Whether at the dinner table or in the public arena, when facing those who experience the world from different points of view, we can find ourselves tangled in our own and others’ anger, self-righteousness, and even violence. In this excerpt from Omega's 2017 Being Fearless Conference created for Omega members, mindfulness trailblazer Jon Kabat-Zinn reminds us of the enormous resources of empathy, compassion, and wisdom that are available to us all. He describes how moment-to-moment awareness and nonreactive, nonjudgmental responses to everyday challenges can help reboot an uncivil discourse.

Mindfulness, Kabat-Zinn explains, doesn’t mean you won’t be reactive or judgmental, it means you’ll be aware of how much your thoughts are basically robotic, that they are highly conditioned. And they can be deconditioned.

Want to take a deeper dive? All 2017 Being Fearless Conference keynote talks, including Jon Kabat-Zinn's, are available free on demand. Watch now.