Susan Piver's Blog

Discipline: The Paramita of Steadiness and Joy

Hello wonderful Open Heart Project,

I’m writing to share something I believe deeply: the second of the transcendent actions — the paramita of discipline — isn’t a matter of rigid self-control. It is a source of clarity, spaciousness, and genuine joy. Practiced well, discipline becomes the structure that supports our freedom. It’s also a perfect preparation for the new year.

As we move toward this year’s Building a Mindful New Year program, I’m sharing this previously recorded discussion on the paramita of discipline — an introduction to what it is (and isn’t) and how it can steady the heart. This recording is meant to set the ground.

During the live program (which is free, all you have to do is sign up), Bridget Bailey will guide us deeper. She’ll expand on these teachings, offer practical methods for bringing discipline into everyday life, and — most importantly — answer your questions directly.

Bridget brings years of dedicated practice and a warm, grounded presence. She is a certified mindfulness meditation teacher and an authorized Buddhist dharma teacher whose work weaves together meditation, somatic healing, and compassionate inquiry. Her teachings help us meet life with steadiness, tenderness, and clear intention. You can learn more about her here.

If you find that good intentions tend to dissolve under stress, or if you long to begin the new year with more purpose and less pressure, I believe this exploration of discipline — first through the recording, then with Bridget’s live teaching — will be a meaningful support.

As always, I send you my warmth, encouragement, and gratitude for walking the path with me.

With love,
Susan

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Preparing for 2026: Starting with Generosity

Hello, wonderful Open Heart Project.

This week, we’re revisiting the first of the six paramitas — generosity. I originally recorded this teaching some time ago, but it feels especially relevant now, as we move toward the end of the year. Generosity is not only about giving material things; it’s about offering our attention, our patience, and our willingness to show up exactly as we are. It’s a practice of opening the heart, even when it’s hard.

We’re also relaunching this entire series on the paramitas in preparation for our annual Building a Mindful New Year program, running December 26–31. Each day, a different Buddhist teacher will discuss one paramita, offering teachings and practices to help you enter 2026 with clarity, steadiness, and genuine warmth. Think of it as a spacious, supportive bridge from one year into the next.

If you feel called to deepen your practice or simply want to end the year with more intention, I’d love for you to join us. This program is completely free, all you need to do is sign up. You can come to all the sessions or just the ones that speak to you; everything will be recorded.

With love,
Susan

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Is this the most important Buddhist teaching for our time?

Hello Open Heart Project.

I hope you are well and finding sources of joy, big, small, in-between.

In this week’s video, I share some thoughts about what may be the most important spiritual teaching for our time. I’m pretty sure I’m not exaggerating. Have a listen and see what you think!

Love,
Susan

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Let’s just meditate

I hope you are well and finding sources of joy, big and/or small.

I thought it might be useful to revisit some of the basics about our meditation practice. However, these basics are not basic at all. They point out the path to wisdom, insight, and creative inspiration. The only thing we have to do is let go of ambition… Not easy! But doable! Please have a listen to learn more.

Love,
Susan

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What meditation is really for

I hope this finds you well, or at least finding your way.

This week, I have a new kind of video for you to check out. It’s the latest episode of my new-ish podcast, Buddhism Beyond Belief where I talk about the real-life meaning of being a meditator.

For example!

Lately, I’ve been feeling a little grumpy (yes, truly) about how meditation is often presented in our culture. It’s described as a way to calm down, reduce stress, and be more productive. All true—and all wonderful—but also incomplete.

Something essential gets left out: the heart of the practice.

Meditation was never meant to be a self-improvement project to perfectionism. It’s not about polishing your inner mirror or biohacking your mind. It’s about opening—first to yourself, then to others, and then to the world.

We practice not to escape life, but to become more intimate with it.

In a recent podcast, I talk about what gets lost when we treat meditation as a purely personal pursuit, and what becomes possible when we remember that awareness naturally leads to connection, compassion, and being of benefit. I also explore how tuning in to the energy of others—through presence rather than theory—can deepen both our relationships and our practice.

And I bring in one of my favorite frameworks for understanding how we relate to one another: the enneagram.

You can watch here.

Thank you, as always, for being part of this community and for continuing to practice—even, and especially, when life feels hard.

With love,
Susan

P.S. At the end of this episode, I added a special new feature: music! I love to talk about music! In this particular episode, I share a bit about the late blues guitarist Peter Green whose tone somehow carries the same tenderness and spaciousness as meditation itself.

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Recording from the 2026 Meditation Teacher Training Info Session

Thanks so much for signing up for this conversation about Meditation Teacher Training in The Open Heart Project. It is a delight to have such discussions with you.

I hope to see you in January 2026 for training. All the details are here.

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Secret Magic: Seeing the Sacred in Everything

Dear Open Heart Project.

Over the past 2 weeks, we’ve been revisiting a series I recorded a few years ago about outer, inner, and secret magic. It still feels relevant in these complicated times.

In that talk, I suggested that magic isn’t something far away or mystical. It arises right here—in the way we care for our surroundings, the gentleness we offer ourselves, and the willingness to see every moment as inherently sacred.

I shared a story then that still moves me. A Tibetan translator I once met in New York had been robbed on his way from the airport. When I asked if he was angry, he said, “At first I was. Then I offered it.” That small shift—turning loss into offering—revealed something profound about connection and resilience.

These days, when it’s easy to feel disheartened or overwhelmed, I return to that idea. We can always pause, let go, and offer our experience—whatever it is—back to the world. There’s magic in that.

Let me know what you think. I always love hearing from you.

With love,
Susan

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For When Your Mind Wanders (It Will and It’s Part of the Practice)

Hello wonderful Open Heart Project,

This is the second video in a series I created a few years back. You can (but you don’t have to) check out what we talked about last week here. I’ve felt the wisdom of this series more deeply lately. In hard times, the invitation in this talk is always relevant. And so that’s why I’m bringing it to you again now.

In this recording, I guide a simple practice: allow your thoughts to arise without resisting or chasing them. Most will pass on their own. But if you notice that you’ve become swallowed by thought — unaware of your breath — simply observe, gently label it “thinking,” then ease back into noticing your breath. No pressure, no urgency. Just a quiet return.

This is how we cultivate sanity when it feels like the world has lost its mind. Notice. Let go. Come back. Repeat, repeat, repeat.

Thank you for showing up with me in this sacred space of remembering. I’ll see you next week.

Warmly,
Susan

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When life gets hard, what if that’s where the magic begins?

Dear Open Heart Project,

I recorded a short video series a few years ago about how real magic is never separate from our hardest emotions — fear, grief, confusion. Magic doesn’t distract us from pain; it deepens our connection to it, and through that, something mysterious can begin to shift.

I’ve been thinking about this ever since, and now I’m offering something more: a new course called Inexplicable Magic. Over four weeks, we’ll explore how meditation, ritual, and wise boundaries can help us meet the unknown with clarity and compassion — not just as an idea, but as a lived experience.

If you’ve ever felt that inner work matters now more than ever, I hope you’ll consider joining us. The course begins October 21. Learn more here.

Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy the talk. I love hearing from you, so let me know what you think.

Warmly,
Susan

PS: Here’s the series on painful emotions:

Anger
Attachment
Shame
Jealousy
Anxiety
Distrust
Hatred
Despair

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Info Session Recording: Inexplicable Magic, a 4-week course

Thank you so much for signing up and joining me for this conversation.

I’m truly grateful you took time from your life, your day, your world to explore something so vital—what it means to work with your own mind in the midst of all that’s happening around (and within) us.

Whether you were able to attend live or are watching the recording now, please know that your presence matters. It matters to this community, and it matters to the world, because when we train in sanity, presence, and kindness—we ripple that outward.

This session was a deep dive into what meditation really offers us: not as a quick fix or stress-reduction tactic, but as a way of living (and even dying) with wakefulness, compassion, and power.

I hope you find the recording meaningful, and that it encourages you to keep walking this path—with gentleness, courage, and curiosity.

With gratitude,
Susan

PS: To go deeper, sign up for my upcoming fall course, Inexplicable Magic.

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