What a beautiful interview! I could relate to so much of what Vidyamala talked about. I have a chronic condition and for about the same amount of time as her, denied it. I then realised that turning inward and trying to come to some kind of peace with the illness was my only option. I really liked how ‘real’ Vidyamala was – she didn’t proclaim to have all the answers.

Comment by Emma — January 13, 2010 @ 7:35 pm

Hi Emma
I’m glad you liked the interview and send you all best wishes for your own journey with your chronic condition. I am typing this on my laptop in bed! No I don’t have all the answers and would find it very boring if I did. Each day there is new learning and new opportunities to be humbled by just how mysterious life is.

Comment by vidyamala — January 14, 2010 @ 4:14 pm

[...] of the things i look forward to every Tuesday is the weekly SoundsTrue podcast. This week’s interview with Vidyamala Burch was especially interesting to me as it relates to the *core* aspects of Buddha’s teaching on [...]

Pingback by Sounds True « Got Red pill ? — January 14, 2010 @ 10:41 pm

Vidyamala like myself was inspired by the words of Stephenen Levine. God bless you sir. Perhaps the best that could be said of all of us is that we have lived well in samsara with the pain and suffering. How? Bringing tenderness to our resistence moment to moment. Why? Why heap extra suffering on top of the pain? Sorry for the pain and suffering that has been entrusted to us all.

And there is pleasure along with the pain. If we numb ourself with our addictions we will miss the pleasures such as love. And there is peace inside the sadness. It sounds like Vidyamala is doing wonderful work where the rubber meets the road. Thanks.

Comment by Stan — January 20, 2010 @ 1:54 pm

What a mystical quality to this interview! I am deeply moved and grateful to have heard this interview.

You are a living sanctuary in whom many will find solace. Could this be your calling dear Vidyamala? You ARE the peace and reconciliation we seek. You are one courageous and humble woman!

I pray that your physical pain dissipate entirely one day when you least expect it. All things are possible.

Comment by Jo-Ann Triner — January 29, 2010 @ 6:54 pm

[...] of physical pain, and current scientific research around it. A complementary to this video, is this sounds true podcast with Vidyamala Burch which discusses mindfulness based strategies to deal with chronic physical [...]

Pingback by Ramana, Einstein et al. « Got Red pill ? — March 4, 2011 @ 8:50 am

I’ve been semi-coping with sever chronic pain for over 10 years. I’ve tried many modalities, alternative, western and eastern, without much success. So I’m a bit jaded when I hear about someone who says they can help. In fact after I bought Vidymala’s book, but before I’ve actually received it, I already started to regret buying it in the first place! Don’t you love the way the mind works. ;)

I had found a CD that uses binary beats to music, which in turns puts the brain in the Theta state. I’ve found this to be very helpful for my being able to turn towards the pain, if only inch by inch. But it’s really hard to do on one’s own. How Vidymala managed to do so much more than that is beyond amazing.

By the end of this interview all that Vidy said resonated so much with me that I’m actually hopeful (!), and plan to pursue her training much further.

I totally agree that having a place to go where people care and validate one’s experience is also of utmost importance. Maybe someday I could visit the UK, but for now there’s enough that Vidymala has thankfully made available to us in the USA, so that I can at least make a start of it now. Thank you so much for doing this, Sounds True and Vidyamala Burch.

Comment by Angela — March 16, 2011 @ 10:07 pm