Mindful In May 2021 | Day 29

Day Twenty-nine

DAY 29: Dr Elise Bialylew interviews Mark Nepo

Video Objectives About Mark Nepo Video Objectives

You’ll learn:

About the power of “returning”.
About the art of knowing when to push through and when to let go.
A new way of thinking about discipline.
Stories to awaken your soul.

About Mark Nepo

Mark Nepo moved and inspired readers and seekers all over the world with his #1 New York Times bestseller The Book of Awakening. Beloved as a poet, teacher, and storyteller, Mark has been called “one of the finest spiritual guides of our time,” “a consummate storyteller,” and “an eloquent spiritual teacher.” His work is widely accessible and used by many and his books have been translated into more than twenty languages. A bestselling author, he has published eighteen books and recorded thirteen audio projects. In 2015, he was given a Life-Achievement Award by AgeNation. And in 2016, he was named by Watkins: Mind Body Spirit as one of the 100 Most Spiritually Influential Living People, and was also chosen as one of OWN’s SuperSoul 100, a group of inspired leaders using their gifts and voices to elevate humanity. Recent work includes The One Life We’re Given (Atria, 2016), Inside the Miracle (Sounds True), selected by Spirituality & Health Magazine as one of the top ten best books of 2015, The Endless Practice (Atria).

Prefer to listen, rather than watch? Click the play button below.

Want to read the transcript from this interview? Mind Life Project members receive access to interview transcripts and 6 months of mindfulness support, live meditations, and more👇

Download your transcript for this interview here.[/accessally_has_any_tag]

Your meditation for today

Future Self Meditation with Lisa Abramson

Lisa Abramson is an executive coach, keynote speaker, best selling author and mindfulness teacher. Before becoming a coach, I worked as a marketing exec at a tech startup in the Bay Area. helped more than 15,000 people increase their mental resiliency though my online programs and have shared my insights at TEDx, Google, Microsoft, Cisco, The Stanford Graduate School of Business and in Forbes, NPR, The New York Times, Fast Company, and more. Her well-loved guided meditations that started out being recorded in my “cloffice” (a closet-office) have now been enjoyed for over 8 million minutes around the globe. Lisa graduated magna cum laude from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN and was born and raised in Menlo Park, CA.

WRITE YOUR OWN OBITUARY TO WAKE UP AND APPRECIATE WHAT MATTERS MOST

Reading Mark’s books and listening to him speak really awakens the soul. He tells us:

“Everything in life opens and closes, sheds and renews. We are no different. Listening in its endless forms is the way we stay open, the way we stay in relationship, the way we refresh who we are and what we’re doing here.”

~ Mark Nepo

WRITE YOUR OWN OBITUARY TO WAKE UP AND APPRECIATE WHAT MATTERS MOST

We’re so close to the end of the program!

What an incredible effort you have made. Are you feeling the benefits and effects of a regular practice?

AN END OF MIM REFLECTION GUIDE:

As we move to the end of the program, it’s so worthwhile to take time to reflect on the process. Take a pause, and make the time to integrate the learnings from the past month by downloading your End-of-Program Reflection Guide, if you haven’t already.

Today, as a way of reflecting on the vision you have for yourself, take the time to imagine that you’ve reached the end of your long life, and write your own obituary as you would like it to be expressed. How do you want to be remembered?

Although reflecting on our own mortality may seem morbid, taking a moment to consider our own death can wake us up to the preciousness of our life and to how we want to live it. As the poet Mary Oliver asked,

‘Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?’

In this obituary, you can paint a picture of the life you have lived, reflecting upon all its different aspects:

Family.
Career.
Your biggest accomplishments.
Your greatest contributions.
What you stood for as a person.
What most mattered to you and what you valued.

This retrospective reflection on your life may give you a clearer perspective on what really matters and what you want to focus on more going forwards.