Susan Piver's Blog

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

Yes, your meditation teacher got high. A LONG TIME AGO! But it was awesome and provided my first true spiritual insight. 

Don’t do what I did!! Drugs are not necessary but I was a youngster and it happened and so I’m sharing this crazy story with you. Don’t do what I did!

At the end, I mention that our next Meditation Teacher Training is coming up in January in case you want to take it. Which would be awesome. I haven’t taught it in two years and don’t know when I will again, so please join if you can.

Please have a listen and let me know what you think. I always love hearing from you.

Love,
Susan

 

PS: Don’t do what I did!!

The post The time I took drugs and had a lasting spiritual insight appeared first on The Open Heart Project.

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

Many thanks for the kind comments you made on my video last week in which I told you a personal story about how I began on the spiritual journey. This week continues on a personal note. I share with you the story of how I became a meditation teacher, not something I ever thought I would do.

At the end, I mention that our next Meditation Teacher Training is coming up in January in case you want to take it. Which would be awesome. I haven’t taught it in two years and don’t know when I will again, so please join if you can!

Please have a listen and let me know what you think. I always love hearing from you.

Love,
Susan

The post Another personal story! How I became a meditation teacher (and how you can, too) appeared first on The Open Heart Project.

I hope you are well during this difficult time. So much sorrow.

Did you know I’ve been sending these free meditation emails for more than TEN YEARS?! I hope to continue to do so for another ten. In the meantime, I thought it might be a good idea to let you in on a bit more about my own spiritual journey and practice.

Please have a listen and let me know what you think. I always love hearing from you.

Love,
Susan

The post A personal story about my spiritual journey appeared first on The Open Heart Project.

I hope you are well during this difficult time. Before our meditation this week, I share with you a Buddhist teaching called the Four Reminders. They have a way of immediately restoring clarity, balance, and lovingkindness. Don’t take my word for it! Have a listen and see how they land for you.

In other news, I cry during this talk! Just saying!

Please have a listen and let me know what you think. I always love hearing from you.

Love,
Susan

The post Four reminders that restore sanity appeared first on The Open Heart Project.

Hello wonderful Open Heart Project,

I hope you are well during this difficult time. Before our meditation this week, I offer some thoughts on a Buddhist teaching that I have found helpful in knowing how to direct my energy and strength to create more sanity and decency in the world—not so easy in this particular moment. 

Please have a listen and let me know what you think. I always love hearing from you.

Love,
Susan

 

PS: On a much more mundane note!! In the video, I mention that we now have beautiful Open Heart Project t-shirts for your consideration. And a tote bag. Please head over to our shop to check them out. You can represent and support at the same time. xoxo

The post How to remain strong in this time of turmoil? appeared first on The Open Heart Project.

Hello, practitioner and seeker! I hope you are well. In this video, I share a short talk on a semi-obscure teaching called the Seven Riches of the Universal Monarch. If that doesn’t sound obscure, I don’t know what does. In any case! I find this teaching incredibly useful and practical. It lists the 7 things you and I need to feel abundant and powerful in our everyday lives.

Enjoy!

Thoughts? I always love to hear from you. Please comment as you wish. Many thanks.

Love,
Susan

The post 7 Sources of Richness appeared first on The Open Heart Project.

Thanks to everyone who registered for this info session on what really happens on a meditation retreat.

You can learn more about and sign up for the retreat I’m teaching at Kripalu here.

I hope to see you there.

Love,
Susan

The post Info Session Recording: Inexplicable Magic – An in-person retreat at Kripalu appeared first on The Open Heart Project.

Hello, wonderful Open Heart Project. I hope you are well and I send you my love.

In the last 6 weeks, I’ve been sharing thoughts with you about the six paramitas or transcendent actions. Today we come to the sixth: transcendent wisdom. (If you want to review the previous paramitas, you may do so here, although it’s not necessary:

Generosity
Discipline
Patience
Exertion
Meditative Absorption

It is very easy in the current climate to forget that wisdom is real and completely available to you. Please have a listen to this short talk about it all.

Many thanks for your attention to the paramitas. How was the series? Did it benefit you? I hope so! Let me know in the comments.

With love,
Susan

PS: I know we are all wondering WTF and how can we create more goodness in this chaotic world. I have one suggestion: learn to teach meditation. For real. When you teach meditation, you are also teaching clear-seeing, compassion for others and for this world, and courage to take potent action. Don’t take my word for that, btw.

Our 8-week Meditation Teacher Training begins on January 27. Stay tuned for more details. And if you have any questions about it, hit reply to this email and we are happy to answer them. xo, S

The post What is true wisdom? It’s not what you think. appeared first on The Open Heart Project.

Audio only version is here
Meditation practice begins at 9:37

Dear wonderful human,

A few weeks ago, I shared a few thoughts about the first paramita (transcendent action) which is generosity. This was followed by discipline and patience. Then we talked about paramita #4, exertion, also known as diligence or life force.

Today we move on to the fifth paramita, samadhi, or meditative absorption. It is extremely difficult to open to current circumstances, I get that. However, it turns out that turning toward your world creates less suffering than attempting to circumvent it.

Samadhi doesn’t mean being peacefully accepting…anything. It means opening. Feeling feelings, your own and others. In this way, samadhi is a powerful step in bringing more sanity to this world. It brings out compassion in yourself and others.

With love,
Susan

PS I know we are all wondering WTF and how can we create more goodness in this chaotic world. I have one suggestion: learn to teach meditation. For real. When you teach meditation, you are also teaching clear-seeing, compassion for others and for this world, and courage to take potent action. Don’t take my word for that, btw.

Our 8-week Meditation Teacher Training begins on January 27. Stay tuned for more details. And if you have any questions about it, hit reply to this email and we are happy to answer them. xo S

The post Opening to this World (even when you’d rather not) appeared first on The Open Heart Project.

Hello, wonderful Open Heart Project. I hope you are well and I send you my love.

A few weeks ago, I shared a few thoughts about the first paramita (transcendent action) which is generosity. This was followed by discipline and patience. Now we move on to paramita #4, exertion, sometimes also known as diligence or life force.

It is very easy in the current climate to lose energy and thus a sense of possibility. Please have a listen to this week’s video for some ideas about how to protect and replenish both.

Stay strong! Stay beautiful!

With love,
Susan

The post Protect Your Mind appeared first on The Open Heart Project.