We had the good fortune of connecting with The Mind Body Ecology Institute and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Alright let’s kick things off what a foundational question – what inspires you?
We are deeply inspired by the rising wave of efforts to foster a conscious and peaceful cultural awakening, and we are motivated to prioritize Earth care by first caring for ourselves as socially and ecologically interconnected beings.

We believe our individual healing is the collective healing, that all healing is Mother Earth healing. This cycle inspires the heart of all of our efforts.

We at The Mind Body Ecology Institute are inspired by a shared concern about the intersection of climate change, environmental degradation, and socio-economic inequity, combined with a compassionate dedication to Earth care and the flourishing of all life.

Our vision is that by understanding and transforming ourselves, we can ignite heart-centered activism and become agents of impactful change for a more socially, spiritually, and ecologically harmonious world.

Can you open up a bit about the organization? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.

We are a unique hybrid academic/community organization cultivating inner transformation to promote sustainability.

The Mind Body Ecology Institute team includes co-directors and co-founders Blake Hestir, C.H.O.K.E., Ley Cray, and Sarah Sampson.

We are a diverse group of educators, artists, academic philosophers and researchers, advocates, consultants, community healers and builders, as well as facilitators of evidence-based meditation, mindful movement, dance, community circles, and ceremony. We see ourselves as students of life and nature, and as citizens of the world.

Our challenge is staying present with the grief, rage, fear and despair that climate change, ecological degradation, and socio-economic inequity bring up for us individually and collectively. Our opportunity has been to transmute these difficult emotions into compassionate action and activism.

The programs we offer are carefully crafted by our trained facilitators to raise awareness of the climate, environmental, and inequity challenges, and provide guidance for inner transformation to empower individuals to assume leadership roles in their own communities––locally, regionally, nationally, and globally. As many among the Indigenous wisdom traditions know and emerging research is indicating, connecting more deeply with each other and nature are central to well-being and flourishing.

We champion sustainability, diversity, dignity, inclusiveness, belonging, equity, and resilience.

We are facilitators of “inner transformation” to promote ecological interconnection, equity, sustainable living, mindful living, and flourishing.

Our focus is experiential practice, climate and inequity awareness, exploring eco grief and outrage, social innovation, systems change, community building, and circles of connection, storytelling, listening, cooperation, coordination, trust, allyship, kinship, mentorship, and compassion.

We support high-quality research and scholarship.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Some of our favorite places to get a taste of nature in the DFW area are: – The Fort Worth Nature Preserve
– Trinity Trails
– Samson Park
– White Rock Lake
– Arbor Hills
– Fort Worth Botanical Gardens
– Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden
– Cedar Ridge Preserve
– Trinity River Audubon Center

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
We are influenced and guided by the work of: Joanna Macy
The Mind and Life Institute
The Rocky Mountain Ecodharma Retreat Center
Koru Mindfulness
The 360 Emergence

Our work is dedicated to our ancestors and future generations.

Website: https://www.mindbodyecologyinstitute.org/

Instagram: @mindbodyecologyinstitute

Facebook: The Mind Body Ecology Institute

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutDFW is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.