What do you think?
Rate this book
How to Meditate: A Practical Guide to Making Friends with Your Mind
When we look for a meditation teacher, we want someone who has an intimate knowledge of the path. That's why so many have turned to Pema Chodron, whose gentle yet straightforward guidance has been a lifesaver for both first-time and experienced meditators. With How to Meditate, the American-born Tibetan Buddhist nun presents her first book that explores in-depth what she considers the essentials for an evolving practice that helps you live in a wholehearted way.
More and more people are beginning to recognize a profound inner longing for authenticity, connection, compassion, and aliveness. Meditation, Pema explains, gives us a golden key to address this yearning. This comprehensive guide shows readers how to honestly meet and openly relate with the mind to embrace the fullness of our experience as we discover:
.The basics of meditation, from getting settled and the six points of posture to working with your breath and cultivating an attitude of unconditional friendliness
.The Seven Delights-how moments of diffi culty can become doorways to awakening and love
. Shamatha (or calm abiding), the art of stabilizing the mind to remain present with whatever arises
.Thoughts and emotions as "sheer delight"-instead of obstacles-in meditation
Here is in indispensable book from the meditation teacher who remains a first choice for students the world over.
More and more people are beginning to recognize a profound inner longing for authenticity, connection, compassion, and aliveness. Meditation, Pema explains, gives us a golden key to address this yearning. This comprehensive guide shows readers how to honestly meet and openly relate with the mind to embrace the fullness of our experience as we discover:
.The basics of meditation, from getting settled and the six points of posture to working with your breath and cultivating an attitude of unconditional friendliness
.The Seven Delights-how moments of diffi culty can become doorways to awakening and love
. Shamatha (or calm abiding), the art of stabilizing the mind to remain present with whatever arises
.Thoughts and emotions as "sheer delight"-instead of obstacles-in meditation
Here is in indispensable book from the meditation teacher who remains a first choice for students the world over.
184 pages, Hardcover
Published May 1, 2013
1,611 people are currently reading
5,514 people want to read
About the author
Pema Chödrön
198books5,248followersAni Pema Chödrön (Deirdre Blomfield-Brown) is an American Buddhist nun in the Tibetan tradition, closely associated with the Kagyu school and the Shambhala lineage.
She attended Miss Porter's School in Connecticut and graduated from the University of California at Berkeley. She taught as an elementary school teacher for many years in both New Mexico and California. Pema has two children and three grandchildren.
While in her mid-thirties, she traveled to the French Alps and encountered Lama Chime Rinpoche, with whom she studied for several years. She became a novice nun in 1974 while studying with Lama Chime in London. His Holiness the Sixteenth Karmapa came to England at that time, and Ani Pema received her ordination from him.
Ani Pema first met her root guru, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, in 1972. Lama Chime encouraged her to work with Trungpa, and it was with him that she ultimately made her most profound connection, studying with him from 1974 until his death in 1987. At the request of the Sixteenth Karmapa, she received the full bikshuni ordination in the Chinese lineage of Buddhism in 1981 in Hong Kong.
Ani Pema served as the director of the Karma Dzong, in Boulder, CO, until moving in 1984 to rural Cape Breton, Nova Scotia to be the director of Gampo Abbey. Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche gave her explicit instructions on establishing this monastery for western monks and nuns.
Ani Pema currently teaches in the United States and Canada and plans for an increased amount of time in solitary retreat under the guidance of Venerable Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche.
She attended Miss Porter's School in Connecticut and graduated from the University of California at Berkeley. She taught as an elementary school teacher for many years in both New Mexico and California. Pema has two children and three grandchildren.
While in her mid-thirties, she traveled to the French Alps and encountered Lama Chime Rinpoche, with whom she studied for several years. She became a novice nun in 1974 while studying with Lama Chime in London. His Holiness the Sixteenth Karmapa came to England at that time, and Ani Pema received her ordination from him.
Ani Pema first met her root guru, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, in 1972. Lama Chime encouraged her to work with Trungpa, and it was with him that she ultimately made her most profound connection, studying with him from 1974 until his death in 1987. At the request of the Sixteenth Karmapa, she received the full bikshuni ordination in the Chinese lineage of Buddhism in 1981 in Hong Kong.
Ani Pema served as the director of the Karma Dzong, in Boulder, CO, until moving in 1984 to rural Cape Breton, Nova Scotia to be the director of Gampo Abbey. Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche gave her explicit instructions on establishing this monastery for western monks and nuns.
Ani Pema currently teaches in the United States and Canada and plans for an increased amount of time in solitary retreat under the guidance of Venerable Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 360 reviews
September 30, 2017
Enlightenment isn’t about going someplace else or attaining something that we don’t have right now. Enlightenment is when the blinders start to come off.
When I was in high school, I spent a few years going to Tae Kwon Do classes. I was never any good. Every time we had sparring practice, I got whooped—that is, unless I accidentally kicked my opponent in the crotch (which I did a lot). But besides the fun of hand-to-hand combat, one thing that kept me coming back was the meditation. After every class, we would spend about ten minutes in a guided meditation. These were not easy. Most often, the master had us holding an uncomfortable or difficult pose, until all my muscles were quivering and shaking and I collapsed.
Sometimes all I felt was pain and struggle; but other times, something would happen. As I listened to the master talk about energy flowing through my body, I could actually feel it. I felt strange forces in my arms and legs, seeming to move through me. This was weird, since I didn’t believe anything the master was saying—at least not in a literal way. I didn’t believe in qi, or energy centers in the body, or any of that stuff; but I felt something, and it was interesting.
This experience left me with a lingering respect for and curiosity about meditation. by David D. Burns about anxiety recently reawakened this curiosity. As I read about Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, I kept thinking that it reminded me of what I knew (or thought I knew) about Buddhism. Besides that, Burns himself drew some parallels with Buddhism in his discussions of fear. So I decided to look into it. A Buddhist friend of mine suggested Pema Chödrön as a place to start; and this book, a practical guide to meditation, seemed perfect.
I was surprised by what I found. The type of meditation Chödrön advocates doesn’t involve holding difficult postures or enduring pain. You don’t even have to close your eyes. Instead, you find a spot, sit up straight, cross your legs (or don’t), and stay there, eyes open, breathing in and breathing out. You don’t focus on energy centers or the cosmic flow of qi. Instead, you just try to focus on your breath. You breathe in, breathe out, and try to keep your attention on the present moment.
I have been doing these exercises for a week now, and I can tell you that being present, focusing on the moment, is far more difficult than you’d think. My mind is like a boiling, bubbling cauldron. Memories randomly appear; fearful fantasies flash into being; my to-do list nags me; an itch on my head irritates; my leg is falling asleep; a sound triggers an association; a smell makes me think of food; and spasms of impatience surge through me as the time wears on.
Meditation certainly hasn’t induced a Zen-like calm in me so far. But it says a lot that now I’m aware of all these things. Just sitting there noticing what happens in my head, and letting it all pass through me, has been tremendously interesting. I realize that my very brain is not totally under my control. Things are always happening in there, constantly, spontaneously, which draw my attention from the moment; and it takes effort not to get sucked in.
One of the things I like most about Chödrön’s approach is its versatility. You can make anything your object of meditation. You can focus on sounds, sights, tactile sensations, or the taste of an apple. You can focus on fear, anger, sadness, joy, on fantasies or memories. Anything in your life can be the object of meditation, as long as you use it as an opportunity to reconnect with the present moment. Meditation gives you the self-awareness—not through conceptual discussion, but first-hand experience—to learn what your mind is doing and how to interrupt your habitual patterns.
What I find especially appealing is the philosophy. Well, perhaps “philosophy� isn’t the right word; it’s more of an attitude or a mindset. Through the attempt to reconnect with the moment, you realize how much of your experience is transformed by the conceptual overlay you put on top of it. Our heads are full of judgments, opinions, beliefs. We are constantly telling stories about our lives, with ourselves as the protagonist.
Have you ever had an experience like this? When I was in college, I accepted a job doing surveys over the phone. But I was extremely nervous about it. I imagined respondent after respondent yelling at me, hanging up on me, and my manager angry at me and chastising me, and me having a breakdown and getting fired. This fantasy was so strong, I almost couldn’t make myself go to my first day of work. But when I finally did make myself go, shivering with fear, and when I finally made myself call, my voice quaking, I realized that I could do it. What seemed impossible in my imagination was easy in reality. In fact, I ended up loving that job.
This is what I like to call the “novelistic imagination.� Your mind is a natural dramatist—at least, mine is—and it can tell the most outrageous stories about your past, present, and future. But the interesting thing, I’ve found, is that we’re actually quite bad at imagining how things will be. We’re good at imagining possibilities—especially worst-case scenarios—but bad at imagining experiences. That’s because, when we use our novelistic imagination, we assume that life is a story with a beginning, middle, and end. But life is not a story: it’s a collection of moments. And the present moment is so different, and so much richer, than all the wild fantasies in our minds.
My hunch is that we evolved our novelistic imagination as a way of avoiding danger by running scenarios. “If I go so far away, maybe I won’t be back by sundown, and the hyenas over there might smell me, etc.� The problem is that this gets out of hand, which is why we humans get so many stress-related diseases—not to mention suffer from chronic anxiety. We developed the mental faculty to anticipate danger and avoid it; but we can’t turn it off, so we sense danger everywhere.
This is taking me pretty far from the book (so you know it’s a good book, because it’s making me think). I’ll only add that this book strikes me as an ideal introduction to meditation. Chödrön writes with warmth, humor, and understanding. She is brief and to the point, but you don’t feel that she’s leaving anything out. She is practical, encouraging, and inspiring. I encourage anyone whose curious to try it. You can be a Catholic, a Protestant, a Jew, a Muslim, or an atheist like me—it doesn’t matter. Meditation is not about believing certain things. To the contrary: it’s about getting past your beliefs about the world, and experiencing the world itself.
June 22, 2016
For those who need catching up, I'm spending the summer reading a bunch of random books from my local library on the subject of Buddhist meditation, after starting a secular form of meditation in my own life and having a friend recently remark that my insights about the practice sounded "accidentally Buddhist" to them. (See my review of Start Here Now for the entire backstory.)
This book turned out to be the best one I've read yet, because it hits that sweet spot that so many of these other books completely miss -- it provides legitimate insights into the Buddhist practice and what kinds of spiritual, ancient-Asia benefits there are to meditation, but it's written in the plain-spoken and secular vernacular that contemporary Americans speak. As an atheist I also really liked that Chödrön gears her writing here firmly towards the humanistic, medical/psychological side, examining such subjects as how your thoughts might change because of meditation and how this helps you deal with the everyday stresses and anxieties of the modern world, instead of couching it all in a bunch of (to me) unpronounceable terms from ancient Asian languages that are steeped in complex and difficult-to-understand spiritualism, and that assumes from step one that you believe in a "higher power" and that all benefits from meditation derive from this higher power. This is what stops me from fully embracing Buddhism, because despite what its fans say, it's a form of religious thought just like any other practice that is fundamentally based on believing and worshipping something metaphysical; I'm practicing meditation these days instead for purely secular and psychological reasons, and it's refreshing to come across a book from a veteran Buddhist that takes this approach itself. Highly recommended as a starter guide for those who are looking for their very first information about how to meditate and what kinds of great things it can provide your life.
This book turned out to be the best one I've read yet, because it hits that sweet spot that so many of these other books completely miss -- it provides legitimate insights into the Buddhist practice and what kinds of spiritual, ancient-Asia benefits there are to meditation, but it's written in the plain-spoken and secular vernacular that contemporary Americans speak. As an atheist I also really liked that Chödrön gears her writing here firmly towards the humanistic, medical/psychological side, examining such subjects as how your thoughts might change because of meditation and how this helps you deal with the everyday stresses and anxieties of the modern world, instead of couching it all in a bunch of (to me) unpronounceable terms from ancient Asian languages that are steeped in complex and difficult-to-understand spiritualism, and that assumes from step one that you believe in a "higher power" and that all benefits from meditation derive from this higher power. This is what stops me from fully embracing Buddhism, because despite what its fans say, it's a form of religious thought just like any other practice that is fundamentally based on believing and worshipping something metaphysical; I'm practicing meditation these days instead for purely secular and psychological reasons, and it's refreshing to come across a book from a veteran Buddhist that takes this approach itself. Highly recommended as a starter guide for those who are looking for their very first information about how to meditate and what kinds of great things it can provide your life.
July 31, 2018
Quick read on mindfulness, great for someone just delving into this. I love how down to earth Pema Chödrön's writing is. I also love that when I read her stuff, I always hear it in Judi Dench's voice.
July 14, 2017
Ein schönes und lehrreiches Buch, gerade für Anfänger natürlich sehr geeignet. Es gab schöne Aspekte, worüber man nachdenken kann und es gibt ein paar Übungen zum Ausführen, die man sich für die Zukunft merken sollte, da sie wirklich für den ein oder anderen sehr effektiv sein können.
Ich hatte eine nette Zeit mit dem Buch, muss aber sagen, dass es mich mit der Zeit nicht mehr so packen konnte. Am Anfang fand ich es noch interessanter, obwohl gerade da eigentlich das erzählt wurde, was ich ohnehin schon alles wusste. Sehr seltsam. Am Schreibstil lag es nicht, es war schön geschrieben, auch wenn ich das Gefühl hatte, das viele Sätze mehrfach wiederholt wurden. Damit blieb die Aussage immer die gleiche und ich dachte mir so: Ja, ich hatte es schon im ersten Satz verstanden. Sie drehte irgendwie die Sätze um oder nutzte andere Wörter, die aber eben am Ende den gleichen Sinn ergaben. Das ist mir stark aufgefallen.
Dennoch ein gutes Buch für Anfänger. Für alle anderen gibt es aber auch sicher Bücher, die einem tiefere Einblicke in die Meditationspraxis geben können.
Ich hatte eine nette Zeit mit dem Buch, muss aber sagen, dass es mich mit der Zeit nicht mehr so packen konnte. Am Anfang fand ich es noch interessanter, obwohl gerade da eigentlich das erzählt wurde, was ich ohnehin schon alles wusste. Sehr seltsam. Am Schreibstil lag es nicht, es war schön geschrieben, auch wenn ich das Gefühl hatte, das viele Sätze mehrfach wiederholt wurden. Damit blieb die Aussage immer die gleiche und ich dachte mir so: Ja, ich hatte es schon im ersten Satz verstanden. Sie drehte irgendwie die Sätze um oder nutzte andere Wörter, die aber eben am Ende den gleichen Sinn ergaben. Das ist mir stark aufgefallen.
Dennoch ein gutes Buch für Anfänger. Für alle anderen gibt es aber auch sicher Bücher, die einem tiefere Einblicke in die Meditationspraxis geben können.
December 26, 2022
⭐⭐�3.0
Through traditional insights and her personal guidance, offered in 12 sitting sessions, Pema Chödrön will help you honestly meet and compassionately relate with your mind as you explore:
The basics of mindfulness awareness practice, from proper posture to learning to settle to breathing and relaxation
- Gentleness, patience, and humor--three ingredients for a well-balanced practice
- Shamatha (or calm abiding), the art of stabilizing the mind to remain present with whatever arises
- Thoughts and emotions as "sheer delight"--instead of obstacles--in meditation
"From my own experience and from listening to many people over the years, I've tried to offer here what I feel are the essential points of meditation," explains Pema Chödrön. Now this beloved voice shares with you her accessible approach--simple and down-to-earth while informed by the highest traditions of Tibetan Buddhism--on How to Meditate with Pema Chödrön.
I read this in another language (swedish) and the wisdom and another perspective i got of what meditation is, that's something i will continue using in my practice. As an avid meditator, this books was my next step to understand the practice more fully, i would say it was an easy read that i would just relax and read with my morning coffe. Pema truly uses her words in a way that is easy to understand and it made me feel like i could trust the wisdom within this book.
I would recommend for people who are beginners or even life-long practiciners of meditation to pick it up.
Through traditional insights and her personal guidance, offered in 12 sitting sessions, Pema Chödrön will help you honestly meet and compassionately relate with your mind as you explore:
The basics of mindfulness awareness practice, from proper posture to learning to settle to breathing and relaxation
- Gentleness, patience, and humor--three ingredients for a well-balanced practice
- Shamatha (or calm abiding), the art of stabilizing the mind to remain present with whatever arises
- Thoughts and emotions as "sheer delight"--instead of obstacles--in meditation
"From my own experience and from listening to many people over the years, I've tried to offer here what I feel are the essential points of meditation," explains Pema Chödrön. Now this beloved voice shares with you her accessible approach--simple and down-to-earth while informed by the highest traditions of Tibetan Buddhism--on How to Meditate with Pema Chödrön.
I read this in another language (swedish) and the wisdom and another perspective i got of what meditation is, that's something i will continue using in my practice. As an avid meditator, this books was my next step to understand the practice more fully, i would say it was an easy read that i would just relax and read with my morning coffe. Pema truly uses her words in a way that is easy to understand and it made me feel like i could trust the wisdom within this book.
I would recommend for people who are beginners or even life-long practiciners of meditation to pick it up.
May 17, 2019
Best Book on How to Meditate
There are lots of books on how to meditate available, but only Pema Chodron could write one that provides so much necessary instruction and ultimate enlightenment. Highly recommended if you're looking for a book on how to meditate.
There are lots of books on how to meditate available, but only Pema Chodron could write one that provides so much necessary instruction and ultimate enlightenment. Highly recommended if you're looking for a book on how to meditate.
August 22, 2017
This is a book to come back to time and time again. Best digested in small doses I usually start out slow and then get pulled in and read it all at once. I'm sure I'll be back to read this again the next time I'm looking for help or inspiration.
Read
February 8, 2025I always thought that facing one’s emotions meant gaining an understanding of oneself and being able to articulate the depths of one’s pain and feelings—something psychoanalysis asserts develops during childhood through one’s relationships with caregivers or the absence thereof.
Okay, great, you understand how your past affects you still today; now what?
What good is self-awareness if the pain and harmful patterns continue?
Pema Chödrön explains that thoughts are not reality. Sometimes, our thoughts and fears evolve into stories we tell ourselves that can potentially destroy our quality of life and our ability to connect with others.
To relieve suffering and truly change, one must face their emotions, not simply acknowledge their existence and origins, but to notice them and allow yourself to feel them. The feeling itself becomes an object of meditation.
Chodron claims that this is how one can create space to choose how to respond, rather than allow emotions to control them through automatic, habitual reactions.
“We freeze our emotions into ice by pushing them away or letting them escalate. We turn our emotions into frozen objects and invest them with truth. As a result, they have so much power over us� (90).
Meditation helps interrupt this fixed pattern of grasping and fixation.
“We learn to recognize the fluidity of our emotions by going into them and letting them pass through like clouds in the sky� (91).
January 5, 2012
This is a solid foundational too for someone who is learning to meditate. The five discs include actual meditation sessions in real time, which feature guidance by Pema during the meditations. Even if you're not a novice meditator, you'll find useful advice and new information. I found the last two discs to be the most helpful because meditations increased in sophistication, Pema seemed to integrate more dharma teachings into the meditation instruction.
Pema is specific and very clear both in her instructions and discussing the bigger picture of Buddhist meditation. For example, new meditators may be surprised to learn that Buddhist meditation is not about achieving a state of bliss, or emptying the mind of thoughts, or complete relaxation.
As usual, Pema takes her subject, but not herself, seriously. And by using her own experiences, both her struggles with meditation and the ways she's worked through them, make the learning more intimate and personal.
Pema is specific and very clear both in her instructions and discussing the bigger picture of Buddhist meditation. For example, new meditators may be surprised to learn that Buddhist meditation is not about achieving a state of bliss, or emptying the mind of thoughts, or complete relaxation.
As usual, Pema takes her subject, but not herself, seriously. And by using her own experiences, both her struggles with meditation and the ways she's worked through them, make the learning more intimate and personal.
December 24, 2020
Although I have been meditating regularly for four years now, I consider my meditation of late to be rather scattered. Then I catch myself wondering why I am judging it at all. This book is perfect for all those judgements.
Pema Chodron’s books have always guided me, her gentle wisdom opening up pathways to understanding.
I wouldn’t recommend this book for someone starting to meditate - I believe that a sound meditation practice requires the guidance of a teacher. But it’s a good supplement for someone who has already gained some understanding on meditation.
Pema Chodron’s books have always guided me, her gentle wisdom opening up pathways to understanding.
I wouldn’t recommend this book for someone starting to meditate - I believe that a sound meditation practice requires the guidance of a teacher. But it’s a good supplement for someone who has already gained some understanding on meditation.
January 1, 2015
This book is deep yet so simple. It explains in comfortable detail how you can rewire your mind through the practice of meditation. The author is a practitioner of Buddishm but it is easy to look past that (or even embrace it) to understand the message.
Somehow I had always confused relaxation and meditation but now I see that they are two different things entirely.
Become enlightened.
Somehow I had always confused relaxation and meditation but now I see that they are two different things entirely.
Become enlightened.
March 12, 2016
This is the 3rd book by Pema Chödrön that I've read and I learned something from each one. (I just ordered three more.)
Her writing is accessible and practical writing, offering insights while empowering you to take steps yourself.
Her writing is accessible and practical writing, offering insights while empowering you to take steps yourself.
August 6, 2018
This ran hot and cold for me. On one hand, while I appreciate that Chodron provided guidance on some of the more basic "how to meditate" practices, I didn't always agree. I've only just begun my meditation practice, however, but I am also looser about it and feel pretty secure in there being no one right way to meditate. What really landed with me was her discussion of how to handle emotions while meditating. That is so REAL to me, and it is something I will surely return to as I continue this practice. I tried reading one short chapter a day (almost all chapters are very short) until my life got topsy-turvy with this move, and then I realized it might be better if I read through it once to get the gist and then return to the chapters I need. Many chapters, but not all, provide exercises on how to hone your practice--I wish those were a little more consistent, but they do provide an example of how to structure your meditation when you need it. So, in the end, I was glad I read this, but I'm not necessarily going to let it lock me in.
November 24, 2023
Perfecto: práctico, claro, conciso y con seso. Es un libro para volver a él una y otra vez, para recuperar inspiración y retomar el hábito de la meditación.
Se digiere mejor en pequeñas dosis.
Se digiere mejor en pequeñas dosis.
October 3, 2022
Love Pema. I think "The Wisdom of No Escape" is the better book but this is a good one. Worth reading and re-reading and re-re-reading.
April 23, 2022
A friendly and encouraging guide to meditation in the Tibetan Bhuddist style that focuses on open awareness, being present to life as it is happening. I have been meditating sporadically (and haphazardly!) for a number of years, and I really appreciate Chodron’s approach.
I am now listening to an audio version of the same title, and it’s confusing because these are not the same material. The audio version is recorded from meditation training, while this was written with the beginner in mind. The audio clips present in this e-book did not work. Maybe that material matches up?
I really enjoyed the audio version of this title, and it was helpful to be able to listen and practice with Pema Chodron’s guidance.
I am now listening to an audio version of the same title, and it’s confusing because these are not the same material. The audio version is recorded from meditation training, while this was written with the beginner in mind. The audio clips present in this e-book did not work. Maybe that material matches up?
I really enjoyed the audio version of this title, and it was helpful to be able to listen and practice with Pema Chodron’s guidance.
January 26, 2022
beneficial.
January 12, 2014
I first read up on and tried meditation in the '90s during grad school. And I now know that I did what many beginners do - I quit after a particularly glorious experience that I was unprepared for.
The vast majority of meditation guides instruct on the proper posture and focus on breathing. As far as I can tell, there's much more diversity in direction as meditation has been secularized into a Western self-help method of dealing with modern stress. But How To Meditate by Pema Chödrön is the first book I've found to truly help me past what I saw as the unachievable basic barriers to "proper" meditation.
I'm physically unable to hold anything like the traditional meditation posture. And as one who breathes with a trach and ventilator, much of the typical instruction about focusing on the breath is impossible or leads me directly back to my greatest source of anxiety. For example, instructions to focus on the breath leaving the nostrils, the centering sensation of a long exhale, or the feeling of breath in the belly are senseless and alien to my present physical self. And as a beginner, asking me to turn my attention to my biggest anxiety? Not helpful.
But Chödrön puts it in context. Breathing is a focus because of its impermanence and changeability, not because you can regulate it into something calming. Then she introduces sound, emotion, tasks, and any sensation as a possible focus for meditation practice. Her gentle guidance doesn't just begrudgingly note you could use a chair or lie down if the traditional posture is difficult, as so many guides do. She shows how meditation is, in each moment, working with what your reality is. Got anxiety? Try looking at it. Or gently move on. Focusing on breath doesn't work in your practice? Try sound.
Even if a meditation practice isn't a goal, I recommend this book for the versatility of approach to self-awareness.
The vast majority of meditation guides instruct on the proper posture and focus on breathing. As far as I can tell, there's much more diversity in direction as meditation has been secularized into a Western self-help method of dealing with modern stress. But How To Meditate by Pema Chödrön is the first book I've found to truly help me past what I saw as the unachievable basic barriers to "proper" meditation.
I'm physically unable to hold anything like the traditional meditation posture. And as one who breathes with a trach and ventilator, much of the typical instruction about focusing on the breath is impossible or leads me directly back to my greatest source of anxiety. For example, instructions to focus on the breath leaving the nostrils, the centering sensation of a long exhale, or the feeling of breath in the belly are senseless and alien to my present physical self. And as a beginner, asking me to turn my attention to my biggest anxiety? Not helpful.
But Chödrön puts it in context. Breathing is a focus because of its impermanence and changeability, not because you can regulate it into something calming. Then she introduces sound, emotion, tasks, and any sensation as a possible focus for meditation practice. Her gentle guidance doesn't just begrudgingly note you could use a chair or lie down if the traditional posture is difficult, as so many guides do. She shows how meditation is, in each moment, working with what your reality is. Got anxiety? Try looking at it. Or gently move on. Focusing on breath doesn't work in your practice? Try sound.
Even if a meditation practice isn't a goal, I recommend this book for the versatility of approach to self-awareness.
January 6, 2020
This book is called "How to Meditate." In truth, I'm no closer to knowing how to meditate now than when I began. To be sure, I have some likely helpful tips on where, when, how often, from what position, and how to begin and end a meditation session. In terms of what meditation actually is...??? "Stay with your breathing...but don't concentrate or focus on your breathing" "If you catch your mind wandering note it as 'thinking' and then bring it back....when you catch your mind wandering to a different experience, stay with that experience." The only truly consistent piece of advice over a variety of techniques was merely to "stay in the moment," a vague command that perhaps cannot be further clarified. Over the course of the book, the paradigm seemed to develop an antagonism toward conceptualization and thinking as opposed to pure 'feeling'--which seems like a wildly false dichotomy, regardless--and experiencing the moment. It feels like the end goal is a kind of mental devolution to an earlier, more instinctual state of being that doesn't really plan, conceptualize, or analyze, merely experiences. This is in spite of pretenses to do the very opposite--to assist with breaking out of preset mental habits and pathways.
The 2nd star is purely grace--a gift on the off chance that perhaps I am so entirely pig-headed that I missed the point.
The 2nd star is purely grace--a gift on the off chance that perhaps I am so entirely pig-headed that I missed the point.
December 27, 2013
I quote "We meditate in order to remove the root of suffering. Getting to the root of suffering begins with the returning to the present moment, with coming back to the breath. This is where expansion can occur. ... The present moment you will find is limitless."
For anyone struggling with strong emotions and monkey mind as you meditate, this is your guide. These are the meditations my therapist gave me for which I will be forever grateful. Fromm the basis of meditation to "The Seven Delights - how moments of difficulty can become doorways to awakening and love."
and "Shamatha or calm abiding, the art of stabilizing the mind to remain present with whatever arises."
If I had a Kindle this would be on it.
For anyone struggling with strong emotions and monkey mind as you meditate, this is your guide. These are the meditations my therapist gave me for which I will be forever grateful. Fromm the basis of meditation to "The Seven Delights - how moments of difficulty can become doorways to awakening and love."
and "Shamatha or calm abiding, the art of stabilizing the mind to remain present with whatever arises."
If I had a Kindle this would be on it.
April 21, 2017
I purchased this book hoping it would be a good guide for going deeper with my meditation practice. As someone who has meditated on and off for the better part of a decade, I wanted a book that would help motivate me to return to my zafu and go deeper within myself. While I enjoyed this book and got a lot out of it, it was geared more toward beginners than I had originally hoped. Still, there was a lot of helpful information and it served as a much-needed refresher course for me. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is interested in beginning a meditation practice.
July 15, 2015
For beginners and experienced meditators--Pema Chodron's writing is always enlightening. Her style of meditation is not to transcend, but to lean into your life. Sit here right now, eyes open, and breathe it all in. It's hard and I feel like an infant with this often uncomfortable style of meditation. But it's far more transformative than any other style of meditation I've ever tried. After all, as Pema teaches, the goal isn't to escape who you are or create a better version of yourself, the goal is to make friends with who you are right now.
January 25, 2022
“From the average person’s point of view, life is fundamentally insecure. But from the point of view of being more and more awake, life no longer feels so insecure. Life is always uncertain, it is always unpredictable, but to say it’s insecure no longer holds because we begin to feel settled and comfortable in the uncertainty. Meditation allows us to walk more and more into insecurity until it actually becomes more and more our home ground. Life is just as uncertain and unpredictable as it ever was, but we begin to like surprises. Resistance to change and newness starts to melt.�
May 18, 2021
A must-read for understanding meditation
If starting a meditation practice seems daunting, this book is for you.
There’s no easy “do this and your meditation practice will click into place� anywhere - if anyone promises that to you, run for the hills.
Instead this book warmly, lovingly explains meditation, what it can and can’t do for us, and offers a handful of ways to start a practice.
Reading this book felt like getting a long warm hug.
If starting a meditation practice seems daunting, this book is for you.
There’s no easy “do this and your meditation practice will click into place� anywhere - if anyone promises that to you, run for the hills.
Instead this book warmly, lovingly explains meditation, what it can and can’t do for us, and offers a handful of ways to start a practice.
Reading this book felt like getting a long warm hug.
December 30, 2022
Love love Pema Chodron. Every time I read one of her books I’m always highlighting like crazy. Even though I’ve been meditating on and off for several years, this “beginner’s� book is still enlightening with helpful activities, reminders, and general insightfulness. I think it’s a great read for anyone on the meditation path, or for anyone looking for some general life advice.
December 30, 2023
I really love the simplicity and down to earthness of Pema’s writing. This is a very good book for someone beginning the meditation journey or someone who doesn’t have a sanga or a teacher and is searching for the actual steps on what to do and how to meditate.
June 25, 2020
Short chapters and easy reading. Practical mindset advice.
August 2, 2024
helpful af.
April 27, 2019
Great tips and explanations, very useful and helpful with detailed explanations and practices
April 21, 2024
A gentle introduction to meditation by renowned author, Pema Chödrön.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 360 reviews
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get help and learn more about the design.