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    Mind-spirit
    Young man staring at smartphone - Our Personhood: Will Humanity Let AI Annihilate It?

    AI VS. PERSONHOOD: The quiet temptation to abdicate our humanity

    Seated woman, meditating in front of laptop at home - Accountability: How Meditation Groups Help You Stay Mindful

    MINDFULNESS AND ACCOUNTABILITY: How others can help you stick to your practice

    Statue of Mahatma Gandhi from Aga Khan palace in Pune, India - Gandhi’s Radical Insight: How It Can Help Us Today

    THE ENDS NEVER JUSTIFY THE MEANS: Gandhi’s radical lesson for today

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    Conscious Creativity
    Train travelling through Alaska mountain range - Don’t Doubt Yourself—Spread Your Wings and Soar

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

    Red cardinal in a tree with berries on it - INEFFABLE: A visitation from a great spirit I'd never forget

    INEFFABLE: A visitation from a beautiful soul I’d never forget

    Otter swimming on its back - "Metaphorically Speaking" and 3 More Poems That Honour Words

    POEMS BY CAROLYN CHILTON CASAS: Essential Language, Metaphorically Speaking and more

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    Participatory Culture
    students around a table doing a video call together

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

    hanami cherry blossoms closeup

    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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    Travel-living
    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

    la paz mexico sunrise

    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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Kiva Bottero
Kiva Bottero
JoinedNovember 8, 2016
Articles151
Comments61
Kiva Bottero is the publisher of The Mindful Word. Passionate about discovering deeper truths of life and living those truths, he has been on a journey to connect with like-minded community and live in resonance with what is most important in life.
boxers in red and blue fighting in the ring

BLUE vs. RED: Why is humanity devolving into social warfare when we could just opt for openness and respect?

Kiva Bottero·May 27, 2020
It doesn’t matter where you stand on COVID, you’re getting labelled nowadays. If you’re on one side, you’re being labelled...
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Woman doing aerial yoga on beach - A guide to Koh Phangan, Thailand

The Koh Phangan Conscious Community Travel Guide

Kiva Bottero·March 28, 2019
Koh Phangan is an essential stop on the conscious community circuit. It’s the kind of place travellers go expecting to...
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Creek in Tapon, Cambodia.

VILLAGE LIFE, REAL EXPERIENCE: Discover the genuine side of Cambodia doing a homestay in the village of Tapon

Kiva Bottero·November 6, 2017
All we could do was smile at each other. My host family, not being able to say much in English,...
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Police shoot man with taser in New York City - Fuelled by fear

FUELLED BY FEAR: The connection between fear-mongering and the nanny state

Kiva Bottero·August 6, 2017
A s the American people watch their “land of liberty” get mangled into a version more fitting for a sci-fi...
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Rag pickers in India - rummaging through garbage

RAGS & RICHES: The culture shock of food waste vs. resource reclamation

Kiva Bottero·August 31, 2016
Reverse culture shock can be more challenging to deal with than culture shock itself. That shock is amplified depending how different the...
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Woman walking on road barefoot

DISCONNECTED: How going carless simplifies life and helps us connect to our surroundings

Kiva Bottero·August 3, 2016
The car. One of humankind’s greatest inventions. It has opened up our world, made our lives easier and enabled a...
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Controversial fruit - Durian

FRUIT RACISM: Durian, the badass black sheep of the fruit family, divides Southeast Asian society on racial lines

Kiva Bottero·March 22, 2016
Before I could see him I could smell him. His smell preceded him by a whole 20 yards. His reputation...
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Bhutanese citizens celebrating a festival

THE LONG ROAD TO HAPPINESS: Is Bhutan really the Shangri-La that people think it is?

Kiva Bottero·November 25, 2015
“Road sinking, drive slowly” a road sign warns as we drive from the moist and lush lowlands of Bhutan’s south...
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Child director

THE OSCAR GOES TO… YOU! We create so much drama in our minds—since we create it we can just as easily turn it into a comedy

Kiva Bottero·November 14, 2015
Next time you’re feeling stressed out about something—anything at all—just stop for a minute and think. Don’t think about how...
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Sitting hunched over desk

TRAIN AT YOUR DESK: Use Desk Trainer to reduce pain, fatigue and improve concentration

Kiva Bottero·October 22, 2015
To sit or not to sit? That’s the question a lot of people are asking nowadays with all the “sitting...
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Meister Eckhart

MEISTER ECKHART: Interview with Matthew Fox on the man for all spiritual seasons

Kiva Bottero·September 20, 2015
“The person who understands what I have to say about justice understands everything I have to say.” That’s a line...
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Energy healing

QUANTUM-TOUCH: Q&A Interview with Richard Gordon

Kiva Bottero·July 30, 2015
There’s a lot of skepticism surrounding energy healing. In some instances people test their skepticism by trying it out for themselves....
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Indian form of mandala, sri yantra

INTRO TO MANDALAS: Sacred Circles Art Therapy book excerpt

Kiva Bottero·May 20, 2015
An excerpt from The Mindful Word’s first volume in its Art Therapy Coloring Book Series, Sacred Circles Mandala Coloring Book....
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Buddha statue

ACCEPTANCE AND EQUANIMITY: A lesson learned from a falling mandarin

Kiva Bottero·April 17, 2015
As I was walking through the Shechen Ogyen Chodzong nunnery in Bhutan with my guides Tsering and Lobsang, a lone...
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Ghats in Varanasi

LESSONS AT VARANASI: Reflecting on life and death in India’s most sacred city

Kiva Bottero·April 2, 2015
Wrapped in a white sari, she sat cross-legged on her paper thin mat waiting to die. The solemn look on...
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Manifestation and visualization

VISUALIZE IT: Interview with Friar Justin Belitz on manifesting your truth

Kiva Bottero·February 17, 2015
After entering the Franciscan order in 1954, Friar Justin Belitz has since set out on his own path, helping people by the...
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Tiger's Nest monastery

TIGER’S NEST: Sublimation and the essence of transformative travel

Kiva Bottero·February 13, 2015
I was making my way steadily up the mountain to Bhutan’s most famous site: Tiger’s Nest monastery. The prayer flags...
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Good health is all in the mind

SOBA RIGPA: Good health is all in the mind

Kiva Bottero·December 31, 2014
A plaque at the National Institute of Traditional Medicine in Thimphu, Bhutan, summarizes the root cause of illness as being...
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Snake Charmer in Varanasi, India

The Ultimate List of the Best Online Travel Sites, Apps, Tools and Resources

Kiva Bottero·November 6, 2014
The following is an excerpt from Journeybook: A Guided Travel Journal and Trip Planner to Inspire and Facilitate Your Travels,...
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Masks - acting

ACTING FOR SELF-REFLECTION: Q&A with actor and mindfulness practitioner Binh Doan

Kiva Bottero·October 24, 2014
There’s a lot more going on in acting than you might think. Just ask French actor and Plum Village mindfulness practitioner Binh...
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Cross on mountain

THE GRATITUDE MONUMENT: Remembering the hardship of previous generations

Kiva Bottero·September 6, 2014
As a Canadian I have a lot to be grateful for. Free access to education, health care, a social safety...
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Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo

SHAMATHA MEDITATION: Q&A with Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo

Kiva Bottero·September 3, 2014
Tenzin Palmo got an early start on her Buddhist practice. She first got into Buddhism as a teenager in London,...
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green walls

VERTICAL VEGETATION: Green walls create a breathing garden of life in the city

Kiva Bottero·August 25, 2014
With more than half the world’s population (75 percent in the United States) living in cities or towns, and more...
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Punakha Dzong

LAND OF THE THUNDER DRAGON: Some of Bhutan’s top sights [photo gallery]

Kiva Bottero·July 6, 2014
The Kingdom of Bhutan is one of the world’s premier travel destinations, known for its Himalayan mountain scenery, Buddhist dzongs,...
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Painting by Max Reif