The Journey from Contraction to Expansiveness

“What choices will lead me to greater integration and wholeness?”

“Connection is our greatest source of expansiveness,” Sharon Salzberg writes, inviting the question that gave me chills in her new book, Real Life: The Journey from Isolation to Openness and Freedom…

Can we find ourselves in each other? 

A renowned author, meditation pioneer and teacher, Sharon’s dedicated five decades to spreading mindfulness and loving kindness practices in our culture. 

Our conversation is a guided exploration of how we can move from contraction to expansiveness, inclusive of invaluable tools to understand, and then reframe, our relationship to our thoughts and experiences. I turn to them daily and am excited to hear which resonate for you.

Though, here, I wanted to share a moving invitation she offered to answer the above question. It’s an immediate gateway into expansiveness…

“My favorite reflection is: Who has been involved in my being here right now? 

We can feel so alone. But, when we think back, there are so many conversations or times when somebody gave us a book or read us a poem. 

I do that reflection and think of the Board of Regents of the state of New York, who gave me a scholarship, which is how I was able to go to college. I went to India [where she learned to meditate] through that college program. They’re really a part of why I’m here. 

We live in a very interconnected world. So, that's my favorite reflection: Who else is here?”

Who comes to mind as you reflect on Sharon’s question? How might you thank them, personally or internally, for their impact on your life? 

With gratitude,
Jenna