Toni Bernhard

Today we speak with Toni Bernhard about her new book How to Wake Up: A Buddhist-Inspired Guide to Navigating Joy and Sorrow.

Life is made of a wide variety of experiences. Some encourage and inspire, energize and lighten us, while we may find other experiences discouraging, or depressing. Our practice is getting to the heart of how to relate to what happens in life, every day, but sometimes it helps to have a bit of guidance on that path.

Toni Bernhard has been a longtime meditator, going on long meditation retreats and spending many hours rigorously practicing, but soon discovered that she simply could no longer engage in those difficult and taxing forms. She had to learn ways to make ‘being sick’ the heart of her spiritual practice — and through truly learning how to be sick, she learned how, even with many physical and energetic limitations, to live a life of equanimity, compassion, and joy. She is author of the award-winning “How to Be Sick: A Buddhist-Inspired Guide for the Chronically Ill and Their Caregivers,” and the newly released “How to Wake Up: A Buddhist-Inspired Guide for Navigating Joy and Sorrow.”

So, sit back, relax, and have a nice Pomegranite smoothie.

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Music for This Episode Courtesy of Rodrigo Rodriguez

The music heard in the middle of this podcast is from Rodrigo Rodriguez. You can visit his website to hear more of his music, get the full discography, and view his upcoming tour dates.