Three Traditions, One Exhale: Multifaith Mindfulness & Spiritual Health

In this session, we'll look at how Judaism, Islam, and Christianity each developed their own disciplined way of tending to the mind, not by pretending hardship away, but by returning to it with attention. Jewish kavanah asks us to show up fully inside whatever we're doing, so wellbeing isn't separate from daily life, it's woven into it. Muslim sabr and dhikr offer steadiness through remembrance, a heart that settles not by escaping difficulty but by coming back to it, again and again. Christian centering prayer offers a similar return, a single sacred word held gently, revisited every time the mind wanders.

Three traditions, three different verbs, but the same underlying claim: that struggling with your mind isn't a personal failure to fix quietly and alone, it's something every tradition has taken seriously enough to build a whole practice around. That, to me, is its own quiet way of pushing back on stigma.

October is National Depression and Mental Health Screening Month, a time set aside for education, for early check-ins, and for chipping away at the stigma that keeps so many of us quiet about our own struggles. I wanted to mark it with a text study, because long before "mental health" was a phrase we used, our traditions were already building practices for it, they just called it something else.

We'll study these texts together in chevruta, no background required, and close by asking each other: what's your verb?

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Nevia Selmon is a Senior Associate at Repair the World in Boston, where she is excited to deepen relationships, build intentional partnerships, and engage young Jewish professionals in service-rooted community. She is passionate about creating spaces where Jewish life, learning, and service intersect.

Nevia brings a background in Jewish ethics, pluralism, and civic engagement to her work. She earned her Master of Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School, concentrating in Jewish Studies, religious pluralism, and religion in public life. During her time at Harvard, she helped lead intra-Jewish and interfaith dialogue initiatives, organized service and learning programs across campuses, and supported community repair during moments of deep division.

Most recently, Nevia served as a Senior Associate at Cohesion Strategy, consulting for faith-based non-profits — supporting organizations working at the intersection of democracy, pluralism, and community resilience. In this role, she supported research, communications, and strategy projects for national partners, managed complex qualitative research, and helped shape narrative and partnership strategies for organizations engaged in bridging divides and strengthening civic life.

Previously, Nevia worked as a Research Assistant with Harvard’s Pluralism Project and as a Graduate Intern with the U.S. Department of Education’s Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, supporting policy and partnership work focused on inclusive civic engagement. She has also facilitated dialogue and learning for young professionals with One Table and Israel Policy Forum Atid, and volunteered in multifaith service spaces across the Boston area. She loves being in interfaith and intra Jewish community spaces!

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