This talk addresses the question: How can we flow between all the different roles, hats, or identities that we place on ourselves every day, and that kind, wise, compassionate presence within us that is actually free of those often-limiting identities, or beliefs about who we think we “should” be? The answer involves using our meditation practice to examine how we can begin to loosen our strong grip on all of our toxic “shoulds,” and uncover and find comfort in what is often called our Buddha...

Right before the Buddha’s enlightenment, a single memory from his childhood apparently not only led him to nirvana, but to the profound teachings of the Middle Way – the whole thing. Essentially, what he remembered was what contentment (or passaddhi) had felt like to him, at age 8. This talk explores how the Buddha was led to this understanding, along with some of his teachings on how we can train ourselves to experience even more of this precious quality in our lives. It includes a 10-minute...

The Buddhist teachings are continually calling our attention to the truth of what is called annica, or impermanence, because essentially, it’s exactly what we tend to struggle with, in the form of both the fear of uncertainty, and the grief that comes with change. But instead of trying to avoid our fear and grief – which is our natural tendency - the teachings are asking us to instead pause, and allow ourselves to BE with these feelings, so that ultimately, we can transform them, and discover...

As the Buddha’s teachings remind us over and over, even though it’s difficult, we never want to let another person’s anger, disrespect, or cruelty harden our own hearts. Instead, we want our meditation practice to serve as a kind of guard for our hearts - a strong shield that can protect us against the power that other people's disrespect can often have over us. This new talk explores how we can develop the mindfulness tools that can help us to more calmly and kindly respond to the unkind...

While the Buddha assured us that it’s healthy to be aware of all our different intentions, he also suggested that once we’ve planted the seeds of our plans, our practice becomes surrendering to any determined outcome whatsoever – to truly let go, of all of it. This talk on Shoshin, or “Beginner’s Mind,” is aimed at helping us to let go more and more often by inviting us to see all things as new – including all situations, people, and especially ourselves – rather than clinging so tightly to...

When we practice what the Buddha called The Middle Way, we start to realize with more clarity that contentment resides at the center of our wanting and not wanting, our indulgence or deprivation. We learn that nothing is really happy or unhappy in and of itself - no person, thing, or situation, and that our joy or sorrow depends entirely on how we are relating to our experience. This talk explores how can use our meditation practice to learn to “walk in the middle” more often in order to...

In order for us to practice well, we need to learn how to create and then dwell in a quality the Buddha called Noble Silence – something that is precious and multi-faceted, like a jewel, and not simply about being quiet. This talk explores all the many reasons why it’s necessary and essential for us, along with offering practices that can help us to experience it more often, and slowly learn to live our lives from within this peaceful space of silence. It includes a meditation at the end.

In the Buddhist teachings, the practice of dana (or generosity) is considered the number one heart quality that we are urged to cultivate, in order to discover more joy, and less suffering in our lives. This new talk from Shell explores how we can use our mindfulness practice to become more kind and generous not only to others, but also to ourselves, by honestly revealing and investigating all the ways in which we might not be being as kind, or as generous as we may think. It includes a...

As the Buddha tells us, rejecting, avoiding, or pushing away the reality of the moment - which might be unpleasant - is one of the main ways that we create suffering (or dukkha) not only for ourselves, but also for others. In the Pali language, this quality of aversion is called dosa. And because it tends to cause so much unnecessary pain and stress in our lives, the teachings urge us to use mindfulness practice to really get to KNOW our dosa, at all levels – from the most minor ways that we...

Most of us tend to grapple with what is considered an ancient human torment: the challenge of trying to balance a need for self-care, along with a strong sense of feeling responsible for helping others, and the world in general – a particular push and pull that can often be so painful. Happily the Buddha was also aware of this struggle, 2600 years ago, and offered us some very sage advice about how to work with it. This talk explores one of his most famous sermons, the Acrobat Sutta, which...

In the Buddhist teachings, the Buddha urged us to very consciously be on the lookout for harmful qualities he called “The Near Enemies,” – qualities that all “pretend” to be the heart-qualities of kindness, compassion, empathetic joy, and equanimity, or, The Divine Abodes, considered the highest, most beneficial emotions in the Buddhist teachings. In this talk, we explore how we can use our practice to bring these types of tricksters or “frenemies” up into the light, see them more fully for...

The Buddha was once asked “what is the most important thing for us to practice?” And his answer was simple: patience (or khanti, in Pali). Happily, this vital quality is something we can learn to apply to absolutely everything we struggle with in our lives - every person, situation, and even ourselves - in order to become much more peaceful, self-controlled, compassionate, and undisturbed by life itself. This talk explores the many different ways that we can do this. It includes a 10-minute...

In the Buddhist teachings it is said that there are 8 different “winds” or conditions that we either hope for, or fear - all of which are constantly blowing into our lives, just like the wind. These 8 are the main things that we tend to preoccupy ourselves with, and consequently become stressed out about. In this talk, Shell explores how we can use our practice to more clearly see and acknowledge these 8 when they rush in, and begin to let go of our strong grip or preoccupation with them in...

Whenever we think of the word “home” we often think of a kind of brick and mortar “place” where we can physically dwell. But in the Buddhist tradition, home or “refuge” is not something we find outside of ourselves, but instead directly within. In fact, it might be said that the entirety of our practice is aimed at training ourselves how to develop this place of “home” right here - in our own minds, bodies, and hearts. In this talk, we explore what are often called the 3 Refuges or Treasures...

Modern science has now shown us that what the Buddha was trying to tell us more than 2600 years ago is spot on: that by consciously choosing to incline our minds towards more joy, we can actually change the structure of our brains in a way that will generate even more experiences of joy for ourselves in the future. This talk explores not only how we can use our practice do this, but how we can bust some of the common misunderstandings about how we go about it. It includes a 15-minute...

While the Buddha assured us that our meditation practice is the path to freedom, he also explained that in order for us to achieve a more profound happiness than we could ever find outside of ourselves, we first need to take an honest, courageous look at all the ways that we create more suffering for ourselves. This talk explores the many different types of dukkha (suffering) that we experience, and how shining a light on them through our practice can help soften and even dissipate them.

Modern science has shown us that our words are not harmless: they have the very real power to not only affect our actual brains, but to either create more hurt and discord in this world, or more harmony and connection. This talk explores some of the Buddha’s rich teachings on Wise Speech, and how we can use our meditation practice to train ourselves to become more aware of our unconscious habits of communication, and better understand what we're creating in our lives and in our world through...

Apologizing is such a challenging skill that the Buddha himself said that learning to do it well is “THE essential factor in achieving purity in thought, word, and deed.” This new talk explores how we can use our mindfulness practice to become better at this, and also how we can better discern whether we are either receiving or giving a real apology - or not. It includes a 15-mintue meditation at the end, designed to help us  accept when an apology we expected was either lacking, or maybe...

Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh suggests that instead of focusing on everything that’s wrong with ourselves, other people, or the world … we should ask: “What’s NOT wrong,” as a way of practicing the incredibly transformative quality of gratitude. This quality of thankfulness is so powerful, in fact, it’s considered 1 of 2 main antidotes to our experience of fear. It also represents the very fruit of our practice, or Equanimity. In this talk, Shell explores how we can use our mindfulness practice...

The Buddhist teachings warn us of 5 main challenging and complicated mental states that block, confuse, or “hinder” our ability to more fully open our hearts and minds, and prevent us from discovering freedom from suffering. In this talk, Shell explores how we can use the practice of energy (or viriya, in Pali) to more clearly recognize these five mental states, and eventually loosen our grip on them in order to discover more joy, freedom, and ease in our lives. It includes a 15-minute...

A common expression among those who practice Insight Meditation is “don’t believe everything you think,” which points to the idea that in order for us to discover the truth – or any transformation or release from suffering in our lives - we first need to take a good look at what we’re believing, then courageously question the validity and/or benefits of these beliefs. In this talk, Shell explores the crucial practice of Investigation (or vicaya), which is considered the 2nd Factor of Awakening.

The Buddha taught that you can search the entire universe for someone more deserving of your love and compassion than yourself, and you will not find that person anywhere. And yet, so often for many of us, it seems much easier to offer our care, compassion, and even forgiveness to others than to ourselves. We tend to beat ourselves up, or give ourselves an unnecessarily hard time for our "perfectly human" emotions and imperfections. This talk from Shell explores how our meditation practice...

As the Buddhist teachings show us, our deepest source of pain and suffering arises from our delusion that we are somehow separate from one another, and from Earth itself. Given this, one the most profound practices we are offered to dispel this delusion is by exploring what is called Mahabhuta, or The Great Elements contained within our bodies. This talk explores not only why this practice is essential, but how we can use our meditation practice to investigate it. It includes a 15-minute...

In the Buddhist teachings, we are asked to use our meditation practice as a way to reflect on the profound truth of anicca, or impermanence: the truth that everything – including ourselves, is always and forever in a constant state of unfolding … along with the truth that if we can learn to trust that flow, and let go of needing to control it, we can truly live with much more joy, freedom, and ease in our lives. This talk investigates how we can learn to live in and even as that constant...