The desire for happiness serves as a major motivation in our lives, yet we often experience numerous obstacles to achieving it. With the pandemic, political discord, and an uncertain future, many of us have experienced heightened anxiety and anger. Yet even with beneficial circumstances and material comforts, it is quite easy to experience frustration, fear, depression, and other less than generous mind states.

While we all search for happiness, we often unwittingly create the causes for our suffering and dissatisfaction. Shantideva, the eighth century Buddhist master, said that we long to free ourselves from misery but wind up running to it instead. Perhaps we find comfort in food, vent our frustrations to others, or distract ourselves with entertainment. But without addressing the true source of difficulty, which resides in the mind, we will never find the happiness and peace we seek.

This daylong workshop will help us identify afflictive states of mind (anger, attachment, pride, jealousy, depression, anxiety, fear, etc.) and explore a variety of healthy coping mechanisms. We will learn how to cultivate positive emotions and transform even everyday challenges into more realistic and peaceful experiences.

This workshop is appropriate for beginners as well as for more experienced students who encounter negative emotions and wish to strengthen the capacity to overcome them.