Fighting the “Shepna Syndrome”

Walking down the road towards enlightenment / contentedness / Oneness with the Divine is an ever evolving experience. Sometimes it is a breeze and fits like a glove. A lot of the time it feels hard and unpleasant and the last thing in the world you want to do. Sometimes you conveniently forget you are even on the path. But at the end of the day, once you start, you just can’t stop. Once you’ve glimpsed the light that really does exist in and among us, you can’t turn back.

As I walk this path, I struggle daily with the negative chatter in my head telling me I’m not good enough or that those around me aren’t either. But these negative thoughts and words are my way of blocking myself from reaching something deeper. They are what Pema Chodron, an ordained Buddhist nun in the Tibetan vajrayana tradition, calls my “shepnas.” They are my bad habits, my addictions that I do to over and over again for some type of short term relief. It is Chodron’s contention that first and foremost we must recognize our own shepnas. It is only when we SEE these attachments and feel how they are limiting out potential that we can choose to refrain from going there, relax into our true selves again, and resolve to keep working at it. I think there are some great lessons here about the practice of asana, meditation, and life in general. Take 15 minutes today to read Chodron's talk on this topic: The Shepna Syndrome - Learning to Stay ( Berkeley Shambhala Center, September 2002). Namaste.