Synopsis
Even after years of spiritual practice, self-improvement, or therapy, many of us still have trouble with one essential challenge: self-acceptance. How do we stop from constantly judging ourselves as inadequate, finding fault with our bodies, or being plagued by our inner critics? The Self-Acceptance Project was created to help us find a solution. In this collection of essays, contemporary luminaries in spirituality, psychology, and creativity offer insights and teachings for truly embracing who we are no matter what our circumstances, including:
• “Waking Up from the Trance of Unworthiness”―Tara Brach illuminates the source of self-rejection and offers a powerful process to reverse unconscious patterns
• “Compassion for the Self-Critic”―Dr. Kristin Neff shows how self-judgment is often a misplaced but well-meaning survival instinct
• “Held, Not Healed”―Jeff Foster on making the space to accept anything that arises with open-hearted curiosity
• “No Strangers in the Heart”―poet Mark Nepo helps us reconnect to the sense of deep aliveness that we were born with
• “Taking in the Good”―Dr. Rick Hanson offers effective neuroscience-based insights and practices for overcoming our “negativity bias”
• “Transforming Self-Criticism into Self-Compassion”―Dr. Kelly McGonigal reveals practical strategies for changing the habitual way we treat ourselves
Why is it often so much easier to feel compassion and forgiveness toward others than toward ourselves? Where do our self-critical voices come from? Can we be motivated to grow and excel while still accepting ourselves as we are? In these 19 offerings, some of today’s most trusted teachers share their most valuable practices and techniques for building confidence, transforming our relationship with our inner critics, and using any circumstance as an opportunity to treat ourselves with kindness, compassion, and love.
About the Authors
Sounds True strives to preserve the essential "living wisdom" of each author, artist, or spiritual teacher we publish.
TAMI SIMON founded Sounds True in 1985 as a multimedia publishing house with a mission to disseminate spiritual wisdom. She has dedicated her life to transformational learning and accelerating spiritual awakening in the world. Tami hosts a popular weekly podcast called Insights at the Edge, where she interviews many of today’s leading teachers and luminaries. She lives with her wife, Julie M. Kramer, and their two spoodles, Raspberry and Bula, in Boulder, Colorado.
Tara Brach has been practicing and teaching meditation since 1975, as well as leading workshops and meditation retreats at centers throughout North America and Europe. She has a PhD in clinical psychology, is the founder of the Insight Meditation Community of Washington (IMCW), and is the author of Radical Acceptance, True Refuge, and Radical Compassion. Tara’s weekly podcasts of talks and meditations are downloaded more than three million times each month. For more, visit tarabrach.com.
Friedemann Schaub, MD, PhD, is a physician specializing in cardiology and molecular biologist who has helped thousands of people to overcome fear and anxiety with his breakthrough and empowerment program that combines his medical expertise with NLP, Time Line Therapy™, clinical hypnotherapy, meditation, and more. Dr. Schaub is the author of the book The Fear and Anxiety Solution, an in-depth resource to complement his audio program of the same title.
Karla McLaren, M.Ed., is an award-winning author, social science researcher, and emotions and empathy innovator. Her grand unified theory of emotions reevaluates most “negative” emotions and opens startling new pathways into self-awareness, effective communication, and healthy empathy. She is CEO of Emotion Dynamics Inc., developer of Dynamic Emotional Integration®, and creator of the empathyacademy.org learning community. Karla is the author of The Language of Emotions, Embracing Anxiety, The Art of Empathy, The Power of Emotions at Work, and many online courses. Learn more at karlamclaren.com.
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