How Can Zen Help Us Heal After Trauma And Find Real Meaning In Everyday Life With Lee Carlson?

In this episode of The Soul Mirror, host Shreya sits down with journalist, author and Zen practitioner Lee Carlson to unpack the real story behind his number one bestselling book in Spiritual Healing. Lee shares how a traumatic brain injury, divorce and the loss of connection with his children became the catalyst for a deeper spiritual life rooted in Zen practice. He explains how meditation, koans and guidance from his teacher opened him to experiences of presence, love and connection that redefined suffering. This conversation cuts through clichés about happiness and instead explores resilience, meaning and spiritual practice in a grounded way. If you are navigating grief, burnout or quiet dissatisfaction with life, this dialogue offers a clear, honest lens on how Zen can support real-world healing and clarity.

About the Guest:Lee Carlson is a journalist, editor, author and Zen practitioner whose life has moved through newsrooms, film sets, advertising and now spiritual writing. After a traumatic brain injury and painful divorce, his long term Zen practice became the framework that helped him rebuild from the inside out. Mentored by Zen teacher and writer Peter Mathison, Lee learned to bring a reporter’s eye for truth into his spiritual life and his books. His latest work, a number one bestseller in Spiritual Healing, weaves memoir, Zen teachings and hard earned insight into a practical exploration of resilience, suffering and meaning. Today he writes, teaches and speaks to help others use mindfulness, meditation and community to navigate crisis and reconnect with a deeper sense of self.

Key Takeaways:

• Spiritual resilience is built, not gifted. Lee shows how years of meditation and Zen training prepared him to face traumatic brain injury, divorce and losing daily contact with his children without collapsing into bitterness or denial. His story reframes spiritual practice as long term nervous system training for real life.

• Suffering has layers. He distinguishes everyday pain like loss, frustration and heartbreak from the deeper human condition of feeling cut off from something larger. By reconnecting with what he calls “the other” or presence, the “me first” focus that fuels suffering starts to loosen, and with it much of the inner angst.

• Practice leads to unexpected openings. Lee describes two powerful awakening experiences. one in a meditation hall and another alone on a winter beach. They did not arrive as instant miracles but as sudden shifts after years of discipline, illuminating how love and connection can underlie even chaotic moments.

• Story is a vehicle for truth. Drawing on his journalism background, Lee insists that real healing stories must go below the surface. His teacher pushed him to “go deeper” on the page, which meant telling the truth about conflict, doubt and flawed relationships while still honoring Buddhist precepts of compassion and not speaking ill of others.

• We remain students for life. Across journalism, film, advertising and spiritual writing, the through line for Lee is curiosity. He rejects the label “master” and chooses instead to live as a learner whose main intention now is to help others find teachers, communities and practices that support their own path to happiness and inner clarity.

How Listeners Can Connect With Lee Carlson:

• Visit his website: https://leecarlson.life/ 

• • Learn more about his books and upcoming events

  • Join his email list to receive a free 25 page guide on finding a mentor for mindfulness and a 5 page study guide for using his book in groups or book clubs

• Reach out via the email listed on his website if you have questions about meditation, mentors or study groups

• Use his resources to find a local or online meditation group and teacher that feel like a genuine fit for you

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