True Refuge: Finding Peace and Freedom in Your Own Awakened Heart

From the award–winning author of Radical Acceptance comes “a healing and helpful meditation [and] a gracefully written spiritual gem on awareness, refuge, and presence” (Spirituality & Practice).

“This is a precious gift, filled with insight, shared from heart to heart.”—Thich Nhat Hanh

How do you cope when facing life-threatening illness, family conflict, a faltering relationship, old trauma, obsessive thinking, overwhelming emotion, or inevitable loss? If you’re like most people, chances are you react with fear and confusion, falling back on timeworn strategies: anger, self-judgment, and addictive behaviors.

But there is another way. Beneath the turbulence of our thoughts and emotions exists a profound stillness, a silent awareness capable of limitless love. Tara Brach calls this awareness our true refuge, because it is available to every one of us, at any moment. Based on a fresh interpretation of the three classic Buddhist gateways to freedom—truth, love, and awareness—True Refuge shows us the way not just to heal our suffering, but also to cultivate our capacity for genuine happiness. Through spiritual teachings, guided meditations, and inspirational stories of people who discovered loving presence during times of great struggle, Brach invites us to connect more deeply with our own inner life, one another, and the world around us.

Tara Brach, Ph.D., is the author of Radical Acceptance, winner of a Books for a Better Life Award. She is the founder of the Insight Meditation Community in Washington, D.C., and has conducted workshops across the country. She lives in Great Falls, Virginia, with her husband, her mother, and three dogs.