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Welcome to the Open Presence Book Club! We read books on mindfulness, spirituality, and the Enneagram. You'll find all the info about how the book club works at the bottom of this email.

In March, we're reading Radical Acceptance by Tara Brach. From the backcover of the book:

"Radical Acceptance offers a path to freedom, including the day-to-day practical guidance developed over Dr. Brach's twenty years of work with therapy clients and Buddhist students... Step by step, she shows us how we can stop being at war with ourselves and begin to live fully every precious moment of our lives."

​Tara's website has a host of resources, including videos, audio files, articles, online courses, and more. If you're enjoying the book so far and want to check out what else she has to offer, I highly recommend visiting her site and signing up for her email list.

I've been a longtime fan of her podcast, where she shares regular talks and meditations. This is the first book of hers I've read, and I'm happy to read it along with you all! I've read the first three chapters so far, and I appreciate her style of storytelling and how she handles the deep human struggle of feeling unworthy with grace and care.

Journal prompts & discussion questions

Use these questions in your journaling, conversations, or during meditation. We may use them again in our end of the month discussion, too.

• The author writes of the Dalai Lama struggling to understand what self-hatred is. What has been your relationship with yourself through the years? Do you feel more self-love or self-hatred? Are there certain situations or mindsets that foster one over the other?
• In chapter two, Tara Brach lists some common misunderstandings about Radical Acceptance. Which of these misconceptions can you see yourself potentially believe? How will you reframe Radical Acceptance to be something deeper?
  • Radical Acceptance is not resignation.
  • Radical Acceptance does not mean defining ourselves by our limitations. It is not an excuse for withdrawal.
  • Radical Acceptance is not self-indulgence.
  • Radical Acceptance does not make us passive.
  • Radical Acceptance doesn't mean accepting a "self."
• The sacred pause is an opportunity to practice awareness of our emotional state and respond to it instead of react. Where do you already pause throughout your day? Driving, walking, showering? Where can you implement into your schedule more time to pause?

Talk on Radical Acceptance by Tara Brach

Reading Schedule

If you'd like to portion your reading our evenly over the month and complete the book by our end of the month discussion, this is the reading schedule I'd recommend:

• Week 1, March 1st-7th: Chapters 1-3
• Week 2, March 8th-14th: Chapters 4-6
• Week 3, March 15th-21st: Chapters 7-9
• Week 4, March 22nd-28th: Chapters 10-12

How the book club works

• Weekly emails from me with prompting questions, links to outside resources, and more​
  • For this book, I'll also record myself reading through one of the guided meditations each week. Keep a watch for that this weekend!
• Weekly discussions on Messenger on Sundays: to join in, just hit "reply" and we can connect
• End of the month virtual discussion on March 28th, 4pm PST​
• Book review on my blog in April: come join in on the discussion and share what you learned!

If you have any questions, hit "reply" and send them my way!

Talk to you next week!

- Emily

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