A little more than six months ago, I made the most difficult decision of my life, which was to separate from my husband after almost 30 years of marriage, and leave the farm and house I’ve called home for more than 20 years.
Needless to say, this time has been a powerful reminder of what the Buddha called the Three Characteristics of Life: impermanence, suffering, and the fluidity of self.
It’s also encouraged me to lean into the Buddha’s more profound teachings on how to work with both our hopes and fears – particularly his teachings on what are called the 8 Worldly Winds, or Attachments.
All of these “winds” are inescapable, and visit each of us in various degrees of strength throughout our lives. They include the experiences of gain, status, praise, and pleasure, along with loss, disgrace, blame, and pain.
They are also all experiences that we tend to either seek out and hope for, or fear and resist.
And of course, there’s nothing wrong with wanting things to go well for us, and to resist experiencing unpleasantness – this is completely natural; it’s just part of being human.
But … when we find ourselves clinging too tightly to any of our hopes or fears, it can often keep us trapped in cycles of suffering, as well as different definitions of self that only tend to harden our heart.
So, for this month’s new talk, “So Special/So Wounded: Navigating Our Hopes & Fears,” I thought I’d explore how our meditation practice can help us to pay closer attention to these various winds so that we can learn how to better allow them to arise and pass without grasping onto any of them so fiercely, and discover more freedom and ease in our lives.
It includes a meditation at the end. As always, I hope that it will serve.
Just a few heads up!
1) On JULY 12, we’re excited to be offering a daylong retreat, Awakening Joy, at a new venue – the expansive St. Francis Episcopal Church in Great Falls, VA, a quiet oasis that offers a great lawn, abundant trees, and a labyrinth!
2) The fall weeklong retreat SEPT. 18 – 24, 2025, “THIS IS IT: The 4 Foundations of Mindfulness” in Romney, WV only has 30 spots left!
3) As Alice Walker once so wisely reminded us, “Hard times require furious dancing!“ In this spirit, a dear friend of mine and I have started a free, monthly DANCE COMMUNITY at Vibrissa, 10 N. Kent St., in Winchester starting THIS THU, MAY 29 from 7-10 p.m.
(The local newspaper wrote a story about this, which you can find here.)
We hope that you can join us!
With care and much metta (loving-kindness),
~ Shell 🙏🏽💕
