The Mindfulness Alliance

The Mindfulness Alliance We are a grass roots movement envisioning communities of compassion, justice, and inclusivity through awareness-based social change.

Attention WNYers! Join The Mindfulness Alliance for another forest bathing event this Summer.Forest Bathing: A Natural C...
06/10/2026

Attention WNYers! Join The Mindfulness Alliance for another forest bathing event this Summer.

Forest Bathing: A Natural Conversation โ€” an immersive experience in presence, peace, and natureโ€™s quiet wisdom.

๐Ÿ—“๏ธ Sunday, July 12th
๐Ÿ“ Lakeside at Delaware Park (below The Terrace)

Weโ€™ll walk slowly, breathe deeply, and engage all our senses as we soak in the healing atmosphere of the forest. Come listen mindfully and reconnect with the earth, and yourself.

Free & open to all.

This month, we invite you to reflect on how cultivating peace within yourself can support a more compassionate, connecte...
06/03/2026

This month, we invite you to reflect on how cultivating peace within yourself can support a more compassionate, connected, and just world. Small acts of mindfulness, empathy, and understanding are not separate from activism; they are part of it.

What does embodying peace look like in your daily life?

06/02/2026

The invitation of the WeShift Institute Fellowship is simple.
๐—ง๐—ผ ๐—ฝ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ ๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ถ๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐˜„๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—น๐—ฑ ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ณ๐—ณ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜๐—น๐˜†.
Across five months, Fellows engage a developmental journey that supports the movement from ๐—บ๐—ฒ โ†’ ๐˜„๐—ฒ โ€” from personal awareness toward collective wellbeing.
Together we practice what it means to live from the understanding that awareness, relationship, and collective life are deeply intertwined.
โ†’ How the patterns we embody shape the conditions we live within.
โ†’ How cultivating care-centered agency frees us from conditioned patterns
โ†’ How this journey can open new possibilities for collective wellbeing.

๐—ง๐—ต๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ป๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐˜„๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ธ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ด๐—ฒ.
Again and again, Fellows describe the power of practicing this work ๐—ถ๐—ป๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ ๐—ฎ ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—บ๐—บ๐—ถ๐˜๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—บ๐—บ๐˜‚๐—ป๐—ถ๐˜๐˜†.
A community willing to stay present in complexity.
To learn together.
๐—ง๐—ผ ๐—ฝ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐˜† ๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ถ๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—น ๐˜๐—ถ๐—บ๐—ฒ.
The next WeShift Institute Fellowship begins ๐˜๐—ต๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐—™๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฑ๐—ฎ๐˜† โ€“ ๐—๐˜‚๐—ป๐—ฒ ๐Ÿฑ.
If the invitation resonates, we welcome you.

Learn more or register here: https://themindfulnessalliance.org/weshift/

Discover the joy of purposeful reading as we delve into thought provoking booksย that expand the focus of mindfulness fro...
05/28/2026

Discover the joy of purposeful reading as we delve into thought provoking booksย that expand the focus of mindfulness from individual wellbeing to include social change. Each quarter we will learn from cutting-edge authors how to expand our mindfulness practice beyond a focus on self to an interconnected perspective focused on collective wellbeing. Join a supportive and welcoming community in deep reflection and discussion on how to mindfully make the shift from me to We.
ย 
Mindful Pages spring read: Being Peace by Thich Nhat Hanh.
ย 
This seasonโ€™s Mindful Pages selection explores how the cultivation of inner peace contributes to world peace. Thich Nhat Hanh was a world-renowned Zen Buddhist monk who worked for social and political transformation.
ย 
Join our Mindful Pages Facebook group to share your thoughts on the book. https://www.facebook.com/groups/2177757172575608

05/26/2026

The WeShift Institute Fellowship is intentionally designed as a ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐˜€๐˜‚๐˜€๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—ฝ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ.

Across five months, participants engage through several ๐—ถ๐—ป๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ป๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐˜€๐—ฝ๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—ฝ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ, ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ณ๐—น๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป, ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ถ๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป:

โ†’ Live virtual sessions that support collective inquiry, dialogue, and relational practice.
โ†’ A curated online learning portal with readings, video teachings, discussion spaces, and private journals for reflection.
โ†’ Guided meditation, practice-in-action protocols, and nature immersion practicesโ€“bridging awareness with real-world participation.
โ†’ Coaching conversations that support integration and discernment.
โ†’ Retreat space that allows the community to pause, deepen, integrate, and reconnect with the collective field of practice.
โ†’Social Change Actualization Process (SCAP), supporting participants in clarifying and enacting their own โ€œme โ†’ weโ€ vision for change.

Together these elements create a steady rhythm that supports the movement:
From Me โ†’ We
From insight โ†’ practice-in-action
From personal wellbeing โ†’ collective wellbeing

This journey is a movement toward freedom.
Not abstract freedom.
๐—œ๐—ป๐—ป๐—ฒ๐—ฟ, ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—น, ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ถ๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐˜† ๐—ณ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ๐—ผ๐—บ โ€” ๐—ฐ๐˜‚๐—น๐˜๐—ถ๐˜ƒ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—ผ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐˜๐—ถ๐—บ๐—ฒ.

๐—ฃ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ถ๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ณ๐—ณ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜๐—น๐˜† โ€” unmaking the patterns that sustain domination, division, and disconnection while cultivating care-centered agency.
Shaping the conditions we create together as stewards of our shared future.

The Fellowship is offered on a sliding-scale tuition model, supporting participation across a range of financial circumstances.
Payment plans are also available to help participants engage sustainably over the course of the program.

๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—™๐—ฒ๐—น๐—น๐—ผ๐˜„๐˜€๐—ต๐—ถ๐—ฝ ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐—ด๐—ถ๐—ป๐˜€ ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐˜…๐˜ ๐˜„๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ธ โ€“ ๐—๐˜‚๐—ป๐—ฒ ๐Ÿฑ.
Learn more or register here: https://themindfulnessalliance.org/weshift/

Each month, we select an intention to guide us in quiet, mindful activism. Throughout May, we invite you to reflect on h...
05/22/2026

Each month, we select an intention to guide us in quiet, mindful activism. Throughout May, we invite you to reflect on how walking in peace in your own life contributes to peace within the world.

05/20/2026

How are we to respond to the crises of power and separation?
How do we reimagine meaning and agency in a fractured world?

Fundamentally, this journey from me โ†’ we changes the way we relate to ๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ด๐—ฒ itself.
It changes how we approach change-making โ€”
freeing us to respond to the challenges of our times in new ways.
WeShift enacts ๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ถ๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐˜† ๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜€๐—ฒ-๐—บ๐—ฎ๐—ธ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ฎ๐˜€ ๐—ฝ๐—ผ๐—น๐—ถ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—ฎ๐—ด๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐˜† โ€” relational praxis that dissolves patterns of separation and cultivates collective wellbeing.
At the heart of the Fellowship is a sustained ๐˜๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—ถ๐—ฑ๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—ณ๐—น๐—ผ๐˜„โ€“๐—ฏ๐—ฎ๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—ฝ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐˜…๐—ถ๐˜€ for collective transformation โ€”
a way of participating rooted in flow, reciprocity, circulation and co-creation rather than domination or linear self-improvement.

๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ด๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐˜„๐—ฒ ๐˜„๐—ถ๐˜€๐—ต ๐˜๐—ผ ๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—ฒ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐˜„๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—น๐—ฑ ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ผ๐—ฝ ๐—ณ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—บ ๐˜„๐—ถ๐˜๐—ต๐—ถ๐—ป.

From how we grow awareness beyond the self.
From how we unmake the patterns that sustain separation and division.
From how we cultivate care-centered agency together.

This is not reactive activism.
It is ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜๐—ฎ๐—น ๐˜๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐˜€๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป.
It is the inner work of outer change.

Over time, the shift expands โ€”๐—ณ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—บ ๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—ถ๐—ป๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ด๐—ต๐˜ ๐—ถ๐—ป๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ถ๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐˜† ๐—ณ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ๐—ผ๐—บ.

Freedom from inherited assumptions about how the world is shaped.
๐—™๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ๐—ผ๐—บ ๐—ณ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—บ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ถ๐—น๐—น๐˜‚๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—ถ๐—ป๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ด๐—ป๐—ถ๐—ณ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ฒโ€” the belief that our actions cannot shape meaningful change.
Freedom to participate in shaping more life-giving collective conditions.

The invitation is not to consume ideas.
It is to participate in shaping collective conditions.

๐—ง๐—ผ ๐—ถ๐—ด๐—ป๐—ถ๐˜๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฝ๐—ผ๐˜€๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ฏ๐—น๐—ฒ โ€” ๐˜๐—ผ๐—ด๐—ฒ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฟ.
June 5 begins the next cohort.
WeShift Institute Fellowship https://themindfulnessalliance.org/weshift/

This week: Our founding director, Dr. Lisa Napora, presents at Mind & Life Europeโ€™s Power & Care conference in Barcelona...
05/19/2026

This week: Our founding director, Dr. Lisa Napora, presents at Mind & Life Europeโ€™s Power & Care conference in Barcelona, Spain!

She will be speaking on the movement from ๐—บ๐—ฒ โ†’ ๐˜„๐—ฒ, exploring how this shift gives rise to ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ-๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—ฝ๐—ผ๐—น๐—ถ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—ฎ๐—ด๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐˜†โ€”where ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐—ฎ ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—บ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—ฝ๐—ผ๐—น๐—ถ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—ฝ๐—ผ๐˜„๐—ฒ๐—ฟ shaping the conditions of our shared lives.

As we reflect on 8 years of The Mindfulness Alliance, we are reminded of our need for awareness-based social change and ...
05/14/2026

As we reflect on 8 years of The Mindfulness Alliance, we are reminded of our need for awareness-based social change and justice.

Thank you to our volunteers who work tirelessly to further our mission, and to those who have supported TMA over the last 8 years. It has been a journey, and we are so glad we were able to share it. As an organization, we are so grateful to be in this place. As we look towards the future, we reaffirm our commitment to promoting justice, compassion, and inclusivity everywhere.

05/11/2026

The WeShift Fellowship is intentionally designed and carefully held over 5 months.
A live, cohort-based containerโ€“ structured and relational.

Weekly virtual sessions. Retreat space. Coaching. Guided practice-in-action protocols.
Returning again and again to collective inquiry, shared reflection, and relational practice, supporting the movement from insight into lived engagement.

We work with ๐˜๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—ถ๐—ฑ๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—ณ๐—น๐—ผ๐˜„ ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜ ๐—ฎ๐˜€ ๐—ฎ ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—ป๐—ถ๐—พ๐˜‚๐—ฒ, ๐—ฏ๐˜‚๐˜ ๐—ฎ๐˜€ ๐—ฎ ๐˜„๐—ฎ๐˜† ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ถ๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด โ€” a core organizing practice and living pattern linking inner awareness, relationship, and collective life.

This is not metaphorical language.
Grounded in contemplative science, systems thinking, and a quantum-informed relational worldview, the work treats awareness, relationship, and social life as dynamically entangled.

Through the practice of ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐˜† ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ-๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐˜๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜ โ€”๐˜‚๐—ป๐—บ๐—ฎ๐—ธ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐˜๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ป๐˜€ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—น ๐˜๐—ถ๐—บ๐—ฒ ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—ผ๐—ผ๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด differently in moments that matterโ€”participation itself begins to shift.

How we show up shapes the field.
Building inner infrastructure becomes inseparable from shaping collective conditions.

This is how ๐—ฎ๐˜„๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜€ ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐—ฝ๐—ผ๐—น๐—ถ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—น โ€” not through ideology,
but through practice.

As practice deepens, growing capacities become lived freedom.

Freedom from conditioned patterns of reactivity.
Freedom from inherited limits on what feels possible.
๐—™๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ๐—ผ๐—บ ๐—ณ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—บ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐—ณ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜€ ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜ ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐˜๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ.

In this short video, Fellows describe what it feels like to be held inside this work.

June 5 opens the next cohort.

WeShift Institute Fellowship https://themindfulnessalliance.org/weshift/

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Buffalo, NY

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