Small kaleidoscope from the young adults course in April 2018

“All at once, I’m here and there!” That is one of the answers to the question asked at the beginning of the course: “Are you there?” An improbable question, that asks one to start with himself. “When I arrived, I felt the same sensation as the first time I came. So I said to myself, I’m in the right place.” A simple question and discussions begin.

There were about twenty people, including two organizers; an ideal number for some progressive exploration of…of what in fact? Here are the questions that came up at the beginning by participants, once we got to know each other a bit.
Some random questions:

• How to find regular stillness in light of all the thoughts and emotions that arise?
• How to go from adolescence to adulthood, and in particular a professional life?
• How to find meaning in what I do?
• How to make choices, to make decisions, and to commit?
• How to remain coherent with my values in the choices I make?
• Are there some methods for meditation?
• How to manage how others look at us?

The two day program can now be defined; the organizers adapt and a dynamic can begin. They announce the axis of reflection: how develop discernment. Themes arise spontaneously: impermanence and interdependence, calm and introspection, training. In short, to take a different look at one’s self and others.

One of the topics that we reflected upon was impermanence. We began with some discussion in small groups of three, with a new proposition: list everything that changes!
The non-exhaustive lists were proposed by the groups: the body, the sensations, perceptions, emotions, everything produced by the brain, the weather, matter, love, youth, beauty, ego, problems, desires, happiness, the universe, success, living languages, phenomena, the context of something, space-time, nature, health, life…
Then another question: How do I react to change? We discussed this in one big group. This discussion allowed for a better understanding of our relationship to change and we can find resources to be able to adapt without being submissive. Throughout the discussion, it becomes clear: the notion of process, the necessary time to understand and take in situations. How a change could get us to go through a whole series of emotional states before we can even process the change.

Hence, we go in the direction of recognizing our emotions. We discover that an emotion is not bad in and of itself; it is a movement in the mind. What is important is what we do with our states of mind. For that, we can approach it in three steps: see the emotion (become aware that it has appeared or that it was already there), identify it (which one is it?), and accept it (without judgement, just in receiving it for observation and recognize in workings). To sort this out in difficult moments, there are three questions we can ask: What is happening (the facts)? What do I think of it (the representations)? And what do I feel (the emotions)? Beginning with a few tools, everyone can feel better equipped facing emotions

We also looked for some resources available to us or to cultivate, we clarified the process that allows us to make decisions, there were times of meditation, we listened to each other….At the end of these two days, everyone left with their batteries charged, thinking that the course had just begun! Once completely loaded with information, tools and resources, it is about practicing. Wishing you all well!