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The 5 Hindrances of the Mind

We might notice that one of our core challenges, the underlying quality of our practice, can also be a door to deepening our practice.

These typically manifests as one of the 5 obstructions or hindrances of the mind: greed, ill-will, the embodied experience of sloth and its mental counterpart of torpor, restlessness – the embodied experience of a mind that worries, and doubt.

The hindrances are part of the fourth foundation of mindfulness, which we kinda shorthand into saying “thoughts” a contemplation of dhammas, which groups together different experiences of the mind to reflect the goal of the Buddha’s teachings, which is liberation.

In this upcoming Day of Practice, we’ll be centering the mind state of greed and the fine line between it and aversion or ill – will which can manifest as a form of hyper-vigilance and perfectionism. These manifestations can be so violently pervasive, that they often slip in without us recognizing what is happening.

We can begin to believe and internalize the judgments of dominant culture, and in turn extract our holiness and our magic, forgetting how sacred we are.

It’s natural for grasping, aversion, sleepiness, restlessness and doubt to arise.

And by loosening our grip on these mental formations that are born out of our conditioning, our preferences, our beliefs, the judgments around us, we can begin to get free.


Join Leslie’s LIVE Day of Practice on September 2, 2023 here!