This month’s theme refers to a common parable about two wolves. There are many versions of it, but it generally goes something like this:
A wise man tells his grandchild that two wolves live inside of him, in constant battle. One wolf is bad — mean, greedy, and dangerous. The other wolf is good — wise, kind, and loving. The child asks him which wolf wins, and the man says, “The wolf I feed.”
For the past few weeks we’ve been exploring our relationships with aspects of ourselves we don’t like — our “bad wolves”. These painful conditioned feelings and mind states cause us deep suffering, and most of us have been trying to kill or starve them for a long time. Instead, we’ve been learning to meet them with patience, love, caring, and good sense, to feel more at ease and less in conflict with ourselves.
As your bad wolves are becoming more familiar to you, you’re likely better able to tolerate them. You can feel the pain and discomfort when they arise and hold it with kindness and care. Meditation teachers call this “making space”, because it creates a pause between stimulus (the appearance of the bad wolf) and response (thoughtless words or deeds). This pause means you’re not doomed to react thoughtlessly and quickly anymore—you can take a moment to consider what would be the wisest and most skillful thing to say or do, or perhaps to recognize that no action is needed just now.
⭐️ I hope this newsletter supports you on this path of integrity and connection! I’m so glad you’re here! If you have the means, I hope you’ll deepen your support and press 👇 the orange button and become a Paid Member! You’ll get all the audio practices in our big archive, access to live sessions, and biggest virtual hugs of appreciation and love. x
Practicing making space is how you train your bad wolves. It breaks the samsaric cycle of suffering by lessening the likelihood of behaving badly again and again. Instead, you become liberated from your habitual reactions without needing to get rid of or starve your bad wolf. You realize you can have this wolf and hold it and train it to sit and stay — allowing you to decide what will be the wisest and most compassionate words and behaviors, most appropriate to the moment.
This week’s meditation is adapted from a practice in my book, Steady, Calm, and Brave. You’ll use your mind and body to help you stay steady, open, and brave too, as you integrate your bad wolves and find freedom in the possibility of making auspicious choices for yourself and others in each moment.
Remember — plan to practice the weekly guided audio meditation every day. And share your experiences and your questions to our discussions in each comment section. Tell us about your wolf!
“Each of you is perfect the way you are . . . and you can use a little improvement.”
— Shunryu Suzuki Roshi
Friends, the smoke and bad air some of us are experiencing is just more evidence of the incontrovertibility of interdependence. I hope you’re being paying attention to your body and its needs right now, and checking in with your neighbors too.
May we acknowledge our connection to the Earth and everyone’s need for a healthy environment. May we become wise and caring stewards of the planet, and care for all Earthlings, including ourselves, with love and kindness. May our efforts benefit all beings and bless our lives! May it be so!
Metta+++,
Kim✨
