227. What is Elephant Journal? ~ Waylon Lewis, founder.
In this week’s Mindful Monday video & podcast, Waylon talks about Elephant Journal and explains what the heck we're doing here, and why. Subscribe to get our full conversations weekly.

In this week’s Mindful Monday video & podcast, Waylon talks about Elephant Journal and explains what the heck we're doing here, and why. Subscribe to get our full conversations weekly.
In the latest episode of Walk the Talk Show with Waylon Lewis, Waylon features his special friend , whom he's been writing about for several months—Kelsey—and they tell their relationship story that brings, hopefully, real hope. Subscribe to get our full conversations weekly.
In this week’s Mindful Monday video & podcast, Waylon goes on the defensive...for good “clickbait”…as opposed to lying, fooling, toxic clickbait. Subscribe to get our full conversations weekly.
Waylon features fellow Boulderite and high school senior Anya Hoth about how we can all live an “ ecofolks” lifestyle. They talk over living zero waste , eco transportation, how environmentalism is related to our health, if voting matters, and how parents can inspire their children to give a care. Waylon: “I don’t want to sound like old people everywhere, but how old are you..?” Anya: “I’m 18! I would like to talk about the potency of changing our actions to help the climate in this dire and glo...
In this week’s Mindful Monday video & podcast, Waylon talks about virtue signaling —the notion that annoying people love to annoyingly talk, tweet, or otherwise show off their perfect little values—values they may not actually care about. “It’s incumbent on all of us to grow up, examine our hearts—our capacity to care about one another. Nothing’s wimpy about that. Nothing’s stronger than caring. And nothing’s weaker than oppressing others, or being incapable or scared to feel compassion.” ~ ...
In the latest episode of Elephant's long-running, award-winning podcast and video series Walk the Talk Show with Waylon Lewis , Waylon features Shelia, Sylvia, & Melissa Burlock, authors of My Divine Natural Hair , Inspiration & Tips to love & care for your Crown —about African-descent women’s hair, wearing it naturally, celebrating your God-given inherent beauty and learning both practical healthy tips and the history of black women’s hair. "We want Black woman to love our hair and ...
Waylon Lewis reads his book, " Things I Would Like to Do with You ," and discusses the Buddhist Notion of Love at the Boulder Book Store in February of 2018. Like the book, the talk is timeless. In his live introduction, Waylon asks himself, “What kind of marriage vow could I possibly take to what kind of person and mean it?” Listen to Waylon read and discuss love and loneliness in modern-day society from a Buddhist point of view. Subscribe to get our full conversations weekly....
How to write on Elephant...and possibly get paid if you rock it. We've had to remove the instant posting feature. If you wanna write on Elephant now, we're basically like an old-fashioned magazine again, only online: Thanks to Google (grrr), no more instant posting. We are not one voice, we’re a community. We have caring skilled editors on staff to help you get your article published. Sharing is on you unless it starts going well or we lovvvvve it—then we’ll feature it on our Facebook, Instagram...
Waylon asks a question of the I Ching with the help of longtime Buddhist friend Catherine Pilfrey's easy, fun, and modern new card deck from Shambhala Publications . Have you ever consulted with the I Ching? Learn how to use it to help you navigate change and questions in your life’s path. "The I Ching is called The Book of Changes. So it's about how to understand change in our life and how to work with change in our life. And that change is constantly happening." ~ Catherine Pilfrey *This is a ...
Waylon speaks with Emma Hakansson of Collective Fashion Justice, author of Total Ethics Fashion , who reminds us of the full meaning of Ecofashion, one of Elephant’s 12 areas of focus since we were a print magazine 22 years back..! “Total Ethics Fashion is a replacement for a lot of these other ideas about more responsible fashion that we’ve heard. There’s terms like ethical fashion, sustainable fashion, vegan, cruelty-free, slow—all of these words have been used to the point of meaninglessness....
In this week’s Mindful Monday video & podcast, Waylon talks about something we all naturally have. “This is basic: Basic Goodness. You have it. Beneath all of our good and not so great qualities, there it is. Reconnect with it by simply appreciating your world.” ~ Waylon Lewis Subscribe to get our full conversations weekly.
In this episode, we're sharing a classic, yet unreleased episode from a 2018 interview with Waylon Lewis and his mentor-from-afar Bo Burlingham, author of one of Waylon's two most-recommended books ever (the other is Pema Chodron, Buddhist author). Bo Burlingham, journalist, business writer for Inc. of many years, is the author of Small Giants , which Waylon calls one of " his favorite Life-Helpful Mindful Books. " *Sadly, the audio is rough at moments in the recorded video, so we've only pro...
In this week's Mindful Monday video and podcast, while traveling to visit Mama Lewis in Halifax, Waylon shares 4 mindful travel tips. Bonus mindful traveling tip: I almost never get a phone plan, to get a needed break from using/checking phone, but of course can still use it when on wifi for calls, Google Maps, texting, social/work. ~ Waylon Subscribe to get our full conversations weekly.
In this week’s Mindful Monday video and podcast, Waylon shares some friendly Buddhist advice: if you’re feeling blue and lonely, remember four things. For more, read the article Waylon references inside the video >> The Most Important Article on Elephant, Ever: Maitri. Want to explore Maitri a little more, free? >> Give your Sweet Self a Gift, from Us For the next few days, I’m offering $75 off the most important path I’ve ever been able to travel—Maitri: How to Fall in Love with you...
Rwandan Chef Vasta Muhimpundu of Iwacu Flavors talks with Waylon about vegan cooking tips. “Cook with love. Do not rush cooking. Cooking is not meant to be rushed—and I think that’s something Americans do in general. No: take your time.” ~ Vasta Muhimpundu Read the article on Elephant. *Please note that this is a partial conversation. Only Subscribers get the full video conversation. Learn more....
In this week's Mindful Monday video and podcast, Waylon discusses something that many of us (ironically) talk a lot about, but perhaps don't act upon. Subscribe to get our full conversations weekly.
Waylon catches up with one of our favorite Walk the Talk Show guests: mindful feng shui expert Anjie Cho. They get into mindful feng shui tips to welcome the new energy into our homes for 2024 this Lunar, or Eastern New Year. Plus, Anjie expands on the meaning of the Dragon and the Wood element so we can better understand and prepare for the coming year. "On February 10th, a lot of the world will celebrate Lunar New Year. It's also called the Spring Festival, and it's a celebration of the Spring...
Waylon offers his thoughts on the question weighing on the minds of many young-ish environmentally-conscious folks these days: should we have children in an age of climate crisis when the reality of our future looks incredibly unstable and uncertain? "Should we have children in an age of climate crisis? My answer, from a Buddhist point of view, and from an environmental point of view, both, is: maybe. It's yes...if we can have children who will actively care." ~ Waylon Lewis Subscribe to get our...
In this episode of Walk the Talk Show with Waylon Lewis , Waylon talks with Buddhist teacher and fellow “Dharma Brat” Chandra Easton about her new book, Embodying Tara via Shambhala Publications. They also speak about feminism in Buddhism, auspicious coincidence , and bring some understanding re what’s up with “deities” in the non-theistic tradition of Buddhism . Embodying Tara: Twenty-One Manifestations to Awaken Your Innate Wisdom is on sale via Shambhala Publications through January 13th with...
Waylon offers a cheerful New Year’s message and reminder about "the only fundamentally important or worthwhile resolution." "I rarely make resolutions, 'cause I don't think they really matter. But if we are going to make one, the only resolution that really matters is a fundamental one—to make friends with ourselves. That's not to say that other resolutions can't be fun, worthwhile, and important—but let's make sure that we're making that fundamental one: to make friends with ourselves, in the n...
In this episode of Walk the Talk Show, Waylon talks with Julia Cameron. Author of The Artist’s Way , Julia talks about guidance and how we can empower ourselves to seek it, and use it, in our daily lives. She calls it the essential fourth tool of The Artist’s Way— though she hasn’t spoken much about it since the original book was published. She uses it in her daily life, and now we can as well. “It’s a book about guidance, and about the fact that we all have access to a higher power and to wisdo...
For this week’s Mindful Monday video/podcast, Waylon talks about effective activism. “My parents’ Buddhist teacher, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche , would often note that activism is vital and important. So much of the good that has been accomplished in our societies, in our world, has come about through folks coming from empathy, and—through bravery—changing the status quo in our societies. There’s a caveat, of course, which we see on social media all the time, which is we can’t create a kinder, bett...
In this episode of Walk the Talk Show with Waylon Lewis, an award-winning video and podcast series hosted by Elephant Journal, Aaron Michael of Earth Love Gardens schools Elephant readers (and Waylon) on how you can love your yard (or windowsill) and our planet. He gives practical, fun tips for gently caring for our yards in an environmentally-responsible way, and reminds us of how we can participate in the healing of our planet, and ourselves, through small, simple choices. "Being disconnected ...
For this week’s Mindful Monday video/podcast, Waylon offers little mindful and eco tips for our planet and our health from inside his secondhand-renovated, eco-friendly shower and little bathroom. “It’s not that the little things are gonna fix everything, but billions of us doing the little things, or at least not doing the bad things…micro can become macro—that’s how Capitalism works: supply and demand. ” ~ Waylon Lewis Subscribe to get our full conversations weekly....
Shelby Kaminski educates Elephant readers about all things "dirt" and regenerative, from the perspective of her woman-owned entrepreneurial success, Edaphic Solutions. "Building up the immune system of your yard and garden makes it so you don't have to use weed killer because weeds don't like healthy soil. Weeds usually grow in places where there aren't a lot of plants. So if you're planting more plants, the weeds will be outcompeted and have nowhere to live and no food to eat. It's using the fo...
This Mindful Monday, Waylon discusses “ Children’s Day” in the Buddhist tradition and the Winter Solstice—bout what they mean in our lives and how we can integrate them into our present traditions. “With all the suffering, the aggression, the fear in the world right now—whether it’s in the Ukraine, Gaza, Israel…as well as a lot of the partisanship that we’re seeing in the US where we often can’t even discuss things peacefully or respectfully—I think it’s important to come back to peace. And peac...
Rachelle Robinett of Pharmakon Supernatural schools Waylon Lewis (and all of us) on some herbalism basics: how to determine good quality products, what to look for when buying herbs, common kitchen medicines, and how to get started re: herbalism. "I am hopeful that the future includes one in which Western medicine can be inclusive of herbalism, and vice versa that there's a better balance—because there are times where we need medication, we need surgery, we need the blunter instrument that Weste...
This Mindful Monday, Waylon opens discussion about what the most “eco,” yet fun Christmas tree option may be. He talks a bit about his new holiday tradition this year. Share what you do in your home in the comments! “What is the most eco solution? And why this does matter?” ~ Waylon Lewis Subscribe to get our full conversations weekly....
“ The Smell of Money ” is the documentary to watch this holiday season. It’ll change your life and the lives of countless others as you do so. Waylon Lewis spoke with writer and producer Jamie Berger. “The Smell of Money” is a feature-length documentary. It follows a community in North Carolina who are up against the world’s largest pork corporation, fighting for their rights for clean air, clean water, and just to be able to live free from the stench of animal manure. In particular, it follows ...
Inspired to keep indie media alive? We need mindful community more than ever: you can write on Elephant, and/or subscribe: elephantjournal.com/subscribe , this Holiday season. "Every Monday, I offer a mindful reminder for our everyday life." ~ Waylon Lewis We are an independent community-based journalistic outfit. We publish journalism. We also publish personal stories, if you'd like to contribute. You can do that. You can write an article and put it up immediately, for free. Listen to learn mor...