Tara Brach is a renowned meditation teacher, psychologist, and author who has become a leading voice in modern Buddhism and mindfulness in the West. Her teachings blend Western psychology with Eastern spiritual practices, focusing on the core concepts of radical acceptance, mindfulness, and compassion as pathways to healing and freedom.

On Radical Acceptance

  1. "Radical Acceptance is the willingness to experience ourselves and our life as it is." - Radical Acceptance. This is her foundational definition, emphasizing a gentle, non-judgmental embrace of the present moment.
  2. "The boundary to what we can accept is the boundary to our freedom." - Radical Acceptance. This highlights that our inner freedom is directly proportional to our capacity for acceptance.
  3. "Clearly recognizing what is happening inside us, and regarding what we see with an open, kind and loving heart, is what I call Radical Acceptance." - Radical Acceptance.
  4. "Perhaps the biggest tragedy of our lives is that freedom is possible, yet we can pass our years trapped in the same old patterns." - Radical Acceptance.
  5. "There is something wonderfully bold and liberating about saying yes to our entire imperfect and messy life." - Radical Acceptance.
  6. "The trance of unworthiness is the feeling that something is wrong with me." - Radical Acceptance. This is her term for the pervasive sense of personal deficiency that traps many people.
  7. "Radical Acceptance reverses our habit of living at war with experiences that are unfamiliar, frightening or intense." - Radical Acceptance.
  8. "The two parts of genuine acceptance: seeing clearly and holding our experience with compassion." These are the two wings of the bird of acceptance.
  9. "What would it be like if I could accept this?" This is a key inquiry she suggests for working with difficult experiences.
  10. "Everything is workable." A core teaching that no matter how difficult a situation or emotion is, it can be met with awareness and compassion.

On Mindfulness and Presence (The Sacred Pause)

  1. "The pause is the space between the stimulus and response, and in that space is our freedom." While the idea comes from Viktor Frankl, Brach has popularized "the sacred pause" as a core mindfulness practice.
  2. "Mindfulness is a pause – the space between stimulus and response. That’s where choice lies." - Radical Acceptance.
  3. "The only way to live is by accepting each minute as an unrepeatable miracle." - Attributed in many talks.
  4. "When we are not in the trance of thinking, we are in the spirit of the present moment." - Radical Acceptance.
  5. "Awakening is not about changing who you are, but about waking up to who you are." This distinguishes self-transformation from self-improvement.
  6. "The most fundamental aggression to ourselves, the most fundamental harm we can do to ourselves, is to remain ignorant by not having the courage and the respect to look at ourselves honestly and gently." - Radical Acceptance.
  7. "The Guest House" poem by Rumi is a central teaching for her. The idea is to welcome every emotion as a visitor, without trying to turn any away.
  8. "To be at ease is not to be in a state of heaviness or lightness, but to be in a state of balance with what is."

On the RAIN Meditation (Recognize, Allow, Investigate, Nurture)

  1. "RAIN is a practice of radical compassion." - Radical Compassion. She adapted and popularized this four-step meditation as a tool for dealing with intense emotions.
  2. Recognize What is Happening: The "R" of RAIN. Simply acknowledging the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that are affecting you.
  3. Allow the Experience to be There, Just as It Is: The "A" of RAIN. This is the application of radical acceptance, letting the thoughts and feelings simply be without trying to fix or change them.
  4. Investigate with Interest and Care: The "I" of RAIN. Asking, “What is happening inside me?” with a spirit of gentle, non-judgmental curiosity.
  5. Nurture with Self-Compassion: The "N" of RAIN. This final step involves offering yourself kindness and care, meeting your own suffering with a compassionate heart.
  6. "The 'N' of RAIN is After the RAIN." In her later teachings, she emphasizes that after the practice, you can rest in the "Natural loving awareness" that emerges.
  7. "RAIN directly de-conditions the suffering of being trapped in the trance of unworthiness." - Radical Compassion.

On Fear, Pain, and Difficult Emotions

  1. "Fear is the cheapest room in the house. I would like to see you living in better conditions." (Quoting Hafiz). This is a frequent teaching in her talks on fear.
  2. "Pain is not wrong. Reacting to pain as wrong initiates the trance of unworthiness." - Radical Acceptance.
  3. "Like taking a dog for a walk, we can let our thoughts go for a walk, without being dragged along by them." A common analogy she uses for managing difficult thoughts.
  4. "What you resist, persists." While a Jungian concept, this is a central tenet of her work on why fighting our emotions is counterproductive.
  5. "The emotion of fear is not the problem. It is the story we tell ourselves about the fear."
  6. "The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek." (Quoting Joseph Campbell). She uses this to illustrate that moving toward our fear is the path to freedom.
  7. "When you are in the grip of a strong emotion, the invitation is to name it, feel it in your body, and offer it kindness."

On Self-Compassion and The Gold Within

  1. "Self-compassion is the gateway to inner peace."
  2. "Feeling compassion for ourselves in no way releases us from responsibility for our actions. Rather, it releases us from the self-hatred that prevents us from responding to our life with clarity and balance." - Radical Acceptance.
  3. "The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change." (Quoting Carl Rogers). This is a cornerstone of her philosophy.
  4. "On this sacred path of Radical Acceptance, rather than striving for perfection, we discover how to love ourselves into wholeness." - Radical Acceptance.
  5. "The gold is in the dark." This means that our greatest strengths and deepest wisdom are often found by exploring the parts of ourselves we are most afraid of.
  6. "Trust the gold." This is a frequent closing remark in her talks, encouraging listeners to trust their own innate goodness and awareness.
  7. "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure." (Quoting Marianne Williamson). She uses this to speak to our fear of our own light.
  8. "The most important relationship you have is the one with yourself."
  9. "Treat yourself as you would a dear friend." A simple, practical instruction for self-compassion.

On Relationships and Belonging

  1. "The greatest gift we can give to others is our own presence."
  2. "When we see the goodness in others, we are really seeing a reflection of our own."
  3. "Love is the absence of judgment." (Quoting the Dalai Lama).
  4. "True refuge is not a place, but a state of being." - True Refuge.
  5. "If your compassion does not include yourself, it is incomplete." (Quoting Jack Kornfield).
  6. "Our sense of belonging can never be greater than our level of self-acceptance." This links her core concepts together.
  7. "Vulnerability is the doorway to intimacy."
  8. "Listen with a quiet mind and an open heart."
  9. "In the end, just three things matter: How well we have lived. How well we have loved. How well we have learned to let go." (A variation of a quote from Jack Kornfield).

For further exploration of Tara Brach's work: