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Start Where You Are: A Guide to Compassionate Living (Revised)
Start Where You Are: A Guide to Compassionate Living (Revised) | Pema Chödrön
"Start Where You Are " is an indispensable handbook for cultivating fearlessness and awakening a compassionate heart. With insight and humor, Pema ChOdrOn presents down-to-earth guidance on how we can "start where we are"--embracing rather than denying the painful aspects of our lives. Pema ChOdrOn frames her teachings on compassion around fifty-nine traditional Tibetan Buddhist maxims, or slogans, such as: "Always apply only a joyful state of mind," "Don't seek others' pain as the limbs of your own happiness," and "Always meditate on whatever provokes resentment." Working with these slogans and through the practice of meditation, "Start Where You Are " shows how we can all develop the courage to work with our inner pain and discover joy, well-being, and confidence.
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review
NatalieR
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Pema offers much wisdom and practical guidance with this book. There are several lessons that resonated with me. Pema initially talked about how to awaken compassion with openness and freshness. To continue reading my review, please visit my book blog https://abookandadog.com #MountTBR

kspenmoll Beautiful photo! 2y
NatalieR @kspenmoll Thanks! šŸ’œ 2y
79 likes2 comments
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Leftcoastzen
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I had monkey mind last night , my mind full of worries I could do nothing about .Or things to take care of that I wouldn‘t be able to in the middle of the night anyway.It‘s sad and can even make you feel a little ill.I‘m sure most people get it from time to time.
I flipped open to this Pema passage that made me feel better.

Palimpsest Thanks for sharing this. Hope you‘re feeling better. 4y
Leftcoastzen @Palimpsest thank you I am! I hope I sleep well and the monkey brain stays away!šŸ˜‚šŸ’ 4y
Suet624 Those nights are tough. I have way too many of them. Best wishes to you. 4y
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ValerieAndBooks Looks like a good book for these times šŸ’–. Stacking 4y
Leftcoastzen @Suet624 Thanks! Here‘s to peaceful nights! 4y
ValerieAndBooks Thanks for the rec! 4y
44 likes1 stack add7 comments
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quietlycuriouskate
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#KeepLitsyPositive
"Always maintain only a joyful mind." Well, ain't that a kick in the teeth! Bear with me, though.
I've been working with these cards and their companion book for over a year now. As someone with a long history of depression and anxiety, this card used to really push my buttons. And then it dawned on me that a joyful mind doesn't depend on my being happy or calm, but a willingness to be open helps.

quietlycuriouskate Today I am anxious about the empty supermarket shelves and about how little work I've been able to do this week. But I also delighted in a magnolia in full bloom, and a beautiful cat with a striped tail like a lemur! 4y
DrSabrinaMoldenReads Yep! and Yep! 4y
Cathythoughts I love Pema ā¤ļø 4y
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squirrelbrain I agree, trying to focus on the little positives really does help. 4y
rockpools šŸ’– 4y
LauraBrook Pema is so greatšŸ’› 4y
47 likes2 stack adds6 comments
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MEGR
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ā€œYou can talk about lightening up till you‘re purple in the face, but then you have the opportunity to practice lightening up with the outbreath, lightening up with the labeling.ā€

Crazeedi I can smell that...šŸ˜ 5y
10 likes1 comment
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MEGR
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ā€œEvery time your stream of thoughts solidifies into a heavy story line that seems to be taking you elsewhere, label that ā€˜thinking.‘ Then you will be able to see how all the passion that‘s connected with these thoughts, or all the aggression or all the heartbreak, is simply a passing memory. Even if for a second you actually had a full experience that it was all just a thought, that would be a moment of full awakening.ā€

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MEGR
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ā€œThe armor we erect around our soft hearts causes a lot of misery.ā€

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MEGR
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ā€œThe key is, it‘s no big deal. We could just all lighten up. Regard all dharmas as dreams. With our minds we make a big deal out of ourselves, out of our pain, and out of our problems.ā€

Crazeedi Beautiful photo of bird of paradise! 5y
9 likes1 stack add1 comment
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Annashep
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Just started this as it‘s been on my TBR pile for ages ... quite liking the insights into knowing yourself and taking down the internal defences ... only a few chapters in so we shall see how it goes šŸ˜ŠšŸ˜ŠšŸ“ššŸ“š

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quietlycuriouskate
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Buddha nature/basic goodness "is already there; with warmth and moisture it sprouts and becomes visible above the ground, you find yourself looking like a daffodil, or feeling like one, anyway."

I don't have the unabashed confidence and exuberance of these guys. Mind you, I wouldn't want to be cut off at the knee and crammed in a caper jar with a bunch of others superficially identical to me, either.

All joking aside, this book is excellent. ?

BeansPage šŸ’– her books 5y
gradcat Nice daffodils šŸŒ¼ ! (edited) 5y
Cathythoughts I really like her too ( I sent your birthday šŸŽ early .... so hope it gets to you soon ... šŸ‘šŸ» 5y
quietlycuriouskate @Cathythoughts Oh, you are good! Thank you so much šŸ˜˜ 5y
69 likes3 stack adds4 comments
review
quietlycuriouskate
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This isn't really a book one finishes but I've read and returned the library's copy and bought my own so as to have an ongoing conversation with it in the margins. I've been doing mindfulness-based CBT for two years or so. It helps a lot. I'm wary of the Western habit of isolating the supposed "active ingredient" though, and I've a curious mind so here we are! I like Pema Chodron: she's down-to-earth, humorous and as compassionate as you'd expect.

JamieArc I have enjoyed listening to her at different points in my life šŸ˜Š 5y
Cathythoughts I like her too šŸ‘šŸ» 5y
64 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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quietlycuriouskate
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#24B42019 @TheReadingMermaid @Andrew65
These should keep me going for a while: two I'm currently reading and the next one from my library stack. I've also got an Inspector Montalbano audiobook and some poetry (Mimi Khalvati), both on Overdrive. šŸ˜Š

Andrew65 I love Montalbano! Enjoy the reading.šŸ˜Š (edited) 5y
Cathythoughts Pema Chodron ā™„ļøā™„ļøā™„ļø 5y
51 likes2 comments
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CareBear
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These are my #tbr shelves. Trying to put a dent in them before book sale season begins. Where to start? šŸ¤” #shelfie #mounttbrreadathon

huntersmom1977 Eye bleach!! So beautiful ā˜ŗļø 6y
Eyelit So glad to know I‘m not the only one who has tbr shelves (and tall ones too)! 6y
SilversReviews Awesome!! Love that pillow too. 6y
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RainyDayReading Omg so glad I‘m not the only one that has TBR shelves!! I‘m the same way, want to make a dent but no idea where to start. 6y
TheLudicReader I have similar tbr shelves. It‘s like having my own private bookstore. 6y
YouReadMyEyes I have the same thing...yet I keep buying more books. I need therapy. 6y
rmaclean4 This is comforting to many of us!! So nice to see those tall full tbr shelves. I have the same but still buy used books and go to the library weekly! 6y
Jinjer Thanks for posting this. I was just chiding myself for buying books when I HAVE books.šŸ˜‚ 6y
CareBear @Jinjer @rmaclean4 @YouReadMyEyes @TheLudicReader @RainyDayReading looks like a common problem, lol! I‘ve just decided that I actually like the act of buying/borrowing books and my TBR shelves will always be like this. But I‘m never without something to read!!! 6y
122 likes10 comments
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CatchMyBookBreath
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Dewey #30daysofreadathon Day 29 is short books. #pemachodron Start Where You Are is not only short in length but short in stature. It's only about nine book spines tall! šŸ˜ƒ

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CatchMyBookBreath
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Finally getting around to #riotgrams - day 1 #shelfie. This is what happens when you have too many books and not enough bookshelves for the weight. They are bowing and always falling off. Here's to new #bookshelves this summer!

Reecaspieces ā¤ļøā¤ļøā¤ļø 7y
398.2 That book shelve is awesome. I would love something like that. 7y
42 likes2 comments
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alexandria
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My grandma is the cutest grandmašŸ’«šŸ“æ

Gezemice That's your grandma? Awesome! 8y
AmyWrites Omg! Your grandma is PEMA???? 8y
laurenm I am grateful to her! She saved my butt more than once. Everyone should read her books, IMHO. šŸ™šŸ» ā¤ļø 8y
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alexandria @Gezemice @AmyWrites @laurenm Yes! And she is great ā˜ŗļø I'll tell her the Litsy community approvesā£ 8y
Gezemice Will have to check her book out! I am currently reading Lovingkindness by Sharon Salzberg, so this book ties into it. 8y
alexandria @Gezemice I went to a weird hippie college and we were required to read parts of that! If you haven't read any grandma books I super recommend When Things Fall Apart. 8y
Gezemice @alexandria Thanks! Looks like a great book. 8y
SusanInTiburon Pema is your GRANDMA?!! 8y
SusanInTiburon Sorry @alexandria, I just saw this. And I have to say tonglen practice literally -- literally -- saved my 30-years-old marriage and my sanity. Thanks to your grandma's teaching, I have directly experienced the transformation of suffering into joy. So much gratitude. 8y
alexandria @Susanintiburon She is! And that's so good to hearā€“always so nice to hear what she means to people. I'm seeing her this week and I'll show her your postā£ 8y
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