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How to Let Shit Go

Live Online Course

With Kate Johnson

May 24th, 2020 - June 14th, 2020

Ever tried to let go of a thought or behaviour, and found yourself unable to drop it for good? Let us show you the way.

Join Kate Johnson’s inspirational four-week live online course starting on 24th May to help you leave behind thoughts and beliefs that no longer serve you, feel liberated and find happiness

Even as you read this, you may be feeling the earth shifting under your feet. Our world is changing profoundly, and while we don’t yet know where this current evolution will resolve, one thing is clear – a lot of the shit we were doing before wasn’t working for us.  

We have an opportunity – in this moment of disruption caused by the COVID-19 virus – to reimagine our relationships with ourselves, with time, with nature, and with every living being.  

We can embrace change and reimagine the future…

… but only if we are willing to let go of the old ways of thinking and acting that kept us from expressing our true freedom, our true interdependence, and our true humanity in the first place. 

Letting go isn’t easy.  

If you’ve ever tried to let go of a behaviour or belief system and found yourself unable to drop it for good, even though part of you really, really wanted to — then you have some insight into an important truth:  

That letting go is not a one-time event.  

It’s a whole path of practice.  And if we choose to enter it will lead us, moment by moment, to a profound liberation of the heart.  

Exploring these ideas, How to Let Shit Go is the latest live course with teacher Kate Johnson, starting on 24th May for 4 weeks.

How To Let Shit Go offers an exclusive opportunity to work with Kate for 4 weeks of Buddhist teachings, practices and discussion to help us let go gracefully (before we get dragged!).

Kate’s course offers a different approach to other courses by offering all the teaching exclusively as a live programme, every Sunday during the course. We’re also making the course widely available with a low joining fee with the option to donate voluntarily after the sessions (see below for full details).

Jump to course schedule

Discover how to let go and find liberation and freedom

In this course, you will learn:

  • Why you hold on to shit that doesn’t serve you anymore
  • How to tolerate the uncomfortable gap between letting go of old strategies for navigating our lives and the cultivation of new ones
  • Ways to work with the fear of the unknown
  • Meditative techniques for learning from and releasing obsessive thoughts 
  • What to do about desires that are unquenchable 
  • How to look honestly at our addictions without hating ourselves because of them

We can’t change our habitual patterns, individually or collectively, until we change how we relate to them. And changing how we relate to them – well, that changes everything.   

Come see how the Buddha’s teachings on the four types of clinging can help us abandon what no longer serves us, and find happiness and freedom in the process.

Module 1: Being Satisfied: letting go of craving for more

Pleasure is a natural, healthy part of our human existence. There’s so much to enjoy in this world – all the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and experiences that make our lives delicious, exciting and fun. But when we start organizing our lives around getting the sensory experiences that we habitually crave, when we can’t tolerate not having what we want when we want it, then we’ve moved from pleasure into a kind of clinging that actually inhibits true enjoyment. 

In this first live session, we explore the practice of letting go of craving sensory pleasure and address questions like:

  • How can we enjoy pleasant experiences without becoming addicted to them or afraid of them?
  • What is enough, and how do we know that we have enough?
  • Which contemplative practices can support us in restoring our agency when relating to pleasurable experiences?
  • How can we shift from obsession with getting what we want, to the satisfaction of wanting what we have?

Module 2: Being Open: letting go of being right

Our view – the way we see the world and our place in it –  is part of what makes each of us unique, interesting, and special as individuals. We all have views on politics, culture, spirituality, and other aspects of our collective life. But when we catch ourselves becoming judgemental, or hear from others that they feel constantly criticised by us, it may be a sign that we’re clinging to our views in a way that forecloses our natural curiosity and openness.  If we can let that shit go, we can discover fresh new ways of being and seeing together.

In the second live session, we ease up on the idea that our view is the right view, and address questions like:

  • What can we do when opposing views make us feel defensive or under attack?
  • What’s the difference between unskilful judgement and wise discernment?
  • Which teachings and practices can help us become tolerant of other views without abandoning our own?

Module 3: Being Flexible: letting go of rituals and routines

In an ever-changing world, there’s something supremely comforting about routines. Doing things in a particular order and a particular way gives us a sense of ground and structure – whether it’s external, like how we clean our home, or internal, like how we approach our meditation practice.

The trouble comes in, of course, when we must have things the same way every time, or insist that others do things the way we do them.  

At that point, our very human wish for familiarity and dependability morphs into a need to control that can numb us to our own fluctuating inner experience, and create distance between us and the people we care about.

In our third live session, we explore ways to let go of rigidity in rituals and routines and address questions like:

  • In our meditation practice, when is it best to keep things consistent, and when should we try something new?
  • How can we establish safety and stability at home and at work, without resorting to demanding or controlling behaviours?
  • What are some inner resources that can help us find ground within the inherent groundlessness of our current reality?

Module 4: Being Fearless: letting go of ego-fixation

Knowing ourselves and loving who we are makes it possible to move through the world and be of maximum service to others. 

Having a sense of self is a good thing – unless, of course, we spend our days building our ego and protecting it. If we’re finding ourselves in cycles of approval-seeking, people-pleasing, blaming or shaming, it might be a clue that we’re holding onto our sense of self a bit too tightly, and missing opportunities to grow and change.  

In our final live session, we navigate the self as an unfolding process and address questions like:

  • How can we celebrate our unique identities without becoming trapped by them?
  • What’s the connection between ego-fixation and anxiety?
  • What practices can help us receive feedback without hardening up or becoming defensive?
  • What can we do when we feel slighted, offended, or misunderstood to come back to balance?
  • How can we establish a sense of self that can help us access courage in difficult times?

Register today and join Kate for a unique live experience designed to liberate your heart and mind

Sangha Live runs live online courses to offer a rare opportunity to connect directly with world-renowned teachers in a relaxed online environment where you can get your questions answered. Considering the nature of COVID-19 and the situation as it is, we’re offering this course as something different from other live courses we’ve previously run.

Each module of the course will be presented as a live session incorporating both the teaching and the opportunity to speak with and learn from Kate.

When the world is so in flux right now, we felt this more dynamic approach to our course would benefit you more and allow Kate to respond to the quickly shifting situation. In today’s world, who knows what will happen in only four weeks’ time!

Because of the unique nature of this course, we’re offering a more flexible approach to the cost of registering.

What does it cost?

Taking into account everything that is happening right now, our aim at Sangha Live is to make this widely accessible to all who need this.

That’s why we’re asking you to only contribute a small cost for registration which is designed to cover technical costs – just $20.

At the end of each of the four live sessions with Kate, we will give those in attendance the opportunity to make a donation or contribute Dana.

We feel this is the fairest way to make Kate’s essential teachings available to the widest number of people at this testing time.

Isn’t it time to finally let shit go? Join us on 24th May

At Sangha Live, our mission is to support your journey of awakening. Our live sessions with renowned teachers, such as Kate, offer the opportunity to really deepen and align your practice in your everyday life.

How To Let Shit Go offers an opportunity to explore how letting go is possible in the current context and a way of feeling grounded going forward. The course will help you:

  • Learn how to let go
  • Discover new meditation techniques
  • Develop stronger gratitude
  • Become more resilient
  • Heighten your awareness
  • Leave behind cravings and obsessions
  • Become more tolerant and accepting
  • Reduce anxiety

Live Online Course Details

4 Live Interactive sessions

Each module of the course will be presented as a 2 hour live session, incorporating both the teaching and the opportunity to speak with and learn from Kate. All sessions will be recorded and made available for those who can't attend live.

Experiential Exercises

Kate will offer exercises both within the live sessions, and in the weeks in between sessions, to help you embody the understanding of the teachings.

Online Sangha

Connect with an international community that is practicing with you. Shared experiences and insights from others enrich the experience and help us go deeper with the teachings.

Accessible to All

To make the course widely available, we’re asking for only a small cost for registration. At the end of each of the four live sessions we will give those in attendance the opportunity to make a donation or contribute Dana.

Schedule

Dates

Session 1: Sunday May 24
Session 2: Sunday May 31
Session 3: Sunday June 7
Session 4: Sunday June 14

Times

9am PT (LA) / 12pm ET (NYC / 5pm UK (London) / 6pm EU (Paris)
9am PT (LA) / 12pm ET (NYC / 5pm UK (London) / 6pm EU (Paris)
9am PT (LA) / 12pm ET (NYC / 5pm UK (London) / 6pm EU (Paris)
9am PT (LA) / 12pm ET (NYC / 5pm UK (London) / 6pm EU (Paris)

About Kate Johnson

Kate Johnson’s favorite words are awareness, embodiment, and action. She teaches classes and retreats integrating Buddhist meditation, somatics, social justice and creativity at the Rubin Museum in New York, the Institute of Contemporary Art in Philadelphia, Spirit Rock Meditation Center, the Kripalu Center and the Omega Institute.  Kate works as a culture change consultant, partnering with organizations who are pursuing noble goals to achieve greater diversity and sustainability.  She is also an utterly unprofessional dancer and performer who earned a BFA in Dance from The Alvin Ailey School/Fordham University and an MA in Performance Studies from NYU.