Finding Joy in Uncertainty and Finding Grace in the Muck
Online via Zoom

For nothing is fixed,
forever, forever, forever,
it is not fixed;. . . .  James Baldwin  

We live in what can be described as an uncertain, “poly-crisis” moment, with multiple existential threats: climate change, numerous wars, failing democratic norms, widening social inequities, and extreme polarization.

Many of us feel this deeply, physically, and for some, materially as well. Sometimes this compounds the smaller-scale crises in our lives. The mind tumbles into catastrophizing and what some call “horrified anxiety”—a close enemy of karuna, compassion.

In fact, every moment is uncertain. The Buddhist tradition characterized the world we live in as one of anicca, or impermanence; it’s one of the three marks of existence.

While we can accept, understand, and experience this, the current state of the world might cause considerable anxiety, if not outright panic and fear.

But the Buddha’s teachings offer a way to transcend this and become free, regardless of our circumstances. Everything arises from causes and conditions, and conditioned things are impermanent and lack any solid, fixed nature. Everything is always on shaky ground—and, on the upside, much is possible. We can experience that non-fixedness as dukkha, or suffering, but that’s not the end of the story. Non-fixedness is also infinite potential, possibility, creativity.

Join us for an online eight-week course with New York Insight Teacher Jon Aaron exploring how we can live with uncertainty, not from a place of fear but with buoyancy, curiosity, and ease. We’ll discover how the teachings provide practical ways of coping with these various threats and how we can cultivate joy in uncertainty instead of battling it in the doomed hope of clinging to certainties that ultimately will not last.

 Each class will include meditation practices, dharma teachings, and discussion. Some prior meditation experience is required, as well as some understanding of basic Buddhist teachings.