Dzogchen Ponlop is a widely celebrated Buddhist teacher and author of Rebel Buddha: A Guide to a Revolution of Mind. He is founder and president of Nalandabodhi, an international network of Buddhist centers.

Our emotions are intensified mental states than can enhance or put a crimp on our day-by-day living. One of the essential curriculums for all of us is "Working with Our Emotions 101."

Ponlop has devised a Three-Step Emotional Rescue Plan which offers an alternative to your becoming your own worst enemy. Paying attention is a vital ingredient in each part:

1. Mindful Gap: creating a safe distance between you and your emotions
2. Clear Seeing: taking in the big picture
3. Letting Go: moving on, breathing easier. and rejoicing in what you have accomplished.

Each section includes many exercises, questions for reflection, and practices to help you bring the steps into your daily life. Here is a valuable workbook for dealing with a wide variety of emotional responses.

As a supplement to this review, here are a few of the quotes used on chapter heads:

  • "The road to success is always under construction."
    — Lily Tomlin
  • "When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be."
    — Lao-Tzu
  • "Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see."
    — Mark Twain
  • "Very often a change of self is needed more than a change of scene."
    — A. C. Benson
  • "Heart is what drives us and determines our fate."
    — Isabel Allende