Lessons from 2025

This past year has been a fruitful one, helping me grow in my practice, uncover hidden unconscious patterns, and become more stable and grounded. With this growth came new lessons, along with a deeper understanding of lessons that have repeated themselves over the past years. Take a read, take what resonates with you, and leave what doesn’t. Happy reading.

Snowball:

The process of observing and non-reacting grows stronger each time we practice. The muscle of witnessing without reaction strengthens as we train. This can be spearheaded not just through meditation and therapy, but also through interaction with the world. As one emotion is observed and let go, deeper hidden layers of unconscious patterns and emotions come to light, which in turn fortifies the process—thus becoming a way of living, the art of living.

Progress takes time:

If I look at progress on a day-to-day basis, it seems negligible. There are daily ups and downs, weekly ups and downs. But over a period of a year or a few years, progress can clearly be witnessed. For the “click” to arise, it is the daily practice and the commitment that matter. The focus is not for the click to arise, but rather the commitment to the practice. This builds the snowball that breaks walls, finally helping the click to happen.

Darkness:

Tap into the darkness. Feel it. Feel the sensations that give rise to pain, and even the resistance. Feel it as it is. There is no need to change anything. No need to tell a story about why the sensation or emotion exists—just feel it. Whatever it is, as it is. This is the path.

The circle of darkness, the downward spiral:

The way to get out of it is not to fight it. Observe the emotions, the sensations beneath the emotion, and give it light by focusing awareness. Let it be. The emotion itself will not kill. This is a lesson that shows up across all the lessons I have written, but through practice it deepens and becomes a way of life—an art of being.

Relationships:

A question I have dabbled with for a majority of my adulthood thus far is becoming a monk. For me—and for most of us—becoming a monk can be escapism. For me, it is an escape from living a life that includes family, which is the harder and more unknown path. Relating with others and being vulnerable is the hardest part for me.

This reminds me of a conversation between the Buddha and Ananda. Ananda said to the Buddha, “Good friends, good companions, good associates—this is half of the holy life.” The Buddha replied, “Not so, Ananda. Not so. Good friendship is the whole of the holy life.”

This clearly shows that relationships are not just a support on the path—they are the path. Awakening is not something that happens in isolation, but in relationship: through honesty, vulnerability, friction, care, and love.

Relationships and base desires:

For me, what I have realized is that relationships are what make life worth living. It is a sense of belonging—with community, friendships, and shared connections. Fame, career, and external desires bring temporary joy that fades, and the cycle of wanting something new never ends. Once this process is observed, the fleeting joy it brings feels unsatisfactory. Thus, it is shared warmth, love, and care that bring longer-lasting joy and fulfillment for me at this time.

Metta:

Loving-kindness and compassion. This is something new that I grew toward this year. It is a way of spreading deep love and compassion to all beings equally, and it is tangential to the practice described above. It is to see without judgment, with an open heart, and to be without judgment—as everything is.

Physical, emotional, and mental well-being:

All three are needed to live a fulfilled life. For me, it is a combination of tennis, Vipassana, and deep friendships. This holistic life gives a strong base for flowers to bloom, and for cleaning out any weeds that arise.

With this concludes my lessons from 2025 that stood out through my travels, sojourns, and the stability I cultivated. Here’s to the year 2026 and the new growth opportunities it brings.

If you’d like to discuss, debate, or learn more, feel free to reach out.

With Metta,

Thejas