On July 9, we had the pleasure of hosting a Garrison Institute webinar with author and teacher Ethan Nichtern. If you’re familiar with Ethan’s teaching from The Road Home podcast or perhaps his essays on Substack, you can appreciate him for his clear, contemporary voice on spirituality.
We spoke about the vicissitudes — gain and loss, praise and blame, pleasure and pain, fame and disregard — and how confidence is the quality that allows us to meet these worldly winds with presence. Ethan’s book, Confidence, isn’t about bravado or performance. It’s focused on clarity, kindness, and learning how to trust ourselves in the messiness of modern life.
The book also explores “lineage” not only as the line of teachers and ancestors, but also as the full constellation of influences that shape our practice: family, relationships, and how we work with the unfinished business of our past.
In addition to our discussion, Ethan introduced us to Windhorse practice—a contemplative method of evoking uplifted, liberated energy from within.
Please enjoy watching our full conversation on video. And if it speaks to you, consider joining us in person for Ethan’s silent retreat at the Garrison Institute, Becoming Bodhisattvas: Confidence and Lineage from Sept. 29-Oct. 4, where you can explore these teachings directly in a deep, supported, beautiful setting.
