Instructions for Meeting Any Experience with Trust and Courage
Pema Chödrön is one of today’s leading meditation teachers. With more than one million books sold to date, she draws sold-out crowds across the U.S.and Canada. On Unconditional Confidence she offers two accessible sessions to help anyone find courage in times of challenge and change. Featuring a three-step method for learning to work with uncertainty and fear and an exclusive interview, this liberating program offers practical tools and teachings that explore:
“For us to be of benefit to each other—in times of challenge or any other—we need to be able to tap into genuine confidence,” teaches Pema. Unconditional Confidence offers timeless wisdom and inspiration for developing this courageous skill for whatever life presents us.
Posted by Butch on 9th May 2012
If I were a woman I would have to give serious thought to going to Pema's door and sitting down next to it until she let me study under her. But since I am a man I am truly thankful for the next best thing, her books and recordings. For me her voice is a tonic and a salve in a World full of anxiety and angst. Her words and voice are like clear slow moving water, deep. She speaks from the core of her being. That she is a Buddhist nun speaks volumes to anyone considering taking refuge with the Buddha. But I also think you could plop her down in the middle of a group of cloistered Catholic nuns and she would be right at home. Love knows no dualistic distinctions. Or as Rumi once noted, "The Love/Religion has no codes or doctrines, only Love." People of great heart like Pema transcend religion.
But if you are familiar with Pema then you already know the above. To those that are new to her and are going through difficult times I would recommend her book "When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice For Difficult Times" as a good place to start to get to know this great lady.
Posted by Carl McColman, Clarkston, GA on 9th May 2012
Here is a wonderful audio book filled with gentle wisdom for transforming all of life's experiences into occasions for spiritual growth. If you (like me) sometimes feel like you relate to life more from a position of fear or anxiety than from a place of deep trust and confidence, then this teaching program just might inspire you to cultivate courage in your own life.
Unconditional Confidence is really two programs on two CDs. The first disc features a talk given by Buddhist teacher Pema Chödrön before a live audience; the second features a more intimate approach to the topic, in which Pema is interviewed by Sounds True owner Tami Simon. The first disc provides the message of "unconditional confidence" in a more formal way; the interview functions as a "behind the scenes" look at the wisdom and life experience that helped to shape Pema and her message.
And what is her message? Simply put, that if we choose to approach all of life mindfully, we can learn to trust and relax into anything that comes our way -- even times of suffering, or anxiety, or stress. Any experience that arises is an opportunity to learn non-attachment, to practice gentleness and mindful awareness, and to cultivate a spirit of trust and basic friendship toward ourselves (even our failings) and our experiences. "Unconditional confidence" does not mean living a robotic life in which we never feel doubt or fear or disappointment, but rather a mindful and "heartful" life in which even the challenges that come our way are seen as dharma -- as occasions to grow.
Pema Chödrön is a wise and warm teacher, and her down-to-earth manner makes her message accessible and inviting. Her ability to laugh gently at herself is a witness to her humility (in the best sense of the word) and the quality of her message. Listening to her (whether lecturing or conversing in her interview with Tami Simon), I came away with a sense that true confidence and trust is available to anyone who really wants it; the key is not years of almost super-human meditation practice (although she is clear that a disciplined meditation life can only help the fostering of confidence); rather, the key seems to be learning to cherish every moment that life brings us, by "leaping into, smiling at, and experiencing" all of life, even those moments that seem to be filled with fear or angst.
The interview disc includes honest discussion of such issues of physical pain and health issues, facing death, dealing with explosive interpersonal relationships and "triggers," and other real-world considerations of when confidence is not something that flows naturally, but must be mindfully cultivated. Pema's vulnerability in speaking of her own imperfections and challenges is particularly inspiring and reinforces her basic message that unconditional confidence is not about living a perfect life void of any doubt or fear, but simply a life in which all of our messy imperfections are embraced with kindness and mindful non-attachment.