The Solace of the Stupa

In the Fort Collins Magazine article, “Solace of the Stupa: Neurobiology, the science of pain and the Buddhist retreat,” Laura Pritchett writes about dealing with chronic pain through meditation, among other things. A central theme in this piece is how she finds peace and the ability to be present with her pain in the “flat-out funky, magical, and free to visit…” Great Stupa at Shambhala Mountain Center (SMC). She discusses the science behind Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), a technique she learned at a MBSR retreat at SMC, and how she uses that technique while meditating at the Great Stupa.

“It’s more than about ‘stress reduction,’” she says, “it’s about how to face life when all hell breaks loose…” She learns that she can, in fact, change her attitude toward pain. The gist of the practice, she explains, is “…the mind can be taught to pay attention to the present in a particular way, purposefully, without judgment, and, most important, without worrying about the future.” This, she adds, reduces the experience of pain.

In conclusion, she brings the reader back to the “magic” of the Stupa as a place where people can bridge the gap between the mind and the body to heal themselves. “If healing pain-or coping with anything life throws at us—is mostly up to oneself,” she says, “then the Stupa is part of that for me.”

Read the full article in Fort Collins Magazine. It starts on page 42.