For the final episode of the year, I am sharing a short excerpt from a book I am writing called Inexplicable Magic: Meditation for Mystics. This work grows directly out of the heart of this podcast and its focus on how we actually live–not as monastic meditators, but as householders.

In this excerpt, I reflect on the Buddha’s awakening and on meditation as it was originally understood, not as self-improvement or stress reduction, but as a path of waking up from delusion and helping others do the same.

I explore the connection between mindfulness and awareness. Mindfulness is essential, but it is the ground, not the fruition. 

Awareness cannot be cultivated through effort. It can only be allowed, and it is where insight, opening, and real transformation arise organically.

This episode looks at meditation as a way of relating rather than fixing. A practice that breaks the heart open and reveals wisdom, compassion, and bravery. It’s not a transaction, but a way of living, and, ultimately, a way of dying.

To close out the year, I share one of my most beloved pieces of music, Sentimental Walk from the film Diva, a piece that brings spaciousness and calm and accompanies me often when I write.

Thank you for listening and practicing with me this year. I look forward to continuing the conversation in 2026.

Watch this episode on video
If you’d like to watch the podcast, the video version is here.

Ask me a question
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Building a Mindful New Year is a free, six-day online program exploring how Buddhist practice can help us stay present, steady, and values-aligned in uncertain times. Through daily teachings, meditation, and community practice, we focus on supporting ourselves first—so we can more honestly meet our lives and care for others as the new year begins. You can jump in anytime between 26–31 December to gain access to all 6 talks. Sign up here.

Learn to Teach Meditation
The Open Heart Project Meditation Teacher Training returns this January.
We begin January 17th, 2026. 
I teach every session. It’s intimate, rigorous, supportive—and it’s for anyone who wants to help others work with their own minds and hearts.

Click here to learn more & sign up.

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Produced by Citizens of Sound

Music by: Derek O'Brien

©Open Heart Project