Ep. 169 - On Mindful Democracy with Jeremy David Engels

What's wrong with democracy these days? Can it be rescued? Can it be made more mindful? Can we work together to build something better? What's the role of compassion in building community? What's the role of conflict in building community?  Why do yoga and mindfulness communities often seem so averse to taking a stand and diving into different political or communal issues head on? Why does our world treat politics as some sort of childish, dirty game, like reality tv, instead of sacred duty? For the 250th anniversary of 1776, can somebody write a formal  Declaration of INTERdependence? Professor, teacher and author Jeremy David Engels—author of the brand new book A Mindful Democracy—just wrote one, and Ethan welcomed him to The Road Home podcast to discuss it, and more. Jeremy David Engels, Ph.D., is the author of six books, including the new On Mindful Democracy: A Declaration of Interdependence to Mend a Fractured World (Parallax, 2026), and the creator of the Zen and the Art of Democracy Substack. He is the Liberal Arts Endowed Professor of Communication and Ethics at Penn State University, co-founder of Yoga Lab, and a longtime mindfulness and yoga teacher. His work reimagines democracy as a communal practice rooted in care, deliberation, and shared responsibility, emphasizing mindfulness as a core civic skill. His essays have appeared in the Washington Post, Yoga Journal, Yoga Magazine, and The Conversation. Last year, with your subscriptions, we were able to release more episodes than any previous year. This was only possible with your subscriptions. Please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber here. Paid subscribers to The Road Home will receive occasional extras like guided meditations, extra podcast episodes and more! The Thursday Meditation Group happens each week at 8am ET on Thursdays, and guided audio meditations are released monthly. Another bonus podcast for paid subscribers discussed a mindful take on intuition, and Ethan also offered instruction in the RAIN method for working with emotions with self-compassion. These are all available to paid subscribers. You can also subscribe to The Road Home podcast wherever you get your pods (Apple, Ethan's Website, etc). You can now order personally signed copies of Ethan's books at his website. You can also subscribe to The Road Home podcast wherever you get your pods (Apple, Ethan's Website, etc). Check out our sponsor platform, A Mindful World! A new free video course on a classic Buddhist contemplation called The Five Remembrances is available at this link. Note: the name of the book mentioned by Ethan authored by Thich Nhat Hanh where Thay explored the morality of the bombing of Hiroshima using specific Buddhist questions is Good Citizens.