MIND & LIFE INSTITUTE
Programs
Trauma, Resilience, and Flourishing
RESEARCH INSTITUTES: THE 20TH ANNUAL SUMMER RESEARCH INSTITUTE WAS HELD IN JUNE 2023 AT THE GARRISON INSTITUTE IN UPSTATE NEW YORK AND WAS ENTITLED "TRAUMA, RESILIENCE, AND FLOURISHING." THE WEEKLONG PROGRAM EXAMINED WHETHER AND HOW CONTEMPLATIVE SCIENCE AND PRACTICES CAN HELP PREVENT AND PROCESS TRAUMA, BUFFER ITS TOXICITY, PROMOTE RESILIENCE AND RECOVERY, AND GUIDE RESTORATIVE SOCIAL AND EXISTENTIAL JUSTICE. THE EVENT CULMINATED IN A CELEBRATION OF SRI'S 20TH ANNIVERSARY AND PIONEERING LEGACY. FORTY-FIVE SCHOLARSHIPS WERE PROVIDED TO CREATE A MORE DIVERSE AND INCLUSIVE EXPERIENCE FOR ALL PARTICIPANTS. WE WELCOMED OVER 112 PARTICIPANTS FROM 18 COUNTRIES, INCLUDING 83 NEW PARTICIPANTS .GeographiesNot indicatedDatesJan 1, 2023 – Dec 31, 2023Source990No causes providedNo populations provided–$564.7KMind & Life Grant Programs
GRANT PROGRAMS: IN 2023, MIND & LIFE OFFERED THREE GRANT PROGRAMS, AWARDING A TOTAL OF 33 PROJECTS IN 12 COUNTRIES. THE VARELA GRANTS, NAMED FOR CO-FOUNDER FRANCISCO J. VARELA, FUND WIDE-RANGING SCHOLARLY EXAMINATIONS OF CONTEMPLATIVE TECHNIQUES, FROM NEUROSCIENCE TO ANTHROPOLOGY TO CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY. THE PEACE GRANTS SUPPORT RESEARCH THAT PROMOTES POSITIVE CHANGE IN THE WORLD BY EXAMINING WHOLESOME MENTAL QUALITIES SUCH AS PROSOCIALITY, EMPATHY, ALTRUISM, COMPASSION, AND ETHICS (PEACE). THE CONTEMPLATIVE CHANGEMAKING GRANTS FUND SMALL-SCALE, IMPACT-ORIENTED WORK UNDERTAKEN BY INDIVIDUALS, COMMUNITY WORKERS, AND NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS THAT GROUND THEMSELVES IN CONTEMPLATIVE PRACTICES TO ACHIEVE REAL IMPACT IN PEOPLE'S EVERYDAY LIVES.GeographiesNot indicatedDatesJan 1, 2023 – Dec 31, 2023Source990No causes providedNo populations provided–$1.1MMind & Life Podcast
MIND & LIFE PODCAST:IIN 2023, THE MIND & LIFE PODCAST ENTITLED "MIND & LIFE" CONTINUED WITH 16 ONE-HOUR LONG EPISODES AND OVER 360,000 DOWNLOADS FOR THE YEAR (THE SHOW NOW TOTALS OVER 1,000,000 DOWNLOADS). THE PODCAST ADDRESSES FUNDAMENTAL QUESTIONS THAT ARISE THROUGH BRIDGING SCIENCE AND CONTEMPLATIVE WISDOM. CONVERSATIONS ON THE PODCAST INTEGRATE CONTEMPLATIVE APPROACHES WITH VARIED PERSPECTIVES INCLUDING PSYCHOLOGY, PHILOSOPHY, NEUROSCIENCE, RELIGION, ART, AND ACTIVISM. MIND & LIFE'S HOST, WENDY HASENKAMP, INVESTIGATES THESE COMPLEX QUESTIONS WITH LEADING RESEARCHERS, THINKERS, AND ON-THE-GROUND PRACTITIONERS, MOVING US TOWARD A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF OURSELVES AND OUR WORLD. MIND & LIFE CONNECT:LAUNCHED IN 2023 AND FACILITATED BY SHANKARI GOLDSTEIN, MIND & LIFE CONNECT IS A SERIES OF INSPIRATIONAL ONLINE CONVERSATIONS AIMED AT EXPLORING KEY THEMES IN CONTEMPLATIVE SCIENCE AND THEIR RELATION TO EVERYDAY LIFE. THROUGHOUT THE SIX 75-MINUTE SESSIONS, WE SOUGHT TO BUILD COMMUNITY AMONG DEDICATED RESEARCHERS, YOUNG SCHOLARS AND ACTIVISTS, CONTEMPLATIVE TEACHERS, AND OTHERS EAGER TO CONNECT AND SHARE IDEAS BRIDGING SCIENCE, CONTEMPLATIVE WISDOM, AND ACTION TO FOSTER PERSONAL, SOCIETAL, AND PLANETARY HEALING. DIGITAL ARCHIVES PROJECT:OUR ARCHIVES HOLD OVER 35 YEARS OF DIALOGUES BETWEEN HIS HOLINESS THE DALAI LAMA AND LEADING RESEARCHERS AND OTHER THOUGHT LEADERS, AS WELL AS RECORDINGS FROM 20 SUMMER RESEARCH INSTITUTES AND FOUR INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIA. THE TOPICS EXPLORED ARE TIMELESS AND REMAIN OF SIGNIFICANT VALUE FOR ANYONE WHO WISHES TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE HUMAN MIND. THROUGH A NEW PLATFORM ON OUR WEBSITE, WE BEGAN TO SHARE SOME OF OUR FAVORITE MOMENTS FROM THE PAST, INCLUDING KEY TEACHINGS FROM THE DALAI LAMA FROM OUR EXTENSIVE VIDEO ARCHIVE. WE WILL CONTINUE TO BUILD ON THIS ARCHIVE AND OFFER MORE TEACHINGS IN THE YEARS TO COME. ONLINE COURSES: MIND & LIFE BROADCAST KEY LEARNINGS, OFFERINGS, AND RESOURCES AIMED TO FOSTER AND STRENGTHEN OUR HUMAN-EARTH CONNECTION. DRAWING FROM RICH CONTENT PRESENTED AT MIND & LIFE'S 2021 SUMMER RESEARCH INSTITUTE, IN 2022 WE LAUNCHED A NEW ONLINE CLIMATE COURSE, "THE MIND, THE HUMAN-EARTH CONNECTION, AND THE CLIMATE CRISIS." THE 10-HOUR COURSE EXAMINES THE ROOT CAUSES OF THE CLIMATE CRISIS AND STRATEGIES FOR HEALING OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH ONE ANOTHER AND THE EARTH. MORE THAN 1,200 PEOPLE HAVE ENROLLED IN THE SELF-PACED COURSE TO DATE, WHICH FEATURES PRESENTATIONS FROM 20+ LEADING EXPERTS, INCLUDING INDIGENOUS LEADERS, SCIENTISTS, SCHOLARS, CONTEMPLATIVE TEACHERS, AND ACTIVISTS AROUND THE GLOBE. GLOBAL MAJORITY LEADERSHIP & MENTORSHIP:LAUNCHED IN 2022, MIND & LIFE'S GLOBAL MAJORITY LEADERSHIP AND MENTORSHIP PROGRAM SEEKS TO NURTURE AND EXPAND THE COMMUNITY OF GLOBAL MAJORITY INVESTIGATORS IN CONTEMPLATIVE RESEARCH WITH THE GOAL OF SUPPORTING AND GROWING THE POOL OF INDIVIDUALS IN CONTEMPLATIVE RESEARCH, PARTICULARLY THOSE WHO ATTEND THE MIND & LIFE SUMMER RESEARCH INSTITUTE AND WHO MAY SEEK FUNDING FROM MIND & LIFE'S GRANTS. IN 2023, THIS INCLUDED SIX MENTEES PAIRED WITH MENTORS. YOUNG ADULT ENGAGEMENT: IN 2023, MIND & LIFE ESTABLISHED A YOUNG ADULT ADVISORY COUNCIL TO DELIVER ON THE AIMS OF OUR YOUNG ADULT ENGAGEMENT STRATEGY DEVELOPED IN 2022. THE FIVE-MEMBER COUNCIL MET SIX TIMES DURING THE YEAR AND PLAYED A VALUABLE ROLE IN INFORMING MIND & LIFE EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES AND BUILDING COMMUNITY AMONG EMERGING PROFESSIONALS ATTENDING THE 2023 SUMMER RESEARCH INSTITUTE (SRI). MEMBERS ALSO CONTRIBUTED TO OUR COMMUNICATIONS EFFORTS AND SERVED ON THE SRI PLANNING COMMITTEE. AS PART OF ITS MANDATE, THE COUNCIL HOSTED FOUR ONLINE PRESENTATIONS BY EMERGING RESEARCHERS. THROUGH THESE EVENTS, WE SEEK TO NURTURE RELATIONSHIPS AMONG YOUNGER SRI PARTICIPANTS, WHO REPRESENT THE NEXT GENERATION OF MIND & LIFE-SUPPORTED SCHOLARS AND RESEARCHERS. INSIGHTS ON FLOURISHING:THROUGH ITS PIONEERING ROLE IN BRIDGING SCIENCE AND CONTEMPLATIVE WISDOM, MIND & LIFE HAS GENERATED VITAL INSIGHTS INTO THE NATURE OF THE HUMAN MIND WITH PROFOUND RELEVANCE TO THE CHALLENGES OF OUR TIME. IN THE FALL OF 2022, WE RELEASED INSIGHTS, A NEW MULTIMEDIA WEBSITE EXPLORING KEY LEARNINGS INSPIRED BY MIND & LIFE'S WORK AT THE INTERSECTION OF SCIENCE AND CONTEMPLATIVE WISDOM. TO DATE, THE SITE FEATURED 22 ESSAYS BY LEADING RESEARCHERS AND CONTEMPLATIVES, INCLUDING JUD BREWER, DEKILA CHUNGYALPA, ROSHI JOAN HALIFAX, RHONDA MAGEE, JENNY MASCARO, THUPTEN JINPA, AND MORE. WE'LL CONTINUE PUBLISHING ESSAYS AND SHARING INSIGHTS FROM LEADERS IN THE FIELD ON THIS PLATFORM FOR YEARS TO COME.GeographiesNot indicatedDatesJan 1, 2023 – Dec 31, 2023Source990No causes providedNo populations provided–$635.2K
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