Welcome to Mystics Reading Society! We’re currently doing a chapter-by-chapter deep dive of When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chödrön. Each Sunday, you’ll receive a letter with a chapter summary, a mystic lesson, and an oracle card to help us reflect on the teachings in this Buddhist text.
✨ What This Chapter Teaches
This week we’re reading Chapter 12 of When Things Fall Apart: “Growing Up.”
In this chapter, Pema Chödrön offers an inspirational teaching on why we meditate and the qualities we want to cultivate in our practice—clarity, honesty, and especially, kindness.
“Learning how to be kind to ourselves, learning how to respect ourselves, is important. The reason it’s important is that, fundamentally, when we look into our own hearts and begin to discover what is confused and what is brilliant, what is bitter and what is sweet, it isn’t just ourselves that we’re discovering. We’re discovering the universe.”
—Pema Chödrön
Through meditation, she explains, we enter into a deep self-study—one that allows us to cultivate an honest and kind relationship with ourselves. From there, this kindness and honesty naturally ripple outward.
“We’re not just talking about our individual liberation, but how to help the community we live in, how to help our families, our country, and the whole continent, not to mention the world and the galaxy and as far as we want to go.”
—Pema Chödrön
Chodron says that this is growing up.
“As long as we don’t want to be honest and kind with ourselves, then we are always going to be infants. When we begin just to try to accept ourselves, the ancient burden of self-importance lightens up considerably. Finally there’s room for genuine inquisitiveness, and we find we have an appetite for what’s out there.”
—Pema Chödrön
So, how does being kind and inquisitive support us on our mystic path?
🔮 A Lesson for the Mystic Path
In this space, I define mystics as seekers, dreamers, and magic-makers who weave spiritual and intuitive wisdom into everyday life. Guided by intuition, inner knowing, and the mysteries of the universe, we create lives that are deeply authentic, unconventional, and wildly fulfilling.
The reason we read spiritual books is because they help us connect beyond the surface of everyday reality. They remind us that life is more than errands, obligations, and expectations. They open us to the numinous—the shimmering mystery that runs beneath everything—and offer teachings that support our unconventional paths, the ones we feel our way through rather than plan.
So far in When Things Fall Apart, Chödrön has offered teachings on how to meet the moments when life unravels—when your world turns upside down and you no longer know who you are or what’s happening. Each chapter approaches that experience from a different angle, yet they all circle back to the same essential teaching:
First, sit in meditation.
Notice where you’re stuck, where you’re hurting, where life feels tangled.
Allow yourself to feel what’s there—without shrinking away or gripping tightly.
Then, look with gentle curiosity at the knots within you and cultivate kindness toward every part of yourself.
As mystics, we often don’t quite fit into society’s standards—or we’ve tried to, only to discover that something deeper inside us longs to be expressed. If you’re like me, perhaps you grew up hearing that you were too weird, too dreamy, too optimistic, too silly. Over time, those voices can take root in our psyche, shaping the inner critic that tries to keep us small.
That’s why kindness is so essential on the mystic path. As adults choosing to live unconventional lives, wouldn’t it be wonderful if we began with kindness? What intriguing ideas might we explore if we treated our own curiosities with gentleness? What could unfold if we allowed ourselves to believe in our magic, to trust what we know deep inside?
Instead of stifling our quirks and intuition, what if we welcomed them home? What if we said to the most magical, unconventional parts of ourselves: You belong here. You’re safe with me.
That’s the direction I want to keep walking in—step by step. When Things Fall Apart has been a guide along that path, always leading me back to the same truth: it all begins with kindness.
🌠 Guidance from the Cards
Each week I pull a card to deepen our reflection and give us another lens on Pema’s teachings.
Deck: This week’s card comes from The Green Witch’s Oracle Deck by Arin Murphy-Hiscock.
Question: What more do we need to know about kindness?
Card: Autumn—bounty, balance
“Autumn is a time to slow down. The high energy of summer’s expansion calms and turns to a slower rhythm. There is space for acknowledgment and gratitude, as the intense production of the previous season yields a crop.
The autumn equinox is a time of balance, when the hours of daylight and night are equal. The Autumn card reminds you that balance is important, whether it means balancing work with appreciation for the harvest, or balancing intake and output of energy. Don’t overtax yourself. Remember to refuel in times of hard work.
Reflection: Have you been successful when it comes to balancing your work and personal life? If not, how can you strike a better balance?”
—Arin Murphy-Hiscock
I can see so much kindness in this card—slowing down, refueling, and finding balance between what we take in and what we give out. These can all be small, tender acts of kindness we offer ourselves. Let’s take this autumnal teaching to heart and soften the urgency of our lives, creating space to breathe again.
💬Join the Conversation
Now I’d love to hear from you:
🌀 What stood out to you in this chapter?
📜 What quote(s) landed for you?
🌹 Did the oracle message speak to you?
Come share in the comments. Remember, we are not a dogmatic bunch here. It’s okay to disagree. It’s okay to explore.
—Emma
🌀 Take the Next Step
Join The Grove, the paid member level of Mystics Reading Society. For $8 / month, on top of our weekly newsletter, you’ll also receive:
🌑 New & full moon oracle card pulls.
🌿 Monthly Tiny Guidebooks for Practical Mystics.
✨ Pathfinding Community Calls.
💬 Access to a private chat space.
Plus, you’ll gain full access to our archive in The Grove. Join today and step into the circle.
Hi, I’m Emma Veritas! I’m a reader, writer, and mystic living on the beautiful coast of Portugal. I created Mystics Reading Society as a welcoming space for seekers, dreamers, and magic-makers who want to weave spiritual and intuitive wisdom into everyday life. Here, we explore empowering, healing, and mystical books while building a supportive community for those walking their own authentic, unconventional, and wildly fulfilling path.
👉📸📚Follow me on Instagram for more nerdy bookish conversation at ReadingInPortugal.
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✨If you love to read cozy books, don’t miss Sleuth, Hero, Alien—for fans of cozy mysteries, charming sci-fi, and cozy fantasy. Read my latest post: Hot Off the Cozy Press: October
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