Speaker: Scott Gallagher. Reflecting on the 2023 Nyingma Summer Seminar, Scott was particularly struck by Rinpoche’s encouraging students to approach practice with a state of ease. Scott differentiates the notion of ease from his habitual ways of relating to practice, characterized by a focus on challenges, dwelling on areas for improvement and fixating on whether or not he’s doing “it” right. He investigates ease in practice through an example of a friend who looks forward to curling up and enjoying a good book. What would it take to shift one’s practice from a problem-centered approach to one of such enjoyment and immersion? Scott presents various ways to let go of habitual, discursive thinking and direct our minds towards a more relaxed approach to practice: We can confidently rely on the lineage and deities as our supports. We are not in this alone. We can remind ourselves of the precious opportunity we have to become liberated. We can make genuine, heartfelt aspirations to benefit all beings, which allows our practice to flow with ease.

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