Personal Essays

First-person stories about what mindfulness looks like in real, messy, everyday life. These essays are honest, personal, and often funny - written by people who've found that paying attention changes everything.
Rocket ship
Magazine
Let Go Of Your Labels: A Mindful Practice 

When we become too certain or fixed upon any given label, we restrict our chance to experience life’s vast array of surprises and opportunities. Here’s how we can take the tiny boxes we place ourselves in a little less seriously. Read More 

  • Elaine Smookler
  • November 12, 2018
Nana Visitor
Depression & Grief
How to Boldly Move On 

Star Trek fans know Deep Space Nine actor Nana Visitor as the officer who suffered personal trauma on her home planet Bajor. When that narrative played out in her own life during the show’s filming, she turned to mindfulness. Read More 

  • Tony Stultz
  • October 23, 2018
Looking up towards the sky through a canopy of Eucalyptus trees.
Magazine
Make It Meaningful 

Living a life of purpose might be the ideal, but how to do it isn't always clear. Read More 

  • Mindful Staff
  • August 23, 2018
Illustration of city. embrace your life
Magazine
Embrace Your Life 

Can you welcome all experiences in your life for what they are? Barry Boyce finds, with practice, it’s a lot more doable than we may think. Read More 

  • Barry Boyce
  • August 21, 2018
Illustration of woman. blind spot
Magazine
Check Your Blind Spot 

We all have hidden emotions and beliefs that drive our unconscious impulses. By harnessing our untapped insight, writes Kelly Boys, we can discern those habits that may be keeping us stuck. Read More 

  • Kelly Boys
  • August 21, 2018
tent in mountains
Magazine
How Solitude Helps Us Heal 

This brief animation explains how the places we feel least at home often provide us with the ability to feel most like ourselves. Read More 

  • Nicole Bayes-Fleming
  • August 18, 2018
Ad for a mindfulness app with meditations, articles, and a section sidebar, shown on a phone held in hand.