The Heart of Who We Are

When Caverly Morgan reentered the world after a period of eight solitary years as a practicing Zen monk, she was confronted with a question so many of us find ourselves asking these days: When faced with the enormity of the collective problems before us, how can an individual mindfulness and meditation practice actually make a difference in our world? In The Heart of Who We Are, Morgan explores how contemplative technologies designed for the pursuit of personal freedom can be — and must be — applied collectively. Filled with wisdom rooted in presence and the truth of our oneness, this timely guide invites us to connect with the core of who we are and then use that understanding to transform our own lives and the world around us. Blending Zen practice, Western psychology, and a focus on direct experience, Morgan presents a nondual approach and systemic view of the global challenges before us, offering a wealth of teachings, tools, personal stories, and reflection questions that inspire us to put our deeply held values into action. At the heart of this book is the call to liberation, to find freedom that is within and without, both personally and collectively. “The longer we cling to the notion that there’s a separate self who awakens, the more arduous our path will be,” Morgan writes. “We realize freedom together.”