In Touch: How to Tune In to the Inner Guidance of Your Body and Trust Yourself

by John J. Prendergast

Your body has a natural sense of truth. We can feel authenticity in ourselves and in others. However, this innate wisdom is obscured by our conditioning-the core limiting beliefs, reactive feelings, and somatic contractions that fuel our sense of struggle and veil who we really are.

In Touch is a groundbreaking, experiential guide to the felt-sense of our "inner knowing"-the deep intelligence available through our bodies. Each chapter presents moving stories, helpful insights from spirituality, psychology, and science, and simple yet potent experiments for integrating the gifts of inner knowing into every aspect of daily life. Join pioneering psychotherapist and teacher Dr. John J. Prendergast to explore:

The phenomenon of "attunement"-how we accurately sense and resonate with ourselves and others-including an introduction to attachment theory, mirror neurons, and interoception (the ability to sense into the interior of your body) Felt-sensing and the subtle body-our ability to have a whole-body sense of reality and how the seven major energy centers relate to common psychospiritual issues "Shadows as portals"-how our dark and painful feelings and sensations can point us toward an essential radiance within The art of identifying and undoing our core limiting beliefs The four somatic qualities of inner knowing-relaxed groundedness, inner alignment, open-heartedness, and spaciousness-and how these subtle signals, once recognized, can guide our choices and help us to navigate life's challenges The fruits of inner knowing-the realization of who we are in our depths and the great intimacy with life we can all enjoy

"As we tune into our deepest nature, our body relaxes, grounds, lines up, opens up, and lights up," writes Prendergast. "So far this extraordinarily useful subtle feedback has been largely overlooked; almost nothing has been written about it. We need to both sense and decode these signals if we are to benefit from them. These bodily markers are here to be seen and used as guides to enable us to more gracefully navigate life and to awaken. They are part of our birthright, available to anyone."

Here is his invitation to start listening in a profound new way, deeply in touch with reality and our shared journey of awakening.

Genres: Spirituality, Psychology, Nonfiction, Meditation, Self Help, Health

213 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2015

About the author

I am a native of the San Francisco Bay Area and received my undergraduate degree from UC Santa Cruz and my M.A. and Ph.D. from the California Institute of Integral Studies. I am licensed as a Marriage and Family Therapist, happily married, and have an adult son. I have a private psychotherapy practice in San Rafael and am a former professor of psychology at CIIS.

My interest in “spirituality” preceded my formal studies in psychology. I began a regular meditation practice in 1970 and had a brief career as a Transcendental Meditation teacher before leaving that organization.

An unexpected dream with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, with whom I was unfamiliar, happened a month before his death in 1981. This led me to read his famous dialogues in I am That which became a life-changing event, orienting my spiritual investigation towards self- inquiry. Two years later I met Jean Klein (www.stillnessspeaks.com/jean_klein/), a European medical doctor and musicologist, who was a master of Advaita Vedanta and Kashmiri Shaivism. I studied closely with Jean until his death fifteen years later.

In 2001 I began studying with Adyashanti (www.Adyashanti.org) whose presence and teachings have been an essential catalyst for a series of profound openings that continue to unfold.

Other important teachers have been Sri Ramana Maharshi, Byron Katie and Mata Amritanandamayi (Ammachi).

My dear friend and colleague, Dorothy Hunt (www.dorothyhunt.org), who was asked by Adyashanti to share the dharma, has now invited me to do the same.

from http://listeningfromsilence.com/about...

Reviews

[Gail Brenner · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a psychotherapist and a long-term lover of the spiritual path, I give In Touch my highest recommendation. Reading it is like being held in the arms of love. It articulates so clearly how we disconnect from our bodies and offers a wise and compassionate road map to re-discover the gifts of the physical realm of our experience, which we so easily ignore. The author combines research on neurobiology with our own direct knowing to investigate how we suffer, including judgments of ourselves and others and distorted core beliefs we hold onto. And he is a trustworthy guide, offering many practices and explorations that point us to our innate wholeness through becoming attuned to the language our bodies speak. In Touch provides a lovely reading experience as well as a deeply articulated path for embodied awakening that will enrich the lives of all who are open to its gifts.

[Sofus Markus · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was wary exited about reading this book, after hearing a interview with John J. Prendergast. The book covers a lot subjects about being in contact with one self, and others.

The book is filled up with examples, and most of them are not really concrete, and difficult to relate to. When i got the book i expected a more scientific approach, then the book had to offer.

The topics of the book is well chosen. There are a lots of exercises in it, mostly based on therapeutic, and meditative approaches. If this is a new topic to you, i am sure there is a lot to be gained from this book.

[Renee Legris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd heard raves about John Prendergast from a number of places (perhaps most strongly the Bliss & Grit podcast). So I was really looking forward to reading this with my book club.

The basic bones of the book are very good, and he offers good insights and advice that aligns nicely with my own spiritual path (Buddhist). Definitely some terrific quotes from a variety of teachers. I even came to appreciate the summary chart at the end of each chapter.

The fly in the ointment was the tone he took about his own practice as a therapist. "Best therapist ever". He can cure a lifetime's problems by looking into someone's eyes for long enough. I think if I'd skimmed over those parts, and some of the way-out quotes from his clients, I'd have given this book five stars.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been trying to do a better job of trusting my intuition, so I was excited to read this book. The first half was great. It introduced useful concepts, discussed some of the science behind this embodied approach, and included useful "experiments" to put the ideas into practice. The second half of the book had some interesting nuggets but started to feel repetitive. It also included detours into more spiritual, abstract topics that didn't resonate with me. If I ever read this book again, I'll pay attention to whether a chapter is clicking with me and if not, skip to the summary. That's another way for me to practice trusting my intuition, right? :)

[Nic Brisbourne · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Touch was incredibly helpful to me in understanding the journey I have been on both from my head into my heart and body and from being wrapped up in my ego to knowing I am not the contents of my thoughts or beliefs.

Prendergast gives many practical tips and ways of thinking about things for for feeling things somatically which unlocked new insights and realisations, and he does so in language that is easily accessible to my western mind.

I leave this book with more spaciousness in my heart, a feeling of greater groundedness generally and greater hope and excitement for the next stages of my journey.

[Joy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book about the connecting among mind, body and spirit, and how the body is a gateway to understanding oneself better and a key part of living as a well-functioning, whole, human being.

The author gathers wisdom from various religions as well as recent research from neuroscience. I liked the recommended exercises to guide the reader along.

It is well-written, easy to read, simple for laymen (that is, non-therapists).

Well worth a second reading, or to keep as a reference.

[Caitlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Found this an insightful and apt read; particularly pertaining to my previous traumas possibly stored in the body and my newfound interest in meditation. However, over time I found this book repetitive and ended up skimming the last 25%. Gave me a lot though; might recommend an edit for future.

[Sharon Niv · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptional book, breaks down certain features of embodiment - spaciousness, openheartedness, inner-alignment, groundedness - and provides actionable insight and exercises.

[Valerie Gangas · Rating 5 out of 5]

John Prendergast’s 's latest book, In Touch, leads readers directly to the pot of gold inside all of us--the gift of inner knowing. Through his intellect, intuition, personal examples and down-to-earth explanations, John helps readers help themselves to a smorgasbord of truly profound, illuminating information that is living inside our physiology! He urges us to not only trust our “gut feeling,” but to listen to it for guidance. To tune into it and allow it to show us who we really are. I believe John’s insights, ultimately, enable us to build a rainbow connection with the laws of the universe. In Touch teaches readers how to tune their "inner fork" to Life Itself, so we’re more grounded, established and tapped into our truest nature, which is the greatest gift of all. -- Valerie Gangas, Author of Enlightenment Is Sexy: Every Woman's Guide to a Magical Life

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Touch addresses the process of tuning into your inner guidance and learning to trust and move from it in a fresh, clear, grounded way. It's challenging to approach something so relative and subtle as 'discovering your truth', let alone learning how to tune in to your body, and sift through the plethora of information it gives us. John Prendergast walks you through this process in a holistic way - from the science of attunement and attachment systems to sensing the subtle body, and more. I especially enjoyed the last half where he describes the four markers of being in touch with your inner guidance. They resonated with me as trustworthy and true to my experience. He makes something that could easily slip into the realm of abject relativity and unclarity (finding, and then acting from, your truth) seem very doable, solid, and reliable. Highly recommend!

[Dr. Bayon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enthusiastically recommend InTouch for psychotherapists,their clients, and anyone seeking to explore and manifest their authenticity in a profound way. As a holistic psychiatrist, I'm always looking for ways to deepen my own personal transformation and support interested clients in their authentic unfolding. This book is useful, inspiring, hopeful, and both simple and profound in addressing the inner journey. The author's compassionate embrace of the human condition shines through on each page. A healing and wholing can take place through his clear and direct pointer to our individual truth. This is a book to be savored and digested slowly, as the exercises and wise council open us to a new and vitally important way of living and seeing, which is our birthright.

[Riyaz Motan · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I read this book, I was guided into the subtle yet powerful gifts of being in touch with the body. This book offers clear and helpful guidance for deepening contact with our intuition, our essence, and our world. I love the experiential ‘meditations’ that offer us a felt sense of the concepts introduced in each chapter. I also enjoyed the accessible style that the author uses: giving many vignettes from his own life - and others’ lives - to highlight the points he makes. In my role as a psychotherapist as well as graduate school professor in counseling psychology, I have already started to recommend this text to my clients and students.

[Lanny · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book! This book really shows me how to incorporate the body into spiritual practice, which I believe that body, mind, and spirit are not separate! This book is so deep but easy to understand. The author makes attachment theory and neuroscience easy understanding and accessible that everyone can read it. I also use this book as a reference book, which is not only contains useful information about body-mind-spirit, but also includes a lot of exercises that everyone can practices in daily basis. This is a great book to help me (or anyone) integrate body-mind-spirit as a whole. I really enjoy it.

[Glenn Francis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This deeply useful book offers helpful, grounded, comprehensive guidance for being in touch - and being more in touch - with ourselves. Something of a rare offering where spirituality and sometimes-agonizing daily inner life meet, the book's author shares decades of expertise as a therapist with a very personal and approachable style that brings the reader deeper and deeper into their own experience now. A gem of a book, groundbreaking and very fulfilling to use to discover oneself more truly and authentically.

[Katja Vartiainen · Rating 4 out of 5]

When it comes to spirituality books, one sees quite clearly that the finger pointing to the moon is not the moon. Prendergast has written a clear, calming book the the ones marching in the spiritual mud. The subject is so subtle that it easily turns out to sound like a cliché, but Prendergast has avoided this. I would recommend this book for those whose are already on the 'pathless path', not for beginners.

[Pam Mooney · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great experience for me to read and contemplate. Refreshingly easy to follow and incorporate into everyday life. I love the examples and exercises that really allow me to recommend regardless of level of experience on the topic. I enjoyed that that relevant studies and references were incorporated as I do like to follow through when reading a new author. A good read.

[Gints Janelsins · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would guess that its a quite heavy read for an unprepared reader.
Its very "psychoanalytical" and abstract.
This is somewhat mitigated by self reflection exercises and cases from the author's practice.

Despite this, there were some parts that made it worth the effort.

[Heather Finlayson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful. Will read again. Highly recommend.

[Michelle Olms · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nothing special. Didn't deliver much insight.