Dear Community,
I'm delighted to announce that our fall programs through November are now live! This season, we're excited to try something new: for the first time, we've chosen a dedicated theme to explore deeply across our offerings. The theme we'll be exploring this fall is "The Discerning Mind."
This theme holds particular significance within the Naturally Arising Practice Method. The discerning mind is a state that emerges when our practice of non-judging, non-comparing, and non-fixing has stabilized the mind. Utilizing the "As Best I Am Able" practice, we will learn how to cultivate conditions that allow this spacious, responsive, peaceful state to arise naturally. The discerning mind is distinctively characterized by its freedom from egoic contraction, allowing us to see clearly what is skillful, wholesome, and beneficial. Together, we will learn how to establish ourselves in this state when it arises and how to draw upon the resulting wisdom and compassion in the midst of life's complexities.
Phillip captures the essence of this theme in this short teaching video, in which he shares, “When we're living from this discerning mind, what happens is we have more wisdom and more compassion… we are establishing a different place from which to meet life.”
We'll explore this profound teaching in depth through our October Experienced Students' Retreat and Flexible Practice Intensive. Additionally, we're offering new classes on this theme that welcome both newcomers and returning students:
This seasonal approach feels like a natural evolution of our practice together. Rather than moving from topic to topic, we'll have the opportunity to go deeper, allowing the teachings to unfold and mature within our shared exploration.
I hope you'll join us for some—or all!—of this fall's journey of cultivating the discerning mind. Whether you're new to this practice method or have been with us for years, there's something profound about dedicating an entire season to a single, transformative aspect of the path.
Thank you for your continued practice and for being part of this community. We are offering each other the refuge of sangha!
With gratitude and warmth,
Dana
PS: Our last email newsletter containing an important milestone announcement didn't reach some community members. If you missed it, here it is — you can still join the live session with Phillip on August 30th, which is part of our new intro class.