What if citizen science could not only help us understand the world—but also ourselves?

Last week, I had the pleasure of giving a talk at Life Itself, where I explored how contemplative practices and participatory science can come together to foster new ways of knowing and collaborating.

In this session, I discussed how the inclusion of contemplative and relational practices in citizen science projects can support impact-driven initiatives and enhance collective well-being. Drawing from my work at the Learning Planet Institute and the Life Itself Praxis Hub, I proposed a vision of contemplative citizen science—an emerging framework where contemplatives and scientists collaborate from the ground up, co-producing knowledge and creating spaces for reflective, embodied, and participatory research.

We examined how relational well-being and perspectival knowing can be integrated into scientific methods through participatory approaches, self-research, and community-based experimentation. Ultimately, I argued for a metamodern epistemology—one that recognizes diverse ways of knowing and invites contemplative inquiry alongside scientific rigor.

If you’re curious about how mindfulness, science, and collective action can converge, you can access the slides here:
👉 Slides