Forgiveness and Meditation ~ with Tara Brach
What you'll learn
- Why we hang on so tightly to hatred and blame
- Why holding a grudge is a kind of developmental arrest – and a losing strategy
- How to persevere in working with deeply-ingrained habits of blaming
- What lies underneath the “armor” of judging
- How to meet wounds and vulnerability with mindfulness and self-compassion
- We can forgive and still maintain boundaries needed to prevent future harm
- Real healing and freedom become possible by releasing hatred and resentment
Requirements
- There are no prerequisites to taking this course.
Description
When we have turned against ourselves or another person, forgiveness can seem impossible. We’re so used to re-playing the story of blame, that living with a tight heart can become our most familiar way of being.
Yet we want to forgive, because we understand that not forgiving hardens and imprisons our heart. As long as we are filled with resentment or hate, we’re chained to the sufferings of the past and cannot find genuine peace.
We can’t simply will ourselves into forgiving; but we can be willing. This is why the intention to forgive is such a key element in the process. To be willing to forgive - even if not yet quite ready – allows the door open a crack, and light inevitably pours in.
We might worry that forgiving somehow equals condoning harmful behavior, or permitting it to continue. When we forgive, we’re not saying, ok, I guess I’ll just let them keep treating me in harmful ways. We can forgive and create every boundary we need to take care of ourselves and others. Nor are we “denying responsibility” when we forgive ourselves.
While blame and punishment might temporarily interrupt a pattern of behavior, they do not create the grounds for deepened understanding, compassion and transformation. Only when we include ourselves and others in our heart do we serve a path of true healing, connection and freedom.
Who this course is for:
- Anyone experiencing painful cycles of anger, resentment, judgment and blame
- Anyone who’d like to let go of a grudge
- Everyone who would like to experience a freer heart
Course content
- Preview08:47
- Preview08:29
- 13:22Shifting Out of Arrested Development: Tara's Personal Journey
Instructor
![Tara Brach, Ph.D.](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 64 64"%3E%3C/svg%3E){kind=avatar}
- 4.5 Instructor Rating
- 16,611 Reviews
- 76,598 Students
- 7 Courses
Tara Brach, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist, an internationally known teacher of mindfulness meditation, and author of the bestselling Radical Acceptance, True Refuge and Radical Compassion. Her podcast exploring the role of mindfulness in the realization of human potential receives more than two million downloads each month.
Tara’s work is prominently featured in the New York Times guide to meditation and other major media ranging from the Wall Street Journal and Washington Post to Tim Ferriss. She has given keynote addresses at conferences offered through Harvard Medical School and Salesforce, among others, and contributed numerous articles to popular magazines and websites.
Tara regularly leads accredited workshops for mental health professionals, as well as retreats for wider audiences, at centers in the United States and Europe. She has been invited to teach classes to United States Congress members and staff, to judges of the D.C. Superior Court, and at the Smithsonian. In addition to her public teaching, she is active in bringing meditation into schools, prisons, and underserved populations around the Washington, D.C. area.
She and Jack Kornfield have co-founded the Awareness Training Institute (ATI) which offers online courses on mindfulness and compassion, as well as the Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program (MMTCP).