A Message from the Director

Dear Noble Warriors of Shambhala,

Today, right now, some of us are experiencing an immense amount of sadness and fear about our future. As well, some are experiencing new hope for our future. Whatever it is you’re feeling, the divide between hope and fear appears to be as vast as the long deep valleys of Tibet and the hurdles as high as the snowy mountain tops of the Himalayas.

It is my aspiration that we can come together tonight or the next few days and weeks to gather as a community to practice meditation, have some good food and good conversation around what it feels like to be a human being on this planet right now. In Shambhala we don’t shy away from the realities of our world, the heartaches, diversity of opinion or fear. We engage with courage, curiosity and gentleness.

I strongly encourage all of us to engage now, to stay in this world with our feet firmly planted on the ground and our gaze up into the heavens toward those snowy peaks where the wind howls and we are sometimes afraid. There is magic there. The magic that we need right now to create enlightened society in each moment, in each difficult conversation and in each joyful one. The world longs for our sanity. Stay rooted and shine forth. We need you.

I hope to see you soon at one of these upcoming events at our Shambhala Centers or shining like a beacon out in the world, I promise you the world will notice.

Yours with a tender open heart,

Cynthia MacKay

Director, Shambhala Meditation Centers of Los Angeles