How can mindfulness change your life, and your impact on the world? In addition to challenging and dismantling systemic inequalities we are facing globally, we must also reflect on ourselves, our life's purpose, and the effect our social identities have on us and on others. Unpacking our social conditioning and the systemic inequalities that frame society allows us to discover what might be keeping us from fulfilling our life's potential and from deeply connecting with others. Building authentic relationships across cultural differences is an antidote to social injustice, provides us with a sense of belonging, and paves the way for a richer, more rewarding life. Offering 25 mindfulness practices and activities, The Mindfulness Effect provides specific strategies for healing, empowerment, and social justice so that we can live our lives fully and freely, with intention, connection, excellence, innovation, and meaning. "Dr. Dena Samuels teaches with radical authenticity, courageous vulnerability, and deep wisdom. The Mindfulness Effect is a rich and practical manual for personal and collective healing, empowerment, and profound social justice." RABBI JESSICA KESSLER MARSHALL " The Mindfulness Effect has changed how I interact with the world and myself. I love how immediate and interactive it is! I've been unsure how to meditate in the past, I felt like I wasn't doing it right. I had no idea that meditation/mindfulness was so useful in self-healing. The practices really pulled me in and I ended up writing a meditation journal which was a useful tool of introspection. I see so much more clearly how mindfulness can help me lead a happy and more meaningful life. A life that I'm choosing. Also, the way the book seamlessly connected mindfulness and social justice changed my whole schematic. I wouldn't have thought of the connection before, but now I don't know how we would even try to resolve social justice issues without mindfulness and self-healing. Teaching people mindfulness helps them see their own biases and can soften their views on those who are different than themselves." JAIME PEDERSON, physical therapist "So much wisdom and caring is felt in these words and the simplicity with which the information about mindfulness is related is easy and inspiring to receive. Samuels' storytelling is an integral part of diving into the material, as it demonstrates the ideas and concepts in experiential form. As a kinetic learner, that helps me a lot. It also brings a rich creative hand to the book, moving it from instructional to "felt." ... Samuels brings a most heart-satisfying, wholeness and healing gift to the world" NORMA JOHNSON, social justice poet & performing artist "So much to absorb and ponder. Thank you for this wonderful book! It's such a wise and also humble offering." DEBBIE ZUCKER, anti-racial activist and educator "This beautifully written and insightful book helps me understand more and more clearly that through mindfulness, meditation and decluttering practices, I am happier, healthier, more connected, more awake and conscious and aware. The practices Dr. Samuels encourages her readers to engage with are a journey toward personal freedom that also enables me/us to be of better service for social and environmental justice work." KRISTEN SUTTLES, writer Dena Samuels, PhD serves as a mindfulness-based leadership development and cultural inclusion consultant. Author, activist, public speaker, and award-winning educator, she taught for 20 years at the University of Colorado - Colorado Springs in the Women's & Ethnic Studies program while consulting around the U.S. and beyond. Her passion is to inspire people to raise their personal and social consciousness to live more fulfilling, connected, and meaningful lives; and to assist organizations, campuses, and corporations in building more diverse, equitable, and inclusive cultures. Samuels' latest book, The Mindfulness Effect: an unexpected journey to healing, connection, & social justice (Night River Press, 2018) offers 25 mindfulness practices for self-empowerment and cultural inclusion. Her previous book, The Culturally Inclusive Educator: Preparing for a Multicultural World (Teachers College Press, 2014) provides transformative inquiry and strategies for building cultural inclusiveness. Over her extensive career, Dr. Samuels has been interviewed in print, radio, online, and on TV. Most notably, she was interviewed by the Colorado affiliate station of NPR; and by the Huffington Post. She is also a featured speaker in Thomas Keith's documentary, How Does It Feel to Be a Problem? (2019). Samuels volunteers as co-facilitator of the monthly Second Tuesday Race Forum of Denver, and also as co-chair of The Privilege Institute, the institutional home of the annual White Privilege Conference. In Denver, Samuels serves as a culturally inclusive, trauma-sensitive yoga and mindfulness instructor. Matthew LaFleur {Illustrator} was born with a crayon in his