Mindful Biology is a unique contemplative system rooted in the realization that basic Life science can promote spiritual growth, embodiment, and ecological connection.
In our ailing civilization, something vital seems missing from Life. While modern technologies and institutions fill our days and minds, they seldom guide us toward wisdom, faith, or composure.
Mindful Biology grew from my own struggle with this dilemma, which was compounded by a painful upbringing. Two key influences are Buddhism and Quakerism.
When I began exploring these traditions, it felt important to connect them to biology—a lifelong passion and support for me. I soon discovered how Life science fits naturally into Buddhist and Quaker practice.
Buddhism teaches us to see “things as they actually are” free of assumptions, projections, etc. Biology aids the search for realism with insights about our bodies and the natural world. Buddhism also values direct experience over mere concepts, and biology serves this value by helping us feel what’s going on in our bodies.
Quakers believe every person embodies a divine presence, and many also sense sacredness in nonhuman Life and nature. Quakerism led me to balance intellectual fascination around biology with compassion and reverence. It also helped me experience sacredness in personal, collective, and ecological Life.
As I found practical ways to weave Life science into these and other spiritual traditions, Mindful Biology grew into being. It is my small contribution to a society urgently needing wisdom, faith, and composure.
