A Meditation on Original Love and Interconnectedness, with Henry Shukman | Happiness Break

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Feb 6, 2025

Join Henry Shukman, a poet and mindfulness teacher, as he guides listeners through the transformative concept of original love and interconnectedness. He emphasizes how recognizing our shared experience fosters joy, safety, and belonging. Through a calming meditation, he encourages embracing the loving awareness that binds us to all living beings. Shukman also discusses the importance of strong relationships and the neurochemical bonding that enhances our emotional well-being, inviting everyone to explore their inner connection.

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INSIGHT

Original Love

Original love is a state of interconnectedness found through meditation, where separation diminishes.
It's a loving place of connection, essential for our well-being as primates.

ADVICE

Finding Stillness and Relaxation

Find stillness, supporting your back or balancing your spine if sitting upright.
Relax your body, releasing tension in the jaw and letting your limbs go limp.

ADVICE

Connecting with Surroundings

Expand your awareness to the space around you, connecting with the air through your breath.
Recognize the continuity between your body, the earth, and the biosphere.

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Cultivate a sense of original love — a universal connection that nurtures joy, safety, and belonging — with meditation teacher Henry Shukman.

How to Do This Practice:

Find a comfortable position, either seated with a balanced, unsupported spine or resting back into support.
Sense the solidity of your body resting on the earth, recognizing your deep connection with it.
Observe the sounds around you, the sensations in your body, and any passing thoughts.
Remember that you are not separate. Your nervous system, your emotions, and even your breath are part of a vast, shared experience. You are connected not only to other humans but to all living beings.
Sense the loving quality in this awareness—an unconditional, foundational love that is always present.
If continuing, remain in stillness and deepen your awareness.
When finished, bring small movements into your body, breathe deeply, and return to your surroundings with a sense of connection and calm.

Today’s Happiness Break Guide:

Henry Shukman, is a poet, mindfulness teacher, and author of Original Love: The Four Inns on the Path of Awakening.

Learn more about Shukman’s work: https://henryshukman.com/about

Order his book, Original Love: The Four Inns on the Path of Awakening: https://tinyurl.com/mwv5cuxr

This is part of our series The Science of Love, supported by The John Templeton Foundation.

Related Happiness Break episodes:

Loving Kindness Meditation: https://tinyurl.com/2kr4fjz5
How To Ground Yourself in Nature: https://tinyurl.com/25ftdxpm
Our Deep Interconnectedness: https://tinyurl.com/jthxkpjd

Related Science of Happiness episodes:

How Water Heals: https://tinyurl.com/utuhrnh3
How To Show Up For Yourself: https://tinyurl.com/56ktb9xc
How Holding Yourself Can Reduce Stress: https://tinyurl.com/2hvhkwe6

We’d love to hear about your experience with this practice! Share your thoughts at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or use the hashtag #happinesspod.

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Transcription: https://tinyurl.com/ye6baxv3