Pandemic of Love and Inner Work in Action
Summary: This conversation explores how loving-kindness practice can become practical service in the world. It also looks at showing up consistently for suffering, community, and difficult people without separating inner work from outer action.
Questions This Interview Explores
- How can meditation and loving-kindness practice translate into tangible help for people in crisis?
- What does it mean to keep showing up when service is inconvenient, uncomfortable, or uncertain?
- How can we hold compassion for people and leaders we strongly disagree with?
- What role do agency, trauma, and self-awareness play in spiritual and social transformation?
Shelly Tygielski is the author of Sit Down to Rise Up and founder of the global grassroots mutual aid organization Pandemic of Love. Her work has been featured by over 100 media outlets, including CNN Heroes, The Tamron Hall Show, The Kelly Clarkson Show, CBS This Morning, the New York Times, and the Washington Post. A trauma-mindfulness teacher and a Garrison Institute Fellow, she has been called one of the “12 Powerful Women of the Mindfulness Movement” By Mindful.org and teaches self-care and resilience at organizations around the world. Visit her online at shellytygielski.com.
Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group.
Transcript, summary, and key takeaways from this interview
Interview recorded April 16, 2022
YouTube Video Chapters:
- 00:00:00 – Introduction to Buddha at the Gas Pump
- 00:03:02 – A Life of Compassion and Service
- 00:06:37 – Women and Children in Need
- 00:10:18 – Collaborating with Other Organizations
- 00:14:33 – Embracing Discomfort in Meditation
- 00:18:40 – Confronting our Shadow Side
- 00:21:58 – Healing and Connection between Israelis and Palestinians
- 00:27:19 – The Connection Between Inner Work and the Outer World
- 00:31:44 – Loving Kindness Practice and Difficult People
- 00:35:16 – Sending Metta to World Leaders
- 00:40:48 – The Freedom to Explore Different Paths
- 00:44:30 – The Intersection of Faith: Jew and the Lotus, Boojews, and Hin-Jews
- 00:51:20 – The Power of Agency and a Good Samaritan
- 1:00:39 – The Power of Simple Gestures
- 01:08:58 – Embracing the Gift of Life
- 01:12:29 – Building a Meditation Community on the Beach
- 01:15:25 – Building Community Through Meditation
- 01:19:15 – Showing Up and Making a Difference
- 01:25:42 – Supporting Communities and Creating Change
- 01:29:39 – Becoming a Community Organizer
- 01:35:26 – Stories of Compassion and Judgment
- 01:42:37 – The Practice of RAIN
- 01:46:57 – The Global Impact of Pandemic of Love
- 01:49:24 – The Relationship between Financial Abundance and Spiritual Awakening
- 01:51:55 – The Intention Behind Material Wealth Acquisition and the Role of Self-Awareness in Spiritual Growth
- 01:54:20 – The Power of Self-Awareness in Meditation and Decision Making
- 01:56:43 – The Fortunate Access to Technology
- 01:58:37 – Learning from Traumas
- 02:00:27 – Optimism and the Power of Technology
- 02:02:52 – Connecting Inner Work to the Outer World
- 02:05:00 – Farewell and Closing Remarks
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