Taking the Leap (Shambhala Publications Inc)

Learn to free yourself from destructive habits and live a life of courage and compassion with these heart-to-heart teachings from "one of the world's wisest women" (O, the Oprah Magazine). Pema Chödrön draws on classic Buddhist teachings about shenpa (painful attachments and compulsions) to help us see how certain habits of mind tend to "hook" us and get us stuck in states of anger, blame, self-hatred, and addiction--and how we can liberate ourselves from them.

"This path entails uncovering three basic human qualities," explains Pema. "They are natural intelligence, natural warmth, and natural openness. Everyone, everywhere, all over the globe, has these qualities and can call on them to help themselves and others." Pema here offers insights and practices we can immediately put to use in our lives to awaken these essential qualities and helps us to take a bold leap toward a new way of living--one that will bring about positive transformation for ourselves and for our troubled world.