Clearing Skies: Dispelling the Clouds that Hinder Us
Six Sundays, 11am to 12pm Pacific, Jan. 4th to Feb. 8th, 2026
Join me for a nurturing half-day journey into willingness – the gateway to transformation. This intimate retreat creates space for deep presence and gentle exploration of what it means to be willing to love, learn, and simply be.
Registration
Week 1: The Overcast Mind
Focus: The attitude and approach to the hindrances.
- Content: How we approach our practice is vital to the skills that we use. Overview of the five primary hindrances (sense craving, anger, lethargy-drowsiness, restlessness-remorse, and doubt) that cloud mental clarity and impede spiritual growth.
- Objective: Participants will explore a gentle, nonshaming approach to hindrances in their daily lives and meditation practices.
Week 2: The Deluge of Desire
Focus: Exploring the hindrance of sense craving and its impact.
- Content: Discussing how attachment to desires for pleasurable experiences can lead to suffering and distraction from spiritual goals and healthy living.
- Objective: Learning techniques to acknowledge and release attachments to sensual desires, fostering a more balanced state of mind.
Week 3: The Storms of Aversion
Focus: Understanding the hindrance of anger or aversion.
- Content: Exploring the nature of aversion, anger, or negativity, and their effects on the mind and meditation.
- Objective: Developing strategies to cultivate loving-kindness and compassion, counteracting feelings of aversion.
Week 4: The Pools of Stagnation
Focus: Addressing the hindrance of lethargy and drowsiness.
- Content: Exploring how lethargy, laziness, drowsiness, and lack of motivation affect meditation and daily life.
- Objective: Learning practices to gladden the mind, overcome mental dullness, and maintain consistent motivation in practice.
Week 5: The Winds of Agitation
Focus: Navigating with hindrance of worry and flurry.
- Content: Understanding how anxiety or overstimulation can disrupt focus and clarity.
- Objective: Practicing techniques to calm the mind, cultivate inner peace, and manage anxious or remorseful thoughts; learning to tack through the winds of agitation.
Week 6: The Fog of Doubt
Focus: Confronting the hindrance of doubt.
- Content: Addressing the challenges of skepticism, uncertainty, and lack of confidence in one’s path.
- Objective: Strengthening trust through wisdom in the meditation process and in oneself, to overcome barriers of doubt.
Questions
When will I get the Zoom link?
The Zoom link will be emailed to your registered email 15 minutes before each class begins so look for it at the top of your email inbox!
Are meetings recorded?
Yes. All meetings are recorded. Following each class, you will receive an email within 48 hours of each class with a link to download the audio recording.
What materials are needed?
Constance’s book, Time for Awakening: A Memoir, discusses the hindrances and is strongly suggested as a resource. Other resources will be shared throughout the course.
What do I need to read before the first class?
Nothing. Constance will provide an overview of the hindrances and resources we will use during the first class.
Your participation adds to the experience of the class, bring your questions for the end of class time.
Is financial assistance available?
Yes. No one will be turned away due to financial hardship, contact Constance for a reduced rate.
Donations are encouraged
If you choose to pay extra, you are automatically making a donation to the financial assistance fund. Thank you for making this class accessible to people who would not be able to afford it otherwise. Your additional support also helps cover the cost of creating this course.
Are there any policies regarding the class?
Yes, please review the class policy here to learn more.