Whackfulness: The unexamined, sometimes silly, side of Mindfulness. (Formerly Mindfulness is Whack)

Last month we started a series Mindfulness is Whack. It caused a bit of a stir - including this email from someone whose opinion I value, the message was in response to the first article and ended with: "Others may find the articles and discussions helpful. Not me."

Here is the full email with some parts redacted for privacy.

“I suspect you are the kind of person who likes to mix it up. That'…

By Cheryl Shah, guest contributor

As a corporate finance leader, I got to work at 7:30 am and didn’t return home until 8 pm most nights. I was constantly under pressure to deliver financial results, error-free and with tight deadlines. I relied on my colleagues’ work, and when they made mistakes, I would react with anger and frustration. My workday was dominated by meetings until 4 pm, leaving me a scant few hours to complete work deliverables. My shoulders ached from the weight of stress. I co…

By The Mindful Leader Team

This month, we consider how exercise can boost traditional therapy, look at how migraine patients benefit from mindfulness, examine the neurological toll of racism, explore the science of white, brown, and other “colored” noise, and finally, investigate the role mindfulness plays in the effectiveness of sensory advertising. We have summarized the main ideas and key takeaways below with links to the full articles.

Adding Exercise to Therapy May Make It More Effective …

By The Mindful Leader Team

Spring is around the corner and during this time of year nature is coming back to life, it's a time of renewal, rebirth, and self-reflection. For many cultures, spring is the start of the new year and an opportunity for resolutions and commitments. We often use these times of year to aspire to become a better version of ourselves and one of the things that can get in the way is self-sabotage. Self-sabotage refers to the intentional or unintentional behavior, thoughts,…

By Mo Edjlali, Mindful Leader Founder and CEO

A few weeks ago, I wrote an article titled "4 Ways ChatGPT Might Help With Mindfulness Facilitation" to share my excitement and showcase some of the cool things we can do with ChatGPT. While there were a number of positive comments, my friend and colleague Jamie Bristow raised some valid concerns about the limitations of using artificial intelligence (AI) for mindfulness facilitation. 

In this article, we will explore some of these concerns and p…

Dr. Kelly E. Knight, Ph.D. & Dr. Colter Ellis, Ph.D. at the 2022 Mindful Leader Summit.

Secondary trauma is an occupational hazard for those employed in trauma-intensive and high-stress occupations. Learn how to recognize and mitigate the effects of secondary trauma by increasing awareness, practicing mindfulness, and building social support. We will showcase a freely available toolkit, discuss our research, and highlight case studies of our work with …

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 celebriti…

By The Mindful Leader Team

This month, as we settled into 2023, we had the opportunity to read many thought-provoking articles about leadership and mindfulness in the workplace, and to then share those articles with our community. And the community spoke—as we approach the end of the month, we want to share some of the most popular articles from the past three weeks with you. We based our picks on our LinkedIn engagement, which includes reactions, shares, clicks, and comments. If you want to jo…