As the Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh has said, “Suffering is not enough.” Yes, there is the First Noble Truth of suffering, but our practice is not to live and dwell there; it is to cultivate a kind of lightness, joy, and ease in our lives, so that we’ll be better able to deal with the inevitable suffering. One of the easiest ways to practice this is to nurture and cultivate a strong sense of gratitude. This talk explores how we can access even more thankfulness and joy in our lives through our practice.

One of the ways that we can begin to understand the concept of emptiness is by cultivating what in the Zen tradition is called “Shoshin,” or “Beginner’s Mind.” This is also sometimes referred to as “Don’t Know” Mind. The idea is that, everything, including ourselves, is brand new in each moment, and if we can cultivate this knowing through our practice, and remember it in more and more moments in our lives, we can “awaken” to a more expansive freedom.

What we’re doing when we “take refuge” is finding sanctuary (refuge) within these three things, often called The 3 Jewels: The Buddha (which represents our own capacity for awakening); the Dharma (the teachings we have received and experienced; and The Sangha (the group of us who meet weekly to practice together, as well as the larger sangha of like-minded people who are also courageously looking within their own hearts, bodies, and minds to discover peace and freedom.)

The title of this talk is actually a quote from the Dalai Lama, who suggests that if we aren’t getting enough sleep in our lives, our meditation practice is not going to be as helpful to us. Shell recently explored how to “fall awake” during our formal practice, and how to conquer the hindrance of ‘sloth and torpor’. During this new talk, she explores how the practice can help us to truly “fall asleep,” at night when we need to, and experience more rest, joy, and ease in our lives.

Aversion, desire, sloth and torpor, worry and restlessness, and doubt – these five “hindrances” are really giant umbrella categories pointing to the myriad ways in which we “hinder” our meditation practice - as well as ourselves - from opening our hearts and minds and discovering more freedom. This new talk explores how we can better recognize these hindrances, and learn to transform and overcome them.

There are a multitude of reasons why we fall into sleep or a kind of dreaminess or even a sense of “nothingness” during meditation, and it’s helpful to know what these are so that we can use our practice to work with these states, and discover more clarity, energy, and wakefulness in our daily lives. This talk explores ways that we can use our practice to "fall awake."

Making the decision to experience an extended period of silence with others doing the same—whether it’s for one day, three, or longer—is a powerful commitment to yourself, your practice, and your life.

In order to make the most of this precious time, it can be useful to know what you might find once you’re there, and what to bring along with you—including attitudes and expectations. 

During this talk, Shell talks about the experience of being on retreat.

When we’re practicing wise discernment, we’re mindfully choosing to listen closely to our hearts, and make choices or decisions on what to say or do based on what we discern is true, useful, and helpful, as well as what we believe is going to bring more happiness, and less suffering for all. 

Instead of judgment (which closes us off from our hearts and others) wise discernment can create a real sense of opening, and peace.

This talk explores how we can use our practice to make decisions that reflect our care and wisdom, rather than on our aversion, fear, and judgment.

“Compassion is not a relationship between the healer and the wounded. It's a relationship between equals. Only when we know our own darkness well can we be present with the darkness of others. Compassion becomes real when we recognize our shared humanity.” ~ Pema Chodron

This talk explores ways that we can use our practice to better recognize, open up to, and courageously BE with our suffering - with tremendous kindness and compassion - as a way to heal, expand, and awaken our hearts.

"Most of us need to be reminded that we are good, that we are lovable, that we belong. If we knew just how powerfully our thoughts, words, and actions affected the hearts of those around us, we’d reach out and join hands again and again.” ~ Tara Brach

The Buddha taught that our deepest suffering comes from a sense of feeling separate, alone, isolated from the whole. Yet, he also taught that the key to unlocking more freedom and joy in our lives is for us to recognize this illusion for what it is, and to learn to claim, cultivate, and honor our true, innate belonging with all things. This talk explores the benefits that come from recognizing and experiencing that connection, more and more.