{"id":23088,"date":"2016-10-15T06:46:20","date_gmt":"2016-10-15T13:46:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fireitupwithcj.com\/dev\/\/?p=23088"},"modified":"2016-11-23T19:39:01","modified_gmt":"2016-11-24T03:39:01","slug":"dharma-comics-say-yes-leah-pearlman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fireitupwithcj.com\/dev\/dharma-comics-say-yes-leah-pearlman\/","title":{"rendered":"Dharma Comics: Say YES (Leah Pearlman)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It starts by saying &#8220;YES&#8221; to the tiny yes. \u00a0CJ interviews former technologist from Facebook, Leah Pearlman, about her career and life change after her father died of cancer. \u00a0 She shares some of her favorite Dharma Comics on air from her new book &#8220;Drawn Together&#8221; to explain her curious journey through life and love.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Saying YES to the tiny yes\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/aP-i8iqPedg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<div id=\"pageContainer1\" class=\"page\" data-page-number=\"1\" data-loaded=\"true\">\n<div class=\"textLayer\">\n<div data-canvas-width=\"235.17359600918286\"><\/div>\n<div data-canvas-width=\"235.17359600918286\"><\/div>\n<div data-canvas-width=\"235.17359600918286\"><strong>Q: Drawn Together \u00a0is a collection of favorite and never-before-published Dharma Comics. Tell us\u00a0about the origins of Dharma Comics?\u00a0<\/strong><\/div>\n<div data-canvas-width=\"235.17359600918286\"><\/div>\n<div data-canvas-width=\"970.9221539763533\">In 2011 a friend brought me a small brown notebook from India with\u00a0an elephant on the cover. In it,\u00a0I began keeping my first gratitude journal. \u00a0I\u2019d read somewhere that<\/div>\n<div data-canvas-width=\"415.3755738616379\">Gratitude! Will! Change! Your\u00a0Life!\u00a0In the case of this gratitude journal, it did.\u00a0Around the same time, my dad, who was also my best friend, had\u00a0been battling cancer for years.<\/div>\n<div data-canvas-width=\"731.687034174353\">When he got the call that it had gone into remission,\u00a0I drew a little stick figure comic strip in my\u00a0gratitude journal thanking Cancer,\u201cThank you, Cancer!\u201dfor going away. I took a picture of that<\/div>\n<div data-canvas-width=\"829.1135607892944\">entry and I posted it online. People liked it. I liked it. The\u00a0next week I found myself drawing a comic for a friend about how he was following his heart and\u00a0posted that online too.<\/div>\n<div data-canvas-width=\"234.13888146599993\">In the six years since, nearly every week I have drawn comics to tell the stories\u00a0of my life.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-canvas-width=\"29.933858823529413\"><\/div>\n<div data-canvas-width=\"29.933858823529413\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"pageContainer1\" class=\"page\" data-page-number=\"1\" data-loaded=\"true\">\n<div data-canvas-width=\"29.933858823529413\"><strong>Q: What was the transition like when you quit your job as a technologist at Facebook to pursue Dharma Comics full-time?<\/strong><\/div>\n<div data-canvas-width=\"29.933858823529413\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"textLayer\">\n<div data-canvas-width=\"873.8719841361177\">When I left Facebook, I actually did it to found something called the Happiness Institute. It was a\u00a0community space in San Francisco designed for people to come together in community to discover\u00a0and uncover what makes them come alive. I was just drawing comics as a hobby for the first\u00a0several years.\u00a0It was only after the Happiness Institute closed that I realized this thing that I was just doing for\u00a0fun, or for my own sake, was really catching on and growing, and could actually be its own thing.\u00a0That\u2019s when I started thinking of it as something to invest more time into and a friend came on\u00a0board to help me start to think of it as a business. We revamped my website, experimented with\u00a0different ways to sell products and share the comics more broadly. It\u2019s been a few years of\u00a0experimentation since.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-canvas-width=\"873.8719841361177\"><\/div>\n<div data-canvas-width=\"873.8719841361177\"><\/div>\n<div data-canvas-width=\"873.8719841361177\"><strong>Q: Have you always been interested in the arts or was this something you developed later on?\u00a0<\/strong><\/div>\n<div data-canvas-width=\"873.8719841361177\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"pageContainer1\" class=\"page\" data-page-number=\"1\" data-loaded=\"true\">\n<div class=\"textLayer\">\n<div data-canvas-width=\"894.4799284778825\">My mom has drawings from when I was four or five that look remarkably similar to what I draw now.\u00a0But I never had any intention of being an artist. I had a brief\u00a0\u201cactress\u201dphase, but other than that,\u00a0I was a sports kid, I was a brainy kid, all math and science. I liked to write, but even in 3rd\u00a0grade I\u00a0had a friend illustrate a story I\u2019d written because art was not my thing.\u00a0You can imagine my own surprise when I suddenly realized\u00a0these silly stick figure drawings I was\u00a0doing to get my point across about something, and to make myself\u00a0and others smile, were actually<\/div>\n<div data-canvas-width=\"197.06600322952943\">turning into a\u00a0thing.\u00a0I feel completely differently about Art now. I think compelling art changes the world, in the most beautiful, honest way; both in terms of the present pleasure it can provide,<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"pageContainer2\" class=\"page\" data-page-number=\"2\" data-loaded=\"true\">\n<div class=\"textLayer\">\n<div data-canvas-width=\"808.5268088989416\">as well as the inspiration for new thought, possibility, and\u00a0change.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-canvas-width=\"29.933858823529413\"><\/div>\n<div data-canvas-width=\"29.933858823529413\"><\/div>\n<div data-canvas-width=\"29.933858823529413\"><strong>Q: Why did you decide to use the comic strip form as your chosen artistic vehicle?<\/strong><\/div>\n<div data-canvas-width=\"29.933858823529413\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"pageContainer2\" class=\"page\" data-page-number=\"2\" data-loaded=\"true\">\n<div class=\"textLayer\">\n<div data-canvas-width=\"859.1351644556474\">I never chose it, exactly. I had a message to share, about my\u00a0dad\u2019s cancer going away and stick\u00a0figures were all I could draw, so comics it was. If I was\u00a0a less literal person, perhaps I\u2019d have<\/div>\n<div data-canvas-width=\"869.3367800855299\">drawn something abstract, or if I had deep thoughts about fruit, I\u2019d have drawn still-lifes. But I\u00a0wanted to share little moments and insights about my day (I\u00a0had already been a blogger for 10<\/div>\n<div data-canvas-width=\"920.1878972258826\">years before I started drawing) and that usually involved people,so\u00a0stick people are what I drew.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-canvas-width=\"29.933858823529413\"><\/div>\n<div data-canvas-width=\"29.933858823529413\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"textLayer\">\n<div data-canvas-width=\"899.9556213652936\"><strong>Q:\u00a0How has drawing impacted your self-discovery or self-awareness?<\/strong><\/div>\n<div data-canvas-width=\"352.7764826188235\"><\/div>\n<div data-canvas-width=\"352.7764826188235\">At this point in my life, I&#8217;m deeply committed to self-discovery and self-awareness. I\u2019d actually say\u00a0that\u2019s the main thing I\u2019m up to with my life, studying all different kinds of practices, frequently in\u00a0retreats learning or sharing what I know about self inquiry and\u00a0understanding. Dharma Comics\u00a0is\u00a0one\u00a0way I share what I learn in my inner journeys, but I often think of them more as the output of self-exploration as opposed to the means. Usually before I draw any comic, I\u2019ve gone through some deep\u00a0dive around a new learning, and the drawing is how I integrate\u00a0it for myself and share it with\u00a0others.\u00a0I will say though, that now that I draw comics so regularly, I now\u00a0pay\u00a0more attention to\u00a0\u201cwhat is the beauty\/humor here?\u201din any tough or emotional situation. I\u2019ve been doing this long\u00a0enough to know it\u2019s always there, if I\u2019m open to it, and if I don\u2019t see it, it\u2019s just that I don\u2019t see it\u00a0yet. So I would say drawing comics helps me keep an open heart\u00a0and mind to most difficult\u00a0situations so I\u2019ll be able to see the gem that will turn into a comic.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-canvas-width=\"29.933858823529413\"><\/div>\n<div data-canvas-width=\"29.933858823529413\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"textLayer\">\n<div data-canvas-width=\"771.7368080594119\"><strong>Q: Would you describe yourself as a spiritual person?<\/strong><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>I&#8217;m not sure how you define spirituality. But to me it basically refers to the sense that\u00a0\u201cEverything-is-ok\u201d\u00a0or PAI, a friend and I say,\u201cPerfect As Is.\u201d\u00a0Also, that there is much more order to things<\/div>\n<div data-canvas-width=\"813.8595619090592\">that most of us can perceive. So to answer your question,Yes. Definitely. Had you asked me 7 years\u00a0ago, the answer would have been\u00a0No, definitely not. I was a devout atheist and had no patience for\u00a0anyone who believed in things they couldn\u2019t see.\u00a0Dharma Comics was born very shortly after I had a profound shift around the idea of spirituality.Sometimes I look at those adorable little faces of those comics\u00a0I draw, and I wonder\u00a0\u201cWhere did\u00a0you come from!? I could not have planned this in a million years.\u201dAnd in those moments, I trust in a\u00a0sense that\u2019s greater than I\u2019ll ever understand.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"main\">About Dharma Comics<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-23091\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fireitupwithcj.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/leah-small-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"leah-small\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/>Leah Pearlman drew her first comic in 2010 when her dad\u2019s cancer went into remission. She drew a comic announcing the good news and posted it on Facebook.<\/p>\n<p>A week later, after encouraging a friend to \u201cfollow his heart,\u201d an image of someone literally following his heart popped into her mind. She laughed, and then <a class=\"link\" href=\"http:\/\/dharmacomics.com\/comic\/follow-your-heart\/\">put it on paper<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>And so it goes. About once a week, ever since, she\u2019s been moved by something or someone in her life. She illustrates the moment to celebrate it and the person who inspired her and posts the image online for anyone else it may touch. People often reflect that Dharma Comics have a deeply personal feel; that is because each one is deeply personal. They all have a story.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDharma\u201d is a Sanskrit word, often used in Buddhism to refer to the teachings that offer us guidance in life. Dharma can also refer to one\u2019s own purpose or path. Your \u201cDharma\u201d is what you are meant to do. \u00a0Leah often says the name is twofold: Dharma Comics are comics about Dharma, but they have also proven to be her dharma, what she is meant to do.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"border-radius: 2px; text-indent: 20px; width: auto; padding: 0px 4px 0px 0px; text-align: center; font: bold 11px\/20px 'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,sans-serif; color: #ffffff; background: #bd081c no-repeat scroll 3px 50% \/ 14px 14px; position: absolute; opacity: 1; z-index: 8675309; display: none; cursor: pointer;\">Save<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It starts by saying &#8220;YES&#8221; to the tiny yes. \u00a0CJ interviews former technologist from Facebook, Leah Pearlman, about her career and life change after her father died of cancer. \u00a0 She shares some of her favorite Dharma Comics on air from her new book &#8220;Drawn Together&#8221; to explain her curious journey through life and love.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23123,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[490,58],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[3758,7272,7267,7263,7270,7271,5665,7262,7274,4977,7269,7273,7275,5021,7264,7268,7265,1657,5201,7266],"class_list":["post-23088","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-purpose-driven-life","category-business"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.fireitupwithcj.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/bigstock-133760603.jpg","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fireitupwithcj.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23088","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fireitupwithcj.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fireitupwithcj.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fireitupwithcj.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fireitupwithcj.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23088"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.fireitupwithcj.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23088\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23097,"href":"https:\/\/www.fireitupwithcj.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23088\/revisions\/23097"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fireitupwithcj.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23123"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fireitupwithcj.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23088"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fireitupwithcj.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23088"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fireitupwithcj.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23088"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fireitupwithcj.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=23088"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}