Hi ,
I learned a new word this week: “shenpa.” Shenpa is a Tibetan word to describe an unwillingness of human beings to let go of certain thoughts, particularly those that cause us suffering. Shenpa is often describes as “getting hooked.”
Here’s an everyday example: Someone criticizes you. She criticizes your work or your appearance or your child. In moments like that, what is it you feel? It has a familiar taste, a familiar smell. Once you begin to notice it, you feel like this experience has been happening forever. That sticky feeling is shenpa. And it comes along with a very seductive urge to do something. Somebody says a harsh word
and immediately you can feel a shift. There’s a tightening that rapidly spirals into mentally blaming this person, or wanting revenge, or blaming yourself. Then you speak or act. The charge behind the tightening, behind the urge, behind the story line or action is shenpa.
Most of us have habitual places that “hook us” daily, maybe even hourly, and they continue to drive us crazy.
Meditation teaches us how to open and relax with whatever arises, without picking and choosing. It teaches us to experience the uneasiness and the urge fully and to interrupt the momentum that usually follows. We do this by not following after the thoughts and learning to return again and again to the present moment. We train in sitting still with the itch of shenpa and with our craving to scratch. We
label our story lines “thinking” and let them dissolve, and we come back to “right now,” even when “right now” doesn’t feel so great. This is how we learn patience and how we learn to interrupt the chain reaction of habitual responses that otherwise will rule our lives.
Come practice with us this week!
No experience necessary – come as you are!
Guided Meditation Groups
Wednesday at 6 pm (One hour)
Thursday at Noon (30 Minutes)
Link to join:
Join Zoom Meeting on your computer or pad by clicking this link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85649294455
Hope you can join us - invite a friend!