Susan Piver's Blog

Hello Open Heart Project.

I hope you are well and finding sources of joy, big, small, in-between.

In this week’s video, I share some thoughts about what may be the most important spiritual teaching for our time. I’m pretty sure I’m not exaggerating. Have a listen and see what you think!

Love,
Susan

The post Is this the most important Buddhist teaching for our time? appeared first on The Open Heart Project.

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

I thought it might be useful to revisit some of the basics about our meditation practice. However, these basics are not basic at all. They point out the path to wisdom, insight, and creative inspiration. The only thing we have to do is let go of ambition… Not easy! But doable! Please have a listen to learn more.

Love,
Susan

The post Let’s just meditate appeared first on The Open Heart Project.

I hope this finds you well, or at least finding your way.

This week, I have a new kind of video for you to check out. It’s the latest episode of my new-ish podcast, Buddhism Beyond Belief where I talk about the real-life meaning of being a meditator.

For example!

Lately, I’ve been feeling a little grumpy (yes, truly) about how meditation is often presented in our culture. It’s described as a way to calm down, reduce stress, and be more productive. All true—and all wonderful—but also incomplete.

Something essential gets left out: the heart of the practice.

Meditation was never meant to be a self-improvement project to perfectionism. It’s not about polishing your inner mirror or biohacking your mind. It’s about opening—first to yourself, then to others, and then to the world.

We practice not to escape life, but to become more intimate with it.

In a recent podcast, I talk about what gets lost when we treat meditation as a purely personal pursuit, and what becomes possible when we remember that awareness naturally leads to connection, compassion, and being of benefit. I also explore how tuning in to the energy of others—through presence rather than theory—can deepen both our relationships and our practice.

And I bring in one of my favorite frameworks for understanding how we relate to one another: the enneagram.

You can watch here.

Thank you, as always, for being part of this community and for continuing to practice—even, and especially, when life feels hard.

P.S. At the end of this episode, I added a special new feature: music! I love to talk about music! In this particular episode, I share a bit about the late blues guitarist Peter Green whose tone somehow carries the same tenderness and spaciousness as meditation itself.

The post What meditation is really for appeared first on The Open Heart Project.

Thanks so much for signing up for this conversation about Meditation Teacher Training in The Open Heart Project. It is a delight to have such discussions with you.

I hope to see you in January 2026 for training. All the details are here.

The post Recording from the 2026 Meditation Teacher Training Info Session appeared first on The Open Heart Project.

Dear Open Heart Project.

Over the past 2 weeks, we’ve been revisiting a series I recorded a few years ago about outer, inner, and secret magic. It still feels relevant in these complicated times.

In that talk, I suggested that magic isn’t something far away or mystical. It arises right here—in the way we care for our surroundings, the gentleness we offer ourselves, and the willingness to see every moment as inherently sacred.

I shared a story then that still moves me. A Tibetan translator I once met in New York had been robbed on his way from the airport. When I asked if he was angry, he said, “At first I was. Then I offered it.” That small shift—turning loss into offering—revealed something profound about connection and resilience.

These days, when it’s easy to feel disheartened or overwhelmed, I return to that idea. We can always pause, let go, and offer our experience—whatever it is—back to the world. There’s magic in that.

Let me know what you think. I always love hearing from you.

The post Secret Magic: Seeing the Sacred in Everything appeared first on The Open Heart Project.

Hello wonderful Open Heart Project,

This is the second video in a series I created a few years back. You can (but you don’t have to) check out what we talked about last week here. I’ve felt the wisdom of this series more deeply lately. In hard times, the invitation in this talk is always relevant. And so that’s why I’m bringing it to you again now.

In this recording, I guide a simple practice: allow your thoughts to arise without resisting or chasing them. Most will pass on their own. But if you notice that you’ve become swallowed by thought — unaware of your breath — simply observe, gently label it “thinking,” then ease back into noticing your breath. No pressure, no urgency. Just a quiet return.

This is how we cultivate sanity when it feels like the world has lost its mind. Notice. Let go. Come back. Repeat, repeat, repeat.

Thank you for showing up with me in this sacred space of remembering. I’ll see you next week.

Warmly,
Susan

The post For When Your Mind Wanders (It Will and It’s Part of the Practice) appeared first on The Open Heart Project.

Dear Open Heart Project,

I recorded a short video series a few years ago about how real magic is never separate from our hardest emotions — fear, grief, confusion. Magic doesn’t distract us from pain; it deepens our connection to it, and through that, something mysterious can begin to shift.

I’ve been thinking about this ever since, and now I’m offering something more: a new course called Inexplicable Magic. Over four weeks, we’ll explore how meditation, ritual, and wise boundaries can help us meet the unknown with clarity and compassion — not just as an idea, but as a lived experience.

If you’ve ever felt that inner work matters now more than ever, I hope you’ll consider joining us. The course begins October 21. Learn more here.

Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy the talk. I love hearing from you, so let me know what you think.

PS: Here’s the series on painful emotions:

Anger
Attachment
Shame
Jealousy
Anxiety
Distrust
Hatred
Despair

The post When life gets hard, what if that’s where the magic begins? appeared first on The Open Heart Project.

Thank you so much for signing up and joining me for this conversation.

I’m truly grateful you took time from your life, your day, your world to explore something so vital—what it means to work with your own mind in the midst of all that’s happening around (and within) us.

Whether you were able to attend live or are watching the recording now, please know that your presence matters. It matters to this community, and it matters to the world, because when we train in sanity, presence, and kindness—we ripple that outward.

This session was a deep dive into what meditation really offers us: not as a quick fix or stress-reduction tactic, but as a way of living (and even dying) with wakefulness, compassion, and power.

I hope you find the recording meaningful, and that it encourages you to keep walking this path—with gentleness, courage, and curiosity.

With gratitude,
Susan

PS: To go deeper, sign up for my upcoming fall course, Inexplicable Magic.

The post Info Session Recording: Inexplicable Magic, a 4-week course appeared first on The Open Heart Project.

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.