Wenatchee’s Joss Paddock Promotes Peace Through Silence

A Wenatchee man is contagiously zen.

Joss Paddock's silent meditation initiative is catching on, not just locally but regionally - Paddock says he got a call on Tuesday from someone in Twisp who wants to get involved. This being North Central Washington, it's mostly non-Buddhists who are flocking to Paddock's sessions, though he represents Stone Blossom Sangha, a nonprofit loosely affiliated with some Buddhist and Tibetan groups. (Paddock himself is irreligious or at least non-practicing.)

"There's a little place behind the Plaza Super Jet," Paddock says. "The owner of the plaza - I helped him fix the house up. It's basically a meditation house. Twice a day, Monday-Friday, we host a silent meditation. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, we do a listening afterward - people coming together" in the interest of peace and reconciliation. The name of this tranquilizing oasis is the Stone Blossom Meditation Center.

Get our free mobile app

Paddock says the primacy of peace came into sharper focus amid the ongoing carnage in Gaza.

"That's been on my mind," he says, and it's reflected in the pacifistic language of promotional materials. "But this is not overtly political. It's more about sitting with people in peace."

"Meditation absolutely has a peaceful effect on me. It's something that I've been interested in for a long time, but it wasn't until the pandemic that I decided I wanted to try to have a disciplined, regular practice of sitting. And I've noticed a difference. People have noticed a difference in me."

The Stone Blossom Meditation Center is located at 400 Yakima St. in downtown Wenatchee. Click here for more information.

Lest you think meditation is some mollifying ruse or distraction, here is a list of empirical, science-based benefits.