Elephant Journal

The Elephant Journal is your guide to what we like to call ‘the mindful life’: yoga, organics, sustainability, genuine spirituality, conscious consumerism, fair fashion, the contemplative arts…

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Featured Writers

Nikhil TK

SEO Content writer | Expertise in writing blogs for diverse businesses| Writes product descriptions for E-commerce companies | Currently looking for openings in content writing. Reach out to me at …

Amy Thornley

Amy Thornley is a freelance writer based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Her work has been published in Elephant Journal, Cincy Magazine, VOYA, and more.

Hande Oynar

Freelance writer and editor based in New York City. Expertise in wellness, art, design, travel and city guides. Columbia J-School alum.

Ruth Cuevas

Karissa Courtney

Persephone's Portfolio

A freelance journalist for the last 20 years, I have enjoyed success writing for the electronic dance community and printing businesses. I specialize in creative copy, copy editing, press releases, …

Latest Articles

Bermuda Triangle of Manifestation

To devote our faith to the universe, we must first understand Chaos Theory. Chaos theory is defined as an interdisciplinary theory where random states of disorder and chaotic complex systems are actually governed by underlying patterns...

By Samantha Rae
20th January 2023 • Elephant Journal

5 types of toxic people who can ruin your professional life

Colleagues who can make your work life a terrible experience

By Nikhil TK
5th October 2021 • Elephant Journal

Tips for the Eco-Friendly Badass (& other Climate Change things we Need to Know)

This is Part 2 of an eco-conscious series. Yay! If you read my last article, you may be wondering what all the fuss is about. More carbon in the atmosphere is bad, sure, but why do we care so much? Scientists have used a projection of a 2°C global temperature …

By Karissa Courtney
5th February 2021 • Elephant Journal

How Families Unintentionally Enable Alcoholism

Wanting to help a loved one struggling with substance addiction is an understandable and natural response. Many family members and friends feel that it is their job to help a person suffering from alcoholism and that if they manage the problems caused by the addiction, they can help reduce their …

By My Portfolio
27th January 2021 • Elephant Journal

Have you ever…

Have you ever felt that what you are doing daily isn’t where you are supposed to be? Do you feel that sense of anxiety that you want to break free but you are unsure of which direction you should be going in? Have you ever felt even though you are …

By Enlightened Life Education
24th January 2021 • Elephant Journal

Climate Change 101

I’m sure you have heard the catchy phrases that have been thrown around lately: “carbon neutral” and “net zero carbon.” These phrases are tightly correlated with the idea of a “carbon footprint,” another term that you have likely heard about. “The amount of carbon dioxide and other carbon compounds emitted …

By Karissa Courtney
24th January 2021 • Elephant Journal

I Love Virtual Life—Perhaps More Than I Should.

Yes, 2020: We all get it; we all love to hate it. The endless Zoom meetings, and the absence of music events and other types of usual entertainment. But I’ve come to realize that I actually like the quarantine life. Should I be concerned about this fact? Maybe. But so …

By Maria Romanenko
7th December 2020 • Elephant Journal

3 Active Ways to Disrupt Anxiety & Step into the Unknown with Ease.

I woke up the other day feeling the weight of anxiety lodged like two bricks on my chest, forcing shallow breaths. My heart was fluttering the way a bird does when sounding the alarm against a predator—wings flapping, feathers ruffled, voice ready for war—except, I didn’t want to move. And …

By Amber Cadenas
21st October 2020 • Elephant Journal

Dear Struggling Self: This is Why I Need You to Keep Going.

From another place and time, further on in our story, I can look back and see you here, right now—in this liminal space. I see how you shriveled for years within containers too small and dreamt of being free. I see your courage that began as a tiny match flame, …

By Amber Cadenas
21st October 2020 • Elephant Journal

A Mary Oliver Poem for anyone who’s Learning to Trust their Wings.

For some more Mary Oliver goodness: “Tell me about Despair, yours & I will tell you Mine”—Rare Live Reading by Mary Oliver. I am learning this as a fledgling learns to test her wings. That day she hops from the familiar comfort of her nest onto a tree limb, stretches …

By Amber Cadenas
21st October 2020 • Elephant Journal

10 Quotes from Rebecca Solnit to Clear a Path through Despair.

I remember being on my yoga mat in the midst of a field less than five months ago, three thousand miles from where I am now, listening to a song on my phone on repeat while my body flowed in tandem. The spoken word-song begins, “It’s coming to pass. My …

By Amber Cadenas
21st October 2020 • Elephant Journal

Celebrating the Little Things: the Re-emergence of Bees.

Wildlife has suffered for many years as a result of human disturbance. Since humans have been in lockdown, we have seen social media light up with videos of wildlife thriving in the deserted streets of otherwise busy and bustling areas. From dancing mice in the London Underground to wild boars …

By Rosalind Thacker
14th October 2020 • Elephant Journal

Self-Guide: How You Can Overcome Negative Thoughts

Research estimates that about 90% of people experience stress, depression, worries, anxiety, fear, and anger, and they are unable to control such toxic emotions. Serious anxiety can restrict you from enjoying life’s opportunities. Just like many other people, you may not be aware of how to control and regulate your …

By nicholas otieno
16th September 2020 • Elephant Journal

A Personal Letter to Failure.

I don’t like you, and I never will. But I know we are going to make more memories together in the near future.

By John Tan
4th August 2020 • Elephant Journal

6 Hard truths we must accept.

We are on a journey, a voyage of achieving the better versions of ourselves. Either we do it by realizing our skills or putting our dreams into work, emotional growth is required to face the challenges life throws at us. We need to be strong enough to not only accept …

By Mahnoor Tahsin
11th July 2020 • Elephant Journal

10 ways Little Free Libraries are bringing communities Together.

Reading is something that we generally postpone until we have less going on—buying books with hopes of someday having relaxing downtime. Well that time is now. With the onset of COVID-19 and all of the “stay-at-home” orders around the globe, most people are having to occupy their time with activities …

By Karissa Courtney
18th May 2020 • Elephant Journal

Seven Keys to Mindfulness During COVID-19

We are in a time where there is a lot of uncertainty and fear regarding the pandemic that is sweeping the planet. Life is not what we are used to. Many of the activities we are accustomed to are ‘on pause’ and most of us are spending a lot of …

By Persephone's Portfolio
7th May 2020 • Elephant Journal

How to Stay Mindful as an Instagram Yogi.

Inspiring posts from yoga teachers, practice tips, exciting challenges, sustainable fashion, healthy nutrition, beginners, and experts side by side. It’s a wonderful way to connect. But every Skywalker has its Vader and Instagram’s dark side is a potentially harmful impact on our spiritual growth. It can be extremely difficult to …

By Hello!
5th March 2020 • Elephant Journal

How I Continued to Grow After the Worst Harassment of My Career.

GHOSTWRITTEN: This is a ghostwritten piece for a former client that was accepted and published into Elephant Journal in 2018. *NOTE: Though the byline on this piece is the client's, this is my work.

By Let's create inspiring work.
20th November 2019 • Elephant Journal

Emma Thompson & I are Hypocrites—& so are You.

I wonder at times if it is possible to be a perfect human. No, not that type of perfect that you thought of, because everyone knows that there is no perfection. I wonder if one can live consciously and intentionally, even at the expense of their own comfort. Because lots …

By Maria Romanenko
1st November 2019 • Elephant Journal

Five TV Shows to Watch on International Day of the Girl Child.

“Someday there will be girls and women whose name will no longer mean the mere opposite of the male, but something in itself, something that makes one think not of any complement and limit, but only life and reality: the female human being.” ~ Rainer Maria Rilke ~ Rilke said …

By Kanwal Mukhtar
20th September 2019 • Elephant Journal

A Cry for Help from Pakistani Women.

This is a textbook prepared by the Provincial Curriculum and Textbook Board of the Government, for Home Economics taught solely to girls in sixth, seventh and eighth grades. Unlike the title, the books do not teach them how to manage their finances successfully in life, but instead teach them how …

By Kanwal Mukhtar
20th September 2019 • Elephant Journal

December Reveries: Days of Roses & Wine.

We met in an unconventional way, you and I—on Twitter, to be precise. You had a clever wit combined with a careless, youthful manner that immediately attracted me. You see, while your manner had a youthful carelessness about it, it did not mask the fact you were more intelligent than …

By Kanwal Mukhtar
20th September 2019 • Elephant Journal

We Deserve to Heal: An Open Letter from Women around the World.

Sometimes when I close my eyes to sleep at night, I can hear the collective screaming, crying and sighing of generations upon generations of women: raped, forced to bear children, forced to give away their children, forced to provide nourishment to the man who would then use his strength to …

By Kanwal Mukhtar
20th September 2019 • Elephant Journal

I Went to a Nude Beach and I Liked It (Kind of)

– Shall we go to a nudist beach? My best friend asked me during our vacation in Barcelona. She later admitted she wasn’t sure whether I’d agree or this idea would actualize. She merely “just said it.”But the idea was planted in my head and I kept mentioning it back …

By Maria Romanenko
31st August 2019 • Elephant Journal

We have to stop hearing “Check your Privilege” as a Personal Attack.

Growing up, I was oblivious to the life situations of the marginalized. I remember mocking those belonging to the LGBTQIA+ community, even before I’d reached the 10th grade. The term “lesbo,” commonly used as an insult for lesbian women, found its way into my vocabulary, and I and my friends …

By Shubhra Aswal
31st July 2019 • Elephant Journal

This Winter Solstice, we become New Again.

These celebrations involved dancing to ABBA and filling my cup with “solstice juice.” During that time, work defined me, and I burned the proverbial candle at both ends. I had a full-time communications job, was an English 101 adjunct professor at a local university, and worked as a freelance proofreader …

By Angela Copeland
5th January 2019 • Elephant Journal

When your Dream is Motherhood, but Life has other Plans.

I couldn’t have been more than four years old. My older sister and I sat on the set of a local children’s TV show, “Mr. Knozit,” with about a dozen other kids. I waited patiently for Mr. Knozit (a.k.a. news personality Joe Pinner) to ask me what I wanted to …

By Angela Copeland
5th January 2019 • Elephant Journal

How to Live Authentically & Let Go of what Doesn’t Serve Us.

Full transparency: Michelle Williams is almost always my inspiration lately. Short hair, long hair, dark locks, or platinum blonde, sophisticated, stylish, not trying too hard. As I sat in the chair, hair wet, anticipating the finished look, I listened to the conversations that swirled around me. “I would never have …

By Angela Copeland
5th January 2019 • Elephant Journal

4 Reasons to Stop Faking It.

I’m not talking about faking that. What I fake is much worse than pretending to reach an intense climax during sex. At first glance, I have quite a life. I am married to a wonderful man, work for a wellness franchise, banter with colleagues, live in a beautiful home, and …

By Angela Copeland
5th January 2019 • Elephant Journal