Finding Mrs Buddha opens up the animated question of: “How can a woman lead a spiritual life whilst embracing her femininity?” A woman’s search inside herself is far different to that of a man’s. She must ground herself in the timeless archetypal feminine wisdom as she navigates her way through the richness and complexities of the 21st century. To Mrs Buddha, the pursuit of higher knowledge and wisdom in the face of moral imagination is as much the flame of virtue as is living with an undefended heart. In a culture of transcendence she must be courageous enough to cross boundaries and challenge the misconception that virtue is perfection.
“To err is to be human”
This is the fundamental tenet of an examined life. As a soul with a lust for life, Mrs Buddha knows what it means to be human and finds strength in her vulnerability as a woman.
In her search for her Buddhahood, Mrs Buddha confesses her own misgivings through the lens of cultural issues, socioeconomic politics, literature, the arts, spiritual philosophy, psychology, and neuroscience as she examines her life-obstacles. She encourages a fresh insight that will engage us in questions such as:
“how can we best serve our self and our community?”
She acknowledges that the only way to live is to thoughtfully dive into the mysteries of our human condition. Our existence is determined by our willingness to forge the frontiers of our inner space – found in the space between our mind and heart. She believed our enlightenment could be found in this balance. Our journey to Buddhahood is challenging but fill with excitement. The wonders of our human existence are breathtaking if only we were to stop to look at the view.
The ‘what’ is never really the issue. The issue is: how do we live? How do we untangle ourselves from the vicissitudes of our own condition? How do we make our human condition a virtue of our existence? The science of self-examination and then turn out reactions into creative actions is key to a life we can be proud of. That sometimes means being open to learn from our mistakes and the willingness to be empowered by them. Personal/spiritual growth is about meeting our edge. The truth is, Mrs Buddha makes countless mistakes. Sometimes she meets that edge head on and learns from them and sometimes it takes a number of retakes to make a the change. Finding Mrs Buddha is an account of those mis-takes.
In the main, as a woman of the 21st century, she asks:
“What does my here-and-now really look like?
Hope Bastine is a game changing psychotherapist. A barefoot child of India, she understands the compass of cultural diversity. Born on the foot of the Pyrenees, raised in India, and consolidated her education in Europe, she is a Third Culture Kid. But what has been her constant in the face of an ever-changing environment is her spiritual practice. After having trained as a neuropsychologist, Hope went on to teach psychology. She has now set up a London-based wellbeing company, Fresh Perception, offering spiritual psychotherapy, Mindfulness training, and holistic retreats. She is currently researching her thesis on the personal growth of Meditation and Yoga.
Finding Mrs Buddha 