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Our mission

 

To make the world a better place—one more compassionate, more disciplined person at a time.

 

This is a lofty mission for a part-time, two-man blog on mindfulness and Stoicism, but trying despite all odds is better than doing nothing. 

 

We aim to make mindfulness and Stoicism accessible and practical, because these ancient wisdom traditions offer practices that fortify the mind and expand the heart.

 

Our hope is that these benefits will ripple outward, one stronger, more mindful person at a time.

Our focus

Mindfulness

Mindfulness—in its historic sense, rooted in a tradition of memory, awareness, equanimity, and compassion—is a constant cornerstone that enables our pursuit of balance between doing and being.

Stoicism

Stoicism directly acknowledges the chaotic nature of the world, including interpersonal struggle. It has much to teach us about being socially courageous and how to deal with difficult people. Stoicism teaches us to embrace and prepare for the unexpected, but it’s not all about grit and sweat, as it has profound offerings on compassion, greater good, and stillness.

Striking balance between doing and being

Acute awareness of the distinction between doing and being allows us to arrive at each moment with the correct toolkit, find rest in unexpected ways, and handle all life’s demands gracefully.

Making the world a better place: Our support for GiveWell

The Mindful Stoic used to actively support UNICEF, but then I read William MacAskill’s book Doing Good Better: How Effective Altruism Can Help You Help Others, Do Work that Matters, and Make Smarter Choices about Giving Back (paid link).

This book taught me that although a charity is large and reputable, it doesn’t mean that it does the most good.

Most of us don’t have the time, expertise, or access to data to determine which are the most effective charities. This is why we’re grateful for GiveWell’s work.

GiveWell is a nonprofit dedicated to finding outstanding giving opportunities and publishing the full details of their analysis to help donors decide where to give.

They recommend a list of top charities. They also offer donors the option to give to their own giving funds. GiveWell is focused on finding a small number of outstanding giving opportunities, not on reviewing as many charities—or as many causes—as possible.

They conduct in-depth research to determine how much good a given program accomplishes (in terms of lives saved, lives improved, etc.) per dollar spent.

While part of me is sad to discontinue our active support for UNICEF, which remains a fantastic charity worthy of support, I believe that our small contributions will go further with GiveWell. 

Most of the insights found on this blog are informed by Stoicism and Buddhism, both of which advocate for making the world a better place, so this blog would not be authentic without a charitable component. 

In addition to my personal contributions to GiveWell and the charities they recommend, here’s how The Mindful Stoic supports GiveWell:

 

  1. We donate directly to GiveWell 50% of Founding Member subscription fees for our newsletter, The Pursuit of Balance Founding Members enjoy all the advantages of the premium subscription, plus they receive proof of the donation made on their behalf. Click here to learn more and subscribe.
  2. We donate directly to GiveWell 20% of our revenue from the following categories in our store: Stoic jewelry | Stoic coins | Stoic clothing | Stoic art
  3. We provide GiveWell free advertising on our site and social media platforms, and encourage our readers to donate. Click here to donate to GiveWell or one of their recommended charities. 

 

For transparency, I’ve created a view-only document hosted on Google docs where you can see previous donations we’ve made. Click here to see our donation history.

May you be healthy, happy, and at peace, 

Brechen, Creator @ The Mindful Stoic

About the creator

Brechen MacRae

Brechen MacRae

Creator @ The Mindful Stoic

My name is Brechen and I’m the creator of The Eightfold Parent newsletter, The Mindful Stoic blog, and The Pursuit of Balance newsletter from The Mindful Stoic.

I’m an ambitious person, but I also cherish ordinary beauty in everyday life. I struggle with this balance between wanting to do more and wanting to simply be more. This pursuit of balance motivates me to continue to study, practice, and share what I learn about Buddhism, Stoicism, and mindfulness.

I’m an ordinary guy who’s on a mission to prove to myself and the world that it’s possible to embody the compassion of a Buddhist monk, the equanimity of a meditation teacher, and the fortitude of an ancient Roman Stoic while excelling at ordinary commitments such as work and parenting.

My writing endeavors are a side project. I also work fulltime for a big tech company.

I’m working on a book and I hope to transition to writing fulltime in the near future.

I’m a nerd when it comes to ultralight backpacking in wild places, I’ve been playing blues on the guitar all my life, I have a wonderful son, and I’ve been loving and cherishing my wife since 2009.

My dad, Colin MacRae, also contributes to the writing and editing of this blog.

Brechen’s social media and other projects

The Eightfold Parent newsletter: Parenting insights informed by Buddhist philosophy, mindfulness, and science. Sent weekly. This is a paid publication. Click here to learn more about The Eightfold Parent newsletter.

My personal blog: Reporting on life as a practitioner of Buddhist philosophy and Stoicism. This is a free publication. Click here to read my personal blog on Substack.

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