Heart Wisdom with Jack Kornfield – Ep. 282 – Awakening Soul Force: Healing the World Through Your Unique Gift
Jack reveals how awakening your Soul Force—your inner strength, wisdom, and compassion—allows you to heal the world by offering your unique gift with courage and love.
“Each of us has our own unique gift to bring when it’s the right time. It can’t be an imitation. You can’t do it like Gandhi, Mother Teresa, or whoever you might admire—it has to be your way.” – Jack Kornfield
In this episode of Heart Wisdom, Jack mindfully explores:
Uncovering your unique gift and bringing it to the world
Simple reflections of love amidst the reality of death
How the sword is always beaten by the spirit
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s “Soul Force”
The power of facing our fear of death
Becoming a Spiritual Warrior of compassion
Cultivating the confidence to face any challenge
Speaking up for what matters to your heart
The cause of evil and how to stop it at it’s root
The cause of abuse and how to stop it at it’s root
Learning how to respond to the suffering of the world
Discovering freedom in yourself and the world around
Cultivating the ability to face ourselves, our pains and sorrows
Facing the truth of birth and death
The revolutionary act of connecting with nature
Connecting with the truth of the world
Bearing witness and finding your heart’s unique response
“To awaken Soul Force is to see that the sorrows of the world and the sorrows within us are not separate, that they belong together, and we can not keep out of any part of life.” – Jack Kornfield
“We have a responsibility to bear witness and find our own heart’s unique response. When we discover that capacity in ourself, then where we go and what we do doesn’t matter so much, because it’s our being that brings the blessing.” – Jack Kornfield
This Dharma Talk from 12/7/1992 at Spirit Rock Meditation Center was originally published onDharmaSeed.
About Jack Kornfield:
Jack Kornfield trained as a Buddhist monk in the monasteries of Thailand, India, and Burma, studying as a monk under the Buddhist master Ven. Ajahn Chah, as well as the Ven. Mahasi Sayadaw. He has taught meditation internationally since 1974 and is one of the key teachers to introduce Buddhist mindfulness practice to the West. Jack co-founded the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts, with fellow meditation teachers Sharon Salzberg and Joseph Goldstein and the Spirit Rock Center in Woodacre, California. His books have been translated into 20 languages and sold more than a million copies.