Buddhist Strategies for Protecting Yourself from Everyday Chaos | Bart van Melik

2026-01-11

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Ever lie awake at night replaying all the moments you lost it with your kids, your partner, or your co-workers? You're not alone. Bart van Melik is back on the show (his first appearance was four years ago) as our Teacher of the Month for January. Bart has one of the more interesting origin stories in the meditation world: from a small town in the Netherlands to Kenya on an exchange program (where he met his wife of 30 years), to studying in Thailand, to teaching meditation to teenagers in juvenile detention in the South Bronx. In this conversation with executive producer DJ Cashmere, we talk about: The difference between being mindful and knowing you're mindful...

Ever lie awake at night replaying all the moments you lost it with your kids, your partner, or your co-workers? You're not alone.

Bart van Melik is back on the show (his first appearance was four years ago) as our Teacher of the Month for January. Bart has one of the more interesting origin stories in the meditation world: from a small town in the Netherlands to Kenya on an exchange program (where he met his wife of 30 years), to studying in Thailand, to teaching meditation to teenagers in juvenile detention in the South Bronx.

In this conversation with executive producer DJ Cashmere, we talk about:

The difference between being mindful and knowing you're mindful (and why this matters when your 11-year-old is pushing every button)
Why awareness feels like protection
How to stop the cycle of: snap, regret, repeat
What Bart learned teaching meditation to kids in juvie who told him his meditation was "lit"
Why your kids might be your fiercest Zen teachers
The surprising power of saying "no" without aversion
How everything actually goes faster when you stop rushing
His favorite teaching from a modern-day monk: "Keep calmly knowing change"