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I first met Nils during a workshop he did for the Against the Stream facilitator training group in 2016.
Nils is the real deal. A monk for seven years, in Thailand and other European cities, came back to Minneapolis to found a gay men's meditation organization. He's the meaning of "Do no harm, but take no shit". His smile and presence of peace is contagious. - I was shocked to learn he occasionally suffers from anxiety, which is one of the things I love about teachers like him. Nothing is beyond what is present and real. It was helpful to know he deals with some of the same troubles with life as everyone else, even after many years of practice.He may just deal with it with more skill and grace than most. The Buddha mentions Mara's return many times throughout his teaching career, after his enlightenment. Mara never dies, Buddha just learned how to be chill with the nature of suffering coming to visit from time to time. Nils gave a "Jazzy" talk; bits and pieces all over to choose from and had us set up in a circle so we felt a bit more connected to each other in this somewhat smaller group. He incorporated a couple of mini break-out session were we shared ideas and discoveries with each other. We closed the evening with a beautiful exercise in feeling the life of support others have afforded us, known or unknown, and then sending that vibe back out into the world. Thank you Nils. Happy trails, come back anytime! Love, JC
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