Tara Brach On The 'Sacred Art of Pausing'

The bestselling author and beloved meditation teacher explains the simple act that can change everything

Today, I'm excited to bring you my conversation with Tara Brach, an internationally recognized meditation teacher, psychologist and bestselling author.

Tara and I had this conversation upon the recent release of the 20th Anniversary edition of her wonderful and essential book Radical Acceptance: Embracing Life With The Buddha. (You do not need to be Buddhist to benefit from Tara's wise teaching).

Many of us are trying to figure out how to navigate our culture's divisiveness broadly and often closer to home. We tend to focus on what other people are doing to upset us. We spend less time looking deep within ourselves to consider how we might respond, rather than react, when faced with difficult situations. I wrote a book about my experience navigating this divide a few years ago. 

To experience 'radical acceptance'—not just of others but also of ourselves—we need to learn to take what Tara calls a 'sacred pause' to create space for empathy and grace, which will change how we experience life both inside and out. We also, Tara says, need to focus on the importance of bridging our inner divides before attempting to bridge outer divides.