Heart of Flesh

And I’m a follower of a great Hasidic master, named Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, who passed away in 1810 and lived in the Ukraine. And he really emphasized the softening of the heart, the biblical verse that says, “Give me a heart of flesh.” And the goal of a lot of the practices in that stream of Jewish mystical thought is to deeply open to experience, whether it’s joy or pain. And ultimately, it’s really about finding the places where weeping and joy can come together or where yearning and delight can come together. It’s not a feeling of happiness; it’s not superficial happiness; it’s not wanting to jump up and down, dancing. It’s grief; it’s sitting in grief. But just the act of acceptance of what’s there …

(Ariel Burger, On Being interview).