Welcome

Joyful Mind Project is a grassroots 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to fostering collective and individual liberation. Our mission is creating an equitable and just society through compassionate action.

We do this by working in solidarity with people of all backgrounds, by listening, learning, and creating spaces where health and wholeness can emerge.

We work alongside people, intentionally fostering collaborative relationships and seeking to create partnerships that support individual and collective well-being.

We believe that these authentic interactions can support ripples of positive change. In this way, transformation and healing spirals outward into our communities, repeating liberating fractal patterns like seashells, sunflowers, fiddleheads, and galaxies.

“If you’ve come to help me, you’re wasting your time. But if you’ve come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.”
— Aboriginal Australian teaching, often attributed to Lilla Watson, Indigenous artist, activist, and academic

social & Psycho-spiritual liberation

Joyful Mind Project’s work begins with a social justice framework, where social and psycho-spiritual liberation are viewed as interdependent — and where personal and collective well-being are held as inseparable.

All of our work utilizes a liberatory approach and is rooted in Buddhist Psychology.

Our work began in 2007, creating mindfulness-based spaces in small, community groups, often with folx challenging dominant culture norms and exploring education outside of traditional school models.

We received our nonprofit status in 2016 and expanded our work to include programs supporting public, private, and charter schools, and other organizations. Many of our programs have historically taken place on farms or with other strong relationships to the land.

In 2022, we launched a mental health initiative, bringing liberatory, mindfulness-based, and transpersonal psychotherapy to people throughout the state of California.

Learn about how we utilize a liberatory frame within our organization here.

fractal

“frac·tal”

noun. A geometric pattern where every part, regardless of size, represents the whole and expands infinitely in multiple directions.

See seashells, sunflowers, fiddleheads, and galaxies.

adjective. In the context of social justice work, the ripple effect of small collaborations spiraling outwards infinitely into a network of interconnected efforts creating systemic, meaningful, and large-scale change.