How to reach Nirvana... (Beth Upton)

I've no advice, so Beth will explain.

Hello, friends! Perhaps it goes without saying, but I am going to say it anyway: I love our Sangha (Spiritual Community).

A few years back, if someone had told me that we’d have co-created such an engaged, enthusiastic, emotionally honest community of deeply dedicated practitioners, it would have been right on the edge of my wildest dreams. But here we are, doing it together.

When I step back and take it in, it astonishes me in the most beautiful way. Sangha can serve us in many ways as we navigate our Dhamma paths: It can be where we form wise friendships (kalyana-mittas), where we come for support, accountability, inspiration, and connection.

Dad, Delphine (VW), and Beth Upton

Then, sometimes, if we’re really lucky, we might receive one of those rare transformative moments of feeling truly seen, loved, supported, and accepted in our fullness. I had one of those rare and special moments recently, when I received this:

Watch me, or else... If the Dhamma is the love of my life, then Delphine [my VW van] is the second love. Here is a photo of me and my Dad with her a few days ago. On second thought, maybe I should have put my Dad ahead of my van on the list of things I love the most, but I’m sure he’ll understand.

Is there any way to speed up this process already?

So how do we attain Nirvana (Pali Nibbana) when we’re stuck in second gear? The answer, for most of us, is that we don’t.

Perhaps a better question is why on earth would we want to do that? Why would we want to make the journey unnecessarily clunky, sluggish, and inefficient?

Sometimes we’re our own worst enemies (aren’t we?) holding on tightly to all things coarse and burdensome, willfully keeping ourselves stuck in second gear, all while reserving the right to complain when progress is slow.

I'll get this alone by brute force! (No you won't)

Sometimes we want the best of both worlds (don’t we?), the familiarity and comfort of life in second gear, as well as swift progress towards Nirvana. Unfortunately, that’s not possible.

Let me know in the comments: What’s keeping you stuck in second gear? Let’s get confessional.

• Is it the late-night pretzels, like our dear friend Dan Harris?
• Or rather is it the late-night binges of online content?
• Is it a relationship that really needs to shift?
• A responsibility you need to put down?
• A bad habit you need to break?

Can a group go farther than an individual?

Let’s be wise friends to each other and harness the power of this wonderful Sangha to shift into a decisive third or even fourth gear over the weeks to come.

Lastly, a huge thanks to all who got back to me with ideas of things to write about.*

In the meantime, to support this work, do that here: SUPPORT.

With much metta and gratitude, Beth Upton

• VIDEO: 10% Happier with Beth Upton (Dan Harris)

*I received way more inspiration than I can process right now. For those who didn’t get a reply from me, please know that I did read and take note of every single suggestion that was sent. It’s just that there are only so many hours per week that I am willing to spend on my laptop. I hope you’ll understand. I’ll be writing about those things and more over the weeks and months to come. Maybe the next newsletter will be the one with a button to book time with me).

• Beth Upton (bethupton.com), July 28, 2025, edited by Dhr. Seven, Wisdom Quarterly