Notes on hearing an interview with Sharon Salzburg

Here are highlights from notes on this insightful interview. I can see why Sharon Salzburg is a respected teacher; the comments were gentle, compassionate, human. There is a lot to reflect on here. Taking and reporting the notes is a beginning.

• Rather than hate the "bad wolf" aspect of our human nature, be gentle, offer a cup of tea, and gently let go. This is our choice and the power of our choice. Really, how to metaphorically 'offer a cup of tea'? I might couple that with a bit of interrogation: "Ms Wolfie, tell me how you are planning to contribute to the situation?" 
• Loving Kindness in essence is the sense of connectedness between living things. 
• Loving Kindness is also the strength to recognize the connectedness of all beings and to respond from that place. 
• Compassion, the "feeling with" of others' pain, includes discrimination and the ability to set and respect boundaries. 
• "It is never too late to turn on the light." 
• The action of going back to one's intended focus, again and again, to "turn on the light" repeatedly, is the most important training that formal sitting practice provides. Consistent practice trains a person. This is important training because in life, we will have to renew our focus and begin again many times. 
• Use the inquiry, "What do I need in this moment to be happy?" to awaken discrimination and to empower right choice. 
• Tibetan Buddhist philosophy identifies four "enemies" 
• Outer enemies 
• Inner "visitor" enemies of rage and fear, which can become chronic states 
• Secret enemy: the construct of a separate self which is not interdependent. Living from this separated orientation causes great suffering. 
• Most secret enemy: a kind of self-loathing where we don't understand our tremendous capacity for growth, which is a capacity that we retain even when hidden. 
• A key aspect of mindfulness: to turn attention to our motivations. A motivating element continually contours everything we say and everything we do. 
• Action and motivation-for-action are inseparable. The heart space that we come from when we act is inherent in the action. Mindfulness and self-awareness must include awareness of our  motivations. 
• "The difference between misery and happiness depends on what we do with our intention."