Reflections on Radical Compassion
Learning to Love Yourself and Your World with the Practice of RAIN
“Yes, our beliefs and the feelings under them are real; they exist in our body and mind and have tremendous power over us. But we need to ask ourselves this: Do they match the actual, living, changing stuff of our experiences in the world? In other words, are they true?” - P. 61
How did you like Radical Compassion by Tara Brach? I enjoyed reading this book as I found that the practice of RAIN (Recognize, Allow, Investigate, Nurture) made finding compassion for myself a lot easier. Lately it’s felt like everywhere we look we hear about self-care and having compassion for ourselves but what does that really mean and how do we practice that? With the steps of RAIN I found it a lot easier to slow down and become more in tune with my thoughts and feelings, creating space for them and allowing them to exist as they are. What I really love about this practice is that it can be used in all circumstances, regardless of the emotions we’re dealing with. Whether thats anger, excitement, shame, fear, wonder, we can implement each step to explore how we’re feeling.
I particularly enjoyed the practice of RAIN when it comes to shame. I find that shame can be a very difficult emotion to work through. With the practice of RAIN I found that I was able to Recognize where the shame was coming from and living in my body, Allow it to exist exactly as it was without judgment, Investigate why I was feeling this shame and Nurture these hard emotions by offering myself the space, love and compassion I needed in that moment.
While reading, I began thinking about why the title of this book is Radical Compassion. What is so radical about finding compassion for ourselves?
I’ve got some ideas but I'll save those for our meeting 😉
Our meeting will take place next Wednesday August 23rd at 6pm in person at our storefront, 353 Church St. We hope to see you there!
Reflection Questions
Why do you think this book is called radical compassion? What is radical about finding compassion for yourself?
What a lot of these concepts come down to is nurturing our inner child and giving ourselves what we long for. What does nurturing your inner child look or feel like?
Did any particular chapters stand out for you? Did finding compassion towards fear or anger or in your relationships resonate?
Are there areas of your life or emotions that feel particularly difficult to find compassion for?
What do you long for? How does it feel to identify what you long for? As Brach asks, “Imagine if your received that, what would that give you? What would that be like?” (P. 131) Do any emotions like fear or shame arise? Are you able to find compassion for these deep parts of yourself?