Have Pema Chödrön’s books like When Things Fall Apart and Living Beautifully been guiding lights in your life?
Have her warm and wise teachings via live events, audio programs, and online courses helped you grow as a person and get through your most difficult times?
To guide and connect with her readers more deeply, for the first time ever, the beloved, best-selling author will be leading four seasonal Q&A video calls focusing on some of her most treasured teachings. This is your opportunity to ask questions of this modern master, to immerse yourself in Pema’s teachings, learn from her experience, and to reflect with her on truly transformative material. Join us in making 2024 the year of Pema.
What You Will Learn
A Year with Pema includes weekly inspirational content on four subjects that are integral to her teachings and form the basis of a more awakened and less reactive life. Each subject will culminate with a live Q&A session with Pema and an intro teaching/guided meditation session with her co-teacher Tim Olmsted.
We’ll kick off the year with the subject of Pema’s most-loved book, which offers life-changing tools for transforming suffering and negative patterns into natural ease and boundless joy. There’s a fundamental opportunity for happiness right within our reach, yet we usually miss it—ironically, while we are caught up in attempts to escape pain and suffering. How can we live our lives when everything seems to fall apart—when we are continually overcome by fear, anxiety, and pain? The answer might be just the opposite of what you expect. Moving toward painful situations and becoming intimate with them can open up our hearts in ways we never before imagined. Live call January 7, 2024, at 1:00 p.m. (EST)
When Things Fall Apart
“When you open yourself to the continually changing, impermanent, dynamic nature of your own being and of reality, you increase your capacity to love and care about other people and your capacity not to be afraid.”
“When you open yourself to the continually changing, impermanent, dynamic nature of your own being and of reality, you increase your capacity to love and care about other people and your capacity not to be afraid.”
When you think about what causes you the most difficulty and strife in your life, do you think about your afflictive emotions? According to Buddhist teachings, the afflictive emotions of craving, aggression, ignorance, pride, and jealousy, known as the five kleshas, are the root of our suffering. Circumstances will always arise that trigger these emotions, but if we can learn to work with them skillfully, we have the power to transform the effect of them in our lives. Pema teaches the three-step process of Refrain, Reframe, and Relax as a method of putting yourself in the driver’s seat instead of being driven by emotions. Live call April 14, 2024, at 1:00 p.m. (EDT)
When you think about what causes you the most difficulty and strife in your life, do you think about your afflictive emotions? According to Buddhist teachings, the afflictive emotions of craving, aggression, ignorance, pride, and jealousy, known as the five kleshas, are the root of our suffering. Circumstances will always arise that trigger these emotions, but if we can learn to work with them skillfully, we have the power to transform the effect of them in our lives. Pema teaches the three-step process of Refrain, Reframe, and Relax as a method of putting yourself in the driver’s seat instead of being driven by emotions. Live call April 13, 2024, at 1:00 p.m. (EDT)
Working with Difficult Emotions
"Instead of fighting with our emotions, we let them be. We don’t act them out or repress them. We simply let them be. We simply connect with what they feel like."
Working with Difficult Emotions
"Instead of fighting with our emotions, we let them be. We don’t act them out or repress them. We simply let them be. We simply connect with what they feel like."
We all go through challenges. Whether we like it or not, the Challenge Zone rather than the Comfort Zone, as Pema teaches, is actually where our life blossoms. When we stretch our capacity to hold our deepest emotions and move through life’s tribulations with grace, we surprisingly grow in love, freedom, and genuine connection with others. It’s through embracing our struggles that we become liberated and understand our common humanity. Through mind-training and awakening bodhicitta, we ripen our capacity for self-compassion and open to universal compassion: the innate wisdom of the heart. Live call July 28, 2024, at 1:00 p.m. (EDT)
Compassion in the Challenge Zone
“Only when we know our own darkness well can we be present with the darkness of others. Compassion becomes real when we recognize our shared humanity.”
We all go through challenges. Whether we like it or not, the Challenge Zone rather than the Comfort Zone, as Pema teaches, is actually where our life blossoms. When we stretch our capacity to hold our deepest emotions and move through life’s tribulations with grace, we surprisingly grow in love, freedom, and genuine connection with others. It’s through embracing our struggles that we become liberated and understand our common humanity. Through mind-training and awakening bodhicitta, we ripen our capacity for self-compassion and open to universal compassion: the innate wisdom of the heart. Live call July 28, 2024, at 1:00 p.m. (EDT)
Compassion in the Challenge Zone
“Only when we know our own darkness well can we be present with the darkness of others. Compassion becomes real when we recognize our shared humanity.”
Death and impermanence are the greatest fears for many of us. As Pema Chödrön entered the ninth decade of her life, she spent a year in solitary retreat working deeply with traditional Tibetan Buddhist teachings on death and transitions. Her insights on the subject are deeply rooted in study, practice, and experience, giving them a grounded and welcoming appeal. In the final live session, we’ll discover newfound freedom in life’s ever-constant flow of endings and beginnings with Pema’s wise words. Live call October 13, 2024, at 1:00 p.m. (EDT)
How We Live
Is How We Die
“Our task, in life and death, is to realize we always have a choice. We can fall asleep into unawareness and stay stuck in the repeating cycle of samsara, or we can wake up.”
Can’t join the entire year? While the best deal is to join for the year, you can sign up for individual calls as well. CLICK HERE to purchase an individual call for $49.
Four 75-minute Zoom Q&A sessions spread throughout the year, with Pema herself, delving into her most essential teachings.
Four 30-minute intro teaching/guided meditation sessions via Zoom, led by Tim Olmsted, Pema’s longtime trusted co-teacher for many events.
WEEKLY passages, video excerpts, audio teachings, writing prompts, and contemplations direct to your inbox for all of 2024, except on weeks with a live call.
Can’t make it live or want to rewatch a session years after the fact? You’ll have lifetime access to video and audio recordings.
What's Included
50% of all proceeds go to the Pema Chödrön Foundation, which supports and encourages Buddhist monasticism and the Buddhist tradition worldwide, and manifest the Buddhist vision by providing support and assistance to community-based organizations that serve marginalized populations such as distressed families (especially children and teens), abused individuals, the incarcerated, and people in recovery.
Registration open for a limited time. Refunds available until January 5th.
Fellowships for people of color are available. Apply here.
About the Teachers
Pema Chödrön is a beloved Buddhist teacher, author, nun, and mother. She has inspired millions of people from around the world who have been touched by her example and message of practicing peace in these turbulent times.
She has been teaching and writing extensively for many years, including authoring the best-selling books When Things Fall Apart and The Places That Scare You.
Pema first met her root teacher, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, in 1972. Lama Chime encouraged her to work with Rinpoche, and it was with him that she ultimately made her most profound connection. At the request of the Sixteenth Karmapa, she received the full monastic ordination in the Tibetan lineage of Buddhism in 1981 in Hong Kong. She is resident teacher at Gampo Abbey in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, the first Tibetan Buddhist monastery for westerners in North America.
FAQ
How long will I have access to the content?
Your access to the live recordings and other content is unlimited. It will not expire.
Can I sign up for an individual call?
Yes, you can click here to register for a particular call.
Will I have access to the weekly content if I only signed up for an individual call?
No, this additional content is exclusive to those who purchased all four calls.
When are the calls?
The dates and times for the live calls are below:
When Things Fall Apart: Sunday, January 7, 1:00–3:00 p.m. (EST)
Working with Difficult Emotions: Sunday, April 14, 1:00–3:00 p.m. (EDT)
Compassion in the Challenge Zone: Sunday, July 28, 1:00–3:00 p.m. (EDT)
How We Live Is How We Die: Sunday, October 13, 1:00–3:00 p.m. (EDT)
Recordings of the calls will be made available for those who are unable to attend live.
What is the refund policy?
Please email course-support@shambhala.com to request a refund. Refunds will not be granted on or after January 5.
If any live sessions cannot be conducted as planned due to unforeseen circumstances, you will be refunded 25% of the purchase price per call that does not take place.
What if I have technical difficulties?
We have a dedicated support person who can help you with any issues you may encounter. Please email course-support@shambhala.com if you have any questions.
Tim Olmsted has been a student of meditation for more than 35 years. For 12 of those years, he lived in Nepal, working as a psychotherapist and studying with many of the greatest Buddhist teachers of our time, including Mingyur Rinpoche’s father, Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche. Tim is a lead instructor and cofounder of Mingyur Rinpoche’s community, Tergar International. He has also served as director of Gampo Abbey and is the president of the Pema Chödrön Foundation.
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Death and impermanence are the greatest fears for many of us. As Pema Chödrön entered the ninth decade of her life, she spent a year in solitary retreat working deeply with traditional Tibetan Buddhist teachings on death and transitions. Her insights on the subject are deeply rooted in study, practice, and experience, giving them a grounded and welcoming appeal. In the final live session, we’ll discover newfound freedom in life’s ever-constant flow of endings and beginnings with Pema’s wise words. Live call October 13, 2024, at 1:00 p.m. (EDT)
How We Live Is How We Die
“Our task, in life and death, is to realize we always have a choice. We can fall asleep into unawareness and stay stuck in the repeating cycle of samsara, or we can wake up.”
50% of all proceeds go to the Pema Chödrön Foundation, which supports and encourages Buddhist monasticism and the Buddhist tradition worldwide, and manifest the Buddhist vision by providing support and assistance to community-based organizations that serve marginalized populations such as distressed families (especially children and teens), abused individuals, the incarcerated, and people in recovery.
Registration open for a limited time. Refunds available until January 5th.
Fellowships for people of color are available. Apply here.