The Mindful Path to Self-Compassion: Freeing Yourself from Destructive Thoughts and Emotions
Christopher K. Germer
Language: English
Pages: 306
ISBN: 1593859759
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT) Self-Help Book of Merit
whenever something good happened to him, such as getting a raise at work, buying a new car, or going on vacation. He thought about his sad childhood with his sister and how she had never had a chance to enjoy her life. His regret would not allow him to be happy. Sometimes George had flashback memories when he read news reports of battered children. His wife became concerned that she was losing her connection to George, who seemed to become increasingly preoccupied with his past as good things
research is needed to define the default network and separate out the functions of the different parts of the medial prefrontal cortex.) Creswell’s research suggests a neurological “mechanism of action” for why we feel better when we talk to a friend, write in a journal, or otherwise put our feelings into words. The best words for emotions are often quirky little expressions that may carry personal meaning. For example, if I’m feeling agitated, I might label it “squirrelly” after the little
established by Sharon Salzberg, Joseph Goldstein, and Jack Kornfield. Those rich and nuanced teachings inform this entire book, and any unwarranted deviation from them is my responsibility alone. I also owe an immeasurable debt of gratitude to my colleagues at the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy, with whom I’ve been in monthly conversation for almost 25 years, and to Jon Kabat-Zinn, who introduced the Buddhist practice of mindfulness and compassion into modern health care. My other
when you least expect them. For example, when I first stood up to give a speech after learning metta meditation, I found myself saying, “May I and everyone here be happy and free from suffering.” To my amazement, my anxiety subsided considerably. After using the metta phrases for a number of years, I’ve become significantly happier and less upset when things go wrong. As I said in the Introduction, self-compassion is like having a good friend around providing encouragement at just the right
asleep and when I wake up in the morning. This habit seems to have transformed the irritation I first felt as my wife yanked the blankets off the bed during her hot flashes. These days, as the covers suddenly disappear from my shoulders in the middle of the night, I find myself muttering something mildly sympathetic, like “Estrogen depletion sucks, doesn’t it?” as I wave the sheets in the air and create a little breeze for her. That’s a minor marital miracle. It’s always good to keep some