We always have a choice, Pema Chödrön teaches: We can let the circumstances of our lives harden us and make us increasingly resentful and afraid, or we can let them soften us and make us kinder. Pema’s previous works provided the inspiration and guidance to confront the problems and difficulties that life throws our way. Here she provides the specific tools to deal with them – to cultivate the awakened, compassionate ability to open our hearts and minds to our own suffering and that of others. This wisdom is always available to us, Pema teaches, but we usually block it with habitual patterns rooted in fear. Beyond that fear lies a state of openheartedness and tenderness. In The Places That Scare You, Pema Chödrön shows us how to:

move toward what makes us feel insecure, uncertain, and fearful as a way to awaken our basic goodness and connect with others

cultivate loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity

accept ourselves and others, complete with faults and imperfections

stay in the present moment by seeing through the strategies of ego that cause us to resist life as it is

use “on-the-spot” practices to tap into natural reservoirs of humor, flexibility, courage, and wisdom

establish a relationship with a spiritual teacher

Shambhala Lion Editions. Unabridged book on CD read by Tami Simon.

Release Date: 18-10-2006