Buddhism Beyond Belief with Susan Piver

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This week we explore Right Effort, the sixth step of the Noble Eightfold Path. While the earlier steps guide how we understand reality and how we act in the world, Right Effort begins to turn inward. It concerns how we work with our own mind and inner life.
Right Effort does not mean pushing harder or forcing yourself to improve. It begins with a commitment not to give up on yourself. From there, it becomes a practice of directing your energy wisely, caring for your inner world, and recognizing that even difficult states of mind can contain seeds of wisdom.
In this episode, I explore Right Effort through three lenses: foundational, relational, and transformational.

Highlights

Why Right Effort is not about striving or pushing yourself
A personal story about learning not to give up on myself
The role of daily structure in supporting what truly matters
How meditation helps us reclaim agency over our attention
The effort required to remember our shared humanity
What it means to “look deeply” at difficult emotions
How anger, desire, anxiety, and spaciness can contain seeds of wisdom

Music After Party

For the after party, I share a short song called Regular Rabbit by Stephen Spencer. He writes songs based on stories told by his young daughter, and they capture something simple and reassuring about being human. This one brings me joy every time I hear it.
You can also listen here.
Watch this episode on video
If you’d like to watch the podcast, the video version is coming soon.
Thoughts?
You can send your questions or reflections via Instagram DM or through our form — I’d love to include them in future episodes.
Get your copy of The Buddhist Enneagram
From March 10 – April 10, you can receive 30% off the new physical edition of The Buddhist Enneagram when you order directly from Shambhala Publications. Use code ENNEAGRAM30 at checkout. If this book has been on your reading list, or if you know someone who might benefit from this perspective on the Enneagram, this is a great time to pick up a copy. Buy yours
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 [email protected]
Produced by Citizens of Sound
Music by: Derek O'Brien

©Open Heart Project

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This episode, we pause our exploration of the Noble Eightfold Path before returning next week with Right Effort.
This week, Shambhala Publications (my favorite publisher) is reissuing my book, The Buddhist Enneagram. I’m so proud this is happening and I wanted to take this chance to share thoughts on the two wisdom streams that have shaped my life for more than three decades: the Buddhadharma and the Enneagram.
Highlights:
Why compassion is central to Buddhist teaching and why it can be most difficult in our intimate relationships
Nine patterns of attention through which we experience the same world
How understanding these patterns can transform conflict with partners, family, and colleagues
A personal example of how different Enneagram types notice different things in the same situation
The three centers of intelligence in the Enneagram: instinctual, emotional, and mental
How each center responds differently when life does not go our way
The three instinctual drives that shape each type: self-preservation, social, and intimate connection
Why these combinations create 27 nuanced ways of being
How each type carries both an idealization and an avoidance
Using the Enneagram not to label people but to understand them and remain connected
How the system can support genuine compassion in everyday life
Music selection:
I share a recording of “Black Night,” most famously associated with musician Charles Brown. The version we listen to features Willie Nelson and Dr. John from the album Milk Cow Blues. I talk about the extraordinary musicians on the track, including producer and guitarist Derek O’Brien, who created the theme music for this podcast. You can also listen to it here.
Get your copy of The Buddhist Enneagram
From March 10 – April 10, you can receive 30% off the new physical edition of The Buddhist Enneagram when you order directly from Shambhala Publications. Use code ENNEAGRAM30 at checkout. If this book has been on your reading list, or if you know someone who might benefit from this perspective on the Enneagram, this is a great time to pick up a copy. Buy yours
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 [email protected]
Produced by Citizens of Sound
Music by: Derek O'Brien

©Open Heart Project

Send a text
In this episode, I explore Right Livelihood, the fifth step on the Noble Eightfold Path. We began with Right View and Right Intention, then moved into speech and action. Now we turn to how we earn a living. It may sound ordinary, but the way we work, relate, and exchange value in the world can either bind us more tightly or support liberation. I share three lenses from the Buddhist tradition to investigate what Right Livelihood might mean for us now.

Highlights

Why your job belongs on a path aimed at awakening
The foundational teaching: avoid professions that cause harm
Work as relational practice, the workplace as a practice community
Right Livelihood as Bodhisattva activity in daily life
Protection, money, and the spiritual function of financial stability
When Buddhism meets consumer culture 
How business and interdependence might inform one another

Music After Party

In our after-party, I share “Le Bien, Le Mal” from Jazzmatazz, Vol. 1 by Guru, featuring MC Solaar.
Their collaboration feels like a true exchange. Two artists building something together, each sharpening the other. You can hear the mutual respect. 
You can also listen here.

Thoughts?
You can send your questions or reflections via Instagram DM or through our form — I’d love to include them in future episodes.
Fearless Creativity: A Meditation and Writing Retreat 
Join me at Drala Mountain Center in the Colorado Rockies for Fearless Creativity, a meditation and writing retreat offering dedicated time for creative work alongside guided meditation and conversation. Writers of all genres and levels are welcome, with no prior meditation experience 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 [email protected]
Produced by Citizens of Sound
Music by: Derek O'Brien

©Open Heart Project

Send a text
In this episode, I explore Right Action, the fourth step on the Noble Eightfold Path. We begin with Right View and Right Intention, then move outward into speech. Now we take those steps into how we live and act in the world. Right Action is not a fixed rulebook. It is nuanced, relational, and always evolving. I share three lenses from the Buddhist tradition that help us investigate what right action might mean in our lives right now.

Highlights
Why Right View is about seeing beyond our education, insights, and intelligence
How Right Intention arises from recognizing interconnectedness
Why there is no universal playbook for Right Action
The Five Precepts as a foundational guide: no killing, no stealing, no lying, no intoxicant abuse, no sexual misconduct
Right Action through the Mahayana lens: loving kindness, compassion, and taking joy in others’ happiness
The Vajrayana perspective: karma, karmic seeds, and the possibility of planting none at all
Letting go as a radical form of action
How meditation reveals the mind noticing itself
“Mind resting in mind” and the end of karmic momentum

Music After Party
In our after party, I share “Feel Like Going Home” from the album Folk Singer by Muddy Waters, produced by Willie Dixon and featuring Buddy Guy. It is spare, intimate, and timeless.
Watch this episode on video
If you’d like to watch the podcast, the video version is here.
Thoughts?
You can send your questions or reflections via Instagram DM or through our form — I’d love to include them in future episodes.
Fearless Creativity: A Meditation and Writing Retreat 
Join me at Drala Mountain Center in the Colorado Rockies for Fearless Creativity, a meditation and writing retreat offering dedicated time for creative work alongside guided meditation and conversation. Writers of all genres and levels are welcome, with no prior meditation experience 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 [email protected]
Produced by Citizens of Sound
Music by: Derek O'Brien

©Open Heart Project

Send a text
In this episode, I explore the third step of the Noble Eightfold Path, Right Speech, and why it might more accurately be called Right Listening. I begin with a story about the so-called “Marcus Syndrome”, the habit of using someone else’s speaking time to prepare your reply. From there, I revisit Right View and Right Intention, and how the way we hold our inner world naturally shapes the words we send out into the world.
We look at the classical categories of unskillful speech and then discuss four questions you can ask yourself before you speak. At the heart of it all is the rare and vulnerable skill of listening.  I also reflect briefly on a teaching from the Heart Sutra about how one’s capacity to listen can create deeper insight in others.

Highlights
The “Marcus Syndrome” and the illusion that we are listening when we are really rehearsing
How Right View and Right Intention give rise to Right Speech
Why listening may be the highest communication skill
The four forms of unskillful speechLying, including half truths and things we repeat without certainty
Abusive speech, and the difference between harm and skillful anger
Divisive speech that separates people from one another
Idle speech that fills space without purpose

Four questions to ask before speakingIs it true
Is it beneficial
Is it clear
Is it timely

The power of presence and how good listening is contagious

Music After Party
A Change Is Gonna Come by Sam Cooke
I share why this song feels like a masterwork of sorrow and strength. It is a statement of grief and hope held in the same breath.
You can also listen here.
Watch this episode on video
If you’d like to watch the podcast, the video version is here.
Thoughts?
You can send your questions or reflections via Instagram DM or through our form — I’d love to include them in future episodes.
Fearless Creativity: A Meditation and Writing Retreat 
Join me at Drala Mountain Center in the Colorado Rockies for Fearless Creativity, a meditation and writing retreat offering dedicated time for creative work alongside guided meditation and conversation. Writers of all genres and levels are welco
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 [email protected]
Produced by Citizens of Sound
Music by: Derek O'Brien

©Open Heart Project