Mark Nepo is a poet, teacher, and the New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Awakening: Having the Life You Want by Being Present to the Life You Have, which sold over one million copies. Mark, who has written twenty-two books translated into over twenty languages, was deemed one of the 100 Most Spiritually Influential Living People by Watkins: Mind Body Spirit and writes regularly for Spirituality & Health Magazine. His work focuses on topics surrounding inner transformation, and his accomplishments include being interviewed by Robin Roberts on Good Morning America and being featured on OWN TV’s Super Soul Sunday.

Mark joins me today to discuss how nearly dying of cancer opened him up to the miraculous aspects of life. He shares the role of inner discovery in book writing, and why you should be open to receive, rather than merely “making use” of writing material. Mark also highlights the power of expression, creativity, artistry, staying close to the pulse of life, and why what you perceive as artistic failure may be something to lean into.

“Always ask the heart to absorb and integrate, not sort and choose.” – Mark Nepo

This week on The School for Good Living Podcast:

• How Mark’s cancer survivorship has impacted his perspectives on
  life and destiny
• The necessity of expression and different ways that it can
  present itself
• The “two noble intentions” of all expression and the role of
  metaphor in human expression
• Mark’s philosophy on how the heart inhales and exhales
• How to approach both seeable and unseeable truths and the
  importance of bearing witness
• Mark’s inspiration for Drinking
  from the River of Light
• The moment Mark realized he is a poet and how he defines
  poetry 
• The concepts of getting attention versus giving attention and
  celebrity versus celebration
• Changing your focus when met with insecurities and lack of
  self-worth
• The mass shooting epidemic and how we can help heal the “social
  body”
• The importance of distinguishing between tools and codes to live
  by
• Mark’s perspective on the gift of teaching

Resources Mentioned:

**The School for Good Living may receive commissions for purchases made through Amazon links in this post.

• The Book of Awakening: Having the Life You Want by Being Present to the Life You Have by Mark Nepo
• Drinking from the River of Light: The Life of Expression by Mark Nepo
• I’m Explaining a Few Things by Pablo Neruda

Connect
with Mark Nepo:

• Mark Nepo
• Three Intentions
• Mark Nepo on Facebook
• Mark Nepo on Twitter

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