Buddhism Beyond Belief with Susan Piver

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“The first rule of magic is containment,” said the great Julia Cameron, author of The Artist’s Way and many other books. This points to the idea that the world we live in changes the way our minds and hearts work. The more uplifted our world, beginning with our actual home, the more potency we have in our spiritual quest. Why? It’s magic?  
In this episode, I explore the fifth principle from Inexplicable Magic: Meditation for Mystics: We Clean Up After Ourselves. I also answer a listener's question about why the Buddha described friendship, not as helpful along the way, but as the way. And for the podcast after party, we check in with the great Ini Kamoze. 
Highlights
Why caring for your environment is a spiritual practice
How the "container principle" shapes meditation and daily life
What it means to clean up after yourself — in your space and in your relationships
Repairing small moments of disconnection
Why the Buddha taught that spiritual friendship is the whole of the path
The role of sangha in practice
Music
Listen to "Here Comes the Hotstepper" by Ini Kamoze and tell me you somehow remained seated. 

Mentioned in this podcast: Fake Buddha Quotes

My new book is now available
Inexplicable Magic: Meditation for Mystics, is available for purchase. Explore the spiritual path through 7 principles which run counter to conventional wisdom. 
Learn more and buy your copy here.
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 7-Day Program Starts June 14th
Seven Days of Inexplicable Magic is a chance to immerse yourself in post-meditation practice, aka the rest of your life. What happens when practice follows you into your relationships, home life, bill-paying, creative pursuits? Together, we will find out.. The program follows the arc of my new book, and I'm co-leading it with my friend, Crystal Gandrud. Come find out more.

Proclaiming Basic Sanity: Living the Bodhisattva Path Retreat 
Come practice with me at Drala Mountain Center, up in the Colorado Rockies, for a retreat on the bodhisattva path: what it takes to live with real courage and an open heart in the middle of our ordinary, chaotic, beautiful lives. We'll talk honestly about how to recognize and rouse basic sanity right where we already are. Everyone's welcome, and you don't need any prior meditation experience. Learn more and register.

If you enjoyed this episode:
Please rate, review, and share it with a friend who’s curious about mindfulness, spiritual commitment, or the Buddhist path.
For more on Buddhist teachings and how our humanity isn’t necessarily in our way, sign up for my free weekly newsletter or join the Open Heart Project sangha for more connection with community and with me.
If this podcast has been meaningful to you, it would be great if you would subscribe, give it a five star rating and share it with a friend. To join or learn more about The Open Heart Project please visit openheartproject.com.
Thoughts? Email us at info@susanpiver.com
Produced by Citizens of Sound
Music by: Derek O'Brien

©Open Heart Project

Send us Fan Mail
The spiritual path asks you to open up, and the more you do so, the more you feel everything: your tenderness, things you’ve been avoiding, your deepest longings. It’s important to stay open to all of this but being open takes judgment. I know people say you shouldn’t judge but I say, hell yes, you’ve got to judge. The deepening vulnerability of the journey requires discernment and self-protection.
In this episode, I explore the fourth principle from my new book, Inexplicable Magic: Meditation for Mystics: We Are Boundaried. I discuss healthy boundaries, the importance of relying on teachers who can introduce you to your own wisdom (not theirs alone), and a traditional teaching called the Seven Treasures that help us establish protection, agency, and trust in our knowing.
Highlights
• Why boundaries matter
• Meditation as ground, path, and fruition
• The three qualities cultivated through practice: compassion, clarity, and courage
• Three teachers: outer, inner, and secret
• The line between a community that supports you and one that seeks to take you over
• The Seven Treasures as a framework for protection and self-trust
• A listener's question about progress in meditation, and where to actually look for signs your practice is working

Music
For the after party I'm playing "Who Do You Love" by Bo Diddley. It's deep and full of swagger, from one of the true original rockers.Have a listen.

My new book is now available
Inexplicable Magic: Meditation for Mystics, is available for purchase. Explore the spiritual path through 7 principles which go counter to conventional wisdom. 
Learn more and buy your copy here.
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 7-Day Program
A new 7-day programSeven Days of Inexplicable Magic is an immersion into what happens when practice gets off the cushion and into the rest of your life. It follows the arc of the new book, and I'm co-leading it with my friend, Crystal Gandrud.Come find out more.
Proclaiming Basic Sanity: Living the Bodhisattva Path Retreat 
Come practice with me at Drala Mountain Center, up in the Colorado Rockies, for a retreat on the bodhisattva path: what it takes to live with real courage and an open heart in the middle of our ordinary, chaotic, beautiful lives. We'll talk honestly about how to recognize and rouse basic sanity right where we already are. Everyone's welcome, and you don't need any experience to come.Learn more and register.
Learn more and register here.

If you enjoyed this episode:
Please rate, review, and share it with a friend who’s curious about mindfulness, spiritual commitment, or the Buddhist path.
For more on Buddhist teachings and how our humanity isn’t necessarily in our way, sign up for my free weekly newsletter or join the Open Heart Project sangha for more connection with community and with me.
If this podcast has been meaningful to you, it would be great if you would subscribe, give it a five star rating and share it with a friend. To join or learn more about The Open Heart Project please visit openheartproject.com.
Thoughts? Email us at info@susanpiver.com
Produced by Citizens of Sound
Music by: Derek O'Brien

©Open Heart Project

Send us Fan Mail
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.

If you enjoyed this episode:
Please rate, review, and share it with a friend who’s curious about mindfulness, spiritual commitment, or the Buddhist path.
For more on Buddhist teachings and how our humanity isn’t necessarily in our way, sign up for my free weekly newsletter or join the Open Heart Project sangha for more connection with community and with me.
If this podcast has been meaningful to you, it would be great if you would subscribe, give it a five star rating and share it with a friend. To join or learn more about The Open Heart Project please visit openheartproject.com.
Thoughts? Email us at info@susanpiver.com
Produced by Citizens of Sound
Music by: Derek O'Brien

©Open Heart Project

Send us Fan Mail
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.
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.
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.

If you enjoyed this episode:
Please rate, review, and share it with a friend who’s curious about mindfulness, spiritual commitment, or the Buddhist path.
For more on Buddhist teachings and how our humanity isn’t necessarily in our way, sign up for my free weekly newsletter or join the Open Heart Project sangha for more connection with community and with me.
If this podcast has been meaningful to you, it would be great if you would subscribe, give it a five star rating and share it with a friend. To join or learn more about The Open Heart Project please visit openheartproject.com.
Thoughts? Email us at info@susanpiver.com
Produced by Citizens of Sound
Music by: Derek O'Brien

©Open Heart Project

Send us Fan Mail
In this episode, I explore why spiritual practice becomes sustainable through ritual, not force. I share the story of a month-long meditation retreat where I discovered an unexpected sense of ease in both meditation and writing, and how that experience led me to begin teaching meditation and writing retreats myself. 
I also introduce the first principle from my new book, Inexplicable Magic: Meditation for Mystics: We engage in daily ritual. Through the Buddhist teaching of the three jewels, Buddha, dharma, and sangha, I explore how wakefulness, contemplation, and community create the conditions for practice to truly take root.
Highlights
Why meditation retreats can unlock creativity, focus, and flow
How structure and repetition create a container for spiritual practice
The first principle of Inexplicable Magic: we engage in daily ritual
Buddha as wakefulness itself, not just a historical figure
Dharma as reflection, contemplation, and connection to wisdom
Why community, or sangha, is essential for sustaining practice
What really happens when meditation becomes difficult or boring
Simple ways to bring the three jewels into daily life
Music After Party
I share “Uncloudy Day” by The Staple Singers, featuring the extraordinary guitar playing of Pops Staples and the unforgettable voice of Mavis Staples. 
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.
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.

If you enjoyed this episode:
Please rate, review, and share it with a friend who’s curious about mindfulness, spiritual commitment, or the Buddhist path.
For more on Buddhist teachings and how our humanity isn’t necessarily in our way, sign up for my free weekly newsletter or join the Open Heart Project sangha for more connection with community and with me.
If this podcast has been meaningful to you, it would be great if you would subscribe, give it a five star rating and share it with a friend. To join or learn more about The Open Heart Project please visit openheartproject.com.
Thoughts? Email us at info@susanpiver.com
Produced by Citizens of Sound
Music by: Derek O'Brien

©Open Heart Project