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
From the Buddhadharma archive, Joan Sutherland says when caught in habitual patterns 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: [...]
It’s All Good
Everything is either wisdom or a distortion of wisdom, says Anne Carolyn Klein. Once we see this, we can relax and allow the path to dissolve the disturbed energies that give rise to our habitual reactions. The Sufi sage Rumi brings us a famous story-poem of adultery and wisdom. He describes a jealous wife who is so careful that, for seven years, her husband is never alone [...]
How Will I Use This Day?
We are always meditating—constantly placing our minds on an object and becoming familiar with it. But are we getting used to things that will take us forward on the path? Our modern culture does not encourage awakening, and without a sense of inner strength, we are easily invaded by the difficulties around us. If we don’t orient our day toward spiritual growth, the speed [...]
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 [...]
