Every time clinical psychologist and meditation teacher, Tara Brach, has a new book out, I rush to the nearest book store or a web store to get it. Her teachings of radical acceptance, true refugee, self-love self-awareness and compassion, among many others, have been life changing lessons for me and have been a great addition to my professional toolbox that I get to share with clients. With her infinite wisdom, humor, life experiences and professional insights, Tara makes meditation and mindfulness accessible, relatable and understandable.
Her latest work Radical Compassion reinforces the concept of self-compassion and goes deeper into the practice of RAIN, which allows us to work through difficult emotions with presence, acceptance curiosity, and nurturing. RAIN stands for Recognition, Acceptance, Investigate, Nurture. Throughout the book, Tara walks us through each practice through stories and experiential guided meditations.
Once you get started reading or listening to the book, you are hooked.
When we practice self-compassion, we open our hearts to have more compassion towards others, to have more self-acceptance, to accept what we can’t control. RAIN is a mindful and caring way to be attentive to emotions. Like the attention and love we would give a crying baby or child, we want to give attention and love to the difficult emotions. We wouldn’t turn our backs on a child who is suffering, RAIN teaches us to lean towards emotions, give them the attention they deserve, the love, the nurturing, the acceptance. When we shed light to our difficult emotions, we are accepting our human experience.
It is our belief that all emotions are necessary and important, even those we are resistant to. With awareness, compassion and curiosity, we can learn to lean in to them to understand what they are trying to communicate, to work through them, and know how to respond. Radical Compassion will guide you through that and much more.
Enjoy reading along with us!
Tara leads weekly meditations in Bethesda, MD. leads meditation retreats and online courses. If you are in the DC metro area, I guarantee you will love attending one of her meditations. And if you are not, you can check her talks online at www.tarabrach.com.