Have you ever had an itch and not scratched it? In the Buddhist tradition, this points to a vast paradox: that by refraining from our urge to scratch, great peace and happiness is available.
On Getting Unstuck, Pema Chödrön introduces a rare Tibetan teaching she received from her teacher, Dzigar Kontrul Rinpoche, and one that has become critical to her practice. Here, she unveils the mystery of an ineffable quality: a pre-emotional

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This step-by-step guide shows readers how to honestly meet and openly relate with the mind, embrace the fullness of our experience, and live in a wholehearted way 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 difficulty can become doorways to awakening and love, Shamatha (or calm abiding),...

The “down-to-earth, unsentimental, [and] high-humored” Pema Chödrön classic on learning to face our lives just as they are (Los Angeles Times)
 
It's true, as they say, that we can only love others when we first love ourselves—and we can only experience real joy when we stop running from pain. The key to understanding these truisms is simple but not easy: we must learn to open ourselves...

Offers advice on uncovering inner wisdom and opening one's heart while refusing to allow resentfulness and fear to block one's inner light.