Blog

By Dorsey Standish, guest contributor

As Chief Mindfulness Officer of Mastermind, a brain health consulting firm, I bring research-backed mindfulness and emotional intelligence training to corporations across the state of Texas. I have worked with thousands of people of all ages and backgrounds, and I’ve noticed a common theme amongst my clients: struggling to balance work and personal life.

For many busy professionals, the phrase "work-life balance" can seem like an oxymoron. In today’s world o…

View our Free Guide - What is MBSR?

By Christa Hogan, guest contributor

Mindfulness is on everyone’s radar these days — and on every magazine cover in the checkout line. The explosive growth of the mindfulness movement in America has inevitably triggered a backlash. Many are criticizing the movement and expressing concerns about its increasing popularity in Western culture:

Are mindfulness programs in public schools merely Buddhist Trojan horses? Does it threaten the separation of church …

View our Free Guide - What is MBSR?

By Candy Gunther Brown

Most workplace mindfulness programs are positioned as “secular” aids to increase focus, happiness, and productivity. However, some employees may object to participating because they view mindfulness as religious, and specifically Buddhist. Whether or not employers agree with this understanding, they are legally and ethically required to respect it.

Why might some employees object that mindfulness is “religious”?

The term “mindful…

By Scott Shute, guest contributor

LinkedIn’s vision is to create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce. You might be surprised that one of the biggest skills needed to achieve that vision is compassion, and especially compassion in leadership.

At LinkedIn we believe that compassion is not just a better way to live, it’s a better way to build a team, it’s a better way to build and grow a business.

We recently sponsored The Compassion Award and the Compassion in Leadersh…

Leaders significantly benefit from interoception, the practice of body-sensing. It is used to foster a better understanding of how listening to the messages and subtle cues of the body, increases our capacity for creativity, connection, and empathy. Interoception is a useful tool that helps individuals learn how to act and respond to the world. The increase in empathy and connectedness also allows humans to strengthen their response in difficult situations, and promote healing from past trauma, …

By Wendy Saunders, guest contributor

Nonprofit leaders want to make a difference in the world, and, in many cases, are willing to make less money and get fewer perks than they would receive in the private sector. They often work long hours, carry excessive workloads, and endeavor to meet community needs with limited staffing and other resources.  (For a deeper examination, check out “The Plight of the Overworked Nonprofit Employee” in The Atlantic).  

Nonprofit leaders also often work closely …

By Ronald Purser, guest contributor

Mindfulness helps people face pain with equanimity. But it also conditions us to think about stress in unhelpful ways. First, it says we face an epidemic, which is simply an inevitable part of modern life. Second, since stress is endemic, it is up to us all to get it under control and adapt to these conditions as best we can. It sounds like an empowering tool, but it ignores any source of pain outside our heads, such as the capitalist system, which exerts so …

Rhonda Magee discusses mindfulness and transformative education, in how to bridge contemplative teaching for learning social justice. She shares how great social justice is possible when people have the tools of transformative and contemplate education, as methods to look within, challenge assumptions, examine the way people participate and shape the world and in having the reflexive space and creating community, to create change. When looking at challenges, contemplate education provides the mo…

By Jerry Colonna, guest contributor

As often happens, I hit upon the insight I needed when I wasn’t searching for it. A few years back I was pacing the room, thinking about the talk I was about to give. There were thirty people in stiff, uncomfortable chairs. As usual, my T-shirt was mildly sweaty. As usual, I was shoeless—discalced. I was struggling to explain coaching, struggling to explain why it was that, to help people lead well, I was pushing to help themselves know themselves better. 

T…

By Mark Mitchnick, guest contributor

Long before any of the neuroscience was known, Winston Churchill said, “Fear is a reaction. Courage is a decision.” Although he didn’t know it, Mr. Churchill was actually describing the two separate yet conjoined systems operating in our heads. 

Over the past 15 years, what these two systems look like and how they function has been described in both scientific and general publications. Together, they inform the understanding of our decision-making process a…