Oren Jay Sofer (Say What You Mean: A Mindful Approach to Nonviolent Communication) offers practical guidance for navigating a world in crisis in Your Heart Was Made for This.
"How do we make love our guide?" is the central question Sofer answers in the book's 26 chapters, collectively meant to serve as a year-long framework for readers interested in using contemplative practice to face challenges including climate crisis, health pandemics, "the ongoing trauma of injustice and oppression rooted in colonialism," and burnout. Each chapter focuses on a quality, defined by Sofer as "distinct, holistic patterns of energy, with their own signatures, functions, and behaviors" that are "broader than emotions, intentions, or mental states." Qualities such as mindfulness, empathy, equanimity, forgiveness, and rest are introduced and defined, and the author incorporates prompts for reflection, meditation, and action to help readers put each quality into practice. These inclusions make this a standout among literature on philosophy and mindfulness.
Readers will take away from this gentle road map: how to build healing practices, strengthen what Sofer calls "heart qualities" (by applying "patience, kindness, and ease" in order to "etch those grooves deeper" than the ones carved by anxiety and stress), and develop inner resources to meet challenges and create positive change. Your Heart Was Made for This is a softening--a hopeful solution in a time of overstimulation and the commodification of the mindfulness movement. This guide helpfully breaks down Buddhist teachings for both the well-practiced and the novice. --Sydney Tillman, freelance publicist