leave their homes. I have to keep myself in good enough shape to do my work, but I don’t want anyone feeling sorry for me because I’ve been to too many countries in too short a time. I’m fine and I’m going to be resting this afternoon.” Something about that conversation shifted my whole sense of myself.  I’m noticing a fear come up in myself around that idea — a fear of burnout or a fear that that attitude could, misused, perhaps lead to joylessness. LT: Burnout, in my view, is being disconnected from Source. I don’t think it’s as related as we think to working too long or too hard or eating pizza and Coke instead ... posted on Dec 7 2018 (10,402 reads)

follows is the edited transcript of Chelan Harkin's Awakin Call Mark Peters:  So it’s now my honor to introduce Chelan. Chelan has been channeling ecstatic poetry for more than a decade now and has published two popular collections of her work, Susceptible to Light and Let Us Dance: The Stumble and Whirl with the Beloved, both of which were released in 2021. Her books aim to remind readers of their inherent joy, to support modes of relating to life that open the heart, and to deconstruct anything about God that doesn’t feel intimate, authentic, and warm. Her publishing journey has been supported by mystical connections and prayer experim... posted on Apr 1 2023 (4,234 reads)

with the world, from a place of worthiness. Second, they make choices every day in their life, choices that almost feel subversive in our culture. They are mindful about things like rest and play. They cultivate creativity, they practice self-compassion. They have an understanding of the importance of vulnerability and the perception of vulnerability as courage. They show up in their lives in a very open way that I think scares most of us. How does vulnerability relate to our capacity for joy? As someone who spent more than a decade studying fear, vulnerability, and shame, I never thought in a million years that I would say that joy is probably the most difficult emotion to feel. It... posted on Dec 20 2012 (54,624 reads)

to find another way of telling.” She is a contributing editor to Harper’s magazine and the author of profound books that defy category. She’s emerged as one of our great chroniclers of untold histories of redemptive change in places like post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans. She writes that so often, “when all the ordinary divides and patterns are shattered, people step up to become their brother’s keepers. And that purposefulness and connectedness bring joy even amidst death, chaos, fear and loss.” MS. REBECCA SOLNIT: I want better metaphors. I want better stories. I want more openness. I want better questions. All these things feel lik... posted on Jun 25 2016 (10,632 reads)

name is synonymous with Facebook and Silicon Valley success, and she’s the voice of Lean In. Today, she joins us with vulnerability and frankness, together with the psychologist Adam Grant. He was there for her after the shocking death of her young husband, David Goldberg, while they were on vacation in 2015. Adam’s friendship — and his data — helped Sheryl find her way to what deep resilience might mean for herself and her children, and even daring to reclaim joy. There is so much learning here for all of us, for facing the unimaginable, and for becoming more practically caring towards the loss that is woven into lives all around us at any moment. Ms. S... posted on Jun 17 2017 (17,404 reads)

prophetic tradition. Prophets, he says, are the spiritual warriors, calling attention to cries for justice. It is his outspoken activism on behalf of justice that has earned Fox the label “radical,” a term that doesn’t bother him, since it comes from the Latin word for “root,” the same as “radish.” He fully admits to a desire to “go deep” and to call people to return to the roots of their spiritual traditions—which are love, kindness, joy, reverence, and awe, Fox believes. Fox is the author of more than thirty books. including The Coming of the Cosmic Christ, Original Blessing, Creation Spirituality, The Hidden Spirituality... posted on Nov 12 2020 (28,337 reads)

be happy in order to cheer her up.”  “When my father is depressed, I’ll be angry in order to bring him back to life.”  “When my siblings are fighting I will get sick in order to change the violence.”  “I will hate myself in order to atone for being a burden on my mother.” When people have these contracts, it doesn’t matter how much they practice liking themselves or do meditations to increase self-warmth and joy. These contracts are the ground on which everything else is built and so they create persistent stories about the self: I am not worthy of love. I am an angry person. I am never sad. I always get ... posted on Jan 3 2022 (6,704 reads)

me go to Paris. That is where I met my mentor (the late French Dominican Marie Dominic Pere Chenu) who named the creation spirituality tradition for me. So I was very blessed to have every day that special education actually. And I tried to make the most of it. Eventually, I think they regretted that I did come home, but that's another story. Rahul: I want to fast forward to that story because what I'm hearing and what you shared are both the deepening into the tradition and enjoying the richness and fullness in it and also the beginnings of a little bit of a conflict with the institution. Or if not conflict at that stage, just a clarity that perhaps the institution wasn... posted on Sep 8 2022 (3,038 reads)

happiness lies in things that are not small but simple. Starting as one of her many rewarding accidents, the crusade of The Smile Project began in the late fall of 2011 as Liz drove home from school. “It was unusually warm for that time of year and I had my windows down and my radio up. I couldn’t tell you a single song that was on the radio, but I remember I was happy,” she recalled. “It was more than that, though. Most days I would have just felt the emotion of joy, smiled, and moved on. But something deeper hit me.” “I got home and I did what any 17-year-old would do in 2011 when they think they have a life-altering message to communicate wit... posted on Feb 2 2021 (5,884 reads)

in the UK? Murthy:I was, yes. [laughs] Tippett:That’s right. You went through Newfoundland, you ended up in Miami… Murthy:Yeah, that’s right. Tippett:That’s a really interesting trajectory. Your father was a doctor. But I’m curious about, in this background of your childhood and your family, where do you trace the roots of this care that you have, this passion, for the art of healing? Murthy:Well, I’ll just say Krista, just to start, what a joy it is to be with you as well, as somebody who’s listened to On Being for many years long before I met you. I’m just such a fan, but also a deep admirer of what you do and the... posted on Apr 14 2023 (3,864 reads)

your presence in co-creating and deepening the collective energy of this conversation. And a friendly reminder: if there's a tech glitch or any other issue for our speakers, please hang in there while our team works quickly to bring the speakers back on. Let's start with a moment of silence to anchor ourselves into this space. [pause] Thank you, and welcome again. Our moderator for the conversation today with Barbara McAfee is Mia Tagano. Mia is a ServiceSpace volunteer who enjoys connections she has made online and offline. She's also an actor, teacher, and coach, as well as a spirit runner and community member. Mia has been a professional actor for over 20 years, inc... posted on Apr 28 2023 (2,455 reads)

how you came to your call to be Jesuit. Fr. Boyle: First of all, it's so great to be here and I'm so honored to be in a conversation with you. I'm a big fan, though I do have a recurring nightmare that I'm interviewed by Krista Tippett and I'm found shallow and lacking faith [laughter]. This is way better than the actual nightmare I have [laughter]. Well, I was educated by Jesuits, so I — for me, they were always sort of this combo burger of absolute hilarity and joy and the most fun people to be around, and they were prophetic. So this was during the time of the Vietnam War, so we'd laugh a lot and I'd go with them to protesting the war. So the com... posted on May 4 2014 (20,188 reads)

try and direct them and watch what it is they like to do in play, you often will see a key to their innate talents. And if those talents are given fairly free reign, then you see that there is a union between self and talent. And that this is nature's way of sort of saying this is who you are and what you are. And I'm sure if you go back and think about both of your children or yourself and go back to your earliest emotion-laden, visual, and visceral memories of what really gave you joy, you'll have some sense of what was natural for you and where your talents lie. Krista Tippett, host: Who knew that we learn empathy, trust, irony, and problem solving through play — so... posted on Jul 18 2014 (31,675 reads)

didn’t want to wish. She wanted to know how to live life with no regrets. Out of Patti’s vision and sense of urgency, the No Regrets Project was born. Between radiation treatments, spinal surgery and a bucket list trip to Alaska, Patti wrote essays, talked with anyone who would listen, dreamed and created. In the end, she developed five simple, personal practices to help herself live life more fully: be grateful every day, trust – take the risk, courage to be me, choose joy, and love myself & share it. While the phrases may be simple, accomplishing them is not. The development of the No Regrets Project is Patti Pansa’s legacy to all of us.  Be Grate... posted on Mar 4 2015 (48,696 reads)

When my mother was dying, I didn’t ask that question. I didn’t ask any question. I didn’t want to know the answer because the answer would change everything. We didn’t talk about the cancer – how it was devouring my mother’s bones and internal organs, how it was planning to steal my favorite person. We didn’t talk about love and loss, or her longing to see me find a life that would blossom. We didn’t mention how death would assassinate that joy for her or how death would rob me of the pleasure of coming home from college for Thanksgiving break and seeing her face at the kitchen window, eager to hear every detail of my life. Death would k... posted on Nov 23 2015 (15,198 reads)

Dance (Word Press 2008), which won the 2009 Paterson Award for Literary Excellence; More (C&R Press 2010); Gold (Cascade Books, a division of Wipf and Stock, in their Poeima Poetry Series, 2013); Small Rain (Purple Flag, an imprint of the Virtual Artists Collective, 2014); and Barbara Crooker: Selected Poems (FutureCycle Press, 2015). Margaret Rozga: When I reviewed your book Gold for Verse Wisconsin, I loved the joy, the optimism, in many of your poems, even those that pay their respects to sorrow. Those poems focus on your grief at your mother’s death, but in the third section of the book, you tur... posted on Jul 26 2016 (11,099 reads)

speak these kind words about me. But the question is there, will I live up to that or not? [laughs] I do question myself at times. I don’t know if you’ve met another Buddhist nun who sings and who has been called a “rock star.” [she laughs and audience laughs] I’m a very controversial figure, but I have no regrets. I’m happy because most of the time I’ve seen my effort has been able to make some impact of bringing smiles to people’s faces. I enjoy that so much. It brings joy to my heart. I always took my singing ability as a blessing. Since a very young age, I always enjoyed singing and humming. But when I took refuge in the nunnery, my ... posted on Nov 20 2017 (10,211 reads)

The media in general is so negative. It's just something to catch our attention, but Daily Good offers the opposite. It bring us something good, something that's a higher possibility of humankind. Some of the good initiatives, the best practices out there, and every day you receive a gift from Daily Good. I just love it. I have these programs with young people where I shared DailyGood with them -- many of whom don't speak English, so I translate to Vietnamese. It just multiplies my joy. The first joy is reading it myself, knowing some people are doing really wonderful, awesome work out there. And the second is being able to tell that news to others, and sharing with others. So I... posted on Sep 5 2018 (3,662 reads)

inner champion, we tell it our berating story and see what happens. When my inner critic gets over-zealous, I invoke the imagery of Jesus and/or my dog Stella.  If Jesus rolls his eyes or Stella yawns and goes to sleep, I know my criticism holds no merit. I release the story of my inadequacy and choose a more compassionate story that embraces and transcends fear. The Candle of Joy: My friend Birju recently shared this quote: Joy is the mother of all emotions. But joy will not go where her children are not welcome.   It sounds odd, but I believe the feelings we hold around failure are displaced joy. It can be hard to find joy in failure. But w... posted on Oct 27 2018 (8,113 reads)

start with a quote I have from you:  "Contemplative practices are not merely to induce altered states but to induce altered traits." Or as Houston Smith so eloquently put it, "...to transform flashes of illumination into abiding light.” Can you say a little bit more about what this means? Roger:  One of the delights of any contemplative practice is if we do it long enough, we have peak experiences.   We feel emotions such as love, compassion, joy, and ecstasy. We also tap into deep aspirations, such as the motive to actualize our capacities to become more of what we truly are.  These inner experiences are wonderful; but they are not t... posted on Jan 17 2019 (6,174 reads)