Nan Tien Institute academic urges flexibility in holding beliefs

Dr Nadine Levy, a senior lecturer at the Nan Tien Institute, has published an opinion piece in The Guardian arguing that individuals should avoid rigid attachment to their beliefs. Levy, who coordinates the health and social wellbeing program and the graduate certificate in applied mindfulness at the institute, suggests that while beliefs provide necessary structure, clinging to them can limit perception and shut down reciprocal conversation.

In the article, published on 18 May 2026, Levy recounts a recent experience at a conference where she felt disengaged by a participant’s one-sided monologue. She characterises this dynamic as "conference-splaining," a term she uses to describe a conversational pattern where conviction takes over and dialogue becomes unnervingly one-way. Levy notes that this phenomenon is not limited to conference-goers and that individuals are often guilty of imposing their own views in similar ways.

Levy utilises the Buddhist metaphor of the raft to illustrate her argument. She explains that beliefs are useful tools for navigating life, much like a raft used to cross a river. However, once the other side is reached, the raft should be discarded rather than carried forward. Levy argues that treating beliefs as final, fixed, and settled prevents them from being open to other viewpoints, whereas understanding them as constructions that work on us allows for greater flexibility.

To support her analysis, Levy references the work of late Buddhist teacher Rob Burbea, cultural theorist Sara Ahmed, and psychoanalyst Donald Winnicott. She cites Burbea’s views on how attachment shapes perception, Ahmed’s questions regarding the circulation of emotions, and Winnicott’s concept of play as a therapeutic space for exploring and revising positions. Levy suggests that holding beliefs with curiosity and delight can keep them productive and creative, whereas rigidity can imprison individuals and close down life itself.

The article details Levy’s personal history with belief systems, including identifying as a card-carrying communist at age 14, followed by affiliations with Wiccan feminism and Buddhism. She describes these transitions as experiments that shaped her values and sense of purpose. Levy concludes that beliefs are prone to change and that what once felt alive and charged with possibility may eventually lose its pull, requiring individuals to gently set them down rather than carrying them as burdens.