Bridging inner work and social change: Reimagining mindfulness research through the mindful tree of justice framework.
Caitlin Elsaesser, Doris F Chang, Jeffrey Proulx, Gio Iacono, Yuk-Lin Renita Wong
American Journal of Orthopsychiatry 2026 DOI: 10.1037/ort0000913 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Humans Social change Social justice |
| Key points | Argues that mindfulness, especially as rooted in cultural, spiritual, and justice-based traditions, can foster inner healing, relational awareness, and collective action, and proposes the Mindful Tree of Justice framework integrating critical consciousness, cocreation, centering the collective, and culture. The authors call on researchers to move beyond individualist models of mindfulness and to recenter justice, cultural wisdom, and community-led practices. |
Abstract
As global crises deepen, there is growing recognition that social transformation requires not only structural change but also a shift in consciousness toward interconnection and collective care. Mindfulness-especially as rooted in cultural, spiritual, and justice-based traditions-offers a powerful pathway for both personal and societal transformation. In this introductory article to the special issue Leveraging Inner Transformation for Social Transformation, we advance a framework called the Mindful Tree of Justice, illustrating how mindfulness can foster inner healing, relational awareness, and collective action. Drawing from historical and contemporary movements, we situate socially engaged mindfulness as both an ancient and emergent force for liberation. The Mindful Tree of Justice metaphor integrates four key conditions that researchers can explore to enhance the transformative potential of mindfulness: critical consciousness (water), cocreation (fertilizer), centering the collective (ecosystem), and culture (soil). Mindfulness is conceptualized as the sun-illuminating inner transformation (roots), fostering interconnectedness (trunk), and energizing outer transformation (branches and leaves). We highlight empirical contributions across 11 articles from this special issue that exemplify these dimensions in historically marginalized communities and across a range of institutional settings. This framework calls researchers to move beyond individualist models of mindfulness, recentering justice, cultural wisdom, and community-led practices. We conclude by proposing future directions for research that include participatory approaches, expanded outcome measures, and deeper attention to ethics and equity. The Mindful Tree of Justice offers a regenerative vision for mindfulness as a bridge between healing and action, personal restoration and structural change. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. | 2004 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mechanisms of mindfulness | 2005 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| How Does Mindfulness Meditation Work? Proposing Mechanisms of Action From a Conceptual and Neural Perspective | 2011 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression | 2006 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-transcendence (S-ART): a framework for understanding the neurobiological mechanisms of mindfulness | 2012 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |