Norman Fischer is a poet, author, Zen Buddhist teacher and priest. He’s a graduate of Iowa’s Writer’s Workshop and he’s been publishing poetry since 1979. He’s the author of 17 books of poetry, 6 books of prose on Zen and religion as well as numerous articles and essays. In this episode, Eric and Norman discuss his book, The World Could Be Otherwise: Imagination and the Bodhisattva Path.

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In This Interview, Norman Fischer and I discuss Spiritual Growth through Imagination and…

His book, The World Could Be Otherwise: Imagination and the Bodhisattva Path
Redefining imagination and discovering it’s prevalence and role in life
The role of imagination in spiritual paths
How we don’t see the world exactly as it is, but rather through filters
Loosening our grasp on what we think of as absolute reality
Constructing useful stories in our mind rather than living by our default stories
The essential ways in which imagination enriches the experience of our lives
When we realize we are making our lives for ourselves, we have the power to make it differently
The Bodhisattva: A Buddha in training
Compassion, Love and Service for the benefit of others
The Bodhisattva Path
The myth of separateness and the truth of interconnection and love
That holding two (seemingly contradictory) ideas in our mind at one time offers us depth perception
How ideals can inspire us rather than put pressure on us
The disease of perfectionism
How to engage in “Joyful Effort” when you don’t feel very joyful and don’t have much effort to spare
Patience: Just keep going and be of benefit to others
Turning toward what’s arising: facing it, embracing it, breathing into it and going forward with it
The problematic nature of favoring one’s own suffering over the suffering of others

Norman Fischer Links:

normanfischer.org

Poems by Norman Fischer

Essays by Norman Fischer

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If you enjoyed this conversation with Norman Fischer on Spiritual Growth through Imagination, you might also enjoy these other episodes:

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