Shambhala Mountain Center

Today, with my lovely husband Jim, we decided to go on a day trip to a new and non-familiar place. We chose this Buddhist temple located west of Fort Collins (city about 1 hour north of Denver). It took us about 2.5 hours to get there, since we took a dirt road when we could have taken a highway to make it faster.

Such a peaceful place!!! I felt the energy the second we started hiking up the Stupa. It was calm, quiet, inviting. So nature inspired, so respectful and welcoming. There were people around working in their daily activities, and they were so friendly, smiling at us, letting us know we were accepted and not judged.

We lucked out having a nice day. Sort of cloudy, but not rainy as forecasted. It was perfect.

We hiked all the way up and lost my breath when I saw this big structure, so white and clean, so magnificent around the rustic and humble environment. It was just amazing.

We sat at the bottom of the main path and just took it all in, enjoyed the serene scenery, the birds chirping, the wind reminding us that we were not alone, but that we were all one. I felt such an immense happiness.

Then we went inside. We were alone in there, enjoying the design, the details on the walls, the different shrines and their meanings, the big Buddha sculpture watching over us, the pillows on the floor to sit and meditate, the silence filling the room and our hearts. So many things to take in consideration, to accept, to admire, to live...

We were there for quite some time, meditating, learning how to be with ourselves, opening our hearts to the unexpected and to the unknown. So magical, so special.

The smile on our faces on the way back to "downtown", as they call it, was not conscious, it was our souls talking back to us. Then in the shop, I felt a connection with a Dalai Lama book, "Living Wisdom with His Holiness, The Dalai Lama", it talks about his teachings, guiding you through his learning process in life. So I had to buy it.

I leave you with one of the many phrases that I felt close to in my heart:

"If we really want to be happy, we should understand that when we get angry, we are creating the causes for more of our own suffering. But, if we cultivate patience, we are creating the causes for more long-lasting and uninterrupted happiness. That is what we are really striving for."