Born in New York City, Pema Chödrön is a Buddhist nun and author of many popular spiritual books and courses.
She is also a mother and a grandmother and has two children. Pena discovered Buddhism after two failed marriages, and when her children were teenagers she ordained to become a nun.
Her broad spectrum of life experience has seen Pema develop teachings of peace and love that have inspired millions of people around the world.
Her appearance on Oprah in 2014 is testament to her popularity, as is the Pema Chodron Foundation, which was formed as a way to preserve and share her teachings to help awaken wisdom and compassion in future generations.
Pema serves as resident teacher at Gampo Abbey Monastery in Nova Scotia and has devoted her life to exploring the essential questions of the human experience.
She shares her teachings through popular books such as Start Where You Are, When Things Fall Apart, Living Beautifully, and The Wisdom of No Escape.
And now Pema has combined three of her popular courses into a powerful collection that provides complete access to her wisdom through digital means.
This moving away from comfort and security, this stepping out into what is unknown, charted, and shaky—that’s called ‘liberation.'
~ Pema Chödrön
The Freedom Collection
The good news is that you don't have to attend the monastery to benefit from Pema's wisdom in person. Thanks to a partnership with Sounds True, Pema has combined three of her courses into one exclusive collection.
Here's an overview of each course that is included in the Freedom Collection:
1. The Freedom to Choose Something Different
Release yourself from the patterns that limit your true potential.
We all know what it’s like to be triggered—to have said something we wish we hadn’t or reacted in a way that wasn’t helpful. But what if there was a way to interrupt our knee-jerk responses?
In The Freedom to Choose Something Different, Pema Chödrön shares the liberating wisdom of an approach she uses in her personal daily practice and offers tools for disarming reactivity in our own lives.
2. The Freedom to Love
Awaken the boundless capacity of your heart and strengthen your connections.
In these challenging times, are you finding it difficult to be the openhearted person you know you truly are?
In this six-part journey, Pema invites you to start wherever you are—with any challenges, frustrations, or fears you may be facing—and use them as the launching pad to awaken the natural and boundless capacity of your heart.
Includes two revealing sessions recorded with Pema answering questions from a live audience.
3. Living with Vulnerability
Begin your liberating journey to greater resilience and self-acceptance.
In Living with Vulnerability, Pema (along with Tim Olsted) teaches how to treat your life experience with the same love and support you offer your truest friends.
As you unravel your habitual patterns—like fear of vulnerability—you begin to experience your true nature filled with limitless potential.
The concept of this collection is an exploration of the notion of freedom: what it is and how we can access the boundless freedom and potential flowing through each of us in every moment.
Learn to open your heart, liberate your mind, and awaken your limitless potential.
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This definitive online program includes 26 hours of content, with teachings, audience Q&A sessions, guided meditations, practice tips, and pre-recorded live sessions.
All three courses provide lifetime access, so once purchased you can access all video trainings, guided meditations, transcripts, and bonus materials anytime you want.
+ Read more on Pema's Freedom program here
What You Will Learn
Each course covers a different area of the freedom spectrum, dealing with difficult issues we all face on our life journey.
Here's a low down of what you will learn in each of the three sections of the program.
Course 1: The Freedom to Choose Something Different
- The Three Difficult Practices for overcoming shenpa (see below)
- The power of pause, a simple practice that makes a big difference
- Cultivate acceptance of your irritability, insecurities, and other less-noble human traits
- Ways to unravel patterns of self-dislike
- How “positive groundlessness” can open the door to freedom in all of your personal interactions
Course 2: The Freedom to Love
- Gain a deeper knowledge of the Four Limitless Qualities that are always available to you
- Understand the root of suffering and the path to true happiness
- Identify “benefactors” from whom you can draw unconditional love and acceptance
- Learn to use self-compassion as a healing cradle for pain
- Cultivate joy and gratitude, even in situations that test the limits of your heart
Course 3: Living with Vulnerability
- Develop “discomfort resilience” by braving painful and unpleasant emotions
- Transcend your fear of vulnerability to uncover the innate wisdom of your being
- Treat your life experience with the same gentle acceptance you offer your loved ones
- Work with challenging people in your life without responding from a place of anger or frustration
- Move past “frozen prejudices” and fixed ideas you may have of yourself or others
Expected Course Benefits
The three courses in The Freedom Collection combine to offer the following benefits to your life:
- Break free from old habitual patterns and become more awake to the aliveness and depth of the present moment.
- Uncover your innate compassion for yourself and others, and open your heart to its widest possibilities.
- Embrace difficult emotions, and move beyond your fear of vulnerability.
Free Bonuses
An unexpected surprise to the program is 5 bonus audios. These are all presented by Pema and have previously (and still are) been available to buy separately:
- How to Meditate – A Practical Guide to Making Friends with Your Mind
- The Three Commitments: Walking the Path of Liberation
- Teachings on Love: How Mindfulness Can Enhance Your Intimate Relationships
- Noble Heart – A Self-Guided Retreat on Befriending Your Obstacles
- Walking the Walk: Putting the Teachings into Practice When It Matters Most
One of the most important lessons I’ve learned on the spiritual path is that freedom lies not in the absence of discomfort, but in the acceptance of it.
When we release ourselves from the grips of our long-held fears, habits, and storylines, then we can begin to uncover the wide river of wisdom that flows through us—a river that leads to the naturally free state of our true, fundamental selves
~ Pema Chödrön
Download a Free Video Session with Pema
Those who have followed Pema's teachings over the years will no doubt want to jump straight into this course, but if you're not familiar with Pema, then you can download a free video training.
In this free session you will learn how to liberate yourself from the habitual patterns that hold you back from your potential in life. You'll learn that simple behaviors are thwarting your progression and affecting your happiness in life.
In this video session Pema explains ‘shenpa', ‘the power of pause', and how “positive groundlessness” can set you on a path to personal freedom.
To get the free session, all you have to do is enter your email address after clicking the banner below.
Here's a quick overview of each of the aforementioned teachings in this free session:
1. Shenpa: How We Get “Hooked”
Pema explains the Tibetan Buddhist notion of shenpa, which is the state of being “hooked” in a habit or pattern that causes us to suffer.
By first noticing the tug of shenpa, we can begin to free ourselves from its grip.
2. The Power of Pause
When we are triggered, it is tempting to “scratch the itch” in order to ease the discomfort we feel.
But as Pema teaches, learning to pause in the presence of shenpa leads us to the “doorway of enlightenment.”
3. Moving Beyond Hopes and Fears
To liberate ourselves from our patterns of suffering, we must bravely step into what Pema calls “positive groundlessness.” In this unfamiliar place, we are free to discover the true nature of ourselves and reality.
+ Register for the FREE video session here
Pema and the Courses, In Review
Pema Chödrön is a fascinating person. She has lived life on two vastly different sides of the tracks and this shines through in the wisdom she shares.
Pema married a lawyer when she was quite young and was divorced by her mid-20s. She married again, but her husband left her after announcing that he was having an affair.
Pema became depressed. But then, by chance, she stumbled across Buddhism in a magazine and became inspired to study it herself. Much to her kids' surprise, she went on to become a nun.
It wasn't easy for her daughter, as she felt rejected by her life choice. But ultimately Pema became an inspirational voice for women the world over.
No one has ever read one of Pema's books or heard her speak and been disappointed 9certainly not me) so it's wonderful to have this Freedom Collection available and so much knowledge packaged together into one program.
I love listening to Pema and, like me, I'm sure you'll find her knowledge something you return to time and time again to recenter in your life whenever difficult times arise, or when you just need reminding how to be present and grateful.
In this regard, The Freedom Collection represents great value, because it isn't something you're going to go through once. There is so much wisdom in here, some of which will be very relevant now and some elements that you will no doubt need in future years.
I'm sure you'll agree that there is just something so very captivating when Pema speaks; you know it is coming from the heart and the experience of a well-trodden path.
At the very least, I recommend trying her free session.
Pema Chödrön's key message is simple: instead of running away from our fear and pain, we can sit with them.
To stay with that shakiness—to stay with a broken heart, with a rumbling stomach, with the feeling of hopelessness and wanting to get revenge—that is the path of true awakening.
~ Pema Chödrön
+ Read more on Pema's program here
