{"product_id":"9781683648420","title":"How to Meditate: A Practical Guide to Making Friends with Your Mind","description":"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e***How to Meditate Has Been Named One of Library Journal’s Best Books of 2013***\u003c\/b\u003e Pema Chodron is treasured around the world for her unique ability to transmit teachings and practices that bring peace, understanding, and compassion into our lives.   With How to Meditate, the American-born Tibetan nun presents her first book exploring in depth what she considers the essentials for a lifelong practice. 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 Chödrön, whose gentle yet straightforward guidance has been a lifesaver for both first-time and experienced meditators. With \u003ci\u003eHow to Meditate\u003c\/i\u003e, 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:\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e 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\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e The Seven Delights-how moments of diffi culty can become doorways to awakening and love\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e Shamatha (or calm abiding), the art of stabilizing the mind to remain present with whatever arises\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e Thoughts and emotions as \"sheer delight\"-instead of obstacles-in meditation\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e  Here is in indispensable book from the meditation teacher who remains a first choice for students the world over.   “Pema is one of our most beloved and helpful teachers—practical, compassionate, and wise.  How to Meditate is a great way to take her teachings to heart and develop a meditation practice.” —Jack Kornfield, author of \u003ci\u003eA Path with Heart\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eA Lamp in the Darkness\u003c\/i\u003e   “This new book is a great compilation of meditation instruction which she has personal given to many of her students over the years.  These instructions have brought so much help to others that it has made her one of the most loved and revered Buddhist teacher in this modern world.  With a brilliant mind and an absolutely cheerful attitude toward life, she practices what she teaches.  She is a great support and friend to thousands of readers, and I am very sure that this book will help many in their everyday lives, as she makes this genuine attempt to reach us all.” —Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche  \u003cb\u003e  Excerpt  \u003c\/b\u003e The mind is very wild.  The human experience is full of unpredictability and paradox, joys and sorrows, successes and failures.  We can’t escape any of these experiences in the vast terrain of our existence.  It is part of what makes life grand—and it is also why our minds take us on such a crazy ride.  If we can train ourselves through meditation to be more open and more accepting toward the wild arc of our experience, if we can lean into the difficulties of life and ride of our minds, we can become more settled and relaxed amid whatever life brings us. There are numerous ways to work with the mind.  One of the most effective ways is through the tool of sitting meditation.  Sitting meditation opens us to each and every moment of our life.  Each moment is totally unique and unknown.  Our mental world is seemingly predictable and graspable.  We believe that thinking through all the events and to-dos of our life will provide us with ground and security.  But it’s all a fantasy, and this very moment, free of conceptual overlay, is completely unique.  It is absolutely unknown.  We’ve never experienced this very moment before, and the next moment will not be the same as the one we are in now.  Meditation teaches us how to relate to life directly, so that we can truly experience the present moment, free from conceptual overlay.\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e Part One:  The Technique of Meditation\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePreparing for Practice and Making the Commitment\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eStabilizing the Mind\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Six Points of Posture\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBreath:  The Practice of Letting Go\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAttitude:  Keep Coming Back\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUnconditional Friendliness\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eYou Are Your Own Meditation Instructor\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ol\u003ePart Two:  Working With Thoughts\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Monkey Mind\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Three Levels of Discursive Thought\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThoughts as the Object of Meditation\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRegard All Dharmas as Dreams\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ol\u003e  Part Three:  Working With Emotions  \u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBecoming Intimate with Our Emotions\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Space within the Emotion\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eEmotions as the Object of Meditation\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGetting Our Hands Dirty\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHold the Experience\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBreaking with the Emotion\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDrop the Story and Find the Feeling\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ol\u003e  Part Four:  Working with Sense Perception  \u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Sense Perceptions\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Interconnection of All Perceptions\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ol\u003e  Part Five:  Opening Your Heart to Include Everything\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGiving Up the Struggle\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Seven Delights\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Bearable Lightness of Being\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBeliefs\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRelaxing with Groundlessness\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCreate a Circle of Practitioners\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCultivate a Sense of Wonder\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Way of the Bodhisattva\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ol\u003e","brand":"Sounds True, Incorporated","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47065551929584,"sku":"9781683648420","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781683648420_p0.jpg?v=1763700917","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781683648420","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}