Download the free Mindful App
 
subscribe

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.
A rustic lantern sits on a windowsill, peering through dirty windows segmented into six panes. Outside, a white house with a brown roof is visible amid greenery, hinting at a quaint countryside setting.
Magazine
Dirty Windows 

Wouldn't it be easier to "see" life as it truly is if our windows would just stay clean? Brenda Miller ponders the partly-shaded view—the good and the bad. Read More 

  • Line Goguen-Hughes
  • February 22, 2011
game face on
Magazine
Game Face On 

Hockey enthusiast Geoff Eaton faces-off against leukemia – and plays the game of his life. Read Geoff's story in The Healing Circle, by Rob Rutledge and Timothy Walker. Read More 

  • Line Goguen-Hughes
  • February 7, 2011
Magazine
Learning to Make Peace 

On Wednesday, February 2, the dynamic and innovative mayor of Newark, New Jersey, Cory Booker, announced the Newark Peace Education Summit: The Power of Nonviolence. The Dalai Lama will join Mayor Booker and other activists and experts on May 13-15 to share stories of challenge and success in the… Read More 

  • Barry Boyce
  • February 4, 2011
Close-up image of an onion slice, showing its translucent layers with a warm, yellowish coloration towards the base. The intricate patterns and textures of the onion layers are visible, creating a visually appealing composition.
Magazine
Inner Peace is an Onion 

Journalist Jenn Director Knudsen researches how to peel back the layers to find the mind-body connection. Read More 

  • Line Goguen-Hughes
  • January 20, 2011
A dimly lit room features a solitary wooden chair facing a table with a window behind it. Soft, natural light filters through the partially obscured window, casting shadows and creating a somber atmosphere, as if echoing the presence of an unseen wound of great magnitude.
Depression & Grief
A Wound of Great Magnitude 

This excerpt from grief counselor Meg Spinella on the Tuscon shootings sheds light on the losses in Newtown.  Read More 

  • Line Goguen-Hughes
  • January 18, 2011
cushion and apron
Magazine
Cushion and Apron 

Sarah Alisabeth Fox tells her personal story about meditation and waitressing. Read More 

  • Line Goguen-Hughes
  • December 16, 2010
A black and white illustration shows a profile view of a human head with eyes, optic nerves, and brain depicted. Lines represent pathways of sight, projecting from the eyes to objects labeled A, B, and C. A finger points towards these objects.
Magazine
The Magic of Mindfulness 

Health writer Ed Halliwell explains that mindfulness can help improve our mental and physical well-being, if we don’t sabotage the practice… Read More 

  • Ed Halliwell
  • November 30, 2010
A painting depicts a woman in profile, seated and reading a small open book. She wears a yellow dress with a high white ruffled collar, and her dark hair is styled up with purple ribbons. Soft light illuminates her face, creating a serene, contemplative atmosphere.
Creativity
Through the Looking Glass 

Literature and legends, fables and falsehoods—novelist Anne Donovan on paying attention and finding insight though story. Read More 

  • Mindful Staff
  • August 31, 2010
Illustration of a woman with orange hair and a pensive expression against a light green background. The image has a mixed-media or collage-style appearance, combining photographic and painted elements.
Depression & Grief
Rebirth 

After experiencing a painful break-up, Misha Becker discovers that in every moment is a death and a rebirth. In the gap is the opportunity for healing and a fresh start. Read More 

  • Mindful Staff
  • August 31, 2010
Ad for a mindfulness app with meditations, articles, and a section sidebar, shown on a phone held in hand.