Radical Acceptance: Embracing Your Life With the Heart of a Buddha
byTara Brach
A vulnerable, empathetic and powerfully revealing book by Tara Brach. She presented a painful and triumphant story at the beginning of the book about what sparked her awakening and drove her towards Radical Acceptance towards herself and others. Stories of overcoming fear, pain, insecurity and finding strength in vulnerability and openness. One of the by products of Radical Acceptance is that when we begin to free ourselves from the suffering of "something is wrong with me", we can trust and express the fullness of who we are; personal liberation. The book was a good gentle introduction into Meditation and Zen.
Motivations to Read
I was pulled in by the concept of Radical Acceptance from the title. I've seen how blinding premature judgments of others and ourselves can be. I was introduced to Zen Buddhism and have been searching for approachable resources to learn more about it. Tara Brach was a popular recommendation by some trusted sources and I hope this will aid me in my quest in learning how to be more vulnerable.
3 Reasons to Read
- A heartwarming narrative based introduction to Zen Buddism
- If you're dealing with insecurities and low self-esteem
- Learn about the power of Radical Acceptance and overcome the fear of imperfection
Notable Quotes
“Pain is not wrong. Reacting to pain as wrong initiates the trance of unworthiness. The moment we believe something is wrong, our world shrinks and we lose ourselves in the effort to combat the pain.” Tara Brach
“Perhaps the biggest tragedy of our lives is that freedom is possible, yet we can pass our years trapped in the same old patterns...We may want to love other people without holding back, to feel authentic, to breathe in the beauty around us, to dance and sing. Yet each day we listen to inner voices that keep our life small.” Tara Brach
“We are uncomfortable because everything in our life keeps changing -- our inner moods, our bodies, our work, the people we love, the world we live in. We can't hold on to anything -- a beautiful sunset, a sweet taste, an intimate moment with a lover, our very existence as the body/mind we call self -- because all things come and go. Lacking any permanent satisfaction, we continuously need another injection of fuel, stimulation, reassurance from loved ones, medicine, exercise, and meditation. We are continually driven to become something more, to experience something else.” Tara Brach
“Imperfection is not our personal problem - it is a natural part of existing.” Tara Brach
“The emotion of fear often works overtime. Even when there is no immediate threat, our body may remain tight and on guard, our mind narrowed to focus on what might go wrong. When this happens, fear is no longer functioning to secure our survival. We are caught in the trance of fear and our moment-to-moment experience becomes bound in reactivity. We spend our time and energy defending our life rather than living it fully.” Tara Brach
