Cultivating Fearlessness in Difficult Times

A Beginner’s Path to Buddhist Meditation

WMC Introductory Level Course

Jan 13 - June 9, 2026

In person at the Aligned Center, Irvington, and also on Zoom for those unable to attend in person.

Taught by Jane Kolleeny, Paul Griffin and David Frankel

Suggested offering: $60* or $10 per class for drop ins

We have a choice in how we react to the circumstances of life. We can let them harden us and make us resentful and afraid, or we can let them soften us, allowing our inherent human empathy to emerge. In The Places that Scare You: A Guide to Fearlessness in Difficult Times, Pema Chödrön provides essential tools for dealing with the difficulties that living our lives entails, teaching us how to encourage our basic human goodness and connect more easily with others—to accept ourselves and our world including its imperfections. She shows the courage that comes with staying with what’s happening in our lives right here, right now and helps us unmask the ways in which ego causes us to resist life as it is. If we go to the places that scare us, Pema suggests, we just might find the boundless life we’ve always dreamed of. We will utilize this book as the centerpiece of this class.

Students are encouraged to obtain a copy of The Places that Scare You: A Guide to Fearlessness in Difficult Times by Pema Chödrön.

For this Introductory Course* we especially welcome those just beginning or even just curious about meditation, or students of any background interested in an in-depth approach to the practice.

Registration for the course is encouraged, but drop-ins are also welcome on any of the dates.

* WMC offers different levels of study for different types of student: Introductory, Intermediate, and Advanced. For more information, follow this link.

*WMC maintains a policy of making our programs affordable to all.

Those with limited income, please note our student/fixed income rate on the registration page.