Letting Grow's other episodes, season 1
miscellaneous episodes
Book and movie suggestions
If you have some extra time to curl up with a good book or movie this week, here are a couple of recommendations for you! The first is In Love with Life by Mingyur Rinpoche, a fun read about a renowned Tibetan master who decides to leave his identity as a reincarnate lama in order to spend four years on a wandering retreat. He brings the bardo teachings into real life, both as a way of talking about leaving his old identity behind and when he nearly dies of food poisoning and has a near death experience.
The movie recommendation is Unmistaken Child, a sweet and beautiful movie that takes us inside the process of a devoted Tibetan monk and student searching for the reincarnation of his master. You can watch the trailer or the movie here: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/unmistakenchild
Presidential transitions
With all the talk of the upcoming presidential transition in the news, I got curious about what this big event has in common with the changes in identity we've all lived through. So this week I created this mini-episode with links to a couple of short articles about the process of presidential transition. Here's hoping that this big national moment goes smoothly!
Claire's transitions: falling in love, moving to Canada, and more
Today’s episode is the story of how I fell in love, left home on a quest for rebirth, and haven’t died (yet!) of the Canadian cold. In the middle of all these massive life transitions, I realized one day that I’d basically died to my old identity and was in a bardo state between old and new, and that insight is what led to this podcast, the book I’m working on, and basically most of my professional life at the moment.
Western authors on transitions
This show has focused so far on Tibetan teachings on death and rebirth, but there are also Western authors who have been thinking and writing about transitions and have their own model to offer. In this episode I'll share four of my Western favorites, their three-stage model of transitions, and some of the recent research on how people go through transitions (in this lifetime). At the end of the day, these authors make a great conversation partner, so to speak, with Tibetan teachings on literal rebirth.
Thanos: balancing birth and death
For this episode, I'm offering some reflections on one of the most famous Marvel villains, Thanos, who I think must have been inspired by the Greek god of death, Thanatos. Today’s episode is about the creative tension between Thanatos and Eros, god of love and sex, and the dynamic balance life strikes between birth and death, creation and destruction. Whether you’re a Marvel fan or not, I hope this episode offers you an opportunity to reflect on your own relationship with endings and the ways recognizing impermanence can actually help us live better lives.
Leaving the covid bardo
Today’s episode is the next to last in season one of Letting Grow, and today I’m finally talking about our rebirth out of the covid bardo state we’ve all been in. No matter how long it takes for us all to move on to some kind of new normal, eventually we’ll be able to meet friends and go to the gym and so many of the things we used to do. If we stop now and reflect on what we've learned about ourselves and what matters to us, it’ll help us to live more intentionally in the “after times,” not just try to get back to the “before times.”