Mondays, March 23rd – April 27th (skips April 20th), 2026 | 10:00am – 12:00pm ET

Part 1: Recognizing the weeds – exploring the Five Hindrances

No matter what you may think about “meditation,” it is, at its core, a cultivation of the mind and heart. And just as in cultivating a garden, we must learn to distinguish the weeds from the flowers (or vegetables!), in our formal and life practices our task is to discern what mind states are harmful and what states support a life of contentment and freedom.

Oftentimes, practitioners focus only on getting rid of the weeds and neglect actually learning how to cultivate the beautiful, thus missing out on learning that cultivating the beautiful discourages the growth of the weeds. There is no need to get rid of all of the weeds before cultivating the crops. (Think of companion planting, for those of you who garden!)

In this, the first part of this series, we will be learning to identify the “weeds” — known as the Five Hindrances. These are: craving, aversion, restlessness and worry, sleepiness and dullness, and doubt.

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