The Hospitable Spirit
Rob Schmidt, Ph.D., and Stuart Goodnick, Tayu Meditation Teachers
Original date: Thursday, July 1, 2010

Download MP3 Audio File Here (10.7 MB)

Hospitality receives short shrift in our contemporary culture of self-involvement, but traditionally hospitality was understood to be the core of true spiritual practice. The practice of hospitality is two-fold, in that it entails learning both to give and to receive in full openness of heart. Truly making space in the heart—without qualification—for the sheer differentness of the guest is no slam dunk. It demands cultivation of sensitivity toward the qualities that make each person, each phenomenon, and each moment unique. Developing the sensitivity of the open heart further requires cultivation of grace, generosity, and humor. Moreover, what�s missing today, even more than the virtues of being a heartful and mindful host, is an appreciation for the art of acting as a guest. An elegantly enacted context of hospitality arises when guest and host entwine in a dance of mutual appreciation and respect. Join us for a discussion of the hospitable spirit as a tool in service of self-examination.

Rob Schmidt, Ph.D., and Stuart Goodnick received apprentice and master-level training in the alchemical transformation of human consciousness from Tayu Meditation Center founder Robert Daniel Ennis. Tayu owns and operates Many Rivers Books & Tea.

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