Do you live a mindful life? And have you ever learned to meditate? Today, we’re in Paris and we’re honored to be interviewing Fabrice Midal, the guru of meditation and mindfulness in France. Fabrice discovered meditation by accident at the age of twenty-one when a friend spoke to him about it while he was studying at the Sorbonne, thirty years ago.
At first, he was a little afraid to try it out because nobody spoke much about meditation back then. When he did, however, he recognized something very deep there, and he knew that it was right for him, so he engaged with the practice and began to study meditation in earnest.
In today’s episode, Fabrice explains what mindfulness is, and he shares some of the struggles and challenges he faced when trying to find the most effective way to present meditation authentically. Be sure to listen in today, to hear the fascinating story of Fabrice’s journey.
Fabrice has a Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Paris and he is the founder of the Western School of Meditation. He had written more than thirty books, of which several have become bestsellers, including his latest book, The French Art of Not Giving a Shit. Tune in now, to find out more!
Show Highlights:
- Fabrice felt that it was his duty to teach meditation in a way that would be direct, down to earth, and would help people relate to their own lives.
- Fabrice has written more than thirty books, and he has tried to rethink Buddhism, to find its real meaning.
- Fabrice felt that we needed to find, within our own culture, where meditation would be honestly grounded. And that was how he developed his meditation technique.
- Many challenges went with opening of the Western School of Meditation.
- Fabrice wanted to make the teaching of meditation more profound and grounded, rather than making it simpler and lighter.
- Using mindfulness as a means of becoming able to say “no” to the things that are not right in the world.
- Why Fabrice feels that the way mindfulness is taught today is creating more confusion and suffering for people.
- Fabrice explains what mindfulness is.
- Developing the right attitude towards mindfulness with his book, The French Art of Not Giving a Shit.
- Any change begins with kindness towards yourself.
- Meditation, for Fabrice, is political, and it is rooted in the deepness of humanity. To meditate is to dare to be human.
- Developing gratitude rather than greed through meditation.
- Embracing suffering through meditation, and overcoming fear. And creating a better world for future generations through mindfulness.
- What equanimity means for Fabrice.
- There’s a new kind of violence that has emerged in our society, that’s causing people a lot of suffering.
- Talking about the idea of “coming home”.
- Creating real intimacy through meditation.
Resources:
Maison de la Meditation Center in Paris