SUSAN’S
Blog

Sharing with you one of the most important spiritual lessons I ever learned (spoiler: you already know how to do it)

March 3, 2025   |   14 Comments

Audio only version is here
Meditation practice begins at 18:58

Hello, wonderful Open Heart Project.  In the past weeks, I’ve tried to convey to you how important your practice is–and not just for yourself (which it is), but for others and for this world. I outlined 6 points to explain how we view our practice here in the OHP as way more than self-help, but as a path of genuine... READ MORE

The importance of emotional boundaries—and how meditation helps

February 24, 2025   |   39 Comments

Audio only version is here
Meditation practice begins at 15:11

Hello, wonderful Open Heart Project.  Before today’s sit, I share a few thoughts (okay, more than a few) about the vital importance of remaining in control of your attention. Many forces in the world are vying for it, including people you agree and disagree with.  While it is of utmost importance to pay attention to the suffering and chaos of... READ MORE

It’s still important to dream. Meditation can actually help make a better world.

February 17, 2025   |   26 Comments

Audio only version is here
Meditation practice begins at 10:22

Hello, wonderful Open Heart Project.  Before today’s sit, I continue the conversation begun a few weeks ago to discuss how we view meditation in the OHP. (It’s different from most views!) The first point was We Engage in Daily Ritual. The second was We Live as Mystics (Hiding in Plain Sight). The third was The Personal is Not the Obstacle—It... READ MORE

Inexplicable Joy: On the Heart Sutra – Info Session on February 12, 2025

February 13, 2025   |   6 Comments

Thank you to everyone who registered for this talk on my new book, Inexplicable Joy: On the Heart Sutra. During our conversation yesterday, some expressed (understandable) uncertainty about which skandha (heap) went with which sense perception and so on. I made this very inadequate drawing that hopefully clarifies more than it confuses. Love, Susan

The meaning and power of heartbreak

February 10, 2025   |   10 Comments

Audio only version is here
Meditation practice begins at 13:05

Hello, wonderful Open Heart Project.  Before today’s sit, I continue the conversation begun two weeks ago to discuss how we view meditation in the OHP. (It’s different from most views!) The first point was We Engage in Daily Ritual. The second was We Live as Mystics (Hiding in Plain Sight). The third is The Personal is Not the Obstacle–It is... READ MORE

On the spiritual path, the personal is not an obstacle. It is the way.

February 3, 2025   |   7 Comments

Audio only version is here
Meditation practice begins at 10:31

Hello, wonderful Open Heart Project. I hope you are finding joy and ease as much as possible. Before today’s sit, I continue the conversation begun two weeks ago to discuss how we view meditation in the OHP. (It’s different from most views!) The first point was We Engage in Daily Ritual. The second was We Live as Mystics (Hiding in... READ MORE

Meditation as a path to real happiness

January 27, 2025   |   4 Comments

Audio only version is here
Meditation practice begins at 13:40

Hello, wonderful Open Heart Project. I hope your practice is going well. If it isn’t for any reason, I hope you will immediately switch to a much more difficult practice: being gentle with yourself. Before today’s sit, I share some thoughts about how meditation is actually more of a mystical practice than self-improvement. In fact, it can introduce us to... READ MORE

Accessing the power of ritual

January 20, 2025   |   21 Comments

Audio only version is here
Meditation practice begins at 11:54

Hello, wonderful Open Heart Project. I hope you are finding steadiness and friendship wherever you look. Before today’s sit, I share some thoughts about a favorite subject of mine: the power of ritual. Ritual takes our practice out of the realm of self-help only and situates it in the realm of magic. I try to explain more about this in... READ MORE

Buddhism Beyond Belief: Info Session on 10 January 2025 at 6PM ET

January 13, 2025   |   Leave a reply

Thank you to all who registered to learn more about this new course, Buddhism Beyond Belief. It was a joy to talk with you about the Buddhist path. I hope you found it illuminating, inspiring, and useful. To continue the conversation, please consider signing up for Buddhism Beyond Belief. Here is the curriculum: Curriculum (some topics subject to change to... READ MORE

How to keep difficult feelings from taking over

January 13, 2025   |   4 Comments

Audio-only version is here.
Meditation practice begins at 14:32.

Hello, Open Heart Project. I hope you are well and finding ways to be joyful and kind (to yourself, others, the planet). This video suggests three ways we can work with so-called negative emotions. There are so many all over the place! It can be very difficult to figure out how to work with rage, fear, and, perhaps most dangerous,... READ MORE

Buddhism Beyond Belief: Info Session on 10 January 2025 at 10AM ET

January 10, 2025   |   1 Comment

Thank you to all who registered to learn more about this new course, Buddhism Beyond Belief. It was a joy to talk with you about the Buddhist path. I hope you found it illuminating, inspiring, and useful. To continue the conversation, please consider signing up for Buddhism Beyond Belief. Here is the curriculum: Curriculum (some topics subject to change to... READ MORE

2024 sangha review and where we’re headed in 2025

January 9, 2025   |   22 Comments

Hello and I hope you’re starting the new year in a place of love and safety. May 2025 be a year of joyful connection, deepening, understanding, and sanity. Every year, I write a recap of what happened in the OHP sangha and where we are headed. Please have a look at your leisure and let me know what you think.... READ MORE

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