Connecting with Your Dharma and Opening Your Heart in Difficult Times with Stephen Cope
True freedom comes from letting go of grasping and opening our hearts.
But those two things can be so challenging for us to embody in our modern world.
Alison and guest, Stephen Cope, best-selling author and scholar, delve into the relationship between the Eastern contemplative traditions and Western depth psychology and how connecting the two can support you in navigating the modern world.
Stephen shares the experiences and insights that he’s gained studying these ideas that have shaped his books, including his most recent, “The Dharma in Difficult Times: Finding Your Calling in Times of Loss, Change, Struggle, and Doubt,” and offers a guide for how to connect with your own wisdom, cultivate compassion and open-heartedness, and connect with your inner gifts to contribute to positive change in the world.
“There are two forms of grasping in the Buddhist tradition. There's reaching, “oh, I want that. I've got to get that goal. I've got to get over there on the other side of the river.” And then protecting what you have.
The real freedom comes in letting go of that grasping, clinging, craving, holding on, and protecting and opening our hearts instead.”
CONNECT WITH STEPHEN
Stephen Cope is a best-selling author and scholar who specializes in the relationship between the Eastern contemplative traditions and Western depth psychology. Among his seminal works in this area are: Yoga and the Quest for the True Self, The Wisdom of Yoga, and The Great Work of Your Life. His most recent work, The Dharma In Difficult Times, the sequel to The Great Work of Your Life shows us the way through our darkest times to our truest calling. Cope helps give readers a roadmap for the journey to their true calling.
For almost thirty years, Stephen has been Scholar-in-Residence at the renowned Kripalu Center—the largest center for the study and practice of yoga in the Western world. Kripalu hosts almost 50,000 guests a year in its many yoga, meditation, and personal growth programs. It is located on a sprawling 200 acre estate in Stockbridge, Massachusetts.