Over Memorial Day, I did a three-day silent retreat entitled "The Places That Scare You", with Pema Chodron, an American Buddhist nun (see above quote). Her premise is that there is a fundamental happiness readily available to each one of us, no matter how difficult things seem to be. To find it, we must learn to stop running from our fear and instead actually learn to approach it - fearlessly, and with curiosity. She taught various meditation practices to learn to approach anxiety and pain with a relaxed body and heart. She emphasized not trying to change yourself with meditation; it never matters if you "get anywhere" because just doing the practice makes you more awake, conscious. As a yogi, this rings true to me because we are not trying to make our poses perfect or reach a goal. Instead, we use the asanas as a process of becoming more mindful, sensitive, compassionate, steadfast and open. Most importantly, Pema reminded us to find the Buddha(love, wisdom, compassion) within -- don't expect someone else to have it or to give it to you. For her audio books and talks visit http://www.soundstrue.com/store/search.asp?mode=bas  back to top