Ready to begin or deepen your meditation practice? Join Dan Harris and world-class meditation teachers on the 10% with Dan Harris app here: https://app.danharris.com/membership Normally when someone uses the word "magic," Dan gets hives. But when a beloved returning guest with 30+ years of Buddhist practice uses it — with all the metaphysical connotations — he pays attention. This is a conversation about the mysterious "last mile" of meditation, the parts that don't show up in the neuroscience lab: heart softening, sensitivity expanding, and things you were looking for showing up on their own. Susan Piver is a bestselling author, a longtime Buddhist teacher, and one of our favorite frequent flyers on this show. Her new book is Inexplicable Magic: Meditation for Mystics. She's also the founder of the online meditation community The Open Heart Project. In this episode: – What "inexplicable magic" actually means (and why Dan is at first, obviously, skeptical) – Mindfulness vs. awareness — a crucial distinction most meditators never hear – Focus you can train. Awareness, you can only allow. – Why what we most seek doesn't come FROM us — it comes TO us – The three qualities of the awakened mind: compassionate, wise, brave – Where compassion actually comes from (hint: not effort) – The East Village Zen practitioner's threadbare apartment that somehow felt like a palace – What Susan means by "mystic" — treating your environment as animate, not as decoration – Non-separation and oneness — the concept Dan has always struggled with – A thought exercise that cracks it open: your parents live in you – How to turn your meditation practice into ritual — the three-step Buddhist framework – Why boundaries are essential for mystics (the more porous your heart, the more you have to protect the space) – Susan on 30 years of marriage and her escalating "I need solitude" from years 1 through 30 – Why Buddhist teachers still fight with their spouses (Dan finds this immensely comforting) – Fixing yourself vs. healing yourself — a much more useful distinction – Susan's own childhood "hiding under the desk" pattern (and what still needs love, not fixing) – The biggest misconception about meditation — the one Susan wants to lay to rest – Self-focus and self-aggression as the real obstacles – "The muse will visit — but she has to find you working" Subscribe to watch more 10% Happier videos: https://www.youtube.com/tenpercenthappier Follow Dan Harris on Social Media: https://www.instagram.com/danharris/ https://www.tiktok.com/@danbharris https://www.facebook.com/DanHarrisABC https://twitter.com/danbharris https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-harris-91ba5716b/ 0:00:00 What "inexplicable magic" means (Dan is skeptical; Susan is not) 0:03:00 Mindfulness vs. awareness — a crucial distinction 0:04:00 What we most seek comes TO us, not FROM us 0:07:00 Where compassion actually comes from — and it's not effort 0:16:00 The East Village Zen practitioner's magical humble apartment 0:20:00 Mystics as ordinary people who treat their environment as animate 0:22:00 Oneness — the concept Dan has always struggled with 0:26:00 Turning meditation into ritual — offering, blessings, dedication 0:34:00 Boundaries for mystics — protecting the porous heart 0:38:00 Setting boundaries with actual humans 0:41:00 Susan on 30 years of marriage and her need for solitude 0:44:00 Why Buddhist teachers fight with their spouses too 0:52:00 Fix yourself vs. heal yourself — the crucial difference 0:55:00 The biggest misconception about meditation 1:04:00 "The muse will visit — but she has to find you working" #10PercentHappier #SusanPiver #InexplicableMagic This episode is brought to you by Square. Square helps local businesses keep up and get ahead, whether you're starting fresh or scaling fast. Square's latest tools help you sell smarter, run faster, and stress less. Right now, listeners can get up to $200 off Square hardware at https://square.com/go/happier. This episode is brought to you by Skylight. Skylight Calendar is an all-in-one digital smart calendar that syncs seamlessly with Google Calendar, Apple Calendar, Outlook, and more — giving your whole family customizable daily, weekly, or monthly views in one sleek display. Get $30 off your 15-inch calendar at https://www.myskylight.com/happier. This episode is brought to you by iRestore. iRestore has been leading the way in red light therapy for over two decades, with clinically backed devices trusted by over 500,000 customers worldwide. The iRestore Elite is their most advanced laser hair growth system, and the Illumina Face Mask targets fine lines and dullness with triple wavelength light therapy. Head to https://www.irestore.com and use code HAPPIER to save on the iRestore Elite and Illumina Face Mask.