Book Review: "Taking The Leap" by Pema Chödrön
I finished "Taking the Leap: Freeing Ourselves from Old Habits and Fears" by Pema Chödrön and moved my bookmark immediately back to the beginning. This book is a series of wise thoughts that each need to be meditated upon. I feel like it's a book I should just read a chapter from each night for a while.
The chapters are:
Chapter 1: Feeding the Right Wolf. She tells us to train our natural intelligence, natural warmth and natural openness. Natural intelligence is intuitively knowing what's the next right thing to do. Natural warmth is our shared capacity to love, to have empathy, to have a sense of humor. Natural openness is the spaciousness of our skylike minds, our ability to access the wholeness in the center.
Chapter 2: Learning to Stay. Learn to be present in the moment. Train using meditation.
Chapter 3: The Habit of Escape. Recognize when you're being hooked.
Chapter 4: The Natural Movement of Life. Feel the energy of your feelings. Notice them and exist with them.
Chapter 5: Getting Unstuck. Train yourself to be unhooked from shenpa.
Chapter 6: We Have What We Need. Learn to access your natural wisdom, warmth and openness. Sanity is permanent, neurosis is temporary.
Chapter 7: Rejoicing in Things As They Are. Learn to stay with a sense of humor, learn to access loving kindness.
Chapter 8: Uncovering Natural Openness. Get past narratives to the openness at the center.
Chapter 9: The Importance of Pain. Once you know pain you can be empathetic.
Chapter 10: Unlimited Friendliness. Practice maitri, compassionate abiding.
That's it. I *highly* recommend this book.
This book was what I wanted Byron Katie's to be: completely helpful without causing any harm. It's a short book, but there's a LOT in it. This is a beginner's guide to the value of meditation. It's not religious at all, but it's deeply steeped in Buddhist teaching. To me, Buddhism is to Religion as Exercise is to Sports. You can just have your only practice be exercise, but having a practice of exercising will condition your body for any sport.
The chapters are:
Chapter 1: Feeding the Right Wolf. She tells us to train our natural intelligence, natural warmth and natural openness. Natural intelligence is intuitively knowing what's the next right thing to do. Natural warmth is our shared capacity to love, to have empathy, to have a sense of humor. Natural openness is the spaciousness of our skylike minds, our ability to access the wholeness in the center.
Chapter 2: Learning to Stay. Learn to be present in the moment. Train using meditation.
Chapter 3: The Habit of Escape. Recognize when you're being hooked.
Chapter 4: The Natural Movement of Life. Feel the energy of your feelings. Notice them and exist with them.
Chapter 5: Getting Unstuck. Train yourself to be unhooked from shenpa.
Chapter 6: We Have What We Need. Learn to access your natural wisdom, warmth and openness. Sanity is permanent, neurosis is temporary.
Chapter 7: Rejoicing in Things As They Are. Learn to stay with a sense of humor, learn to access loving kindness.
Chapter 8: Uncovering Natural Openness. Get past narratives to the openness at the center.
Chapter 9: The Importance of Pain. Once you know pain you can be empathetic.
Chapter 10: Unlimited Friendliness. Practice maitri, compassionate abiding.
That's it. I *highly* recommend this book.
This book was what I wanted Byron Katie's to be: completely helpful without causing any harm. It's a short book, but there's a LOT in it. This is a beginner's guide to the value of meditation. It's not religious at all, but it's deeply steeped in Buddhist teaching. To me, Buddhism is to Religion as Exercise is to Sports. You can just have your only practice be exercise, but having a practice of exercising will condition your body for any sport.