JANUARY 2020 - AudioFile
Brach’s peaceful narration embodies the message of love and compassion in her quietly powerful audiobook, which introduces the four-step system of RAIN—an acronym for Recognize, Allow, Investigate, and Nurture. Highlighting the importance of heartfulness and mindfulness, Brach’s calm tone explains how radical compassion is especially important in this age of suffering, deficiency, and disconnect. Using real situations from her life and those of others, Brach shows how RAIN can be adapted and applied to challenging aspects of life to loosen the entanglements of our day and release our suffering by grounding ourselves in the present. Brach’s missive about having compassion for ourselves and others is as soothing as it is vital. M.F. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
Publishers Weekly
11/04/2019
Mindfulness teacher Brach (True Refuge) presents a straightforward approach to living with more presence and compassion in this easy-to-follow guide. Continuing the lessons explored in her earlier works, Brach advocates for mindfulness as a means of releasing emotional suffering that keeps one “disconnected from the whole of reality” and from “living true to ourselves.” The specific meditation practice she offers is called RAIN—recognize, allow, investigate, and non-identification—and, after 15 years of her practice, Brach explains a new twist: swapping out non-identification for “nurture,” or practices that “directly awaken self-compassion.” Brach unpacks painful emotions such as shame, guilt, anger, and self-doubt with clarity, and provides meditation exercises and prompts to help readers fully incorporate the RAIN system. While her approach is grounded in Buddhist meditation practices, she includes illuminating stories from a range of cultures and spiritual traditions, while anecdotes from the lives of Brach and her students, guided meditations, and q&as help define the concepts in practical terms. Anyone hoping to gain a deeper understanding of themselves and advice for easing the burden of negative emotions will find this to be a helpful resource. (Dec.)
From the Publisher
Praise for Radical Compassion
“Illuminating…Anyone hoping to gain a deeper understanding of themselves and advice for easing the burden of negative emotions will find this to be a helpful resource.” —Publishers Weekly
“Tara Brach’s four-step RAIN meditation can be an integral part of anyone’s mindfulness practice. RAIN helps us uncover the states of love, self-care, forgiveness, compassion, and tenderness we each are capable of. It is a useful and elegant system, and Radical Compassion is a beautifully written book.”
—Sharon Salzberg, New York Times bestselling author of Real Happiness and Lovingkindness
“Radical Compassion lays out a path of straightforward, accessible practices grounded in both modern brain science and ancient wisdom—with the soul and depth you’d expect from a world-class meditation teacher and psychologist. A masterpiece.”
—Rick Hanson, PhD, author of Resilient: How to Grow an Unshakable Core of Calm, Strength, and Happiness
“A powerful book that will free you from shame, fear, and negative self-beliefs. You will feel wiser, happier, and kinder after reading it.”
—Haemin Sunim, author of Love for Imperfect Things and The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down
“Tara Brach has an uncanny ability to home in precisely on what we need in the moment, so we can meet that need from within. She teaches a simple but life-changing practice to bring presence and compassion to any moment of shame or longing or struggle, transforming our pain into love. This book is a treasure from one of the most important spiritual teachers of our time.”
—Kristin Neff, PhD, author of Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself
“In this magnificent synthesis of her important teachings in cultivating compassion in our everyday lives, Tara Brach offers us a life-changing tool to open our awareness with love and healing. This important book is as practical as it is profound, a deep and lasting gift for us all.”
—Daniel J. Siegel, MD, New York Times bestselling author of Aware: The Science and Practice of Presence and Mind: A Journey to the Heart of Being Human
JANUARY 2020 - AudioFile
Brach’s peaceful narration embodies the message of love and compassion in her quietly powerful audiobook, which introduces the four-step system of RAIN—an acronym for Recognize, Allow, Investigate, and Nurture. Highlighting the importance of heartfulness and mindfulness, Brach’s calm tone explains how radical compassion is especially important in this age of suffering, deficiency, and disconnect. Using real situations from her life and those of others, Brach shows how RAIN can be adapted and applied to challenging aspects of life to loosen the entanglements of our day and release our suffering by grounding ourselves in the present. Brach’s missive about having compassion for ourselves and others is as soothing as it is vital. M.F. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
