Aug 20, 2026 · 1h 10m
Mindfulness challenges the logic of endless optimization
Mindfulness, Meditation & Performance: Manoj Dias Live At The Rivian Performance House
The conversation reframes mindfulness as a way of inhabiting ordinary life, not merely a technique for calm, productivity, or performance.
- 1Mindfulness begins with availability to the present moment, then extends into service, interdependence, and everyday conduct.
- 2Performance can introduce people to practice, but overriding pain and bodily signals exposes the limits of endless optimization.
- 3Parenthood, aging, and fading motivation test practice by demanding flexibility, compassion, and presence without immediate rewards.
Don't miss
Manoj Dias leads the audience through a short breathing practice, turning the conversation’s ideas about presence into an immediate shared exercise.
The brief
Manoj Dias defines mindfulness as availability to the present moment, not simply calm. That distinction sets up a challenge to the way modern wellness sells attention.
Dias and Rich Roll examine how mindfulness gets recruited for productivity and athletic performance, while arguing that its deeper stakes involve interdependence, service, and spiritual depth.
Their performance discussion turns physical: athletes may learn to suppress pain and emotion, but awareness requires noticing bodily signals without automatically obeying or overriding them.
Roll describes a shift from endurance as self-discovery through achievement toward a fuller way of living, shaped by aging, parenthood, and changing practices.
Dias closes by leading the audience through breathing and gratitude, grounding an expansive conversation in a small practice meant to reshape ordinary attention.
Featuring
Manoj Dias
Ellen Langer
Jon Kabat-ZinnBooks & mentions
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