PTSD, Meditation, Inner Growth & Creativity: An Interview with Susan Piver
Monday, November 29th, 2010 • PTSD Recovery Tips •
Author, Susan Piver
PTSD recovery can strip you of any inkling of power you thought you possessed. And yet, it is possible to repower your process. Today, I have someone very special to share with you.
Susan Piver is the New York Times bestselling author of five books, including The Hard Questions: 100 Essential Questions to Ask Before You Say “I Do” (Putnam 2002) the award winning How Not to Be Afraid of Your Own Life (St. Martin’s Press 2006), and The Wisdom of a Broken Heart, published in January 2010 by Simon & Schuster.
She is frequently featured in the media, including multiple appearances on the Oprah show, the Today show, CNN, CBS Early Show, and in USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, Time, Money, and others. She’s a frequent contributor to the Huffington Post and the Shambhala Sun, too.
But here’s where I think her perspective really gets interesting. In the past I’ve written posts and shot videos about my belief in meditation and writing practices to complement treatments of post-traumatic stress. Piver, having spent more than a decade studying and practicing Buddhism, has insights about all of this that will completely invigorate your PTSD recovery approach. A graduate of a Buddhist seminary and authorized as a meditation instructor in the Shambhala Buddhist lineage, Susan teaches workshops around the world on meditation, inner growth, and creativity.
Today, I’m incredibly pleased to share with you our conversation which covered such topics as:
- myths about meditation
- how to begin a simple meditation practice
- the benefits of meditation in PTSD recovery
- inner growth from trauma
- benefits of creativity in healing posttraumatic stress (ever heard of the word ‘vibing’?)
- the gift of hypervigilance — and how you can use it for good!
- how writing can help release and deal with overwhelming emotion
- how to dedicate the merit — and why you need to
- how to step away from and then toward your memories
Some people have such unique insights, compassionate perspectives, and comprehensive philosophies that you learn something the moment they utter a single word. Susan Piver is like this and it was my great fortune (and yours!) to interview her on a variety of self-empowered techniques to apply to the recovery process of posttraumatic stress.
I hope you enjoy listening to this audio interview as much as I enjoyed taping it!
Tags: post-traumatic stress, posttraumatic stress, ptsd, recovery of ptsd, susan piver
Loading ...
Michele,
To me this is the best show I have listened to so far…all your shows and guests have been great. However this particular show has really affected me with all I have been experiencing recently. I felt as though you and Susan were speaking directly to me.
Thanks as always for a wonderful and enlightening experience.
That was very professionally done by both of you. My path exhausted everything available and then I tried Acceptance therapy. Mindful meditation was the corner stone of the practice. Today I belong to a small Soto Zen center and practice every day multiple sits.
Susan you describe meditation so eloquently and with passion. Your practice and compassion demonstrate what meditation does for our emotional stability. My acceptance therapy has grown to a spiritual journey discovering who I really am and will be a focus of mine until my breaths cease on this planet.
One thing about life and our challenges demonstrate we are in no control of the world with our thoughts. I would never of found this practice unless my father abused me and I needed help badly.
So I accept my abuse and existence with gratitude and know the journey is who I really am. I think loving kindness and support for others is the final piece to my recovery. It is my effort that I am aware of now and aware on only this moment.
PTSD only thrives in the past and future worry. It is called disassociation and meditation is the exact opposite of that stance. Thank you for this great piece of healing.
A quote
A mile of thought is worth an inch of sitting ( meditating)
@Donna — I’m so glad this conversation spoke to you! I liked it very much not only for Susan’s passion but also for the simplicity of the ideas, which I think would help anyone easily develop a meditation practice.
@Marty — I continue to be amazed and impressed by what the power of your mind has helped you achieve! And I love that quote.
[...] an interview with Michele Rosenthal for her site, Heal My PTSD. Here is a link to the audio interview, if you’d like to [...]
Thank you so much for interviewing Susan Piver. I have been reading her books the past month, so finding this interview was quite synchronistic. I appreciate how you made the correlation between her book The Wisdom of a Broken Heart and PTSD. Although I have been reading it to help with a divorce, I’ve realized how healing it is for my suffering surrounding PTSD. I’ve also been reading her book, How Not to be Afraid of Your Own Life, and have found it to be just as powerful.
Bowing to you for an excellent interview.
@Desiree — Great to have you drop by! I’m so glad you liked the interview. On my reading list is HOW NOT TO BE AFRAID… Sounds like a great book for anyone dealing with a past that was turbulent. What’s the #1 takeaway you’ve learned from it so far? — Assuming that’s not too personal a question which, if it is, don’t bother answering!