Taking the Leap: Freeing Ourselves from Old Habits and Fears

I would say my only complaint about Pema's book is that it's too short, but at 100 pages, it's not. There are pearls of wisdom on every page, and this slim volume of Buddhist thought - focused on staying with your emotions, leaning into pain, sitting with the hard stuff - is just right. It begs to be reread, to be handed off to a friend in need.

Pema writes with clarity, wit, and sensibility. She speaks to Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike, focusing on working through our habitual patterns, difficult emotions, and the 'shenpa', or attachments, that continue to lure us into a spiraling pattern of inefficiency with the time we've been given. Fears, addictions, insecurities, and other paralyzing feelings are addressed here honestly and show more thoughtfully, but never with a heavy handedness. Pema is a gentle voice, and a welcome one in my life. show less

Best-seller Pema Chödrön draws on the Buddhist concept of shenpa to help us see how certain habits of mind tend to “hook” us and get us stuck in states of anger, blame, self-hatred, and addiction. The good news is that once we start to recognize these patterns, they instantly begin to lose their hold on us and we can begin to change our lives for the better.

“This path entails uncovering three basic human qualities,” explains Pema. “They are natural intelligence, natural warmth, and natural openness. Everyone, everywhere, all over the globe, has these qualities and can call on them to help themselves and others.”

This book gives us the insights and practices we can immediately put to use in our lives to awaken these show more essential qualities. In her friendly and encouraging style, Pema Chödrön helps us take a bold leap toward a new way of living—one that will bring about positive transformation for ourselves and for our troubled world. show less

Very similar if not the same as her retreat recorded in "Getting Unstuck". The chapters focus on shenpa, the emotions and stories that hook us in loops, and the power of pausing, leaning in with curiosity, and moving on. Similar to other volumes, it doesn't have much quantity of advice, just some examples and perspectives. This volume is a good intro because it's so concise comparatively.

Your life will change after reading this book. It will make you uncomfortable and it will hurt to do this practice, but you will benefit in the long run in ways you cannot imagine.

As usual, this work is perceptive and easily digested. Also, as is common with her other works, Pema Chodron approaches the topic with the knowledge that her readers are, like herself, fully human. If you find yourself in the same emotional rut day after week after year, or perhaps you continue to take the same actions expecting different results, there is something in here for you.

Every book I read of Pema, I come back with something new. This book I learnt about 'shenpa,' and as with all the other Tibetan Buddhist concepts I have picked up in her other books, this is explained in so lucid a manner that you realize and understand immediately.

Important and practical reflections on mindfulness, but excess ruminants of "spirituality" for my taste.