Mindfulness of thoughts:  become a field observer of your own wild interior

Tara Brach is a beloved teacher of meditation in the Vispassana or Insight tradition, and founder of the Insight Meditation Center in Washington D.C. Her book Radical Acceptance is a guide to awakening from the trance of unworthiness.  She offers a rich archive of meditations and talks on her website, TaraBrach.com.

From the flap copy for Radical Acceptance:

“Believing that something is wrong with us is a deep and tenacious suffering,” says Tara Brach at the start of this illuminating book. This suffering emerges in crippling self-judgments and conflicts in our relationships, in addictions and perfectionism, in loneliness and overwork – all the forces that keep our lives constricted and unfulfilled. Radical Acceptance offers a path to freedom, including the day-to-day practical guidance developed over Dr. Brach’s 20 years of work with therapy clients and Buddhist students.

Writing with great warmth and clarity, Tara Brach brings her teachings alive through personal stories and case histories, fresh interpretations of Buddhist tales, and guided meditations. Step by step, she leads us to trust our innate goodness, showing how we can develop the balance of clear-sightedness and compassion that is the essence of Radical Acceptance. Radical Acceptance does not mean self-indulgence or passivity. Instead it empowers genuine change: healing fear and shame and helping to build loving, authentic relationships. When we stop being at war with ourselves, we are free to live fully every precious moment of our lives.

Byron Katie is a spiritual teacher and coach who offers a simple method of inquiry into thoughts and narratives that limit us. The author of several books including Loving What Is: Four Questions the can Change Your Life and Who Would You Be Without Your Story?, she offers a pamphlet describing the basic tenets of her work for free on Kindle. You can access it here.