you can reduce stress, improve focus, and enhance overall well-being.
    • Remember to stay present, focused, and mindful, and to enjoy the journey of mindful running.

    What is Mindful Running?

    Mindful running is a practice that combines physical movement with mindfulness techniques to cultivate a greater sense of awareness and presence in the present moment.

    It involves paying attention to your breath, body, and surroundings while running, allowing you to stay focused and fully engaged in the experience.

    Combining mindfulness with physical activity like running can enhance mental and physical health, reduce stress, improve emotional resilience, and increase body awareness. Mindful running can be done anywhere, at any time, and can be adapted to suit individual needs and goals.

    Benefits of Running Meditation

    Enhanced Focus and Clarity

    Running meditation sharpens your focus by training your mind to stay present. This heightened awareness can translate into improved concentration in everyday life, allowing you to tackle tasks with greater clarity and efficiency.

    Increased Pain Tolerance

    Engaging in running meditation strengthens the connection between your mind and body. By paying attention to how your body feels during each step and breath, you develop a deeper understanding of your physical and mental state, fostering a sense of harmony and balance. 

    By practicing mindfulness during your runs, you become more attuned to your body’s sensations. This awareness can help you manage discomfort and increase your pain tolerance, making it easier to push through challenging workouts.

    Improved Cardiovascular Health

    Combining the physical activity of running with the calming effects of meditation can lead to better cardiovascular health. The rhythmic nature of running meditation promotes healthy heart function, improving circulation and reducing the risk of heart-related issues.

    Greater Emotional Resilience

    Running meditation helps build emotional resilience by enabling you to process and release negative emotions. As you focus on your breath and the present moment, you learn to navigate stressful situations with a calm and balanced mindset, enhancing your overall mental well-being.

    Strengthened Mind-Body Connection

    Engaging in running meditation strengthens the connection between your mind and body. By paying attention to how your body feels during each step and breath, you develop a deeper understanding of your physical and mental state, fostering a sense of harmony and balance.

    Incorporating these additional benefits into your running routine can further enhance your mental and physical health, making running meditation a valuable practice for overall well-being.

    Running Meditation Can Help Boost Mood

    Participating in moving meditation while running can immerse you in a sense of positivity. Running naturally triggers the release of endorphins, those mood-enhancing chemicals that can boost your spirits. By incorporating meditation into your run, you intensify this positive effect, which has been proven to help reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety.

    By anchoring yourself in the present moment and concentrating on your breathing pattern during running meditation, you foster a deep sense of well-being and emotional upliftment, making it a powerful method for improving mental health.

    Running Meditation May Provide More Energy

    Engaging in aerobic exercise, such as running, increases your heart rate and circulation, providing an energy boost. By combining running with meditation, you can keep your mind sharp, potentially altering your perception of the run’s difficulty. Staying fully aware of your body’s natural rhythm and taking deep breaths can help you tap into more energy during your run, enhancing both physical and mental performance.

    Running Meditation May Improve Performance

    Running meditation can help you find your flow during a workout. By staying mindful, you can connect with your body, discover a pace that feels comfortable, and lower the risk of injury. Being present and in tune with how your body feels can enhance your running routine and lead to better outcomes. This approach not only improves performance but also supports lasting heart health.

    Running Meditation May Lower Stress Levels

    Everyday stress can feel overwhelming, but running meditation provides a much-needed respite. As you immerse yourself in your run and focus on the present, the typical worries that clutter your mind begin to fade away. By integrating mindfulness into your running practice, you can effectively reduce stress and anxiety, leading to a calmer and more balanced mental state. This approach not only helps you manage stressful situations more smoothly but also improves your overall quality of life.

    Running Meditation Could Lead to Better Sleep

    If you find yourself tossing and turning at night, incorporating running meditation into your routine might be the solution you need. This practice not only helps expend excess energy but also cultivates a tranquil mind, making it easier to slip into a restful sleep. By blending mindfulness with your running routine, you’ll not only enhance the quality of your sleep but also reap the physical and mental benefits that come with a rejuvenating night’s rest. This approach supports overall well-being, making you feel more energized and balanced in everyday life.

    The Science Behind Mindfulness

    Mindfulness practice can change the structure and function of the brain, increasing gray matter in areas related to attention, emotion regulation, and memory.

    It can also increase the production of neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin, and reduce the production of stress hormones such as cortisol. Aerobic exercise like running can enhance mental alertness and cognitive function by increasing blood flow and heart rate.

    The rhythmic nature of running can help induce a meditative state, making it easier to practice mindfulness.

    Running Meditation Techniques

    • Focus on your breath, taking deep breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth.
    • Pay attention to your body, noticing how it feels with each step and movement.
    • Use a phrase that you repeat to yourself or a physical sensation to help keep your mind focused and present.
    • Practice walking meditation as a way to transition into running meditation.

    Running Meditation for Beginners

    Running meditation is a wonderful way to blend physical movement with mindfulness practice, helping you stay focused and present in the moment. If you’re new to this practice, it’s important to start with the basics and gradually build up your routine. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you get started with running meditation:

    1. Start with Walking Meditation: Begin by practicing walking meditation. This involves walking slowly and mindfully, paying attention to each step and your breath. This will help you get used to the idea of combining movement with mindfulness.
    2. Focus on Your Breath: As you transition to running, keep your focus on your breath. Take deep breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth. This will help you stay centered and calm.
    3. Pay Attention to Your Body: Notice how your body feels with each step. Are your muscles tense or relaxed? How does the ground feel under your feet? This awareness will help you stay present and connected to your body.
    4. Use a Mantra: Choose a simple word or phrase to repeat in your mind as you run. This can help keep your mind focused and prevent it from wandering.
    5. Start Slow: Begin with short runs and gradually increase your distance and intensity. This will help you build endurance and get comfortable with the practice.
    6. Stay Patient: Remember, running meditation is a practice. It’s normal for your mind to wander. When it does, gently bring your focus back to your breath or your mantra.

    By following these steps, you can start to incorporate running meditation into your routine, helping you stay focused, reduce stress, and enjoy the many benefits of mindful running.

    Preparing for Mindful Running

    Start by incorporating mindfulness into your everyday life, such as through meditation or deep breathing exercises, and recognize the importance of physical activity in enhancing both mental and physical health.

    Begin with short runs and gradually increase distance and intensity as you become more comfortable with the practice.

    Find a safe and comfortable running route, and consider running with a buddy or joining a mindful running group.

    Overcoming Challenges

    Don’t get discouraged if your mind wanders—simply acknowledge the thought and refocus on your breath or body.

    If you’re feeling tired or struggling with motivation, try incorporating physical training exercises into your routine.

    Remember that mindful running is a practice, and it’s okay to take breaks and rest when needed.

    Mindfulness Practice for Runners

    Practice meditation before or after your run to help calm your mind and prepare your body. Engaging in physical activity, such as running, enhances both mental and physical health by reducing stress, improving emotional resilience, and increasing body awareness.

    Use mindfulness techniques during your run to stay focused and present.

    Mindful Running in Daily Life

    Incorporate mindfulness into your daily routine through meditation or deep breathing exercises to cultivate a sense of calm and balance.

    Use mindful running as a powerful tool to reduce stress and enhance mental health, allowing you to navigate life’s challenges with greater ease.

    Apply the principles of mindful running to other areas of your life, such as work or relationships, by staying present and fully aware of your thoughts and emotions, leading to improved communication and emotional resilience.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    What is the difference between mindful running and regular running?

    Mindful running focuses on staying present and aware, unlike regular running, which targets physical training and performance. Regular running often involves goals like speed or distance, while mindful running emphasizes breath, body sensations, and surroundings to maintain a meditative state. Mindful running enhances mental health, reducing anxiety and boosting well-being, making it a holistic exercise approach.

    How do I get started with mindful running?

    Starting mindful running combines the physical benefits of running with the mental clarity of mindfulness. Here’s a quick guide:

    1. Set Your Intention: Before running, decide on a goal, like staying present or reducing stress.
    2. Choose a Quiet Place: Pick a peaceful route outdoors, if it’s available to you, to connect with nature and avoid distractions.
    3. Focus on Breathing: Maintain a comfortable pace, focusing on nasal breathing to stay calm.
    4. Be Aware of Your Body: Pay attention to sensations, from your feet hitting the ground to muscle movements.
    5. Stay Present: Redirect wandering thoughts to your breath or body, using a mantra if needed.
    6. Reflect Post-Run: After running, consider any changes in mood or energy.

    By following these steps, transform your runs into a moving meditation that boosts well-being. Remember, it’s a practice, so be patient and enjoy the journey.

    Can I practice mindful running if I’m not an experienced runner?

    Absolutely! Mindful running is for everyone, no matter your experience level. Focus on the present moment and integrate mindfulness into your run, without stressing over performance. Start at a comfortable pace, paying attention to your breathing and body sensations.

    You can begin with walking meditation and gradually transition to running. Mindful running is about self-discovery, reducing stress, and improving mental well-being, offering benefits for beginners and seasoned runners alike.

    Mindful Running and Technology

    Use apps or online resources to help guide your mindful running practice. There are numerous applications available that offer guided meditations, mindfulness tips, and running plans tailored to enhance your mental state and physical performance.

    Consider using a fitness tracker or running watch to track your progress and stay motivated. These devices can monitor your heart rate, pace, and distance, providing valuable insights into your running routine and helping you maintain a comfortable pace.

    Be mindful of your use of technology, and avoid distractions such as music or social media. While technology can aid your practice, it is essential to stay focused on the present moment, paying attention to your breathing pattern and how your body feels during the run.

    Mindful Running Communities

    Engaging with a mindful running community can significantly enhance your practice and motivation. Joining a local mindful running group or club offers a wonderful opportunity to connect with fellow runners who share your interest in combining physical activity with mindfulness. This sense of community can provide encouragement, shared experiences, and tips to help you stay focused and inspired.

    Additionally, participating in online forums or social media groups dedicated to mindful running can expand your network, offering a platform to exchange ideas, discuss challenges, and celebrate achievements with like-minded individuals from around the world. For those looking to deepen their practice, attending a mindful running retreat or workshop can be incredibly beneficial. These events often provide structured guidance, immersive experiences, and expert insights into the art of mindful running, helping you to refine your techniques and enhance your overall well-being.



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  • Curb Your Inner Critic Over the Holidays with Self-Compassion

    Curb Your Inner Critic Over the Holidays with Self-Compassion

    When we’re caught up in the rush to create the perfect holiday experience, showing ourselves a little self-compassion actually helps us show up for others.

    ‘Tis the season for self-judgment! During the holidays, the comparing mind kicks into high gear as we measure ourselves against our friends, family, colleagues, as well as the “ghosts” of past and future visions of ourselves and find that we are coming up short. In Charles Dickens’ famous Christmas Carol, the stodgy and stingy Ebenezer Scrooge learns to embrace gratitude and attunement for those around him. How about we take a page from Dickens’ book and not only attune to others this holiday season, but do so toward ourselves as well.

    As a clinician, I’ve been trained to spot and address the unhealthy mental habit of repetitive and negatively-toned inner chatter that broils in our minds and bodies from the inside. Rumination (or repetitive and passive thinking about negative emotions) has been shown to predict the chronic nature of depressive disorders as well as anxiety symptoms. Another study suggested that people with a ruminative style of reacting to their low moods were more likely to later show higher levels of depression symptoms. When we ruminate about our shortcomings and failings, we spend too much time in our heads instead of living our lives. We focus on berating ourselves internally instead of actually enjoying the holiday.

    When we ruminate about our shortcomings, we spend too much time in our heads instead of living our lives. We focus on berating ourselves internally instead of actually enjoying the holiday.

    And it’s not just my patients who ruminate negatively about themselves—it could be me, for instance, telling myself over and over that I’m an “absolute failure” as a therapist for not paying attention to a patient for a split second during a session. Or eviscerating a future version of myself based on a minor faux pas last week. Rumination is the run-on self-talk of the mind that has agitated energy as both its fuel and its output. Ruminative thinking is toxic to our well-being and clarity of mind. 

    So how do we work with rumination? One way forward is self-compassion. Self-compassion is far more than chasing rainbows and skipping after unicorns. According to psychologist and researcher Kristin Neff, self-compassion is self-kindness (versus self-judgment), combined with a sense of common humanity (versus being alone with what’s hard) and mindfulness (versus being over-identified with bad feelings). Self-compassion is seeing our pain as part of the larger, universal picture of being human, and seeing ourselves as worthy of kindness and care. And it’s not weak or passive, or narcissistic and self-indulgent. It takes guts to practice, and science shows that it can do much to lower anxiety, stress reactions, depression, and perfectionism. It can open you up to your life whereas your old patterns or reaction and self-judgment close you down.

    In a 2010 study examining the levels of reported self-compassion, rumination, worry, anxiety, and depression in 271 non-clinical undergraduate students, results suggested that people with higher levels of reported self-compassion are less likely to report depression and anxiety. The data showed that self-compassion may play the role of buffering the effects of rumination. In some of the practices that follow, we learn how to unhook from rumination and cut ourselves (and others) the slack requisite for increasing clarity and ease of being.

    Sidestep Self-Judgement: Three Mindful Practices for Self-Compassion

    The following brief self-compassion practices are drawn from my co-authored card deck (along with clinicians and authors Chris Willard and Tim Desmond) “The Self-Compassion Deck” (PESI Publishing & Media). What follows are three cards from our deck laid out in a sequence that is intended to help you sidestep the self-judgment/ ruminative cascade and build a foundation of self-compassionate, flexible space—something much needed this time of year!

    As with many mindfulness practices, this one is best conducted in a quiet space, with your body in a comfortable, alert posture. Take in a few slow, deep breaths and then read these three cards in order. Pause for 30 seconds or more with each card.

    Watch what arises in your body and mind as you come to rest on the words (and underlying meaning) of each practice. Just allow yourself to observe what shows up, and if your mind goes into its loops of rumination, just gently come back to the card and its self-compassionate intentions.

    1) Send kind wishes to your past and present self

    Pause and take in what emerges for you about giving kind wishes to yourself at various stages of your life. At what points in your life is it easier/ harder to conjure self-kindness?

    2) Choose an act of self-care

    Notice what ideas show up when you think of what might do to legitimately take care of yourself today. Does your ruminating mind immediately throw up any roadblocks? Any “well, but’s …”?  Are you willing to “thank” your mind for sharing these, and do the self-compassionate act anyway?

    3) Keep track of how often you criticize yourself vs. encourage yourself

    Perhaps your self-compassionate act for today would be to actually do what this last card suggests—keep track of how often you criticize versus encourage yourself.  I’m serious: perhaps you could keep track with tally marks on a scrap of paper or on a journal. Being honest and willing to pay attention this closely to yourself is itself a great act of self-compassion. We don’t often give ourselves this much time out of our busy lives. Instead of all the tally marks on holiday to-do lists, perhaps we can tally up our relationship with ourselves?



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  • A 12-Minute Meditation for Tuning Into the Present Soundscape

    A 12-Minute Meditation for Tuning Into the Present Soundscape

    This week, Melli O’Brien guides us in a practice that invites us to pause and reconnect with the simplicity of being.

    In the midst of life’s noise and distractions, this soundscape meditation creates space to step back and truly listen. By exploring the sensations of the body, the natural rhythm of the breath, and the sounds surrounding us, we’re reminded that peace is found in awareness, not in controlling what’s around us.

    A Guided Meditation for Tuning Into the Present Soundscape

    1. Prepare for this practice by settling into as comfortable a position as you can find. Allow the body to be settled and as relaxed as possible here and at the same time seeing if you can remain upright rather than slouching. Let the way that you place your physical body reflect your intention to be alert and engaged in the practice for the next ten minutes. 
    2. Allow your eyes to lightly close now, if that feels okay for you, or simply lower your gaze. Then bring awareness into the physical body and into the sensations at the contact points between your body and the surface beneath you. Move awareness in close and explore those sensations at the contact point. Then shift the focus to just feeling that gentle rhythm of the breath moving in the body and how the body is being gently rocked and cradled by the natural breath. 
    3. Now, expand your attention out from the breath and bring the focus to the sounds all around you in this particular moment. Take in the sounds in all directions. Sounds in front. Sounds behind. To the sides. Above and below. Take in the whole surrounding soundscape at once.
    4. As the sounds continue to unfold and change, notice if there’s any tendency to mentally label the sounds as they come, or to judge whether you like them or not. Notice how easily sounds can create a story. If you notice this, see if it’s possible to drop any mental commentary and come back to listening to the sounds themselves. Listen as if hearing for the first time, as if each sound was totally new to you. Observe how each sound arises out of stillness. It unfolds and then dissipates back into stillness. Coming and going, constantly changing. Notice the transient nature of sounds. 
    5. Now let go of listening to sounds and bring awareness to your internal world of thoughts. No need to try and control your thoughts in any way. Just let them come and go on their own, just as you did with sounds. Thoughts coming and going, like clouds passing across the sky of your awareness. Thoughts arising, unfolding, and dissipating back into stillness. 
    6. As you continue to be aware of these mental events, notice that these thoughts are coming and going in your awareness. You are the observer, not the thoughts. You can even say that: Here I am watching. I am not the thoughts. I am not the mind. 
    7. Now see if you can withdraw attention from observing the thoughts and simply sense into the awareness of the silent field in which all things come and go. The awareness that you are. This is not something you can grasp with the mind. You’re sensing into that silent beingness, that silent awareness that’s at the very core of all experience. 
    8. Now, let yourself relax back into this silent center of your being. Drop into that still, unchanging depth of being. Allow everything else to arise and pass. Let life flow through you. Rest in the depths of being. It’s like you’re way down deep at the bottom of the ocean in this timeless space, and all that’s coming and going is surface phenomena. Things arising and passing, arising in passing.
    9. In these last few moments of practice, come back to gently focus on your breathing. Take a long, slow, deep breath in. As you breathe out, begin to wriggle the fingers and toes. Take a moment to notice how you feel after making this time for meditation. When you’re ready, open your eyes. 
    10. Remember that no matter what happens today, you can always reconnect to the stillness and peace within by just taking a moment of mindfulness. Wishing you a great day.  



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  • 7 Steps to Relax Your Body

    7 Steps to Relax Your Body

    When was the last time you gave your body a break? And we’re not talking about sleep. Take ten minutes and try the body scan practice.  

    Time: 10–20 minutes

    When was the last time you noticed how your body was feeling? Not just when you have a headache or you’re tired or you have heartburn after that spicy taco you ate for lunch. But just noticing how your body is feeling right now, while you’re sitting or standing or lying down. How about noticing how your body feels while you’re sitting in an important meeting or walking down the street or playing with your children?

    In our busy, high-tech, low-touch lives, it’s easy to operate detached from our own bodies. They too easily become vessels we feed, water, and rest so they can continue to cart around our brains. We don’t pay attention to the information our bodies are sending us or the effect that forces such as stress are having—until real health problems set in.

    Let’s take a small and simple step in the direction of paying our body the attention it is due. Consider spending just a few minutes—every day, if you can—to notice your own physicality. Not to judge your body or worry about it or push it harder at the gym, but to be in it.

    Here’s an easy body-scan practice with just 7 steps to relax your body. It will tune you in to your body and anchor you to where you are right now. It will heighten your senses and help you achieve greater levels of relaxation. You can do it sitting in a chair or on the floor, lying down, or standing.

    Mindfulness Practice: 7 Steps to Relax Your Body

    1. Settle into a comfortable position, so you feel supported and relaxed.

    2. Close your eyes if you wish, or leave them open with a soft gaze, not focusing on anything in particular.

    3. Rest for a few moments, paying attention to the natural rhythm of your breathing.

    4. Once your body and mind are settled, bring awareness to your body as a whole. Be aware of your body resting and being supported by the chair, mattress, or floor.

    5. Begin to focus your attention on different parts of your body. You can spotlight one particular area or go through a sequence like this: toes, feet (sole, heel, top of foot), through the legs, pelvis, abdomen, lower back, upper back, chest shoulders, arms down to the fingers, shoulders, neck, different parts of the face, and head.

    6. For each part of the body, linger for a few moments and notice the different sensations as you focus.

    7. If you get distracted, gently bring your attention back. The moment you notice that your mind has wandered, return your attention to the part of the body you last remember.

    If you fall asleep during this body-scan practice, that’s okay. When you realize you’ve been nodding off, take a deep breath to help you reawaken, and perhaps reposition your body (which will also help wake it up). When you’re ready, return your attention to the part of the body you last remember focusing on.

    This article also appeared in the February 2014 issue of Mindful magazine.



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  • The Value of Mindfulness Practice: 13 Quotes from Women Leading the Movement

    The Value of Mindfulness Practice: 13 Quotes from Women Leading the Movement

    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



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  • 13 Life Lessons From Women Leading the Mindfulness Movement

    13 Life Lessons From Women Leading the Mindfulness Movement

    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



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  • 12 Quotes About Compassion By Mindfulness Teachers

    12 Quotes About Compassion By Mindfulness Teachers

    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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  • 2025 Annual Issue: Bonus Material

    2025 Annual Issue: Bonus Material

    Get the latest on everything mindfulness

    Our free newsletter delivers updates on the science of mindfulness, guided mindfulness meditation practices from leading teachers, special offers, and rich content to support your mindful growth.


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