My latest conversation with Sharon Salzberg...
...on the history of the word "loser," the VIA character strength test, why the Dalai Lama is a Darwinist, and more
Dear You,
Recently, I was honored to appear as a guest on the great Sharon Salzberg’s “Metta Hour” podcast.
Sharon is one of the world’s leading meditation teachers, and a mega-bestselling author of books such as REAL HAPPINESS and LOVINGKINDNESS; her Metta Hour podcast has been downloaded six million times!
Here’s the link to our conversation, if you’d like to listen.
Sharon and I discussed:
• How I approach writing
• VIA character strength test
• Does great art have to come from great pain
• How suffering brings us together
• On embracing “differences”
• Our very own Quiet Life Community
• Why sorrow is a bridge to connection
• The Dalai Lama, the Darwinist
• Moral elevation
• Dipa Ma telling Sharon she would teach
• Leonard Cohen as my patron saint
• Beauty in this broken world
• Never be ashamed of your suffering
• The history of the word “loser”
• Sharon teaching me Lovingkindness meditation
• Lovingkindness and boundaries
• Chocolate and Brussel Sprouts
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Also, as you probably know, Sharon was a recent guest on one of our Candlelight Chats. If you missed that great conversation, or would like to watch it again, you can find it by scrolling down to the end of this “Disapproval of Others” post:
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I hope you enjoy!
xo, Susan
Sorrow as a bridge to each other ... Yesterday I felt how my body filled herself with sorrow. And while I observed what was going on inside myself I heard myself asking my body if it was really necessary to give shape to this sorrow ... again. If I hadn't lived through it enough? It was a sincere question I asked myself. The next moment I was aware my rational mind, visualized as a little man behind a desk, crashed. I experienced a short circuit in my mind. So I sat with this reality for a while, observing how the little fellow didn't knew what to do now the message to my body was disrupted and overruled by myself.
I wondered what the deeper message of this all would mean so I waited for an answer when I heard a little voice inside myself singing; And oh! I am glad that nobody knew, that the name I am called is Rumpelstiltskin!
Life tells itself to me in metaphor, so I looked the fairytale up and read the story. (you can find it here :
https://www.grimmstories.com/language.php?grimm=055&l=nl&r=en)
Realizing that all the protagonists of the story share something about parts of myself, I realized that this little fellow behind his desk of my rational mind holds the key that can unlock myself for the answer I was searching for, the answer to my sorrow. And that a belief in separation (which the story of Rumpelstiltskin and he himself give shape to by splitting himself in the end in two) is holding me back to become one with myself. It disables me to 'spin gold out of straw ...', to become fully aware of and use my potentials.
And for as far as I am aware of at this moment gold represents a healing energy ...
Later that day it dawned on me that when we as humans are all treated the same, we lose our authenticity. Which creates great sorrow amongst everyone and evokes suppressed anger and anxiety ...
So when I treat myself in this way, I suppress my own authenticity ... time to give the fellow behind the desk a new task or maybe a day off :) Knowing that the rational mind is a part of a greater mind, a mindscape, that's connected with a universal wisdom ... maybe the deepest longing we yearn for; to be connected with this wisdom again, enabling us to follow the rythm of our heart and her beat.
Dear Susan, I send you an e-mail last week in which I shared my gratitude to be granted a scholarship by you to join this community and that I would love to return it to you. I also shared the reason why. And although I am at times in heavily in doubt if this is the right decision and the right thing to do, I believe it is at this time in my life better to do so. I hope you will find time to read the e-mail one day.
For me it felt important that you know that I am leaving, with a deep respect for what you do and love for the human you are. (so I hope you read this). Eventually every path leads 'home' and we are all travelers finding our way.
In a next life I hope we become friends who are living in the same street, so we can communicate directly, enjoy climbing trees, read books together, listen to some music, smell flowers, build a treehouse with a roof against the rain ... and write handwritten letters to each other. I would love that.
The only question I have is if I can unsubscribe myself or if you (or Renee) have to do this, so you can grant some one else this space?
Take care beautiful lady, team and community.