A Tender Invitation: Help Us Study a Healing Emotion

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me...@meenasrinivasan.com

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May 22, 2025, 2:05:57 AMMay 22

to Association for Mindfulness in Education

Dear AME Colleagues,

I’m reaching out with a heartfelt invitation. For the past few years, I’ve been partnering with Dr. James Floman, an emotion scientist at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, to study tenderness—not just as a personal experience, but as a profound emotional force that fosters connection, compassion, and healing.

We’ve just launched our fourth study, and we’re gathering insights from both a general population and a contemplative community sample which is where you come in :)

I would be so grateful if you’d take less than 10 minutes to complete a short survey to support this research.

SURVEY LINK

Upon completing the survey, you’ll receive free access to a powerful set of wellbeing resources, including a full Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course—offered freely to nourish your practice and your path.

This is the first time tenderness is being empirically studied as a distinct emotional experience. Our findings so far show that tenderness is psychologically beneficial, distinct from compassion, and a predictor of prosocial behavior—something the world needs now more than ever.

This research was inspired by my TEDx Talk on Tenderness, I’ve been touched to see how the message has resonated. In the talk, I share a story from early in my mindfulness journey that shaped everything that followed. You can watch the talk here and download a free reflection guide—now used in schools, professional learning settings, contemplative spaces, AANHPI affinity spaces, and even in the seasonal staff orientation at the Omega Institute.

Please consider completing the survey by May 30th. Your insight and contributions truly matter.

James and I will be presenting our findings thus far this June at the Mind & Life Summer Research Institute on Contemplative Education, and are continuing to align our contemplative and scientific perspectives in the months ahead, with our first academic paper on the topic in development.