I'm Oprah Winfrey. Welcome to Super Soul Conversations, the podcast. I believe that one of the most

valuable gifts you can give yourself is time. Taking time to be more fully present. Your journey

to become more inspired and connected to the deeper world around us starts right now.

Today, she is a best-selling author and world-renowned Buddhist teacher,

but for many years, Pema Children was simply known as Dirdre.

Born in 1936, Dirdre Blumfeld Brown grew up on a farm in New Jersey and live what she calls a perfectly conventional life.

With the help of scholarships, she attended a prestigious prep school and college before marrying a lawyer and having two children.

While working towards her master's degree, her marriage crumbled.

Soon after, she married her second husband,

a free-spirited writer. After eight years, that marriage also ended in a devastating divorce that

brought her to her knees. She tried different therapies at the time and spiritual paths to heal,

but nothing seemed to help until she began exploring Buddhism, which she says spoke directly to her pain and suffering.

In 1981, after years of study with Buddhist masters,

she became one of the first Western women to be fully ordained

as a Buddhist done in the Tibetan tradition.

She changed her name to Pima, children, which loosely translated means

lamp of the truth. Today, Pima teaches how ancient Buddhist principles can apply to our modern

everyday life. She has written many popular books, including one of my favorites,

When Things Fall Apart, Heart Advice for

Difficult Times. So welcome, Ani for My Children. Thank you. Thank you so much. I have to tell you

that this book, When Things Fall Apart, Heart Advice for Difficult Times, has been like a talisman for me. It's been a resource and many times to

remind me to come back to center. And I know that your work in this book and in many teachings

...