Susan Piver's Blog, page 11

Info Session on January 23rd – Learn more about Buddhism IRL

Thank you all who registered for this great conversation about how Buddhist teachings can benefit us in actual, real, everyday life.

Registration for my new course, Buddhism IRL is now open. Learn more here.

I hope to see you in March.

Love,

Susan

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How can I offer loving kindness to toxic people and still protect my boundaries?

Dear, wonderful Open Heart Project,

I received a question recently about offering loving kindness to toxic people while still protecting one’s boundaries. Before today’s sit, I offer a few thoughts.

If you’d like to ask a question for me to address in a future video, please don’t hesitate to send. I won’t mention your name or any identifying characteristics. 

With love, Susan

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Am I still a spiritual person even if I feel anger, irritation, and even hatred? 3 ways to work with “negative” emotions.

Dear wonderful Open Heart Project,

I hope your year is off to a wonderful start and you are able to find peace within and around yourself. 

It’s possible you thought, as did I, that meditation would help you feel…less. Less rage. Less sorrow. I’d have even settled for less crankiness. No such luck–I’m still a human being. I made this video for those of you who fear that anger or other so-called negative emotions mean you are not a spiritual person. YOU ARE!  

Before today’s sit, I offer some thoughts on how to work with our most difficult feelings. Note: none of these suggestions are about becoming anything other than who you are. All of them are about how we can work with anything that arises within us as our path: even rage, bitterness, fear, and heartache, all the things we just wish we did not have to feel. It is all fodder for your awakening. At least that’s what I think.

What do you think? I always love to hear from you. 

With love, Susan

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Spiritual practice is not about meditation only, but how we live our lives

Dear, wonderful Open Heart Project practitioners,

I am always so glad to practice with you. I know that many of us are thinking about what we can do to create more goodness and sanity in the world. Before we sit this week, I share a few thoughts about where the confidence to do so can come from. Spoiler alert: it has nothing to do with inner work and everything to do with how you care for your world. Please have a listen and let me know what you think. I always love to hear from you.

With love, Susan

PS It turns out that spiritual practice is not something that happens only when we meditate or pray. It can extend to the way we care for the most ordinary details of our lives. Over in the Open Heart Project sangha we are spending the entire year on the topic of spiritual practice IRL. If you have any interest in joining, please check it out. It would be great to see you there.

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The #1 most difficult task for spiritual practitioners

Dear, wonderful Open Heart Project practitioners,

Happy new year! May 2024 be the year all beings discover their inherent sanity and decency. 

Although it may sound improbable, meditation is a direct conduit to such qualities. It introduces space between what we think and what we do, how we feel and the conclusions we draw about self and other. Truly, the world is in need of people who know how to work with their minds–not as stress-reduction or in order to get a better night’s sleep (both of which are awesome) but to be of benefit to this world. In 2024, our videos will focus on bringing mindfulness off the cushion and into real life. 

Over in the Open Heart Project sangha we are spending the entire year on the topic of spiritual practice IRL. If you have any interest in joining, please check it out. 

In today’s video, I talk a bit about the #1 most difficult task for spiritual practitioners: how to express loving kindness for those we may hate. (Spoiler alert: you don’t have to forgive anyone or excuse anything…) Please have a listen to learn more.

With love, Susan

PS There is still time to join our 21-Day Meditation Challenge. All the details are here.

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Meditation is a spiritual practice (not just self-help)

Happy holiday! This week, I offer you three steps to keep our practice in the realm of the sacred (rather than self-help). The greatest benefits of meditation—wisdom, compassion, and courage—are often “left on the table” – but they are really worth remembering.

If you haven’t signed up for it yet, please join us for our free Building a Mindful New Year program, Dec 26-31. And if you want to start the new year off with a stable meditation practice, please check out our 21-Day Meditation Challenge which begins on January 1.

This will be our last newsletter in 2023. May 2024 bring peace in your heart and peace in the world.

Much love, Susan

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Let’s keep practicing together! Three options…

Hello, wonderful Open Heart Project. I truly hope you enjoyed our recent video series on the Noble Eightfold Path. It was a delight to create it for you! If you need a recap, the eight steps to alleviate suffering are:

Right View
Right Intention
Right Speech
Right Action
Right Livelihood
Right Effort
Right Mindfulness
Right Concentration

If you’re wondering what’s next, I want to offer a few options.

First, you’ll continue to receive a new email from me every Monday. Second, if you would like to practice together in person (WHICH WOULD BE AMAZING), here is a link to the in-person programs I’m teaching in 2024.

They are:

May 22-26
Austin, Texas
Fearless Creativity: A Writing and Meditation Retreat (Spring Sessions)

June 20-23
Red Feather Lakes, CO
Live and Awakened Life: Learn Meditation as a Spiritual Practice

June 26-July 6
Red Feather Lakes, CO
Authentic Presence and the Feminine Principle: A Heart Sutra Retreat

October 16-20
Austin, Texas
Fearless Creativity: A Writing and Meditation Retreat (Fall Sessions)

Again, all the details are on this page.

I also want to invite you to join the Open Heart Project Sangha, my online meditation community.

It was created to offer support for your unique spiritual journey. The benefits are described in the video and all the other details are here.

In the meantime, these words from actual Sangha members are more useful than anything I could say:

Sangha membership is $27 a month or $270 a year. If you don’t have that to spare, no worries. We have a generous scholarship fund for annual memberships. If you would like to apply, please click here. It’s totally confidential.

Thoughts? Questions? Please hit reply and let me know. It’s always great to hear from you.

May all beings open their hearts.

With love and hope for humanity, Susan

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The Path to End Suffering: Step Eight

Hello, wonderful Open Heart Project. I hope you are well and enjoying this series of videos on foundational Buddhist teachings. So far, we have covered:

Right View
Right Intention
Right Speech
Right Action
Right Livelihood
Right Effort
Right Mindfulness

Today we move on to the final step, Right Concentration, which has more to do with letting go than trying harder.

I truly hope you have benefited from this exploration of the noble eightfold path. Please let me know what you learned, discovered, or were surprised by. I always love to hear from you!

Much love, Susan

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The Path to End Suffering: Step Seven

Hello, wonderful Open Heart Project. I hope you are well and enjoying this series of videos on foundational Buddhist teachings. So far, we have covered:

Right View
Right Intention
Right Speech
Right Action
Right Livelihood
Right Effort

Today we move on to the seventh step, Right Mindfulness. Interestingly, here, mindfulness has more to do with relaxation than anything else. Thoughts? I always love to hear from you.

Much love, Susan

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The Path to End Suffering: Step Six

Hello, wonderful Open Heart Project. I hope you are well and enjoying this series of videos on foundational Buddhist teachings. So far, we have covered:

Right View
Right Intention
Right Speech
Right Action
Right Livelihood

Right View and Right Intention comprise true wisdom. Right Speech, Right Action, and Right Livelihood describe how to live an ethical life. Now we turn to Right Effort which, together with Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration explain how to work with our minds.

Right Effort is not about working harder. I’m sure you’re already working as hard as you can. Rather, it has more to do with diligence and never giving up on yourself, others, or the world. A tall order, I realize. Please have a listen to this short talk (followed by a guided 10-minute meditation) and let me know what you think! I always love to hear from you.

Much love, Susan

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