In the famous Upaddha Sutta, the Buddha’s long-time attendant, Ananda, mentions to him that friends and companions seem so important that certainly, they must be half of the holy life.

But the Buddha tells him: “No, no, do not say so, Ananda … noble friends and companions are the whole of the holy life; they are the whole.”

What this means is that: who we choose to associate with is absolutely essential for our own happiness, emotional well-being, and quality of life.

Happily, the teachings offer us numerous ways that we can use our meditation practice to help us better discern who we want to include in our lives, including assessing whether our relationships are offering us more medicine (i.e. something that brings us more health), or poison (something that makes us feel bad.)

So, for this month’s talk, “My Relationships: Medicine, or Poison?” I thought I’d explore some ways that we can tap into our wise bodies and hearts to help us make the best decisions about our associations – ones that will hopefully lead us towards more health and happiness in our lives.

It includes a meditation at the end. As always, I hope that it will serve.

Also, a few important heads up!:

1) My team and I are thrilled to be headed back soon to the beautiful, serene Peterkin Retreat Center in Romney, WV this SEPT. 26-OCT. 2 for a new weeklong retreat, “5 Ways to Let Go: Releasing the Hindrances” – which fyi is about 3/4 full and filling quickly!

2) The 2025 Retreat Schedule is now up on the website! (Including a new 5-day retreat in April: LOVING YOURSELF: Nurturing the Heart Practices)

3) I finally found someone to help me modernize our payment methods (yay) so, you’ll now find more options than PayPal on the site! 🙂 And more soon!

4) The next daylong retreat on AUG. 17, “True to Your Heart,” in The Plains is almost full!

In the meantime, I’m sending many kind wishes, and my hopes to see you soon!

~ Shell 🙏🏽💕