Pema Chödrön on shenpa, or the urge, the hook, that triggers our habitual tendency to close down. We get hooked in that moment of tightening when we reach for relief. To get unhooked, we begin by recognizing that moment of unease and learn to relax in that moment. You're trying to make a point with a coworker or your partner. At one moment her face is open and she's [...]
Take Three Conscious Breaths
Pema Chödrön teaches us pause practice, a simple technique we can use anytime we need a break from our habitual patterns. Our habits are strong, so a certain discipline is required to step outside our cocoon and receive the magic of our surroundings. Pause practice—taking three conscious breaths at any moment when we notice that we are stuck—is a simple but powerful practice [...]
Confined by Cowardice
The way to free ourselves, says Sakyong Mipham, is to face life head-on without the seductive companionship of habitual patterns. My father, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, introduced the teachings of Shambhala to the West. These teachings are called “the sacred path of the warrior” because they emphasize bravery as an important factor in determining not only our personal future, [...]
Gaining Perspective on Habitual Patterns
When you’re caught in your habitual patterns, says Joan Sutherland, try not to fixate on your reactions. Instead cultivate awareness of everything that is happening in the moment. Sometimes it can seem as though being human is a problem that spiritual practice is meant to solve. But Buddhist meditative and related practices actually have a different focus: developing our human [...]
Take the Big View
Our habit is always to return to a small view of our experience. meditation trains us to return again and again to a larger view of our existence. We are always learning and remembering things that interest us (hearing); considering things that capture our attention (contemplating); and returning to those things that particularly hold our minds because they are familiar, if [...]