Founder of the Mindful Living Revolution, Deborah Eden Tull is an author, Zen mindfulness/meditation teacher, and EcoDharma educator. Her latest book, “Luminous Darkness: An Engaged Buddhist Approach to Embracing the Unknown” serves as a compass to our conversation today as we navigate the realm of shadows, the unspoken, and the rich mysteries to be uncovered when we’re willing to embrace our own personal darkness.
Eden’s teachings challenge us to reconsider our relationship with the darkness we often avoid. She illuminates how the over-lighting of our planet mirrors the over-lighting of human consciousness, and how the dichotomous patterns of how we perceive and judge “light versus dark”, or “good versus bad” leads to things like systemic racism and xenophobia. With gentle wisdom, Eden offers a path to “endarkenment,” where we can find strength and healing in the shadows we’ve long suppressed.
As we explore what it means to move from hierarchical power to the cultivation of shared power, Eden invites us to practice transparency, metabolize collective grief, and reconnect with our Earth bodies. This conversation with Eden feels like a balm and a beacon, encouraging us to turn towards the darkness with open hearts to find the luminous beauty waiting therein.
Let’s get settled in and hear what Eden has for us.
"We Grow Accustomed to the Dark" by Emily Dickinson We grow accustomed to the Dark— When Light is put away— As when the Neighbor holds the Lamp To witness her Goodbye— A Moment—We uncertain step For newness of the night— Then—fit our Vision to the Dark— And meet the Road—erect— And so of larger—Darknesses— Those Evenings of the Brain— When not a Moon disclose a sign— Or Star—come out—within The Bravest—grope a little— And sometimes hit a Tree Directly in the Forehead— But as they learn to see— Either the Darkness alters— Or something in the sight Adjusts itself to Midnight— And Life steps almost straight.
Show Notes:
“Luminous Darkness: An Engaged Buddhist Approach to Embracing the Unknown” by Deborah Eden Tull.
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#142 Luminous Darkness (with Deborah Eden Tull)