Hello Wonderful Open Heart Project, I’m writing to you from a new home. Moving, as you may know, has a way of revealing everything at once. There is the thrill of beginning again, of opening a door and not quite knowing how the light will fall in the afternoon. And there is also the compression of it all, the boxes,... READ MORE
Hello Wonderful Open Heart Project, I am thrilled and nauseated and delighted to say that I’ve finished the manuscript for my next book. Thrilled, because it was created to honor my extraordinary teachers of the last three decades. Nauseated, because what writer isn’t. Delighted because it’s done. It should be out in the next few months. It will be self-published... READ MORE
Hello Wonderful Open Heart Project, Today I wanted to let you know that my book, The Buddhist Enneagram, has just been released in a new edition by Shambhala Publications. The book explores how the wisdom of Buddhism and the Enneagram can illuminate each other. Together, these two systems offer a powerful way to understand how we move through the world,... READ MORE
I hope to see you in May for the Fearless Creativity meditation and writing retreat at Drala Mountain Center this May. Love, Susan
Hello Open Heart Project, Each morning, the Open Heart Project Sangha gathers to meditate and to tell the truth about what is happening. Recently, the group was larger than usual. That alone says something about the moment we’re in. I don’t have a teaching that makes this time acceptable or less painful. There is no way to explain it away.... READ MORE
Hello, wonderful Open Heart Project meditator. This week’s email is to let you know that the OHP now has a podcast, Buddhism Beyond Belief. I created it to offer further support on your journey. I talk about classical Buddhist teachings and share experiences from my own life about how I have applied (and misapplied) them. I’m linking to a few episodes... READ MORE
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Meditation practice begins at 17.23
Hello, wonderful Open Heart Project. I’ve been reflecting on how easily meditation practice can fade into the background when life gets busy or uncertain. Not because it doesn’t matter, but because the very moments when we need it most are often the moments when it’s hardest to remember to turn toward it. What I keep coming back to is this:... READ MORE
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Meditation begins at 8:40
Dear, wonderful Open Heart Project, I received a thoughtful question about how to offer loving-kindness to people who feel toxic, while still honoring and protecting our own boundaries. Before today’s sit, I wanted to share a few reflections with you. If you have a question you’d like me to explore in a future video, please feel free to send it... READ MORE
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Meditation begins at 8:39
Hello Wonderful Open Heart Project, Happy new year! I hope you are well and finding sources of joy, big and/or small. As one year turns into the next, it’s natural to wonder: how do I finally, finally make the changes I long for?! How do I move forward rather than continually taking one step forward, two steps back, and so... READ MORE
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Meditation practice begins at 15:42
Hello, wonderful Open Heart Project. What is true wisdom? If you’re like most of us, you might imagine wisdom as something you accumulate, understand, or finally arrive at. But in the Buddhist tradition, wisdom, the sixth paramita, isn’t something you do or achieve. It’s something that unfolds when we practice staying with our lives as they actually are. In the... READ MORE
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Meditation practice begins at 9:37
Hello Open Heart Project, As we begin a new year, many of us are doing so in the midst of profound heartbreak. Recent violent events alongside the ongoing turmoil and uncertainty within the U.S. government and across the world, can leave us feeling shaken, overwhelmed, and unsure how to hold it all. Feeling deeply is not a personal failure—it is... READ MORE
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Meditation practice begins at 16:30
Hello, dear friends, As we move toward the start of Building a Mindful New Year, I want to offer a short preview of one of the teachings we’ll explore together: the fourth paramita, exertion. We’ve spent recent weeks looking at generosity, discipline, and patience—three qualities that can bring tremendous clarity and kindness into our lives. But without exertion, their energy... READ MORE
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