Shell Fischer's Podcast

While the teachings offer us numerous ways of praying, people often ask: in this non-theistic tradition, what does it mean to do this? Or, what is it that we are aspiring to, when we place our hands together and bow our heads in prayer? In this talk, Shell explores how we can use this powerful form of aspiration to open our hearts, expand and connect, and extend more compassion and care to both ou...

When we practice what the Buddha called The Middle Way, we start to realize with more and more clarity that happiness resides at the center of wanting and not wanting; that nothing is really happy or unhappy in and of itself - no thing, person, or situation; that our joy or sorrow depends entirely on how we are relating to our experience. In this talk, Shell explores how learning to "walk in the m...

The teachings warn us of 5 main challenging and complicated mental states that block, confuse, or "hinder" our ability to more fully open our hearts and minds, and prevent us from discovering freedom from suffering. In this talk, Shell explores how we can better recognize these five, and learn to transform and eventually overcome them.

Often, as we search for deeper spiritual meaning in our practice, it's easy to become stalled or stuck at certain points, and become unclear about which direction we need to take in order to continue further. This talk from Shell explores the famous Heartwood Sutra, which points out four things that are often mistaken for progress in our practice.

The Buddha spoke about 5 spiritual faculties which, if cultivated and developed, can flower into spiritual powers. The truth is, we all have these faculties within us, and when we learn to nurture them through our practice and our lives, they can lead us to more joy, ease, and freedom. In this talk, Shell explores these five, and offer ways that we can begin to harness their profound power, and of...

Though it's considered an integral part of our formal meditation practice, walking meditation is something that is often not well-known in the West, or practiced, and can seem odd when we first try it. Yet, it can not only help the body refresh and rejuvenate between meditation periods, but can help us to take our practice "off the cushion" and into every single moment of our lives, so that we can...

As we all know, whenever we're having difficulty relaxing, or sleeping, this can often profoundly affect our thinking, mood, behavior, and quality of life. The good news is, the Buddha's teachings (especially those that deal with the hindrance of worry and restlessness) can not only help us to fall asleep more easily, but can allow us to live with greater calm, joy, and ease. In this talk, Shell o...

"If there is to be understanding, compassion, and peace in the world, spiritual teachers must learn to honor the 'jewels,' or 'best values,' at the heart of diverse traditions, and to keep their own alive by interpreting them in light of the here and now" ~ Donna Seaman. In this talk,   Shell explores how, so often, the teachings of both the Buddha and Jesus were essentially pointing to the same t...

One of the main ways we tend to suffer is when someone insults or blames us, and we can't seem to let go of the hurt or anger it evokes; when it lives in us, and grows bigger and more intense, maybe even overwhelming. During this talk, Shell explores how we can use the teachings and the practice to help us to better let go of our strong grip on blame and insult, and to bring some healing to our vu...

There are a multitude of reasons why we fall into sleep or a kind of dreaminess or even a sense of "nothingness" during meditation, and it's helpful to know what these are so that we can use our practice to work with these states, and discover more clarity, energy, and wakefulness - not only in our practice, but in our daily lives. Shell explores these and more in this talk on what is called the h...

This meditation - recorded during one of Shell's Tuesday night classes - is a 30-minute guided visualization practice, designed to help us discover our wisest self, and listen to the wisdom of our hearts for the answers we have been seeking. 

In our modern western lexicon, the word "karma" is often employed as a kind of derogatory term that implies that someone who is experiencing some negative consequences is somehow getting their just reward, or cosmic punishment. Yet in the Buddhist teachings, this is not at all an accurate description, and the Buddha himself was actually critical of many of the beliefs and myths that are attached t...

In the famous Upaddha Sutta,the Buddha's disciple Ananda suggested that "admirable friendship" is  half of the holy life … and the Buddha exclaimed, strongly, "no, it is the whole  of the holy life." In this new talk, Shell explores the importance of cultivating Kalyanamitra (a Sanskrit word that means "spiritual friendship, or "noble friend") and why it's essential that we nourish this same stron...

According to the Buddhist teachings , there are 8 main "anxieties" or "hang-ups" that take up an enormous amount of our emotional energy, and keep us trapped in a cycle of pain, frustration, and suffering. These 8 are praise and blame, recognition and disregard, gain and loss, and pleasure and pain. As we use our practice to learn to face these inevitable winds in our lives without being constantl...

In the Pāli canon, the Buddha asks us to practice reflecting each day on what are called "The 5 Remembrances" as they relate to the truth of annica (impermanence). Over time, and with practice, reflecting upon these 5 things can help us to more deeply recognize and accept that change, loss, and death are not unusual events, but are woven into the very fabric of existence. As we continue to reflect...

" If we had a keen vision and feeling of all ordinary human life, it would be like hearing the grass grow and the squirrel's heart beat, and we should die of that roar which lies on the other side of silence." ~ George Eliot This talk explores how we can cultivate a deeper sense of sustained silence and presence through meditation practice, and how, more and more, as this silence deepens, we can b...

During a recent "Noble Silence" night at Shell's meditation class, she was asked to record the metta (loving-kindness) meditation that she offers. This recording includes a brief explanation, followed by the meditation. Enjoy! 

"Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space lies our freedom and power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and freedom." ~ Victor Frankl   In this talk, Shell explores how, through our mindfulness practice, we can better access what has often been called "The Sacred Pause," to create more calm, ease, and grace in our lives.

" Listen to Sadness. Sadness is important. Sadness has something to teach you. It stands in opposition to an entire culture that tells people that happiness is the highest, best, and sometimes only permissible emotion, and that sadness is an obstacle to being happy, and that we should concentrate all of our emotional and cultural energy on trying to eradicate sadness so that everyone can be happy....

As the Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh tells us, " Suffering is not enough ." Yes, the First Noble Truth tells us that there is suffering, but our practice is not to live and dwell there; it is to cultivate a kind of lightness, joy, and ease in our lives, so that we'll be better able to deal with the inevitable suffering. One of the easiest ways to practice this is to nurture and cultivate a strong sen...

In this talk, Shell dives into the idea of "humility" - a word fraught with shame in the English language - and explores how, through the teachings and the practice, we can start to view humility more and more as a pathway to love, genuineness, reverence, and connection.

Traditionally, realms and states of deep consciousness have been described in mystical and spiritual literature as having been achieved through the art of concentration – which is exactly what we're trying to cultivate in our Vipassana practice. As we develop a more refined and skilled awareness, this in turn offers us access to even deeper levels of understanding and insight. This talk explores h...

Mindfulness is whole-body-and-mind awareness of the present moment. When we are mindful, we are fully present, without judgment, with exactly what's happening, right now. We're not lost in the past or future … not tangled up in daydreams, anticipation, indulgences, or worry. We are right here, witnessing our bodies and minds and whatever is present. During this talk, Shell explores this essential...

In his teachings about how we should go about investigating the nature of our minds and hearts, the Buddha continually emphasized the words diligent , ardent , and resolute . If we really want to experience more joy and freedom in our lives, we need to apply a more sustained and wise effort to our practice in order to discover more clarity - or insight - into which mind states lead us to happiness...

In anticipation of an annual Refuge Ceremony, Shell offers this talk on what it means to Take Refuge (find sanctuary) in what are called the 3 Jewels of Practice: 1. Buddha: (who we are not worshiping in any way, but honoring as an example of what is possible within ourselves.) 2. Dharma: Here we are agreeing to take a deep look within ourselves, through the teachings, and discover for ourselves w...