Radical Presence: Meditation & Activism

Meditation is not a retreat from social activism but rather a revolutionary practice that strengthens our capacity for sustainable resistance.

Photo by Alex Radelich on Unsplash

The current political climate in America has me reflecting deeply on activism and resistance.

It takes me back to 1992, when I came out as a gay man during a time when it was a real risk. On July 4th of that summer, I watched the Ku Klux Klan march openly down the beachfront boardwalk of my family's vacation town. Shortly after this, the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy institutionalized the message that people like me could exist only if we remained invisible.

That hostility I witnessed, and felt, made me an activist. Out of both necessity and conviction, I educated myself, built community with more experienced advocates, and committed myself to being out, proud, and visible.

In the decades since, my life transformed. Public opinion about the LGBTQ+ community changed rapidly. Anti-discrimination efforts resulted in new protections for my community. Marriage equality became reality. I built a family, and achieved some stability—all forms of privilege that gradually lulled me into a more comfortable, less active stance. As my personal stakes seemed lower, my urgency diminished. Yet in recent years, I've felt increasingly pulled back toward active engagement, recognizing that "until everyone is free, no one is free."

The current political moment has made standing on the sidelines feel impossible, even irresponsible.

In Heal Thyself, Saki Santorelli writes "Being undone is the way we unfold. Certainly, we resist this re-forming in a thousand ways. Comfort is seductive. The desire for the usual, the expected, and the anticipated soon becomes a prison of our own making" (Santorelli 162).

This renewed call to activism led me to examine my longtime meditation practice through a different lens. Is meditation merely a self-serving, solitary pursuit? A personal escape into blissful detachment? Or might it actually serve as a powerful foundation for more effective, sustainable activism and resistance?

Meditation is a revolutionary practice that strengthens our capacity for sustainable resistance by reclaiming our attention, cultivating resilience, and fostering the clarity needed to dismantle systems of oppression.

Intention and Impact

In sharing these reflections, I recognize both the potential and limitations of my perspective. The impact is still unknown to me, but my intention is to highlight the work others are doing and the way meditation and grounding practices can support the work of activists everywhere.

If you are a meditation teacher, like me, who is searching for ways to connect the practices we teach to what is here now, my intention is to inspire you to act, to share, to hold space, and to resist.

Reclaiming Our Attention in a Distracted World

Activists are often taught to prioritize doing: organizing, protesting, educating, and advocating. The urgency of the causes—climate collapse, systemic racism, economic inequality—seems to demand perpetual motion. Yet many of our most effective movement leaders have discovered a counterintuitive truth: the practice of meditation, of deliberate stillness and presence, can be a profound act of resistance and a powerful tool for sustainable change.

Consider our contemporary landscape. Corporate interests spend billions each year to capture, monetize, and manipulate our attention. Social media platforms, news cycles, and entertainment conglomerates compete relentlessly for one of our most precious resources—our focus. In this context, the simple act of sitting in meditation and directing attention inward becomes a radical reclamation of sovereignty.

“For me, living a meditative life has been essential to my struggle to be fully self-actualized and able to create communities of resistance” ~bell hooks

As bell hooks, the revolutionary Black feminist scholar, wrote in "All About Love": "For me, living a meditative life has been essential to my struggle to be fully self-actualized and able to create communities of resistance" (hooks 62). By cultivating the capacity to direct our attention deliberately, rather than having it constantly hijacked by external forces, we begin to decolonize our minds from the constant barrage of conditioning.

Beyond Self-Care: Meditation as Political Practice

Having established meditation as an act of attention sovereignty, we can now challenge another misconception: that it's merely self-care. Too often, meditation is dismissed in activist circles as merely "self-care"—a necessary but somewhat indulgent break from the "real work" of organizing. This perspective misses the deeply political nature of contemplative practice. When we meditate, we're not simply recharging our batteries to return to the struggle; we're actively practicing a different way of being that challenges dominant paradigms.

Thich Nhat Hanh, the Vietnamese Buddhist monk who was exiled from his home country for his peace activism during the Vietnam War, coined the term "engaged Buddhism" to describe this integration of contemplative practice and social action. Nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Martin Luther King Jr. in 1967, Thich Nhat Hanh taught that inner transformation is inseparable from social transformation: "Peace in oneself, peace in the world" (Nhat Hanh 73).

This isn't spiritual bypassing. It's a recognition that the systems of oppression we fight externally have also colonized our inner landscapes—our thoughts, emotions, and ways of relating. Meditation allows us to observe these conditioned patterns and create space for new possibilities.

Why Activists Need Meditation Now More Than Ever

This political dimension of meditation takes on particular urgency when we examine the specific challenges facing today's movements.

Burnout Is Decimating Movements

The data is stark. Studies indicate that 50-60% of organizers experience significant burnout within 2-5 years of high-intensity activism (Chen and Gorski 372). This leads not just to individual suffering but to organizational collapse and movement attrition. The "martyrdom complex" prevalent in activist culture—which glorifies self-sacrifice and dismisses wellbeing as a priority—is literally killing these movements.

Meditation builds neurological resilience against the chronic stress that accompanies confronting systems of oppression. By reducing cortisol levels and regulating the nervous system, regular practice creates emotional fortification that activists can draw upon in crisis. Research by Lutz et al. found that even short-term meditation training increased attentional stability and improved emotional regulation by modifying activity in the amygdala (Lutz 163). Similarly, a 2018 study by Kral et al. demonstrated that mindfulness practice reduced stress biomarkers and inflammatory response during social evaluative stressors—situations commonly encountered by activists engaged in public advocacy (Kral 307).

More importantly, it develops the capacity to witness difficult emotions without being overwhelmed by them—a crucial skill when facing the enormity of challenges in the current political and social environment.

Angela Davis, revolutionary activist and former political prisoner who became a global symbol of resistance in the early 1970s, practiced yoga and meditation during her imprisonment as a survival strategy. She later reflected: "Self-care has to be incorporated in all of our efforts. And this is something new" (Davis 48). For Davis, contemplative practice wasn't separate from her revolutionary work—it was essential to sustaining it.

Strategic Clarity Emerges from Stillness

Beyond preventing burnout, meditation also offers strategic advantages. Today's activists face unprecedented complexity. Information overload, digital fragmentation, and the relentless pace of crises make strategic discernment challenging. When we're constantly reacting, we have little space for the creative thinking required to envision and implement transformative change.

Meditation creates that space. By developing meta-awareness—the ability to observe our own thought patterns—we can recognize when we're caught in reactive loops or influenced by cognitive biases. The gap between stimulus and response widens, allowing for more thoughtful, strategic action rather than automatic reaction.

Martin Luther King Jr., while not explicitly a meditation teacher, practiced what he called "periods of withdrawal" to maintain spiritual strength throughout the intense pressure of the Civil Rights Movement. He emphasized that social justice work must be grounded in spiritual discipline to avoid becoming "a mirror image of that which is opposed" (King). This wisdom remains profoundly relevant for contemporary movements.

Breaking Cycles of Trauma Reproduction

While emotional resilience and strategic clarity are crucial, meditation's benefits extend to interrupting harmful patterns. Meditation helps interrupt the unconscious reproduction of trauma within movements. Without awareness of our own trauma responses, activists often recreate the very dynamics they seek to transform—power hoarding, dehumanization, binary thinking, and conflict avoidance or escalation.

When we develop somatic awareness through meditation, we can notice when we're triggered before these responses overtake us. We can recognize when organizational conflicts reflect unprocessed collective trauma rather than strategic disagreements. This awareness allows for healing-centered organizing that doesn't perpetuate cycles of harm.

Lama Rod Owens, a Black, queer Buddhist teacher and activist, speaks powerfully to this dimension in his work on "fierce love" as activist practice. As he writes in "Love and Rage": "Loving myself is a political act because I am taking care of a body that is not valued in this culture" (Owens 83). Owens' approach to meditation incorporates working skillfully with difficult emotions like rage rather than suppressing them, creating space for both individual and collective healing.

Cultivating Fierce Compassion

This trauma-informed awareness naturally cultivates a more nuanced understanding of compassion. In mainstream culture, compassion is often misunderstood as passive, weak, or overly accommodating—a way of bypassing conflict rather than engaging with it. This misinterpretation has led many activists to view compassion with suspicion, fearing it might blunt the necessary edge of righteous anger or compromise principles in the face of injustice.

True compassion, however, as developed through meditation practice, includes the courage to face challenges and make difficult choices for both ourselves and the greater good. It's not about being "nice" at all costs; it's about seeing clearly and responding from wisdom rather than reactivity. By stepping out of the constant churn of the mind and into the wisdom of the heart, we become more empowered to navigate whatever arises—whether that's a confrontation with power, a difficult conversation within our movements, or the inner work of examining our own complicity.

This fierce compassion becomes a revolutionary force, allowing us to hold both justice and care, both accountability and understanding. It doesn't compromise our principles—it strengthens our capacity to embody them skillfully in complex situations.

Voices Across Movements: Who Has Connected These Dots?

Throughout history, transformative social movements have been sustained by contemplative practices, often drawing from religious or spiritual traditions.

“Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.” ~Audre Lorde

Audre Lorde, the self-described "Black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet," didn't explicitly teach meditation, but her concept of the erotic as "a measure between the beginnings of our sense of self and the chaos of our strongest feelings" (Lorde 54) describes a state of embodied awareness that resembles meditative presence. Her famous declaration that "caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare" (Lorde 131) has become foundational to contemporary healing justice movements.

Joanna Macy, environmental activist and Buddhist scholar now in her 90s, developed "The Work That Reconnects," a framework that helps ecological activists process grief and cultivate resilience. She argues that "the most radical thing any of us can do at this time is to be fully present to what is happening in the world" (Macy 58). For climate activists facing the psychic toll of potential societal collapse, Macy's meditation practices provide crucial emotional processing tools.

Rhonda Magee, law professor and mindfulness teacher, has pioneered the integration of contemplative practices into legal education and social justice work. In "The Inner Work of Racial Justice," she writes: "Mindfulness helps us see how bias and racism operate not just 'out there' in society but also 'in here,' in our own minds and bodies" (Magee 37). Magee's approach, which she calls "ColorInsight," combines mindfulness with intensive inquiry into racial identity, helping activists develop the capacity to work across difference with both compassion and accountability.

adrienne maree brown, author and facilitator rooted in Black feminist tradition, has developed "Emergent Strategy" as a framework that draws on both natural systems and contemplative awareness. She teaches that "what we pay attention to grows" (brown 41), encouraging activists to practice intentional, meditative attention to build the world they wish to see. Her concept of "pleasure activism" echoes Lorde's work on the erotic, emphasizing embodied presence as essential to sustainable liberation work.

Larry Yang, founding teacher of East Bay Meditation Center, has focused on creating truly inclusive dharma communities that center marginalized voices. "To be aware of what has been marginalized—both in society and in ourselves—is already the beginning of an awakening" (Yang 28), he writes. Yang's work demonstrates how meditation centers themselves can model the social transformation they seek to support.

Contemporary movement leaders continue this integration. Patrisse Cullors, co-founder of Black Lives Matter, incorporates spiritual practices drawn from Yoruba traditions into her organizing. "The fight for Black liberation is a spiritual fight," she writes in "When They Call You a Terrorist" (Cullors and bandele 126). Rev. angel Kyodo williams, one of the few Black women recognized as a teacher in the Japanese Zen tradition, states unequivocally: "Without inner change, there can be no outer change. Without collective change, no change matters" (Williams et al. 89).

Roshi Joan Halifax, Zen priest and anthropologist, has developed the concept of "wise hope" through her work with the dying and with activists facing seemingly insurmountable challenges. "Wise hope doesn't mean denying these realities. It means facing them, addressing them, and remembering what else is present, like the shifts in our values that recognize and move us to address suffering right now" (Halifax 117). Her "GRACE" framework offers a contemplative process for cultivating compassion in action, particularly valuable for those working in overwhelming circumstances.

Saul Alinsky, whose 1971 "Rules for Radicals" is considered one of the defining texts on community organizing strategy, recognized the psychological demands of the work. While not advocating meditation specifically, he emphasized qualities that contemplative practice develops: emotional resilience, self-awareness, and the ability to maintain perspective under pressure. He warned organizers about ego traps that lead to burnout—glory-seeking, power hunger, and fear of change (Alinsky 79)—traps that meditation helps us recognize and avoid.

Beyond Individual Practice: Building Collective Power

With these cautions in mind, let's examine how meditation's transformative power expands exponentially when practiced in community. While personal meditation practice is valuable, its full revolutionary potential emerges when we practice in community. Shared contemplative practices create deeper bonds than intellectual agreement alone. They foster the coherence and trust needed for sustainable movement building.

Research on groups that meditate together shows increased feelings of connection and cooperation. Collective silence creates space for authentic presence that transcends our habitual ways of relating. In a society that emphasizes individualism and competition, coming together in shared awareness is itself a radical act.

Jon Kabat-Zinn, who pioneered the integration of mindfulness into Western medicine as founder of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, describes mindfulness as "a radical act of sanity" (Kabat-Zinn 54) in a culture driven by distraction and disconnection. While his work has primarily focused on health applications, the principles apply equally to collective liberation work.

Meditation in Action: The Black Lives Matter Movement

To see these principles in action, we need look no further than contemporary movements like Black Lives Matter. The Black Lives Matter movement offers a powerful contemporary example of how contemplative practices can be integrated into social justice work. Beyond Patrisse Cullors' incorporation of Yoruba spiritual traditions, many BLM organizers have embraced various forms of meditation and mindfulness to sustain their work and build movement resilience.

Leslie Booker, a meditation teacher who has worked extensively with activists including those in the Black Lives Matter movement, deliberately uses the term "grounding exercises" rather than "meditation" when introducing contemplative practices. This intentional shift in language helps avoid potential resistance from those who might associate meditation exclusively with religious traditions or cultural appropriation. As Booker emphasizes, the focus should be on practical tools that support movement sustainability rather than terminology that might create unnecessary barriers (Horowitz). This approach has made contemplative practices more accessible to a diverse range of activists working on the frontlines of racial justice movements.

Practical techniques used within BLM organizing spaces include simple "three-point grounding" exercises that activists can use before difficult conversations, during protests, or whenever they need to reconnect with their purpose and presence. Organizers teach Rhonda Magee's S.T.O.P practice to interrupt reactivity during high-stress situations. These practices interrupt the stress response cycle and bring activists back to their bodies and values—particularly effective before speaking to media, during challenging coalition meetings, or whenever tension builds during organizing work.

The integration of these grounding practices within BLM illustrates how contemplative techniques can be adapted and made culturally relevant while maintaining their effectiveness.

Put It Into Practice: Where to Begin

Inspired by these examples, how might you begin incorporating meditation into your own activism? If you're convinced that meditation might strengthen your activism but unsure where to start, here are some accessible entry points:

Start small but consistent. Five minutes daily is more beneficial than an hour once a week. The key is regularity that builds the neural pathways of awareness.

Find community. Look for meditation groups specifically focused on social justice, such as those offered by East Bay Meditation Center, Buddhist Peace Fellowship, or the Radical Dharma Movement.

Explore trauma-sensitive approaches. If meditation triggers anxiety or distress, try trauma-informed practices that emphasize safety and titration. David Treleaven's "Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness" provides excellent guidance.

Use inclusive language. Consider following Leslie Booker's approach of calling meditation sessions "grounding exercises" when introducing them to activist spaces. This simple reframing can make the practices more accessible to those who might be wary of spiritual terminology.

Integrate practice into movement spaces. Consider opening meetings with brief centering practices, creating contemplative caucus groups within organizations, or scheduling regular meditation sessions focused on sustaining activism.

• Try Leslie Booker's simple "Three-Point Grounding" exercise (2 minutes):

  • Place your feet firmly on the ground, feeling the solid support beneath you

  • Notice three physical sensations in your body right now (the pressure of your seat, temperature of the air, movement of your breath)

  • Identify your purpose in this moment—why you're here and what matters to you

  • Take two deep breaths before continuing with your work

• Or teach Rhonda Magee's S.T.O.P practice to interrupt reactivity during high-stress situations:

  • Stop what you're doing and pause

  • Take a few conscious breaths, feeling the sensations of breathing

  • Observe what's happening in your body, emotions, and thoughts

  • Proceed with greater awareness and intentionality

Connect with lineages and teachers. Seek out teachers with depth of practice who also understand systemic oppression. BIPOC-led meditation communities often offer particularly relevant frameworks for liberation-centered practice.

There is a list of links to the people and organizations mentioned in this article in the resources section at the end.

Addressing Skepticism

Is Meditation Too Passive for Revolutionary Work?

Some activists may question whether meditation is too passive or individualistic for the urgent demands of social movements. "While the world burns," they might ask, "how can sitting still be a revolutionary act?" This skepticism deserves engagement rather than dismissal.

The concern that meditation might pacify righteous anger has validity—particularly when practices are taught in ways that emphasize acceptance without discernment. However, as Rev. angel Kyodo williams clarifies, "Radical dharma isn't about transcending our anger but transforming it into focused clarity and sustained commitment" (Williams et al. 72).

Others might worry that meditation represents a retreat from collective action into individual self-improvement. Yet the historical evidence suggests otherwise. From the Civil Rights Movement's grounding in spiritual discipline to the deeply contemplative practices that sustained anti-apartheid activists in South Africa, inner work has often fueled—rather than replaced—the most transformative social movements.

The question isn't whether we should choose between meditation and direct action, but how contemplative practice can make our actions more strategic, sustainable, and aligned with the world we're working to create. As labor organizer and meditation practitioner Michelle Prentice puts it, "I don't meditate to escape the struggle—I meditate so I can stay in it for the long haul without burning out or becoming the very things I'm fighting against" (Prentice 47).

“I don't meditate to escape the struggle—I meditate so I can stay in it for the long haul without burning out or becoming the very things I'm fighting against” ~ Michelle Prentice

Beyond McMindfulness

Not all approaches to meditation are equally transformative. When meditation is divorced from ethics and collective liberation, it can be co-opted as a tool to make workers more productive or help privileged people feel better about systemic injustice without challenging it.

For example, major corporations like Google and Amazon have implemented mindfulness programs while simultaneously engaging in labor practices and business models that many activists critique. These programs can function as what Miles Neale calls "McMindfulness"—mindfulness stripped of its ethical foundations and used to help workers tolerate stress rather than address its structural causes (Purser 39). Neale describes McMindfulness as “a feeding frenzy of spiritual practices that provide immediate nutrition but no long-term sustenance.”

The risk of spiritual bypassing also deserves attention. Without critical awareness, meditation can become a way to avoid uncomfortable emotions or dodge responsibility for addressing injustice. As meditation teacher and activist Mushim Patricia Ikeda notes, "When mindfulness is used to simply feel better and reduce stress without addressing systemic causes of suffering, it can become another privileged self-help tool rather than a path to liberation for all beings" (Ikeda 28).

There's also the critical question of cultural appropriation. Many meditation practices have roots in Buddhist, Hindu, or Indigenous traditions. Engaging with these traditions respectfully requires acknowledging their origins, understanding their cultural contexts, and supporting teachers from these lineages rather than extracting techniques while erasing their sources.

Integration & Activation

As you explore these practices, remember that you're joining a long lineage of contemplative activists. As we face intersecting crises that can easily overwhelm even the most dedicated activists, the practice offers engagement with reality at a deeper level. It helps us face difficult truths without becoming them. It strengthens our capacity to hold complexity, to act from clarity rather than reactivity, and to embody the change we wish to see.

“When you have enough stability and freedom, you can go to the place of suffering and be of help” ~Thich Nhat Hanh

In the words of Thich Nhat Hanh: "When you have enough stability and freedom, you can go to the place of suffering and be of help" (Nhat Hanh 118). This is the promise of meditation as radical practice—not detachment from the world's pain, but the capacity to face it with steadiness, compassion, and clarity of purpose.

I invite you to share your own experiences integrating contemplative practices with activism. Leave a comment. Message me. What has worked for you? What challenges have you faced? How have meditation and other mindfulness practices sustained your commitment to social change? By sharing our stories, we strengthen the growing community of contemplative activists working toward collective liberation.

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Resources

Read on for reflection questions, reading recommendations, links to the activists mentioned in this article, and a list of works cited in this piece.

Questions for Reflection

1. Personal Practice: How might your existing meditation practice (or a practice you're considering starting) connect to the social justice work that matters most to you?

1. Collective Practice: What would it look like to integrate a brief contemplative practice into a movement space you're part of? What resistance might you encounter, and how could you address it?

1. Tradition & Lineage: Which teachers or traditions mentioned in this article resonate most with your experience? How might you explore their work while honoring the cultural contexts they emerge from?

1. Integration: What is one specific way you could apply the concept of 'radical presence' to a challenging situation you're currently facing in your activism or community work?

People & Organizations To Follow

You can learn more about many of the activists and teachers mentioned in this article using the links below. If I have missed an important link, please let me know and I'll update the article accordingly.

• Ai-jen Poo - Website | Instagram

• Angela Davis - Instagram

• Audre Lorde - Website

• bell hooks - Instagram

• David Treleaven - Website | Instagram

• East Bay Meditation Center - Website | Instagram

• Jasmine Syedullah - Instagram

• Joanna Macy - Website

• Jon Kabat-Zinn - Website | Instagram

• Lama Rod Owens - Website | Instagram

• Leslie Booker - Website | Instagram

• Martin Luther King Jr. - Website | Instagram

• Mushim Patricia Ikeda - Website | Instagram

• Patrisse Cullors - Instagram

• Rev. angel Kyodo williams - Website | Instagram

• Rhonda Magee - Website | Instagram

• Ronald Purser - Website

• Ruth King - Website | Instagram

• Saki Santorelli - Website

• Sharon Salzberg - Website | Instagram

• Thich Nhat Hanh - Website | Instagram

Recommended Reading

• "Love and Rage: The Path of Liberation Through Anger" by Lama Rod Owens

• "Radical Dharma: Talking Race, Love, and Liberation" by Rev. angel Kyodo williams, Lama Rod Owens, and Jasmine Syedullah

• "The Inner Work of Racial Justice" by Rhonda Magee

• "Being Peace" by Thich Nhat Hanh

• "All About Love" by bell hooks

• "A Burst of Light" by Audre Lorde

• "Active Hope" by Joanna Macy

• "Emergent Strategy" by adrienne maree brown

• "The Way of Tenderness" by Zenju Earthlyn Manuel

• "Awakening Together" by Larry Yang

• "Standing at the Edge" by Roshi Joan Halifax

• "Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness" by David Treleaven

• "Pleasure Activism" by adrienne maree brown

• "Mindful of Race" by Ruth King

• "Heal Thy Self: Lessons on Mindfulness in Medicine" by Saki Santorelli

• "McMindfulness: How Mindfulness Became the New Capitalist Spirituality" by Ronald Purser

• "Real Change: Mindfulness to Heal Ourselves and the World" by Sharon Salzberg

Works Cited

Alinsky, Saul D. Rules for Radicals: A Practical Primer for Realistic Radicals. Random House, 1971.

brown, adrienne maree. Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds. AK Press, 2017.

Chen, C. W., and P. C. Gorski. "Burnout in Social Justice and Human Rights Activists: Symptoms, Causes and Implications." Journal of Human Rights Practice, vol. 7, no. 3, 2015, pp. 366-390.

Cullors, Patrisse, and asha bandele. When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir. St. Martin's Press, 2018.

Davis, Angela Y. The Essential Angela Y. Davis. Haymarket Books, 2010.

Halifax, Roshi Joan. Standing at the Edge: Finding Freedom Where Fear and Courage Meet. Flatiron Books, 2018.

hooks, bell. All About Love: New Visions. William Morrow, 2000.

Horowitz, Kate. "Mindfulness and the Art of Social Movement Maintenance." Waging Nonviolence, 5 Mar. 2015, wagingnonviolence.org/2015/03/mindfulness-and-the-art-of-social-movement-maintenance/.

Ikeda, Mushim Patricia. "Making the Invisible Visible: Healing Racism in Our Buddhist Communities." Buddhism and Whiteness: Critical Reflections, edited by George Yancy and Emily McRae, Lexington Books, 2019, pp. 21-35.

Kabat-Zinn, Jon. Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life. Hyperion, 1994.

King Jr., Martin Luther. "Letter from Birmingham Jail." 16 Apr. 1963.

Kral, Tammi R. A., et al. "Impact of Short- and Long-term Mindfulness Meditation Training on Amygdala Reactivity to Emotional Stimuli." NeuroImage, vol. 181, 2018, pp. 301-313.

Lorde, Audre. A Burst of Light and Other Essays. Firebrand Books, 1988.

Lorde, Audre. "Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power." Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches. Crossing Press, 1984.

Lutz, Antoine, et al. "Attention Regulation and Monitoring in Meditation." Trends in Cognitive Sciences, vol. 12, no. 4, 2008, pp. 163-169.

Macy, Joanna. World as Lover, World as Self: Courage for Global Justice and Ecological Renewal. Parallax Press, 2007.

Magee, Rhonda. The Inner Work of Racial Justice: Healing Ourselves and Transforming Our Communities Through Mindfulness. TarcherPerigee, 2019.

Nhat Hanh, Thich. Being Peace. Parallax Press, 1987.

Nhat Hanh, Thich. The Art of Power. HarperOne, 2007.

Owens, Lama Rod. Love and Rage: The Path of Liberation Through Anger. North Atlantic Books, 2020.

Prentice, Michelle. "Mindful Organizing: Sustaining Liberation Movements from the Inside Out." Organizing for Power, Kairos Center Press, 2022, pp. 42-61.

Purser, Ronald. McMindfulness: How Mindfulness Became the New Capitalist Spirituality. Repeater Books, 2019.

Santorelli, Saki. Heal Thy Self: Lessons on Mindfulness in Medicine. Bell Tower, 1999.

Williams, Rev. angel Kyodo, Lama Rod Owens, and Jasmine Syedullah. Radical Dharma: Talking Race, Love, and Liberation. North Atlantic Books, 2016.

Yang, Larry. Awakening Together: The Spiritual Practice of Inclusivity and Community. Wisdom Publications, 2017.