Cultivating A Fierce Heart | Spring Washam
“All are welcome”— a warming phrase that is often implied, but rarely spoken aloud. In the new book A Fierce Heart, meditation and dharma teacher Spring Washam, shares her journey of sharing Buddhist philosophies of mindfulness, wisdom, loving-kindness and compassion in a radically inclusive way.
In this episode of the Sidewalk Talk podcast, Spring sits down with me to talk about the vision behind her book and the East Bay Meditation Center, a diverse spiritual hub she founded in Oakland, California. Listen in as she shares her journey to where she is today and lessons learned from her teachers including, Jack Kornfield and Alice Walker. We talk about what it means to cultivate A Fierce Heart and why seeing and being seen are essential for establishing meaningful connections.
Episode Timeline:
[00:05] Intro
[00:54] Meet Spring Washam
[03:09] The inspiration for her book, A Fierce Heart
[04:28] How she found her place in Buddhism
[06:56] Welcoming more diverse communities to the dharma
[09:01] Are practices like this really solving any of the big problems?
[12:20] How cultivating a fierce heart and sitting still ripples out
[17:42] Sitting with things and metabolizing pain
[20:05] Her start on her shamanic journey and plant spirit medicine
[24:15] Honoring the roots of a practice while sharing it with others
[26:35] How her work impacts her day to day life
[28:52] How these practices have impacted the way she relates
[34:08] Spring Washam’s wishes for you
[35:47] Outro
Resources Mentioned:
Standout Quotes:
“So the fierce heart is also the heart that in the midst of it can also let go of it all and see this as a moment in time of pain and confusion, but also there's this joy undercurrent, that's really what gives you the capacity to be fierce, right, is that you have this faith and there's joy under it.“ - Spring [32:09]
“...what you're doing is you're creating the fertile soil for impact. Right? You said we have to work with our greed, hatred, and delusion, in order to have what I imagine is true impact… we have to have that fertile soil so that the impact isn't coming from ego or is it coming from something that's going to harm the planet or harm or dehumanize other groups of people -Traci [11:01]
“You know, it's connecting on that human level. So it's a lot about listening. But there's also something about finding the joy in it, that everything can get really, really heavy, but at the same time, there can be this joy of just being together and looking at each other's eyes and being like, ‘what a ride, huh?’” -Spring [29:32]
Connect:
Find | Sidewalk Talk
At sidewalk-talk.org
On Instagram: @sidewalktalkorg
On Twitter: @sidewalktalkorg
Find | Traci Ruble
At Traciruble.com
On Instagram: @TraciRubleMFT
On Twitter: @TraciRubleMFT
On Facebook: @TraciRubleMFT
Find | Spring Washam
At springwasham.com
On Instagram: @SpringWasham
On Twitter: @SpringWasham
On Youtube: @Spring Washam
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