What is a Mindful City?

We have a dream of making Kansas City a more mindful city – a community where people feel even more intimately connected to the places they live, work, and play as well as to one another. In a mindful city, residents join together to promote social, economic, and environmental justice; safety, health and wellbeing; and opportunities for joy, delight and discovery. Mindful citizens offer compassionate attention to the most vulnerable among us as well as those who work tirelessly to care for them (healthcare providers, public safety officers, educators, civic leaders, social service agencies, philanthropic organizations, etc.). A mindful city is flexible, responsive and resilient in an ever-changing world. It is an inclusive place with a kind and welcoming culture in which people from all walks of life can thrive and flourish.

We are interested in understanding our community’s most pressing needs and how mindfulness might help. If you are a Kansas Citian, please complete our Community Needs Assessment Questionnaire. Download our What is a Mindful City? brochure (PDF) to learn more about the initiative.

Our Mission

Mindful Kansas City’s mission is to make mindfulness accessible to everyone in ​the ​Kansas City​ metro​. We cultivate relationships and create connections that contribute to the growth of foundational skills, such as awareness, gratitude, kindness, compassion, creativity, courage and respect, that are necessary for our community to flourish.

Why would we want to become a more mindful city?

• Community Engagement– a mindful community is a more connected and engaged community.
• Quality of Life – practice in mindful living builds self-awareness and increases emotional intelligence, which is correlated with better stress management, improved job performance and decision making, less reactivity, more effective conflict resolution, greater compassion and empathy, and resilience.
• Public Health – a more intentional focus on personal well-being leads to better overall public health.
• Safety – a mindful city is a safer city – research shows mindfulness training is correlated with decreases in problem behavior and increases in prosocial behavior.

Cities like Flint and Ann Arbor, MI, Winooski, VT, Jackson Hole, WY, Boston, MA, and Ottawa, KS already have initiatives well underway.