[Best of] On Awakening, Belonging, and Love | Henry Shukman

In his revelatory book Original Love, 

Zen meditation master, award winning author, poet, and renowned spiritual teacher Henry Shukman,

offers a tantalizing proposition. 

At any moment there is a powerful possibility available to us.

One that involves piercing the illusion of separateness,

And experiencing a deeper and more expansive sense of connection. 

In these moments which are deemed by some as ‘awakening'

it can seem as if a spell has been broken.

It can feel as though are waking up from a sort of dream 

as we see, feel, and know that there is in fact no separation. 

There are no borders. 

There is no “other.” 

At some level, everything and everyone are connected. 

Henry argues that these experiences can be the single most healing, positively life-transforming events that can happen to us. 

Well documented for centuries, across different wisdom traditions, and now explored through scientific research,

Experiences of 'waking up' to our interconnected nature often lead to large positive shifts in our priorities.

These moments often marked by a move from self-protection and self-promotion 

toward a natural flow of compassion and concern for others and the world.

This boundless experience is what Henry calls Original Love. 

Today we decided to re-release this episode as part of our mini series on love. 

In this conversation, (originally published at the beginning of 2025), 

Henry and I will explore the possibility of Original Love. 

An experience that Henry beautifully reminds us becomes more likely  

When we begin to:

• Allow whatever is arising in the moment to simply be as it is, 
• Meet our lived experience with greater curiosity, presence, and love,
• And when we begin to loosen the grip of control as we learn to increasingly relax into uncertainty. 

For more on Henry, his books, teachings and live events, please visit henryshukman.com or check out The Way, his popular meditation app - which you can find at thewayapp.com

Did you find this episode inspiring? Here are other conversations from our mini-series on Love:

• On Love, Storytelling, and Radical Curiosity | Baktash Ahadi
• On the Power of Love | Stephen G. Post

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