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    Group of Buddhist monks walking down path through trees - Finding Inner Peace With 20 Brave Buddhist Monks

    THE MONKS’ WALK FOR PEACE: A reminder that peace begins within us

    Man meditating in front of tree - The Heart of Awareness: Peacefully Moving Beyond the Mind

    THE HEART OF AWARENESS: What did the Buddha mean by working at the root?

    Woman sitting on dock by water, relaxing - Hello 2026: Time to Slow Down and Reflect

    THE NEW YEAR: A time to slow down, reflect and avoid burnout

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    Glass jar full of blue paint next to paintbrushes on table - Take Stock of Your Precious Life: An Inspiring Fiction Story

    TSYPL: The best—and most mindful—stock to invest in right now

    Full moon behind a rural house - “Sturgeon Moon” and 3 Other Poems With Passion

    POEMS BY GEORGE PAYNE: Sturgeon Moon, That Morning In Athens and more

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    ALASKA WINGS: Soaring across the mountains while releasing fear and doubt

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    MINDFUL LEADERSHIP IN STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS: Empowering leaders to create positive change

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    HANAMI DREAMING: The start of spring in Japan

    Joe Biden with other world leaders - Political Power: 3 Ways Democratic Voters Can Battle Fascism

    REFLECTIONS ON TODAY’S POLITICAL REALITIES: We can prevail over ignorance, lies and Trump

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    Malecon in La Paz, Mexico - Back on American Soil: A Safe Return Home From La Paz

    IMPEDIMENTS FACED: A safe return home from La Paz, Mexico

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    TYING UP LOOSE ENDS: One last—and glorious—day in La Paz, Mexico [Part 7]

    Facebook on laptop in La Paz hotel room - NIGHT SEA JOURNEY: Buying back sanity in La Paz, Mexico

    NIGHT SEA JOURNEY: Buying back sanity in La Paz, Mexico [Part 6]

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James Farwell
JoinedDecember 5, 2018
Articles66
James Farwell is a clinical fellow in the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy. In addition to his private practice, he has served as a behavioural health instructor with Kaiser Permanente where he integrated mindfulness practices in couples communication, anger management, depression, anxiety and mind-body awareness courses.
Man wearing t-shirt with "no homophobia, no violence" and other positive phrases - 10 Mindful Living Tips Inspired by the Dalai Lama

“MY RELIGION IS KINDNESS”: 10 mindful living tips inspired by the Dalai Lama

James Farwell·December 8, 2025
Recently, I’ve been brought face-to-face with how the world around me can impact how I feel and define the moment...
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Woman putting vote in ballot box with American flag behind her - Compassion Heals: How Mindfulness Can Help Direct America

CRUELTY DESTROYS AND COMPASSION HEALS: No sense of caring equals no sense of community

James Farwell·May 19, 2025
In today’s world, we’re living though times of treating others as objects and not as people with needs and feelings....
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Diverse group of hands on top of each other in solidarity - How Inner Peace Leads to Outer Peace and Stable Communities

SPEAK TRUTH TO POWER: And avoid 3 common pathways to social ignorance

James Farwell·February 26, 2025
The Buddha has taught us that the cause of all suffering is ignorance, which is either not knowing what we...
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Two dads with kids on shoulders walking down crowded street - Live Responsibly or Destroy Ourselves: The Choice Is Ours

LIVE RESPONSIBLY OR BECOME EXTINCT: The choice is ours

James Farwell·January 8, 2025
One of my favourite teachers is the Dalai Lama. His simple way of stating the profound is one of his...
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American White House in autumn

BASIC HONESTY: The Dalai Lama’s guidance on surviving as a compassionate society

James Farwell·October 17, 2024
Today, I’m writing about our need to develop true relationships in our lives. Why is this necessary? The Dalai Lama...
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Sign outdoors at Democratic National Convention (DNC) 2024 - America’s Foundational Values: Is Harris Our Guiding Light?

AMERICAN DEMOCRACY: Reflections on Trump, Harris and the DNC

James Farwell·September 9, 2024
According to Buddhism, the source of all suffering is ignorance: in other words, not knowing what we don’t know.  Often,...
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Person walking with rainbow-coloured umbrella near waterfall - Some Simple Truths About Mindfully Being Who We Are

MINDFULNESS AND TRUTH: Some simple truths about being who we are

James Farwell·May 29, 2024
Holding onto the truth of ‘what is’ is an essential element when it comes to making informed decisions in life....
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Joe Biden with other world leaders - Political Power: 3 Ways Democratic Voters Can Battle Fascism

REFLECTIONS ON TODAY’S POLITICAL REALITIES: We can prevail over ignorance, lies and Trump

James Farwell·March 25, 2024
I’ve been watching the dysfunctionality of our world, including death, starvation, illness, delusional thinking, dishonesty and disregard for the needs...
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Person's shadow on brick ground - America in Transition: Which of These 2 Paths Will Save Us?

LET’S MOVE ON FROM OUR SHADOW SELVES: The path towards awareness, compassion and kindness

James Farwell·February 8, 2024
Today’s political world reflects how our shadow selves can present themselves in ways that are destructive to our democratic way...
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Person with "I VOTED" stickers at 2020 U.S. election polling station - A SENSE OF CARING: 4 responsibilities Americans must uphold

A SENSE OF CARING: Without it, there can’t be a sense of community

James Farwell·January 29, 2024
Today, we’re facing the reality that a) we’ll either continue to remain the United States of America, with our Constitution...
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Gaza Strip buildings destroyed by Israel-Hamas war - BUDDHIST PSYCHOLOGY: 4 examples of reacting vs. responding

BUDDHIST PSYCHOLOGY: 4 political examples of reacting vs. responding

James Farwell·January 15, 2024
Buddhist psychology teaches that we’re not our thoughts, our bodies, our feelings or our personalities. Who we are is the...
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U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C. - Democracy and Delusions: How Can We Save America?

SOCIAL AND POLITICAL REFLECTIONS: Thoughts on our current conflicted world

James Farwell·January 1, 2024
In trying to make sense out of what has been going on (politically and societally) in the United States, there...
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Trump supporters storming the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021 - Buddhist Psychology: Can It Solve America's Social Problems?

AMERICA’S HISTORY OF DISREGARD FOR OTHERS: And what we can do about it

James Farwell·October 24, 2023
In the last few days prior to the Hamas massacre, I’d been watching the dysfunctionalities of the U.S. House of...
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Three silhouettes on sunlit beach, including one of boy jumping - Mindfully Letting the Light of the Sun Drown Out Darkness

MINDFUL REFLECTIONS: Pain and ignorance give birth to darkness and more

James Farwell·September 26, 2023
Pain and ignorance give birth to darkness Our pain prods others’ pain. Our ignorance nourishes others’ ignorance. Our reactions stimulate...
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Governor Tom Wolf at food bank in Pennsylvania - We Must Treat Our Fellow Citizens as Beings, Not Objects

HUMAN BEINGS: Objects, things and concepts or beings with needs, feelings and compassion?

James Farwell·September 13, 2023
A delusional Russian dictator who wants to restore the ‘greatness of the motherland’ is needlessly slaughtering women and children, and...
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Senior couple with arms around each other, looking at water

MINDFUL REFLECTIONS: The Source of Us All, Our Essence and Its Expression and more

James Farwell·September 4, 2023
The source of us all The divine creative essence is the source of all that is good and loving and...
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Glass sphere reflecting upside-down image of forest - Become Aware of Being Unaware to Minimize Suffering

BECOME AWARE OF BEING UNAWARE: How to gradually erase ignorance and minimize suffering

James Farwell·July 31, 2023
In Buddhist psychology, it’s said that the underlying cause of all suffering is ignorance. Ignorance is not being aware of...
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Black and white photo of two men sitting on benches - The Value of Pausing and Reflecting in the Present Moment

A RETURN TO WHO WE ARE: The value of learning to pause and reflect

James Farwell·July 13, 2023
Awareness, Love and Compassion are who we are at our essence. Our expressions of love and compassion bring about healing,...
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Heart made from ribbons with daisies in the middle - The dangers of dogmatic thinking in the American community

THE DANGER OF DOGMA: And dogma’s role in alienating the American community

James Farwell·June 19, 2023
When people come together, differences in views about life will sure to be revealed. There will be those who are...
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Comforting hand holding for a sick person in bed - We Need Each Other: Lessons Learned While Living With COVID

WE NEED EACH OTHER: The ravages of, and lessons learned in living with COVID

James Farwell·May 22, 2023
After having had all the shots and boosters that were available at the time, at the age of 79, I...
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sculpture of a face looking across a landscape - Understanding American Democracy, With Help From Adyashanti

WHO ARE WE?: We are awareness, empathy and compassion

James Farwell·November 20, 2022
Over the past seven years, the American people have existed in a politically toxic environment. I have been attempting to...
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Clay vases in a field

BACK TO BASICS: How do we live mindfully in today’s divisive and disregarding world?

James Farwell·September 20, 2022
In the past 20 years of practicing mindfulness, I have found that any issue can be addressed if I return...
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man alone on mountain top reaching to the full moon

RESPONDING FROM A ZONE OF PEACE: Bringing mindfulness into our understanding of how we learn to live together

James Farwell·July 12, 2022
As Jack Kornfield of the Spirit Rock Meditation Center has written, “Our first task is to make our own heart...
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ants on a branch

SURVIVING IN TODAY’S WORLD: Even tiny insects survive by co-operating with each other

James Farwell·November 14, 2021
In today’s world, many are doing nothing to protect themselves and their loved ones from extinction. We have a pandemic...
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