Embrace the Politics of Meditation Today

(button clicks) (light music) Headspace Studio. Hey there. Welcome to Radio Headspace. I'm so glad you're here. It's Dora. Now, I've heard this from a few people where they express their disappointment in hearing about political things when it comes to meditation and mindfulness. There's a term that I hadn't even heard before called Woke Politics, that apparently would describe talking about progressive things in a space where there's no space for it. Now, as a Black woman, I can't help but to speak from my own experience, which I guess is inherently political, as some folks would call it, self-focused. On the surface, politics may appear contradictory to the practice and principles of meditation and mindfulness, but on a deeper level, that's not the case. In fact, they can't be separated. To separate the two would be a disservice to the lineages in which these practices were all derived from. What's interesting about the practice and meditation is that when we look back at its roots, not the secular mindfulness that has made its way to the Western world, but the birthplace of these ancient practices, the history of meditation is quite political. Specifically looking at places like Tibet or India, where people have sacrificed their lives to keep these practices alive. For example, the lineage and tradition that many of the Headspace practices originate from, the Kagyu tradition, was orally transmitted from a Tibetan master who had to flee Tibet in the 1900s, after his home and country were attacked. I highly recommend reading the book "From a Mountain in Tibet" to learn more. As I write this episode, I realize that this is something that's often not spoken about, but it's so important to keep in mind. As much as the mind would like to, we can't separate the two, nor should we want to. Meditation is inherently political, but once we separate the practice from its origins, we lose sight of this. Beyond the history, the essence of mindfulness is democratic in nature, power and authorities being placed in the hands of human beings rather than institutions. And depending on who you ask, this is also political as well. A few months ago, I had the incredible honor of being on retreat with Jon Kabat-Zinn, a pioneer in the mindfulness space and an all around wonderful human being. As he was guiding us during the retreat, he mentioned and shared how social justice and collective liberation are part of this practice. In fact, an integral part of this practice. So Jon Kabat-Zinn created something you've probably heard me talk about called MBSR, or Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, which is a course that helps people develop a healthier relationship with stress. And throughout the retreat, he shared stories of the pushback he received when he tried to take this program mainstream. There were many people who doubted him, doubted the power of mindfulness and meditation, and how this could even be considered as being part of medical care....