Mindrolling – Raghu Markus – Ep. 235 – The Awakened Life with Dr. Shefali Tsabary

Mindrolling - Raghu Markus - Ep. 235 - The Awakened Life with Dr. Shefali Tsabary

Dr. Shefali Tsabary joins the show for a conversation around the cultivation of mindfulness, conscious parenting and methods for living an awakened life.

Dr. Shefali is a world-renowned clinical psychologist who specializes in the integration of Eastern philosophy and Western psychology. She lectures extensively on mindful living and conscious parenting around the world and is in private practice in NYC. Learn more about Dr. Shefali’s work at drshefali.com.

Show Notes

Living an Awakened Life (Opening) – Dr. Shefali discusses her approach to therapy and looks at the critical importance of mindfulness in cultivating a more engaged and awakened life.

“I think the core path to that awakening is mindfulness. Many people find mindfulness to be some sort of esoteric cult-like thing that is indulged in the Himalayas and they don’t realize that it is the key to living a more engaged life.” – Dr. Shefali Tsabary 

Vigilance, Courage and Patience (8:30) – The pursuit of awakening is not a comfortable one and requires bravery to move out of our comfort zone and the steady persistence towards the unknown. Raghu and Dr. Shefali talk about this struggle and the roles that vigilance, courage and patience play in the development of an awakened life.

“What mindfulness asks is that you look at every moment as a new moment and you are vigilantly awakened to the possibility that each moment is there to teach you something new – so then you are a student in every moment.” – Dr. Shefali Tsabary 

The Awakened Family (24:30) – Dr. Shefali examines the beauty of the familial relationship and the way in which these relationships can become a direct avenue to spiritual awakening. She looks at the opportunity for inner development that the parental relationship offers everyone involved and offers insight for navigating these relationships mindfully.

“We enter the parenting process fully thinking that we will be in control and we are going to be in charge – it’s us against them. This is where everything gets screwed up because we not only miss the opportunity of our own growth, but we also subvert the authentic arising of the child’s authentic self.” – Dr. Shefali Tsabary

Karma and Relationships (33:00) – What does the process of cultivating an awakened family look like? Dr. Shefali shares examples of how she navigates this process in her own life. She and Raghu discuss the connection between karma, relationships and intimacy.

“For me, an awakened family is one that is committed to the rising of the authentic self. It’s a family that understands that it’s part of the grander family of the universe – one that is beyond borders of name or clan or blood. My goal in my family has been to raise my daughter to be as close to her truest self as possible, but the only way she can be true is if I am true as well.” – Dr. Shefali Tsabary    

For more conversation about conscious parenting listen to Susan Kaiser Greenland’s visit chats with Lama Surya Das on Ep. 30 of the Awakening Now Podcast.

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Photo via LongIslandWeekly