“Sensations in the body are ground zero, the place where we directly experience the entire play of life”

All our strategies of trying to control life through blaming or withdrawing are aimed at keeping us from raw experience. In the pause, rather than getting lost in our reactive thoughts and actions, we become directly aware of what is happening in our body. We begin to see how interconnected our mind and body are. With anger, the body tightens, the chest fills with an explosive feeling of pressure. With fear, we might feel the grip of knots in our stomach, the constriction in our chest or throat. If shame arises, our face burns, our shoulders slump, we feel a physical impulse to shrink back, to hide. Sensations in the body are ground zero, the place where we directly experience the entire play of life. – Tara Brach, Radical Acceptance

More posts that feature Tara Brach on this blog:

● Accepting Absolutely Everything

● Our ideas are not truth: a little (funny) dharma lesson

● Gossip Demeans Ourselves and Others

● Vulnerability and intimacy

● Vipassana (Mindfulness) Meditation

● The Mystery of Who We Are

● A moment of calm — Tara Brach

I found both the below book and guided meditations greatly inspiring. These are excellent introductory materials that can apply to anyone regardless of whether one is drawn to Buddhism. Tara Brach is also a psychologist and draws from her practice when sharing her thoughts in the book.