By Mo Edjlali, Mindful Leader Founder and CEO
For those of you who have a close connection to Mindful Leader, you probably know that one of the things that really makes us different is our embracing of critical thought. I grew up with a critical mindset, and joke with folks that if I was a character in the X-Files, I'd be Scully. I’m no Mulder. I’m a skeptic and a critical thinker. As someone who has been involved in this field since 2009, I have witnessed the rise and fall of mindful celebrities and organizations, have had a foot in both the business and spiritual sides, and see issues that exist both above and below the surface.
With all that I've seen, I am concerned for the future of mindfulness. I believe that sometimes this work is being manipulated and modeled in a way that encourages inner circles, corruption, deception, celebrity guru-ism, conflicts of interest, abuses of power, and is helping fuel the rise of the spiritual industrial complex. These issues are concerning, and it's important to ask tough questions and challenge preconceptions, even if it means risking upsetting some folks.
Let’s approach these topics with critical, thoughtful inquiry while also keeping things light. To help explore these topics, we're launching our "Mindfulness is Whack" series. The purpose of this series is to ask the questions that aren’t being asked, explore the sticky points that have gone unaddressed, and foster tough dialogues that benefit everyone. My hope is that this series will encourage more critical thinking and help unite the field around a vision for the future of mindfulness that addresses the unspoken problems that have limited the potential of our work.
To kick off this series, in the next few weeks, we've organized and will be releasing a collection of videos and resources from past critics. The first resource we’d like to explore is an article from almost four years ago. This was the inception of the idea around the Mindfulness is Whack series. We shared this article "The Deception of Buddhist-Based Mindfulness in Our Schools and the Dangers It Poses" over social media which led to our community reacting with pitchforks when their beliefs were challenged. Here it is:
"You guys are idiots"- the article that ENRAGED our fans - April 7, 2019
Thank you for joining us on this journey toward a more mindful and truthful exploration. What are your thoughts? Is Mindfulness Whack? Are we Idiots? And if you are wanting to reach for that pitch fork... give us a couple more articles first please!
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