Henry Shukman: Finding “The Way” Through Meditation Part 1

Would you like to feel calmer and more aware? Have you heard all about the benefits of meditation, yet you have a challenging time trying to quiet your racing mind? Our guest today is Zen meditation teacher, author, and poet Henry Shukman. Several years ago, Henry had a severe head injury and discovered he wasn’t able to utilize 100% of his cognitive abilities. It was then that he got in touch with his heart and realized that that is where his guidance lives. Henry has decades of experience as a full-time meditation teacher. Today he talks about the new app he developed called “The Way” that teaches people how to take a long-term approach to meditation. It is a step-by-step process. Many meditation apps offer endless choices, but this is a systematic approach to meditation with single lessons each day. Henry talks about being in a state of love, while also handling the day-to-day. He explains that it is about living in the world yet taking a few minutes each day to acknowledge a way to “be with” what your emotions may be. Meditation allows us a little window to “be” and not “do.” Henry also shares his traumas as a child. He felt abandoned, which led to a skin condition which got deep into his psyche. He felt a constant sense of stress and anxiety. When his parents were home and not traveling, they argued in the house. Henry revealed that his parents were both academics and spies for the British government. They spoke Russian fluently and got recruited into this risky business. There was so much secrecy at home and when his parents divorced, it affected him deeply. This was a time when there was denial, and no one was talking openly about feelings and emotions. When he was in his 20s, he started to seek answers.  Henry was deeply intuitive and sensitive. He had a couple of friends who meditated, including a dear grandmother figure, in her 80s, who meditated. These friends seemed happy. He learned Transcendental Meditation to start. He realized by practicing meditation that he was not happy and wanted to feel better. The calming that the mediation offered let him see he was suffering. He sought therapy to examine this suffering. He further studied Buddhism, which delves into the nature of suffering. Henry has practiced Zen meditation, as well as mindfulness-based stress-reduction, and various meditation processes. Henry is the Spiritual Director emeritus of Mountain Cloud Zen Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico. His new book is “Original Love: The Four Inns on the Path of Awakening.” His app, “The Way,” offers more than 30 free meditations which will teach a step-by-step process based on Henry’s years of practice. Info: HenryShukman.com