RED LADDER STUDIO NEWSLETTER

Dear Subscriber First Name,

This week I was chatting with my friend Katie about the possibility of doing something together. She’s an artist who teaches drawing and meditation, both online and in person. Even though we both try to earn our living teaching the things we love, we talked about how it's always a mistake to think about how much money something will make.

I added that it's even a mistake to think about what people want or need.

The real starting point should always be: what do you love? What are you genuinely passionate about, and want to share?

For Katie, it’s art, meditation, and movement. For me, it’s the Dharma—especially exploring it in relation to art and everyday life. We've decided to offer an online day retreat together on 14th February. Yes, Valentine’s Day. Sharing what we love. More on that soon.

Meanwhile I'd been thinking about what Red Ladder Studio might offer next. It feels like we are finally settled enough at The Guesthouse to have the space to create something new. What’s coming into being is an irregularly regular gathering called Dharma Geeks.

Dharma Geeks
Starting Saturday 31st January

The idea is simple: each session takes a single theme and explores it through meditation, reflection, and conversation.

Our first gathering is next Saturday morning, and the theme is stopping.

This theme of ‘stopping’ has, ironically, been quietly gathering momentum for me over the past year, stopping and doing nothing. You can see from my Zettelkasten notes below that this doing 'nothing' has been building up to something!

About a year ago I had a dream that’s stayed with me. I met someone and asked what they were doing.
“I’m doing a PhD,” they said.
“In what?”
“Nothing.”

A PhD in nothing. You don’t always know why a dream matters—only that it does.

So next Saturday, that’s where we’ll begin, with the theme of stopping. Why does stopping and doing nothing feel so strangely difficult? What if stopping doesn’t dull the mind, but actually brings it alive? Early Buddhist teachings return again and again to cessation—could the whole path be read as an invitation to stop? And if we really let ourselves stop… what would we need to trust?

Katie and I agreed that the best offerings are ones you’d be happy to do even if no one else showed up. So I’ll be very happy next Saturday to begin my PhD in nothing on my own—and if you’d like to join me, I’d love that.

👉 Click below to read the full details and book your place for Dharma Geeks: Stopping.

A ‘geek’ is not the same thing as a ‘nerd’ but a geek can be a nerd too! 🤓
Come along in your best geek outfit or glasses.

A quote I’m thinking about:

“The Monks of Cool, whose tiny and exclusive monastery is hidden in a really cool and laid-back valley in the lower Ramtops, have a passing-out test for a novice. He is taken into a room full of all types of clothing and asked: Yo, my son, which of these is the most stylish thing to wear? And the correct answer is: Hey, whatever I select.”

- Terry Pratchett

Love to you, geeks and all,
Vajradarshini

P.S. After last week’s newsletter, I received a few emails saying things like, “Hey, I think I owe you some money—I don’t think I’ve been paying anything.”

That made me smile. I did once have a paid newsletter, but these days it’s very much a labour of love. You don’t owe me anything at all.

That said… if you did feel moved to make a donation, I certainly wouldn’t want to stand in your way.

Hello, I’m Vajradarshini — a British Dharma teacher living in the south of Sweden with my Swedish wife, Dhammasiri. Our home, The Guesthouse (named after Rumi’s poem), is a place for creative, down-to-earth Dharma practice. From here, we run retreats and workshops, and I also teach internationally, both online and in person. I’m glad you’ve found your way here.

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