Making a Change for Good: A Guide to Compassionate Self-Discipline by Cheri Huber

Synopsis

According to Zen teacher Cheri Huber, we are conditioned to think that if we were only a little better in some way, we would be happy: “Life isn't the way it should be and it's my fault!”  But, Huber says, no amount of self-punishment will ever make us happy or bring us control over life’s problems.

The help we are looking for is really found in self-acceptance and kindness toward ourselves. By simply allowing ourselves to be guided by our innate intelligence and generosity, which are our authentic nature, we are able to be compassionately present to what’s happening now. Compassionate self-discipline—the will to take positive steps in life—is found through nothing other than being present. When we are present and aware, we are not engaged in distracting, addictive behaviors. If we simply cultivate our ability to pay attention and focus on what is here in this moment, our experience can be authentic, awake, honest, and joyful.

The book includes a guided thirty-day program of daily meditation, contemplation, and journaling.

Graham Christian - Library Journal

Huber has been a Zen teacher for many years, but this does not feel at all like a Zen book. Huber's works—generally self-published—have always featured simple, doodle-like illustrations and a "handwritten" look, like a glimpse into a private journal—recalling the cards of Ashleigh Brilliant or a noodle-shop menu from the 1970s. This volume focuses on self-development—breaking bad habits and forming good ones—and the warmth of Huber's style and advice reinforce her message that self-acceptance, rather than self-punishment, is more likely to result in the changes we seek. For most collections.

Biography

Cheri Huber is a Zen teacher and the author of eighteen popular books. She founded A Center for the Practice of Zen Buddhist Meditation in Mountain View, California, in 1983, and the Zen Monastery Retreat Center in Murphys, California, in 1987. She founded Living Compassion in 2003, a nonprofit group comprised of There Is Nothing Wrong with You Retreats (based on the book); Global Community for Peace: The Assisi Peace Project; The Africa Vulnerable Children Project; and Open Air Talk Radio, which she hosts weekly. She lives in Murphys, California.