Mindrolling with Raghu Markus

Ep. 517 - Your Heart Was Made For This with Oren Jay Sofer

Nov 20, 2023

Mindfulness teacher Oren Jay Sofer joins Raghu Markus to discuss keeping our hearts open through difficult times. Topics include Oren's mindfulness journey, navigating global conflict with mindfulness, expanding our hearts, the challenges faced by humanity, the importance of relationships and compassion, individual change impacting society, the abuse of the earth, and the importance of joy, gratitude, and vulnerability.

59:07

Episode guests

Oren Jay Sofer

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Episode notes

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Quick takeaways

Courage is about being present and vulnerable, meeting what is happening with an open heart in spite of fear.

Amidst the heaviness of the world, it is important to cultivate ease and find solace in the present moment.

Deep dives

The Power of Cultivating Courage

Courage is about being present and vulnerable, meeting what is happening with an open heart in spite of fear. It takes courage to love and risk losing what we care about. In the face of the challenges in the world today, courage allows us to stay present, take the next step, and make conscious choices about where we direct our attention.

Introduction

5min

Meeting Munindra: A Profound Impact

7min

Resilience and the Power of Love

19min

Finding Joy in the Midst of Darkness

9min

Taking Control of Your Attention and Reclaiming Your Life

5min

Courage and Spirituality

15min

Mindfulness teacher Oren Jay Sofer sits with Raghu to discuss keeping our hearts open through difficult times.

In this episode, Raghu Markus and Oren Jay Sofer talk about:

Oren’s path to mindfulness
The influence of Vipassana Meditation
How mindfulness can be a resource to navigate the horrors of global conflict
Expanding the capacity of our hearts
The potential that human beings have to move beyond ourselves
The challenges we are currently faces as a species
Compassion and the route to a better world
Family and the importance of relationships
How the company we keep affects our spiritual practice
The way that individual change can impact society
Ecology and the abuse of earth
Yugas, cosmology, and building a future through our daily choices
Sangha and witnessing another human being’s healing
Stories from experiences with Munindraji
The importance of joy and gratitude
How self-centeredness is being encouraged and exploited by technology
Courage and the willingness to be vulnerable
A brief guided meditation around ease

“Our hearts were made to flourish. We are born with these immense capacities and this beautiful potential to contribute and grow and flower as human beings, if we receive the right nourishment and if we know how to water those seeds.” – Oren Jay Sofer

About Oren Jay Sofer:

Oren teaches mindfulness, meditation and Nonviolent Communication in secular and Buddhist contexts. Oren is also the founder and Guiding Teacher of Next Step Dharma, an innovative online course focused on bringing the tools of meditation to daily life, and co-founder of Mindful Healthcare. He is a CNVC Certified Trainer of Nonviolent Communication, and visiting teacher at the Insight Meditation Society. You can order your copy of Oren Jay Sofer's new book, Your Heart Was Made For This, on his website.

Check our Oren’s recent blog post about allowing the heart to open and close during difficult times.

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