Suzanne Matthiessen is my eMindful.com colleague and a fellow blogger and mindfulness-baseed practitioner.
She has dedicated her life and work to teaching integrated Mind/Body approaches to well-being for over two decades. She has successfully employed proactive holistic wellness awareness tools and techniques to help individuals and teams strengthen attention and focus, shape positive and productive thoughts, choices, actions and behaviors, reduce stress internally and externally, and build empathy, compassion and interconnection. Suzanne specializes in teaching others to honestly and fearlessly address their shadow thoughts, choices, actions and behaviors and the importance of the impact they have upon all they come into contact with as well as themselves, and how they can actualize lasting, transparent change in their lives.
She recently featured my work on her blog http://suzannematthiessen.blogspot.com/. I am honored and humbled to be called a “contemporary bodhisattva.” It’s a big obligation and one that I embrace. However, I would clarify that I am not a bodhisattva — at least not yet. I am aspiring to be and have taken the vows to move in this direction.
What do these vows mean? They mean that I am working towards awakening in the service of helping my fellow beings. That sounds a bit grand, if not grandiose.
At the very least, to take the vows means to not bring more violence into the world. This is a benefit to all, if indirect. More directly, I do my best to reach people and inspire them to embrace the dharma. I do this through my writing and through teaching meditation and through my therapeutic work. By this definition, Suzanne is a bodhisattva too, and I encourage you to read her blog.
There is a growing web of mindfulness-based practitioners and writers. The wisdom of the Buddha’s teaching is accessible like never before. For a complete list of Buddhist-based blog, visit blogisattva.org (and perhaps someone can nominate one of my blog entries for the 2011 Blogisattva Awards!).
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