Zooming into the Mountain Shala
click the image to watch an extract of this session!
My Dear Friend,
Yesterday, one month since the accident, was the first day of my retreat in the Spanish mountains. This is where we’ve spent our summers the last fourteen years, in practice and community. Never had I imagined connecting with my Mountain Sangha on Zoom… I was moved to tears seeing everyone gathered in our beloved Shala, made potent by years of practice. Even through a screen, I have rarely felt closer to any community than I did with this group.
“This retreat was able to go ahead without my presence, through their devotion to this path and to one another.”
Each one showing up with such openness of heart and flexibility of mind, teaching us all what true Sangha is about.
Above all, through Armi and Agneta holding us all in their strong and generous arms. This is the power of apprenticeship. Between them, they have studied every element of this practice with me, deeply and patiently, over years. They are not simply standing in for me. They are brilliant teachers in their own right, with wisdom to share in their own unique ways. When it became clear I could not travel this summer, I had not a fraction of doubt in their ability to share these teachings fully.
And there is David and Emma, with the Las Chimeneas staff, holding us through this tender time. I am endlessly grateful for my Mountain Sangha that has grown so strong over the years. This is what allows me to let go fully now.
Monday morning I go in for surgery. After that, the long wait in immobility can finally move into a journey of healing.
“What I carry with me are decades of unbroken practice. Now, more than ever, I feel its power. ”
Because of practice, I am not afraid to surrender. Practice has taught me not to resist my experience, but to move with it.
That doesn’t mean I am untouched by this profound pain, grief and uncertainty. My meditation practice right now is mainly holding space for my tears. But Mettā Bhāvanā has shown me how to hold my broken heart and bones in compassion. Rather than fighting uncertainty, I can gently receive what this tender not-knowing has to teach me.
Even as my body is deeply challenged and my heart broken open, my devotion to this path has never been stronger.
I share a recorded extract from this tender moment here.
With Mettā x
kia, Paris July 19th 2026