Three Sundays Series: Live and Recorded
ONE CLEAR PATH
Freeing Our Lives
From the Distracted Mind
Invitation to Three Sundays in November
The biggest distraction from finding our path of dedication is the way we are overborne by the flitting movements of our own restless mind.
The ability to find one clear path and to follow it, through thick and thin, into a nourishing future is burned into the human imagination, no matter our culture or inheritance. One clear way forward into our future is something we would all love, but finding this singular path is often interpreted in an obsessive way, where we concentrate on one aspect of our lives to the exclusion and impoverishment of those around us, or the necessities of our every day lives: the artist fails to feed their children, the successful executive fails to be properly present for friends or family, the spiritual athlete falls in love with humanity but neglects to care for anyone in particular.
Join David Whyte for a Three Sundays Series looking at the ability to find one clear path, not as an obsessive narrowing, but more compassionately as the ability to return, again and again, amidst all difficulties, to a proper and deepening focus. It is One Clear Path as a practice, a practice of returning, and through that practice being able to re-engage more and more quickly, in all circumstances, to what is close-in and essential, but that strangely, always helps us to engage in a larger more complex way with our increasingly complex world. It is important to remember that actually, all artistic and contemplative paths have always occurred amidst the difficulty, chaos, untoward occurrences and often hilarious humiliations of an average human life.
We will especially look at the practice of extended focus while still holding the everyday complexities of our existence. Recent studies have shown us, definitively, that there is really no such thing as multitasking: we are simply switching attention rapidly from one thing to another. This is the central source of our stress: in the last twenty years our attention span has gone from an average of two and a half minutes to forty seven seconds. Yes, there are dozens of everyday necessary tasks, yes there are numerous bills, yes there are children, yes there are pipes bursting and tiles frequently falling off the roof, but actually, the biggest distraction from finding our path of dedication is the way we are overborne by the flitting movements of our own restless mind.
Stilling, and at the same time, freeing the mind, is the act of engaging more fully with the essence of our journey, one that does not narrow as we go, but broadens and embraces larger and larger vistas, the further we travel along it.
Three Sundays Testimonials
These beautiful sessions have buoyed me so through the months - now nearly years - of this pandemic. Your words have spoken to me for many years (The House of Belonging is still my favorite, all the pages well worn and the binding frayed). Your choices of theme and poems always seemed divinely timed to what I needed to hear, or to ponder. My creativity has soared, and I have been inspired to let go of old wants and dreams that no longer fit, to be less "hard on myself for wanting what I want," and to really accept that I deserve to have the life I want.
M.G
Tremendous possibilities now in focus, realizing the wisdom behind thinking and living with the theme that no matter what, “ everything is still possible.” Can’t thank you enough. Every session gets better and better.
G.L.
Since I’ve followed your Sundays series beginning in January this year, I’ve gained perspective on why I’m still here (on the planet.) Because of illness and separation from family, I could not see beyond my own misery. Writing didn’t come easily UNTIL I stopped. Thank you for taking us deep into the inner journey. A new door has opened, actually it’s an old, old garden gate and my job was to untangle the overgrowth that was hiding it. Blessings!
P.M.
"Each time, I have been very moved by what you say and how you've said it. Thank you for being a voice of inspiration, kindness, acceptance, and honesty through this strangely beautiful and transformative time."
- Participant, Three Sundays Series
Thank you for these Sundays that you have been doing throughout the pandemic. They have held my heart and body and mind in such a gentle and honest embrace.
- J.N.
This is opening up some exciting possibilities!
- J.C.
ONE CLEAR PATH
Freeing Our Lives From the Distracted Mind begins Sunday, November 19th at 10:00am Pacific Time
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How the Series Works
ONE CLEAR PATH: Freeing Our Lives From the Distracted Mind is centered around three 75-minute livestream sessions delivered via Zoom webconferencing software.
3 Livestream Sessions
Each session will include an hour long talk followed by a 15-minute Q&A.
Resource Guides
You will receive preparatory materials offering food for thought for creating an environment to engage with the series, as well as a detailed resource guide following each session.
Q+A
Each session will include time for David to respond to questions and themes from listeners, which can be submitted live in the Zoom Q&A box.