# Snow Lion Meditation Community


## Posts

- [Shamanism in Brief](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/shamanism-in-brief/): Theodore on the shamanic journey: stepping outside cognition into non-ordinary reality, where time and space dissolve and the world is experienced as both form and formless.
- [Response to the Cries of the World](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/response-to-the-cries-of-the-world/): Theodore on meeting global suffering: why pain does not require understanding to be valid, and how remembering that we are part of the natural world lets us respond with compassion rather than despair.
- [The Work of Meditation Is Simple](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/the-work-of-meditation-is-simple/): The work of meditation is simple, but not easy. It is sublime, yet so ordinary.
- [The Truth Is Always the Truth](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/the-truth-is-always-the-truth/): The truth is always the truth. It is the mind that distorts what is.
- [We Can Only Do What We Can Do](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/we-can-only-do-what-we-can-do/): We can only do what we can do, anything else is suffering.
- [Present Reality Is More Powerful Than Beliefs](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/present-reality-is-more-powerful-than-beliefs/): Being in our present reality is more powerful than our most lofty beliefs or sincere aspirations.
- [Subdue the Dragons of Past, Present and Future](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/subdue-the-dragons-of-past-present-and-future/): In choosing to look our preferences in the eye, we choose to subdue the dragons of past present and future.
- [The Purpose of Life Is to Be of Use](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/the-purpose-of-life-is-to-be-of-use/): The purpose of life is to be of use - and along the way you discover your true self.
- [Sincerity Is Not an Antidote for Harm](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/sincerity-is-not-an-antidote-for-harm/): Sincerity and desire to do good have never been an antidote for causing harm.
- [Holding History Loosely](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/holding-history-loosely/): History distorts our reality if we hold it tightly as a "fixed thing." When we hold our past and all that entails loosely, burdens drop and our spirit soars.
- [Like and Dislike Are Not Measures of Reality](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/like-and-dislike-are-not-measures-of-reality/): Like and dislike are not measures of reality.
- [The Test of Experience](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/the-test-of-experience/): Meditation requires more than just contemplation. Study and investigation must also be involved.
- [Self-Criticism and Poverty of Imagination](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/self-criticism-and-poverty-of-imagination/): Some give up because of their own self-criticism, judgment, and fear; resulting in profound poverty of imagination.
- [The Point of Practice](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/the-point-of-practice/): There is no point to practice unless it offers benefit toward living an authentic and fulfilling life.
- [The Purpose of a Meditation Retreat](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/the-purpose-of-a-meditation-retreat/): The basic purpose of a meditation retreat is to discover inner resources we didn't know we had.
- [There Is No Your Truth or My Truth](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/there-is-no-your-truth-or-my-truth/): There is no "your truth" or "my truth." Either one or the other is true or both are misguided.
- [Going Forward Is the Only Option](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/going-forward-is-the-only-option/): Going forward is the only option since the future is birthed one step, one moment, one choice at a time.
- [A Truth Is Complete on Its Own](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/a-truth-is-complete-on-its-own/): Nothing can be added or taken away from truth. A truth is complete on its own, containing everything and needing nothing.
- [The Truth Like the Sun](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/the-truth-like-the-sun/): The truth like the sun is always there. Anything other, no matter the sincerity, is not truth.
- [Love Is Understanding](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/love-is-understanding/): Love is understanding, and understanding is compassion - which is our true form.
- [Expanding Love to Include the World](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/expanding-love-to-include-the-world/): The world needs our love, but the kind of love that is present in the world often leads to suffering.
- [A Way of Being That Ends All Suffering](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/a-way-of-being-that-ends-all-suffering/): There is a way of being that ends all suffering — just now — only this. No intellectual gymnastics — just now; all is complete.
- [That's the Work](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/thats-the-work/): If you can just walk, sit, eat; if you live in gratitude; if you pay attention to the feelings that you are having inside your body, inside your heart and not push those away, not distort them and make them something else; if you can just attend to those things - that's the work.
- [Feeling Stress Is Not Failure](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/feeling-stress-is-not-failure/): Feeling stress, and its negative emotions, is not some kind of failure. These emotions exist because of the fact of causation. Don't deny their existence.
- [Own Your Feelings to Understand Another's](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/own-your-feelings-to-understand-anothers/): You have to own your own feelings before you can understand another's.
- [Part of This Vast Intimate Existence](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/part-of-this-vast-intimate-existence/): When we recognize that we are intrinsically a part of this vast intimate existence, we begin to see, hear, and behave in a more responsible and generous way.
- [Experiences Are Not Success or Failure](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/experiences-are-not-success-or-failure/): Our unpleasant and pleasant experiences are not a sign of success or failure. They just are.
- [Tomorrow's Water Won't Satisfy Today's Thirst](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/tomorrows-water-wont-satisfy-todays-thirst/): Looking for answers in the future is like trying to satisfy today's thirst with tomorrow's water.
- [Find a Way to Be Moved](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/find-a-way-to-be-moved/): If you cannot move, then find a way to be moved. Any of the six sense-gates will do.
- [The Other Is Myself](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/the-other-is-myself/): The "other" is myself, whether it is a person, place, or thing.
- [Pain and Suffering Without Fear](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/pain-and-suffering-without-fear/): Pain and suffering by its nature is uncomfortable and unpleasant but we don't have to be afraid of it.
- [Empathy Begins When We Let Go of Preferences](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/empathy-begins-when-we-let-go-of-preferences/): Empathy begins when we let go of preferences, otherwise we contaminate "what is" by colouring it with judgement, distortion and projection.
- [Mind Is the Problem and the Solution](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/mind-is-the-problem-and-the-solution/): Mind is the problem and mind is the solution.
- [The Present Moment Is the Only Reality](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/the-present-moment-is-the-only-reality/): The present moment is the only reality that we have and the only reality in which any choices can be made.
- [A Truth Cannot Be Owned](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/a-truth-cannot-be-owned/): A truth cannot be owned. If it is truth, it stands alone. Profundity or ignorance cannot tarnish or destroy it.
- [Truth Independent of Beliefs](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/truth-independent-of-beliefs/): Truth is independent from beliefs or preferences.
- [Reality Is the Test of Truth](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/reality-is-the-test-of-truth/): Reality is the ultimate test of truth.
- [Courage and Resolve](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/courage-and-resolve/): Courage is not the absence of fear but the presence of resolve.
- [What Needs to Be Done](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/what-needs-to-be-done/): Some things we like to undertake, some things we don't. This has very little to do with what needs to be done.
- [Comfortable or Difficult](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/comfortable-or-difficult/): Comfortable or difficult are different sides of the same coin. They cannot be used to declare what is correct or incorrect.
- [You and Your Experiences](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/you-and-your-experiences/): There is you and there are your experiences. They are not the same.
- [Ignorance is believing objectivity is independent of subjectivity](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/ignorance-is-believing-objectivity-is-independent-of-subjectivity/): Ignorance is believing objectivity is independent of subjectivity.
- [Pleasant or Unpleasant](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/pleasant-or-unpleasant/): Pleasant or unpleasant feelings, thoughts, sensations, and experiences are not an indication of right and wrong.
- [Buddha Weekly Interview](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/buddha-weekly-interview/): In this frank interview with Buddha Weekly, Theodore discusses when meditation helps and when it can harm — with depression, psychosis, and cognitive decline — plus teacher-student ethics and what to do when a teacher breaches trust.
- [Meditation: An End to Solutions](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/meditation-an-end-to-solutions/): Nathan Carey reflects on learning to meditate in an MBSR course with Theodore and Adele, and how choosing patient, honest observation over the endless hunt for quick fixes changed how he relates to himself and the people he loves.
- [My Journey with Dana into Generosity](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/my-journey-with-dana-into-generosity/): Sandra Thompson traces her slow, uneasy journey from following external rules about giving to discovering what dana — offering ‘according to your means’ — means for her, and how that inquiry opened into a wider practice of generosity.
- [The Crossing](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/the-crossing/): A classic Zen story in comic form: a monk carries a stranded woman across a river to help her, drawing his companion's silent disapproval for hours afterward — until he's asked why he's still carrying something set down long ago.
- [The Star Thrower](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/the-star-thrower/): An illustrated adaptation of Loren Eiseley's classic story: a man walks a beach littered with stranded starfish, throwing them back one at a time. Challenged that it can't matter, his answer is simple — ‘It made a difference for that one.’
- [Tools of Practice](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/tools-of-practice/): Why we practice together at SLMC, and the three tools that support the journey: meditation itself, study to build understanding, and faith to carry us through the moments when nothing quite makes sense.
- [Mindfulness Meditation in Brief](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/mindfulness-meditation-in-brief/): A concise look at why we meditate: cultivating stillness to see clearly past the stories we tell ourselves, loosening rigid thoughts and bodily tension, and moving toward a deeper sense of our true nature.
- [Compassion: Being Kind to Ourselves](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/compassion-being-kind-to-ourselves/): Being kind to ourselves isn't optional — it's the foundation for kindness to everyone else. Theodore explores both the gentle and the tough sides of self-compassion, and why simply acknowledging our experience, without judgment, is where real kindness begins.
- [Spiritual Practice Difficulties](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/spiritual-practice-difficulties/): We do not choose spiritual practice to avert difficulties, we choose spiritual practice to be able to face whatever challenge is in front of us.
- [Acknowledge thoughts and feelings](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/acknowledge-thoughts-and-feelings/): We can acknowledge thoughts and feelings without being swayed or controlled by them.
- [Thoughts and feelings not facts](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/thoughts-and-feelings/): Thoughts and feelings are not facts. Confusing right action with like and dislike creates suffering and impasse.
- [Why Do We Go on Retreat?](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/why-do-we-go-on-retreat-from-touching-earth-retreat-2015/): An opening retreat talk on why sitting together in silence is rare and valuable, the experience of connection Theodore calls ‘One Mind, One Body,’ and why a retreat isn't about achieving bliss but facing our lives honestly, exactly as they are.
- [Spiritual Crisis](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/spiritual-crisis/): Spiritual crisis often arrives not from tragedy but from sincere practice itself. Theodore explains why these periods of doubt and upheaval are a sign of real inner work, the importance of a trustworthy guide, and practical ways to find steadiness until the storm passes.
- [Healing and the Heart of Generosity - Part 2](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/healing-and-the-heart-of-generosity-part-2/)
- [Healing and the Heart of Generosity - Part 1](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/healing-and-the-heart-of-generosity-part-1/)
- [10 Minute Grounding Practice](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/10-minute-grounding-practice/)
- [Tool For Meditation: Using Beads in Mindfulness Practice](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/tool-for-meditation-using-beads-in-mindfulness-practice/): Beads are tools which help focus and settle the mind. They have been used for thousands of years to assist with meditation/contemplation.
- [The Work of Transformation](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/the-work-of-transformation/)
- [Meditation: Dancing With Resistance](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/meditation-dancing-with-resistance/)
- [Meditation Practice: Success, Failure and the Way of the Cicada](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/meditation-practice-success-failure-and-the-way-of-the-cicada/)
- [Meditating Just the Way I Am](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/meditating-just-the-way-i-am/)

## Pages

- [Register for Online Classes](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/register-for-online-classes/): Please do not share this page. It is only for people who have asked for it by contacting us by email.
- [Extended Biography](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/about/teach-biography-theodore-tsaousidis/extended-biography/): Growing up in Greece was like living in a hobbit’s shire and in the idyllic countryside of Narnia.
- [Everyone Is Welcome](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/everyone-is-welcome/): Since its founding, Snow Lion Meditation Community has welcomed people regardless of race, ethnicity, culture, nationality, religion or belief, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or social and economic background.
- [Land Acknowledgement](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/land-acknowledgement/): Snow Lion Meditation Community’s Toronto sangha gathers within the Treaty Lands and Territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, on lands covered by the Toronto Purchase Treaty, No.
- [Lost your way?](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/lost-your-way/): The page you asked for isn’t here. It may have moved when the site did, it may have been renamed, or the link that brought you here may simply have been wrong.
- [This Page Has Moved](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/moved/): You have arrived here from one of our older websites.
- [What Meditation Isn't](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/classes/before-your-first-class/what-meditation-isnt/): Meditation carries a lot of misconceptions. What it is not, and what it actually asks of you.
- [Appendix: Authors, Reading List & Words to Practice](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/tools-of-practice-appendix/): This page is an appendix to the teacher article Tools of Practice, gathering the authors, reading list, and vocabulary words referenced there.
- [Donation Failed](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/donation-failed/)
- [Donation Confirmation](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/donation-confirmation/)
- [Contact](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/about/contact/): Where to find us, how to reach us, and how to join the mailing list.
- [Teachings](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/teachings/): Talks, essays and teachings from the community.
- [Articles by Teacher](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/resources/articles/): Essays and interviews by Theodore Tsaousidis.
- [Articles by the Community](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/resources/articles-by-community/): Reflections and essays written by members of the community.
- [Community Members](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/about/community-members/): The people who hold this community together: our board, our teacher, and members who give their time.
- [2024 Fundraiser](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/donate/2024-fundraiser/)
- [Donate](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/donate/): Support the community: donations to teacher support, material needs, retreat dana and community support.
- [Quotes](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/quotes/): Community-selected quotes from Theodore's talks and essays.
- [Video Recordings](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/resources/video-recordings/): Recorded talks and guided sessions you can watch.
- [Audio Recordings](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/resources/audio-recordings/): Recorded talks and guided meditations you can listen to.
- [Introduction to Mindfulness](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/classes/introduction-to-mindfulness/): A short introductory course in mindfulness meditation, offered at no charge. Dana and donations are appreciated.
- [Owen Sound Classes](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/classes/owen-sound-classes/): Mindfulness meditation classes, talk series and retreats in Owen Sound and the Grey-Bruce area.
- [Weekly Classes](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/classes/weekly-classes-toronto-hybrid/): Mindfulness meditation classes every Friday, in person at 662 Pape Avenue in Toronto and online. Newcomers are welcome.
- [Workshops and Retreats](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/classes/workshops-and-retreats/): One-day and multi-day retreats through the year, in person, with dates, cost and how to register.
- [Before Your First Class](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/classes/before-your-first-class/): What to expect at your first class: when to arrive, what to bring, how the evening runs, and the etiquette we keep.
- [Resources](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/resources/): Writing, recordings and practice guidance gathered from the community.
- [Advanced Mindfulness: Rewards and Challenges](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/mbsr/advanced-mindfulness-course/): A four-week course for those who have completed MBSR and want to take the practice further.
- [Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Course](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/mbsr/mindfulness-based-stress-reduction-course/): The eight-week Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction course, with upcoming dates and how to arrange a consultation.
- [Courses](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/mbsr/): Our longer courses: Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction and Advanced Mindfulness.
- [Cushions](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/cushions/): Meditation cushions made by the community, in the Snow Lion shop.
- [Teacher Biography: Theodore Tsaousidis](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/about/teach-biography-theodore-tsaousidis/): Theodore Tsaousidis teaches in both a secular and a Buddhist manner, drawing on Tibetan Buddhist and Zen training and on practical healing meditation.
- [Blog](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/blog/)
- [Postures of Meditation](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/resources/meditation-postures/): Sitting, standing, walking and lying down: how to hold the body in meditation.
- [Classes](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/classes/): Weekly classes, an introduction for newcomers, Owen Sound classes, workshops and retreats.
- [About](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/about/): Theodore Tsaousidis teaches and facilitates workshops/retreats in mindfulness and in healing traditional practices.
- [Home](https://snowlionmeditationcommunity.org/): The Snow Lion Meditation Community in Toronto and Owen Sound: weekly classes, courses, retreats and a community calendar.

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