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Indestructible Goodness

June 18, 2014   |   4 Comments

                          There is such a thing as goodness. It is alive. It is intact. Nothing we do can destroy it. By goodness, I don’t mean the opposite of badness, exactly. I certainly don’t mean anything sentimental, saccharine…soulless. Ew. Goodness is not goody-goody or cute. The earth is good.... READ MORE

Can Success and Sex Sell Mindfulness?

January 22, 2014   |   6 Comments

This appeared in today’s Huffington Post… I’m a meditation teacher who speaks about mindfulness and teaches workshops around the world. I’m also founder of the Open Heart Project, an online meditation community with close to 12,000 members. And what a great time it is to be a meditation teacher! Mindfulness is becoming a movement and although I’m not always sure... READ MORE

The Secret to Happiness (as per the Dalai Lama, et al)

January 15, 2014   |   17 Comments

For some reason, I’ve taken it upon myself to declare new holidays. The last one was “International I Don’t Feel Bad About Anything Day” which was celebrated by not feeling guilty or judgmental about anything for one whole day. The new holiday is called “What About You? Day.” We celebrate by replacing the thought, “What About Me?” with “What About... READ MORE

The Hard Beauty of the Path

January 13, 2014   |   16 Comments

When it comes to the spiritual path, it seems there are two schools of thought. (Well, three. The first school says there is no such thing as a spiritual path.) The next school says that there is a particular path for you. Find it. Stay with it. Work it. The final school says there is something of value in all... READ MORE

The Fierce Power of Vulnerability: a podcast

January 7, 2014   |   3 Comments

In this podcast, drawn from a talk in late 2013 at the New York Shambhala Center, Susan discusses some of the sources of the biggest problems we face: speed and stress; fundamentalism; fear–and how reconnecting with our innate softness reverses them. She draws the connection between mindfulness meditation and the softening of our hearts.

The necessity of emotion

January 6, 2014   |   10 Comments

To be a spiritual warrior, one must have a broken heart; without a broken heart and the sense of tenderness and vulnerability that is in one’s self and all others, your warriorship is untrustworthy. -Chögyam Trungpa Chogyam Trungpa, the Tibetan meditation master who introduced the Shambhala teachings in the West, famously coined the phrase “idiot compassion” which is an interesting... READ MORE

What I Wish For You

January 1, 2014   |   8 Comments

For you, I wish: In the name of your full blossoming, the removal of all self-doubt. In the name of liberation from suffering, the discovery of what is unmistakably worthy of veneration. In the name of stability, joyful residence in your one true home: your body. In the name of ease, willingness to ride the waves of breath which are... READ MORE

I am not a movie star and other journeys into esoterica.

December 20, 2013   |   21 Comments

Dziga Vertov Chelovek s kinoapparatom (Man with a Movie Camera) (still) 1929 When I was a little girl, I would walk around viewing myself from the outside. Even then, I wondered about the advisability of assuming this perspective. It just seemed odd that I viewed myself as though I was on a television show about my life wherein I was playing... READ MORE

My fellow teachers: Are you transmitting wisdom or are you explaining it?

December 9, 2013   |   19 Comments

{teaching mudra} The other day I was involved in a conversation with three other women who speak publicly. One of them brought up the notion of “transmission.” Rather than giving just another how-to talk, she said, she wanted to transmit something of value. Words are useful, she continued, but authentic presence is more instructive. I agree. But there is a... READ MORE

September 12, 2001

September 11, 2013   |   42 Comments

Every year on 9/11 I feel moved to repost this. May it bring benefit and healing. There is a Buddhist meditation practice called Tonglen. In Tibetan, tong means “sending out” and len means “receiving.” So Tonglen is known as the practice of sending and taking, or of exchanging self for other. Instead of inhaling what makes us feel good and... READ MORE

Home Retreat: The Practice of Doing Exactly What You Want

July 4, 2013   |   23 Comments

I hope you are enjoying this beautiful time of year, whether it is summer or winter where you are. Here in Boston, the sun is shining on this Fourth of July and we are delighting in corn, tomatoes, and squash. And I am getting ready to do my annual summer meditation retreat. (I usually go on retreat two to four... READ MORE

A show of hands

May 2, 2013   |   13 Comments

A show of hands, please. What do you believe in? What are your values? What do you believe is at the heart of human nature? What kind of world do you want to live in? Here is what I say. There are more people who want to act out love than hate. There are more people who are neither Red... READ MORE

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