Susan Kaiser Greenland

Susan Kaiser Greenland is a mindfulness educator and bestselling author who specializes in distilling global wisdom traditions and scientific research into straightforward everyday practices. She came to meditation as a successful corporate attorney, and the practices changed the course of her life. Believing mindfulness could help children build social, emotional and academic skills and grow into healthier, more fulfilled adults, she began by volunteering at a local Boys & Girls Club and in public schools.

That work grew into Inner Kids, an activity-based model for teaching secular mindfulness and meditation, a hybrid of classical mindfulness and meditation practices adapted for children. One of the first mindfulness programs in education, it has helped bring secular mindfulness to schools and community-based programs since 2001, first across Southern California and then beyond. Research on the Inner Kids elementary school program was published in the Journal of Applied School Psychology.

Her books include The Mindful Child, her first, and Mindful Games with its accompanying card deck, which offers simple explanations of complex ideas for children and their caregivers. Mindful Parent, Mindful Child is an audio collection of brief guided meditations for parents and caregivers. Her books have been translated into over a dozen languages, and her guided meditations can be found on Insight Timer, Ten Percent Happier and other apps.

Her latest book, Real-World Enlightenment: Discovering Ordinary Magic in Everyday Life, offers 50 short tools drawn from psychology, science, Buddhism and other wisdom traditions. It is written for everyday seekers, without needing a two-week silent retreat or a three-hour morning routine.

Susan is a speaker and mentor who has appeared at institutions and meditation centers across the United States and abroad. She serves on the Advisory Board of the Tergar Schools Project and is a Mind & Life Fellow. She spends time in Los Angeles and Brooklyn with her husband, and they have two grown children.