Live Q&A | How to Confront Fear
October 12, 2025 | 1:00 p.m. (EDT)
How do you want to spend 2025? Where do you want to center your attention? And what do you hope to achieve in the coming year?
Break free from negative patterns and find the courage to face your fears with a special series of four live video calls with Pema Chödrön, respected Buddhist teacher and best-selling author of When Things Fall Apart. This virtual program offers a unique opportunity to engage with Pema’s profound wisdom and compassionate teachings in an intimate setting.
Pema Chödrön’s teachings are celebrated for their compassion, humor, and practical wisdom. In this exclusive program, Pema will discuss universal human challenges like fear, anger, and disappointment. Her style is gentle yet direct, offering encouragement and supportive practices to find ease even in our most vulnerable moments.
This is your opportunity to ask questions of this beloved teacher, to immerse yourself in Pema’s teachings, and to emerge with the tools to navigate life’s ups and downs with an unwavering sense of purpose, confidence, and ease.
How to Confront Fear, a 75-minute live call opportunity with Pema Chödrön, will take place Sunday, October 12, 2025, from 1:00–2:45 p.m. (EDT). The Zoom call will begin with a 30-minute intro teaching/guided meditation session led by Tim Olmsted, Pema’s longtime trusted co-teacher for many events.
About the Teachers
Ani Pema Chödrön was born Deirdre Blomfield-Brown in 1936, in New York City. She graduated from the University of California at Berkeley and was an elementary school teacher for many years in New Mexico and California.
In her mid-thirties, Ani Pema met and studied with Lama Chime Rinpoche, becoming a novice nun in 1974 in London. She received ordination from His Holiness the Sixteenth Karmapa during that time.
Pema first met her root guru, the teacher with whom she had the most profound connection, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, in 1972, and she studied closely with him until his death in 1987.
In 1984, at the behest of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Ani Pema moved from Boulder, Colorado to Cape Breton, Nova Scotia to be the director of Gampo Abbey. She currently teaches throughout the United States and Canada and continues her studies and meditative retreat under the guidance of Venerable Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche.
The nonprofit Pema Chödrön Foundation was established to further Ani Pema’s interest in helping establish Tibetan Buddhist monasticism in the West as well as to support the continuation of her teachings across traditions.
Tim Olmsted has been a student of meditation for the past 50 years. For twelve of those years, Tim lived in Nepal, working as a psychotherapist serving the international community. There he studied with many of the greatest Buddhist teachers of our time principally, the renowned meditation master, Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche. After returning to the United States, Tim and his wife, Glenna, moved to Cape Breton, Nova Scotia where he served for three years as the director of Gampo Abbey. They now live in Colorado where Tim spends his time teaching in his role as a Senior Instructor for Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche’s Tergar Meditation Community. He is also the founder and president of the Pema Chödrön Foundation and resident teacher to the local buddhist community. And for the past 25 years, Glenna has been Pema’s personal assistant.
FAQ
When is the call?
The How to Confront Fear call will take place Sunday, October 12, 1:00–2:45 p.m. (EDT). A recording of the call will be made available for those who are unable to attend live. You will have unlimited access to this recording.
What if I missed the previous call?
Each seasonal Q&A call with Pema is meant to be a standalone offering. For each of the four calls, Pema has chosen to explore a unique and timely topic that is meant to provide insight and inspiration for the season ahead. You will not miss out on any context if you register for an individual call.
What is the refund policy?
Please email [email protected] within 30 days of purchase to request a refund. Refunds will not be granted on or after October 10.
If the live session cannot be conducted as planned due to unforeseen circumstances, you will be refunded 25% of the purchase price.
What if I have technical difficulties?
We have a dedicated support person who can help you with any issues you may encounter. Please email [email protected] if you have any questions.