Radical Compassion

Learning to Love Yourself and Your World with the Practice of RAIN

By: Tara Brach

Narrated by: Tara Brach

Length: 8 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

One of the most beloved and trusted mindfulness teachers in America offers a lifeline for difficult times: the RAIN meditation, which awakens our courage and heart.

Tara Brach is an in-the-trenches teacher whose work counters today's ever-increasing onslaught of news, conflict, demands, and anxieties - stresses that leave us rushing around on auto-pilot and cut off from the presence and creativity that give our lives meaning.

In this heartfelt and deeply practical audiobook, she offers an antidote: an easy-to-learn four-step meditation that quickly loosens the grip of difficult emotions and limiting beliefs. Each step in the meditation practice (Recognize, Allow, Investigate, Nurture) is brought to life by memorable stories shared by Tara and her students as they deal with feelings of overwhelm, loss, and self-aversion, with painful relationships, and past trauma - and as they discover step-by-step the sources of love, forgiveness, compassion, and deep wisdom alive within all of us.

©2019 Tara Brach (P)2019 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“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 best-selling 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)

RAIN and Radical Compassion

This book was fantastic. Thank you Tara for furthering the explanation and use of the important tool RAIN. I found the examples and stories highly useful and highly recommend this book.

tara being tara

tara has never made something i didn’t like. her works are all so heartfelt. and i love listening to authors read their own work. it’s so special having this as an audio book because the meditations in the chapters serve as guided audio meditations. such good work, and so important. has kept me good company during SIP and i look forward to revisiting.

Worthy practice

I think this book came a little too early for me. There is a lot to unpack here. Excellent tools and a valuable way to frame your existence to minimize unnecessary suffering. Will absolutely have to revisit in the future.

Life changer

I loved this audio book and learned many helpful tools that I use daily. So thankful to have found it.

Medicine we desperately need.

Listen, Re-listen and then listen again. “Radical Compassion” is deeply healing medicine for the gnawing internal judgements, criticisms and self-hatred so carefully cultivated by capitalism, patriarchy and Calvinist influences. My experience as a survivor is that the practices in this book begin a process of actually healing from childhood trauma. Using R.A.I.N. and some of Tara’s other suggestions I’ve been able to truly generate and receive love in a way I’ve never had access to before and I’ve been on the path of healing for some 20 years now. I am so grateful I invested time in this book and Tara’s other resources. Warmly, S.

Recovery response

You are incredible Tara and THANK YOU
The R A I N Method and your expertise are invaluable to me.
namaste

Life changing!!!

In one week I start the MMTCP with Tara & Jack. I can relate so much! I'm where I need to be here and now. WOW!!! So excited!!!

Thank you Tara

I loved this book amd want to read it again so I can soak it all in. I love Tara's gentle voice. As I'm working to retrain my brain for self-compassion, Tara's voice is the voice that often comes up for me as the voice of compassion. I love the new tale on RAIN, because nurturing is often what I need and as I go through the RAIN process I feel myself starting to love an accept myself. Thank you Tara for this healing book.

recommended

I definitely recommend reading or listening. Many bookmarks and highlights throughout that I will be referencing in life.

How to use RAIN to help yourself

I enjoyed this book and found it useful. I stopped and did all the practices and the meditations. I found it all very useful. When the listener goes through this book don't operate a car or anything else. The meditations are great, but you have to focus while doing them. What's worse than texting and driving? Closing your eyes and driving! Each meditation, like each lesson, was very helpful!