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In this episode, I explore one of the most persistent misunderstandings about meditation: that it is supposed to make you feel better. From my experience, meditation does not numb heartbreak or smooth out emotional life. It opens us more fully to our experience. I talk about why vulnerability is not a failure of practice, but a sign that something real is happening. I also share thoughts on heartbreak as a path of awakening, the connection between heartbreak and compassion, and why meditation with eyes open benefits everyday life.

Highlights:

• Why meditation makes you feel more, not less

• The connection between heartbreak and awakening

• Softening toward yourself as the root of compassion

• Why vulnerability is part of the spiritual path

• Reestablishing agency when the mind runs wild

• The difference between looking to receive love and looking to offer it

• How awareness “cuts through” during meditation

• Why I teach meditation with eyes open

Music After Party

I talk about the song “Dark End of the Street” by James Carr and why it remains one of the most heartbreaking songs about longing and love ever recorded.

Also from me on Buddhism and heartbreak: The Wisdom of a Broken Heart

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

Send me your questions:
You can keep the conversation going or send your reflections via Instagram DM or through our form — I’d love to include them in future episodes.

New Book & New Program

For more on the topic of meditation and heartbreak, please look for my new book, Inexplicable Magic: Meditation for Mystics, out June 1. It explores meditation not as self-improvement, but as a spiritual path rooted in ritual, heartbreak, creativity, vulnerability, and awakening in everyday life.

You’re also invited to join Seven Days of Inexplicable Magic, an immersive program exploring how meditation practice can move beyond the cushion and into every aspect of your life. Learn more here.

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