Richard Mireles wrote the song "Teach the World to Be Kinder" as a tribute to Doug and Linda Carnine and their lifelong work teaching kindness. Drawing on his own journey of change while incarcerated, Mireles turns that mission into a song about the power of change that starts from within, and a reminder that kindness can be learned and shared.🎙 LISTEN NOWBIORichard Mireles works from a simple conviction: people change from the inside out, and that change deserves structure strong enough to hold it.He serves as Director of Coaching and Correctional Programs at Mentora Institute, where he leads Inner Mastery, Outer Impact, a program that trains incarcerated people to become transformational coaches inside California prisons. Over 14 years, he has led, coached, and taught more than 1,500 incarcerated people.Rich is also the founder of Built From Within, a strategic advisory and brand

In a world increasingly marked by division, stress, and disconnection, the need for kindness has never been greater. Yet, we are witnessing a global kindness deficit—a growing crisis that affects mental health, relationships, workplace environments, and even societal stability. The absence of kindness is not just an individual issue; it is one of the greatest challenges facing humanity today. It fuels bullying in schools, toxicity in workplaces, loneliness in communities, and conflict on a global scale.View the full document here.

KINDR is a culture and community dedicated to bettering ourselves and those around us with daily acts of mindful kindness. Regardless of our differences, our past, or our path forward, we can all learn to live 1% kinder each day, leading to healthier relationships with ourselves and others.Together we will foster a KINDR foundation for all.View the full presentation here.

The Transformative Power of Mindful Kindness: A Vitamin for Good Mental HealthIn our fast-paced, interconnected world dominated by social media, the mental health crisis among Gen X and Gen Z has become increasingly alarming. The relentless pressure of curated lifestyles, social validation, economic uncertainties, and environmental concerns deepen the sense of anxiety, depression, and loneliness. Amidst these multifaceted challenges, a powerful antidote is emerging—mindful kindness. We invite you to learn why mindful kindness matters and how the Kindr Foundation is pioneering a culture of mindful kindness across schools, communities, prisons, corporate leadership, and social media.The Power of Mindful KindnessMindful Kindness—being present and intentional with our acts of kindness to others and ourselves—has the potential to initiate a ripple effect that can transform lives. Engaging in

We are excited to share with you a powerful project from one of our KINDR partners. Please take a moment to explore the information below and join us on this inspiring journey. Leon’s work and his focus on kindness highly align with the mindful kindness movement that we are championing through our KINDR Schools, Communities, Prisons, and Workplace Initiatives.The Kindness Within, A Journey to Freedom—Now Streaming on PRIME VIDEOJoin Leon Logothetis—five-time best-selling author, host of The Kindness Diaries on Netflix, and “The Kindness Guy”—as he embarks on a soul-stirring journey to heal and rediscover the meaning of life.Watch the film now on PRIME VIDEO, or learn more about the film.

This groundbreaking and life-changing work based on the latest research effectively demonstrates “the profound impact that love, connection, and kindness have on our health” (Mark Williamson, PhD, director of Action for Happiness).When Columbia University doctor Kelli Harding began her clinical practice, she never intended to explore the invisible factors behind our health. But then there were the rabbits. In 1978, a seemingly straightforward experiment designed to establish the relationship between high blood cholesterol and heart health in rabbits discovered that kindness — in the form of a particularly nurturing post-doc who pet and spoke to the lab rabbits as she fed them — made the difference between a heart attack and a healthy heart.Get your copy of The Rabbit Effect here > Click Here

by Doug Carnine 〰️This was originally published on April 15, 2022, in the Opinion section of The Register-Guard of Eugene, Oregon.〰️ A lack of kindness changes lives.   Commenting on the recent doubling of Lane County youth suicides, suicide survivor Zak Gosa-Lewis told KEZI, "As a kid, I just didn't feel like I could talk to anybody.”  The Eugene-based Choose Kindness Foundation surveyed a group of 50 young people of color with a history of trauma about how they would like to change their lives; 88.9% agreed with this statement: “I feel I need more close relationships with people who really care about me.”    In March, the Oregon Health Authority described youth of color in particular as suffering from increased stress, depression and self-hate, all of which stand in the way of kindness. From science, personal experience and the teachings of the world’s religions, we know that kindness

November 2023 Bonnie GrossenEvaluation Director   The effectiveness of the Mindful Kindness Program (MKP) was evaluated for its effectiveness in motivating incarcerated individuals to adopt a new way of living centered on the principles of kindness. MKP is a 12-step program based on the book How Love Wins (Carnine, 2020). To teach the “kindful” pathway to a happy life, the book uses exercises and specific examples of how kindness leads to happiness, of how meditation and mindfulness can help with self-control, and provides strategies for increasing kind habits and decreasing unkind habits. Given Covid restrictions, the original MKP delivery plan of group-facilitated delivery was retooled to provide a mail-in course where participants worked on their own, sending in their written responses to each step. However, no feedback was sent, only the material for the next step after receiving

October 2023 Bonnie Grossen, Christopher Loan Purpose: To assess a possible mechanism of action by which prisoners’ satisfaction with life may be influenced by two subscales of a modified Cohen’s Perceived Stress Scale (1983). These mechanisms serve as key criminogenic and protective forces linked with deleterious consequences of incarceration and reoffending.   Methods: Data were collected from 234 prisoners from 34 correctional institutions in California who completed the “Mindful Kindness Program” over a 28-week period. Path analyses are used to trace how mindfulness practices impact satisfaction with life through dimensions of stress via positive and negative indicators of mental health.  Results: Higher knowledge about mindfulness techniques contributed to higher use of mindfulness practices. These practices increase positive indicators of mental health, which lead to greater

October, 2023 Ted McCuddy, Christopher M. Loan, Bonnie Grossen, & Doug Carnine Background: The high rate of recidivism within the United States demonstrates that rehabilitation, one of the goals of incarceration, has largely failed. Conditions within carceral settings increase stress and diminish satisfaction with life, two factors linked with offending.  Although mindfulness programs and kindness interventions have been shown to improve certain dimensions of mental health, less is known about their impact on satisfaction with life and how this compares to other positive and negative indicators of mental health.   Aims: To test the impact of the “Mindful Kindness Program—How Love Wins” (MKP) on incarcerated individuals’ mental ill-being, propensity for positive action, desire for relationships, anti-social tendencies, and knowledge of mindfulness techniques.   Methods: Data were

by Doug Carnine On paper, they don’t seem like the kind of people who would earn a reputation for spreading kindness.  Victor Praxidis is serving life without parole in Ironwood State Prison in California for murder. “I’m never going to get out” he says, “I don’t have a second chance to show the people outside that I’m willing to change, that I’m willing to be part of a community.  My kids, they deserved a loving father to be there for them. But I robbed them of all that. I hurt so many people with my actions.”  Michael Beaudette is a prisoner in San Quentin, “I’m in here doing 51 years to life for first degree murder,” he says, “so my outlook on life wasn’t exactly that great. I was coming into prison as a murderer, and I held onto that belief, once a murderer, always a murderer. Really, going ahead and oppressing people wasn't a problem for me.”  Frank Lopez, an inmate at the

By Shawn McWeeney December 2023 Story of Frank Lopez The Transformative Power of Mindful Kindness: Overcoming Barriers through Awareness, Empathy, and Right Action  One incarcerated individual whose life has been dramatically impacted by the Mindful Kindness Program is Frank Lopez. His journey from a life of violence to a life of empathy and right action serves as a powerful testament to the transformative potential of the Mindful Kindness Program. Through his participation in this program, Frank not only learned to cultivate mindfulness and empathy within himself but also how to translate these qualities into tangible acts of kindness towards others. Prior to finding the Mindful Kindness Program, Frank's life was marred by violence and aggression. Raised by a father who abused both him and his mother, Frank learned violence at an early age. Growing up in such an environment, Frank