Sailing the Worldly Winds

How to deal with the ups and downs of life and find true contentment
We all get blown around in our lives. Things go wrong, people let us down and our plans fall apart. We get angry, disappointed and upset. And life can seem so hard. If only things would go my way…

The Buddha called these ups and downs The Worldly Winds and he said that

• we go from gaining things to losing them; 
• from being admired to being criticised, 
• from experiencing pleasure to feeling pain 
• and from feeling worthwhile to feeling that we are hopeless. 

And, whilst we can influence our lives to a certain extent, the Buddha said that these Worldly Winds would always blow no matter how much we wanted them to stop. We will not always get what we want and often we will get what we don't want. He called this samsara - our uncomfortable existence in a world that refuses to be how we want it to be.

But what if we could rest easy, no matter what the world and other people throw at us? What if we could just be happy and content whatever happened in our lives? This was how the Buddha experienced life and he said that we too could live out our lives in peace and contentment if only we could see how.

During these six weeks we will be looking at the Buddha's teaching on how to overcome the worldly winds and to find contentment no matter what happens in the world and in our lives. Each week we will explore how we get into conflict with the world and other people and why we are the cause of much of our suffering. We'll be looking at practical ways of changing our approach to life and seeing how this can lead us to a state of greater happiness and tranquillity.

These six weeks are open to all over 18. Those who are completely new to Buddhism, those who are experienced practitioners and everyone in between.

This is a Drop-In so just come when you can (no need to book). There is no charge but, as we have no other income we would appreciate a donation each week (we suggest £10 but please donate whatever feels okay)

Programme

18th September: Blown by the Wind - What are the Worldly Winds

25th September: Learning to Sail the Worldly Winds - Seeing the Worldly Winds as an opportunity to change our lives for the better

2nd October:  Shelter from the Storm - The inner work of meditation and Mindfulness

9th October: Winds of Change -  Deepening our perspective around change and seeing our potential

16th October: Winds from the West - The Worldy Winds in the modern world

23rd October: If… - Standing in the midst of the Worldly Winds, yet feeling fine