You Are Heroic with Brian Johnson PNTV - The Places that Scare You by Pema Chodron
Aug 14, 2015
A warm dive into practices for facing the things that scare you and interrupting harmful habits with compassion. A vivid metaphor compares grudges to self-poisoning. Tips on spotting personal temptations and cultivating the habit of rejoicing in others’ good fortune. A quick look at training attention toward joy by planting seeds of appreciation.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Compassionately Interrupt Harmful Habits
- Notice when you slip into habitual fear, anger, or self-pity as a positive signal.
- Interrupt the pattern immediately (sing, run, hike, jump on a rebounder) and repeat this practice patiently to build new habits.
Dalai Lama's Enlightened Mice Story
- The Dalai Lama as a boy noticed monastery mice refused cheese bait, inspiring the metaphor of enlightened mice.
- Use that story to identify your own five 'cheeses' — behaviors (like overeating popcorn or doomscrolling) that trap you in suffering.
Stop Holding Grudges They Poison You
- Quit holding grudges because they only poison you and don't hurt the other person.
- When anger lingers, imagine not letting go is like eating rat poison thinking you'll harm someone else.
