How to Wake Up! An Interview with Toni Bernhard

Toni Bernhard on why it's so difficult to be present in our lives, and her new book, How to Wake Up. 

Everyone has ups and downs in life, sometimes they’re more extreme than others. Today I am thrilled to bring you an interview with Toni Berhard, someone I deeply respect and a longtime practitioner and leader in mindfulness. She is author of her newest book How to Wake Up, helping us navigate these ups and downs with greater ease and also the past award winning book How to Be Sick, which speaks of how to live with greater peace with chronic illness. Toni was dean of students at the University of California Davis School of Law and the writings and practices in these books have been inspired by over 20 years of personal practice.

Today, Toni talks to us about why it’s so hard to be present to our lives, practices that Toni finds to be personally impactful, why we have to navigate joy, and some personal advice for the rest of us.

Elisha: You say that the key to peace and well-being is to be present for your life as it is. Why is that so hard to do?

Toni: It’s hard because the present moment is not necessarily a pleasant moment! Life is a mixture…