When we’re young, our hearts are naturally open. It’s one of the reasons I love working with children—they remind me of our innate trust and authentic loving nature. As we get older and move through life’s challenges, our hearts often become more protected. One of the ongoing grapplings of adulthood, especially in our relationships and on our purpose paths, is learning how to keep our hearts brave and open. When we experience hurt, our natural inclination is often to protect

I have a very fortunate role at the school where I work on Wednesdays. I collaborate with another youth organization that brings music, science, and technology education into the after-school enrichment program, and I join as an additional outlet for students to explore and engage with. While I'm a strong believer that mindfulness and social-emotional learning are valuable for every child, I've come to believe that choice makes a significant difference. Some students are natu

This week in my Art of Friendship virtual class, I guided the kids through an exercise where they imagined an aquarium inside their bellies. Inside the aquarium were fish swimming around, and each fish represented a feeling. Some of the feeling fish belonged to them, and some belonged to other people. When they discovered a feeling fish that wasn’t theirs, they could gently scoop it out and return it to the person it belonged to. We first explored this through a guided medita

You know what I’m talking about: the paper fortune teller that requires precise folding, then transforms into a tool for delivering good (or not-so-good) news with an element of choice and surprise. Recently, I’ve been working with my students on the concept of the “inner voice” — exploring what a kind inner voice sounds and feels like versus an unkind one. One of my favorite approaches to social-emotional learning is taking an abstract concept and turning it into a hands-on

I started working once a week at an elementary school, bringing mindfulness practice and Social-Emotional Learning into the afterschool program. One of the things I’ve found most important in this work is that participation is offered as a choice rather than a requirement. I want mindfulness to feel like an invitation — a meaningful way to spend time — rather than another thing the kids are being forced to do in a day already full of structure and demands. Otherwise, it can e