Danielle Benson

When I was pregnant with my first child I began reading books written by Pema Chodron, thanks to my parents. I had gotten laid off from my job and was about five months along in my pregnancy. Finding a job was next to impossible. Suddenly I had this abundance of time alone, so I decided to start reading some of the books my parents had so generously give to me.

The first book I read was titled Start Where You Are,  written by Pema Chodron. Whether it was pregnancy hormones, perfect timing or both I was completely moved by Pema’s writing style. I found the book to be so down to earth and simple, to the point. In that book Pema spoke about fearless living and having a compassionate heart. 

I wrote Regardless of What You’ve Been Taught to Believe, There’s Nothing Wrong With You. It speaks to the self-hatred that so many people live with, the voices in the head that focus on what’s wrong in life and what’s missing.

"The true task of spiritual life is not found in faraway places or unusual states of consciousness. It is here in the present."

“All the Buddhas of the past were simply ordinary people who understood their minds.  Likewise, all the masters of the present have simply cultivated their own minds.  And all future practitioners will have to depend upon cultivation of mind.  So if you wish to follow the Way, do not seek for it outside yourself.”

A good teacher is one who combines understanding and practice and has no lingering delusions...of good and bad, right and wrong.”  Tozan said, “...there are three kinds of lingering delusions--opinion, emotion, and speech.