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In this episode, I reflect on a recent meditation and writing retreat where participants explored grief, heartbreak, violence, loss, and the experiences that shape us most deeply. 

I talk about why the personal is not an obstacle to spiritual practice but the very material of the path itself. I explore how teachings on egolessness can become distorted into self-erasure, and why real transformation begins by turning toward our experience with curiosity, courage, and love.

 I also answer a listener question about non-duality, discuss why it may be impossible to “understand” intellectually, and share thoughts on how wisdom comes to us through openness rather than effort.

Highlights

• Why difficult personal experiences are often the doorway into creativity, insight, and connection
• The transformative power of being witnessed and deeply heard
• How teachings on egolessness can become confused with shame or self-rejection
• Why your suffering, brilliance, confusion, and history are part of the spiritual path
• “What you seek does not come from you. It comes to you.”
• How ritual creates receptivity in meditation practice
• Why spiritual practice does not remove heartbreak, but changes our relationship to it
• Non-duality and why it may be experienced rather than understood

Music After Party

I share my love of 1980s reggae and dancehall through Wayne Smith’s “Under Mi Sleng Teng,” a track that helped transform reggae music through its groundbreaking digital riddim.

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Proclaiming Basic Sanity: Living the Bodhisattva Path Retreat 

Join me at Drala Mountain Center in the Colorado Rockies for a meditation retreat exploring the bodhisattva path and what it means to live with courage, compassion, and clarity in everyday life. Through guided meditation, teachings, and conversation, we’ll reflect on how to recognize and express basic sanity in the midst of our actual lives. All are welcome, and no prior meditation experience is required.

Learn more and register here.

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Produced by Citizens of Sound

Music by: Derek O'Brien

©Open Heart Project