Group Exploration: Slogans 21 & 22

Reimagining Joy

• What does “joy” mean to you when it’s not about pleasure or excitement—but about being awake in the midst of your life as it is?

• Can you recall a moment recently where you touched into a sense of inner buoyancy—even if things were hard?

Joy in the Messiness

• We are reminded by Pema Chödrön that joy arises from not running away. Can you think of a time when you stayed with discomfort and noticed something freeing or tender within it?

• How might you gently invite more of that kind of joy into your day-to-day practice?

Returning While Distracted

• When life pulls you off-center—through stress, overwhelm, or habit—what helps you remember your path, even briefly?

• What does coming back to holding the view with gentleness look or feel like for you?

Friends with Distraction

• Trungpa Rinpoche suggests we make friends with distraction. Is there a distracting pattern or trigger you’re learning to relate to more kindly?

• What’s shifting when you approach it this way?

Path Over Perfection

• These slogans invite a relationship with practice that’s not about being perfect, but about training with tenderness. How do you know when you’re “well-trained,” even if things still feel messy?

Integration in Real Life

• Where have you found yourself practicing in the middle of life—in traffic, with family, in a moment of reactivity?

• How do these teachings land when you’re with others who are not dharma practitioners?