meditation Archives - The Open Heart Project

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3 Qualities of Awakening, Part 2: Wisdom

May 19, 2025   |   2 Comments 3 Qualities of Awakening, Part 2: Wisdom | Buddhist Teachings

Hello Open Heart Project, According to Buddhist thought, the awakened mind has three qualities. The first is compassion. The second quality, wisdom, is the topic of today’s post. When it comes to what it really means to be wise, it’s easy to posit all sorts of definitions from really, really smart to deeply insightful to maybe simply being old and... READ MORE

3 Qualities of Awakening, Part 1: Compassion

May 12, 2025   |   2 Comments

Hello Open Heart Project, According to Buddhist thought, the awakened mind has three qualities. Although I’ve said many times that having goals for your practice is a bad idea, I’m now going to suggest that there actually are goals and they are to realize these three qualities. However, the path is not accomplished by conventional means. Interestingly, these qualities arise... READ MORE

Heartbreak as Spiritual Practice (Part 3)

May 5, 2025   |   2 Comments

Audio only version is here
Meditation begins at 12:47

Dear, wonderful Open Heart Project, I have three basic suggestions for how Buddhist wisdom can help with heartbreak. Two weeks ago, we talked about the first step which involves figuring out how to work with your racing or clouded mind. Last week, I made suggestions for working with the overwhelming energy of the heart. This week, I share some thoughts... READ MORE

Heartbreak as Spiritual Practice: Part 2

April 28, 2025   |   2 Comments

Audio only version is here
Meditation begins at 16:10

Dear, wonderful Open Heart Project, I have three basic suggestions for how Buddhist wisdom can help with heartbreak. Last week we talked about the first step which involves figuring out how to work with your racing or clouded mind. This week, I make suggestions for working with the overwhelming energy of the heart which, when shattered or upset, overflows with... READ MORE

Heartbreak as Spiritual Practice

April 21, 2025   |   5 Comments

Audio only version is here
Meditation begins at 12:02

Dear, wonderful Open Heart Project, Many years ago, I wrote a book called The Wisdom of a Broken Heart about how Buddhist wisdom helped me with my own broken heart. I get emails and messages about the impact of this book more than anything I have ever written. I am gratified to know it is useful. (Last year, I updated... READ MORE

How and why to have a meditation shrine

April 7, 2025   |   12 Comments

Audio only version is here
Meditation practice begins at 10:13

Hello, wonderful Open Heart Project. I hope you are well and I send you my love.  Before today’s sit, I share some thoughts about creating a shrine and why they are important. I also explain a bit about what is on mine and offer a few suggestions for creating your own, should you wish to. Stay strong! Stay beautiful! With... READ MORE

How do we fight aggression without aggression?

March 30, 2025   |   5 Comments

Hello, Open Heart Project. This email is text-only, as you can see. I’ve been feeling more and more drawn to writing from a personal perspective about Buddhist teachings that help, inspire, confuse, or delight me. Some do all of the above. There will certainly be more videos! More meditations! But for the meantime, here are some thoughts about how to... READ MORE

Introducing a new way to connect (via Substack)

March 24, 2025   |   Leave a reply

I’ve started posting on Substack. It will be a space for me to share personal stories about Buddhism IRL, trying to write things, my love of music, enneagram musings, things I worry about, and why is it so hard to love?! Please head on over to subscribe and receive all future posts. I’d love to see you there. No paywall, everything... READ MORE

In which the entire spiritual path is explained in 4 sentences

March 17, 2025   |   4 Comments

Audio only version is here
Meditation practice begins at 11:06

Hello, wonderful Open Heart Project. I hope you are well and I send you my love.  Before today’s sit, I share with you a chant I have been doing for more than 30 years: The Four Dharmas of Gampopa. In this short talk, I talk about who Gampopa was and how magical these four dharmas are. In fact, they outline... READ MORE

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