Welcome to my website. I hope this will become a gathering place for sharing the back-stories and teachings that have shaped my work and my path of mindfulness and compassion.
My book on mindful communication reflects the value I place on the power of our conversations to bring out the best in each other. If we could put down our phones and say hello to a stranger on an elevator or a train, we’re contributing to a grassroots culture of kindness in this world.
My most recent book, Which Way Is Up? is available now from Shambhala Publications. I like the title because it’s an open question, and the book describes my personal cancer journey as a ‘rubber meets the road’ challenge for my 49 years of practicing Buddhist meditation. I hope it will benefit anyone who has or is experiencing the shock of unexpected life changes. It’s about the transformative power of embracing the fear of sickness, old age and death with loving, kindness and compassion.
New Book
My new book uses teachings about the bardo, which is traditionally understood to be the gap between death and rebirth and applies them to those times in our life when what feels normal is suddenly interrupted. This is the focus of Which Way Is Up? and my teaching these days. Here’s a window into that approach:
The darkest times in our life can be the most transformational. Using my own cancer journey as an example, I’m exploring how to apply the Buddhist teachings on the ‘bardo’–the gaps in our normal life–to discover what it means to truly live our life to the fullest.
“According to the Tibetan Book of the Dead a bardo is a period of great transition and uncertainty. Change is an inevitable part of life, but often when it comes to the big change like a divorce, a career change, the death of a parent or a pandemic we often freeze or panic. Time spent in a bardo cuts to the core of who we are and tests our resolve to stay present in the midst of what feels like chaos. However, if we have trained in the practice of mindfulness it is possible to meet uncertainty with openness and navigate our way through the bardo to a place that reflects our highest aspirations rather than our fears.”
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Which Way Is Up — Book Launch Schedule
August 2-4, 2024 Victoria, BC
Thank you, Victoria, for a wonderful weekend program unpacking some of the teachings from Which Way is Up?
And special thanks to my co-teacher, Elesa Commerse.
Book Signing Event
Saturday, September 7, 10 am-noon
Village Bookstore
Bellingham, WA
https://www.villagebooks.com/event/litlive-susan-gillis-chapman-090724