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Practicing Radical Honesty: How to Complete the Past, Live in the Present, and Build a Future with a Little Help from Your Friends
Blunt, shocking and sometimes profane, this exciting book blasts self-help and feel-good remedies to expose the lies with which we imprison ourselves. It talks straight, hard and true to the heart of the human condition, pulling no punches. It gives us simple yet revolutionary tools to break out of our minds and into a direct and immediate perception of exactly where we are - then shows us how we can together create a world that works for everyone.
The book is divided into five sections:
1. True Individuality
2. Community and Compassion
3. Creating Your Own Destiny
4. How To Speak and Listen Your Projects Into Reality
5. Paradigms And Contexts: The Revolution of Consciousness as Political Change
The book is divided into five sections:
1. True Individuality
2. Community and Compassion
3. Creating Your Own Destiny
4. How To Speak and Listen Your Projects Into Reality
5. Paradigms And Contexts: The Revolution of Consciousness as Political Change
358 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2000
52 people are currently reading
408 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
June 13, 2019
A disclosure: this book is not as much about ways to practice radical honesty - it branches off into other areas mainly focused on mindfulness.
That being said, it isn't a bad book for what it does talk about. He spends a lot of time discussing his existential beliefs (a blend of Buddhism with agnosticism if you ask me). Doesn't talk much about the higher self concept or other high power. He does discuss consciousness and awareness as our primary identity.
I wish he would talk about the importance of emotional awareness and processing as keys to self-realization, and radical honesty, as he talks about the benefit of BEING. I feel these are the missing pieces of the past generation - we don't know how to feel our feelings without reactance and without resistance. We may not even be aware of our feelings, which motivate many of our actions (such as telling little white lies). We also don't know how to interpret and understand their meanings, or how to think our way out of darker emotions, in order to prevent future suffering and improve our ability to manifest happiness - and to be more authentic! If we did understand the emotional foundation that motivates lying, we could be more radically honest. However, Brad does a great job discussing the importance of BEING with our body and its sensations, without too much thinking, so that our mind may be a tool for our Being, rather than the opposite. I felt he had a lot of good advice and thoughts in this area.
He presents a great project write-up idea to organize your life goals and purpose, and he also talks about some of the neat things he does in his workshops - such as a naked self-disclosure group event.
It's a good book, it's not as great as his first (which really is fantastic) - but still, you can gain a lot. I wish he incorporated suggestions for applying TACT when being radically honest - this can serve as the bridge to meet us halfway on our journey to Truth Land..
That being said, it isn't a bad book for what it does talk about. He spends a lot of time discussing his existential beliefs (a blend of Buddhism with agnosticism if you ask me). Doesn't talk much about the higher self concept or other high power. He does discuss consciousness and awareness as our primary identity.
I wish he would talk about the importance of emotional awareness and processing as keys to self-realization, and radical honesty, as he talks about the benefit of BEING. I feel these are the missing pieces of the past generation - we don't know how to feel our feelings without reactance and without resistance. We may not even be aware of our feelings, which motivate many of our actions (such as telling little white lies). We also don't know how to interpret and understand their meanings, or how to think our way out of darker emotions, in order to prevent future suffering and improve our ability to manifest happiness - and to be more authentic! If we did understand the emotional foundation that motivates lying, we could be more radically honest. However, Brad does a great job discussing the importance of BEING with our body and its sensations, without too much thinking, so that our mind may be a tool for our Being, rather than the opposite. I felt he had a lot of good advice and thoughts in this area.
He presents a great project write-up idea to organize your life goals and purpose, and he also talks about some of the neat things he does in his workshops - such as a naked self-disclosure group event.
It's a good book, it's not as great as his first (which really is fantastic) - but still, you can gain a lot. I wish he incorporated suggestions for applying TACT when being radically honest - this can serve as the bridge to meet us halfway on our journey to Truth Land..
July 19, 2008
Not as exciting as "Radical Honesty" by the same author - more of a how-to. Admittedly, I didn't finish reading this book. There, I was honest!!!
November 2, 2011
This book was good in it's content. It helped me notice some of the bulshit in my mind. However I didn't enjoy the redaction, sometimes the contents wer far away from the chapter title. It gave me a great insight about psychoterapy and what is it about. The best thing was the concept of moralism ruining our lives, draining our energy and making em realize the stupid -act- we put on in order to appear good and nice to other people, while being total a fake.
July 31, 2020
Overall the perspective is a useful one. It can get a little excessively abstract at times and there were definitely red flags in my mind when he started mentioning cults within the first several chapters as well as L. Ron Hubbard. Aside from the kinda creepy vibes some of the best portions came from the exercises he gives and his description of what kinds of activities he has people do during his retreats. I'm a fan, though I probably wouldn't recommend it to a friend.
June 19, 2023
Practicing Radical Honesty is Brad Blanton's second book, as far as I understand it, but it's the first one of his that I've read.
I didn't think of his Radical Honesty series as necessarily linear, I kind of took it as multiple books providing different perspectives into a singular space, maybe I'll learn otherwise, but I opted to read this book first because it sounded a bit more interesting to me than the first book. I will almost assuredly go back and read that first book, maybe within the next year or so, and I guess we'll see if that changes anything for me.
This book talks a bit about the cult of radical honesty and it seems like on some level it actually is a cult. I haven't read into that, yet, but I did come across this audio of Starlee Kine (https://themoth.org/stories/radical-h...), and, perhaps it's judgmental but whatever, comments by Blanton about being separated from his wife and now having multiple love partners... some other little things here and there like enforced nudity at the workshops... I mean, in the context of "cult," it raises some questions.
But all that's aside, for purposes of Goodreads, to the book itself.
So far as the book, at a very high level I'd say the writing feels impassioned but not exactly well edited; there's some rambling, some repetition, some points that aren't always clear until later. But I don't think it really takes away from the experience of reading the book.
The book is called Radical Honesty (II), but it's as much about being honest as it is a philosophical approach to life. In other words, it's not just "be honest" but "be present." Maybe that's one and the same, but I think they are different, and individually important.
"Being present" is something that I have been off-and-on good at throughout life, but never deliberately nor with awareness. Recently, I've been reading about the whats-and-the-whys of stuff like meditation and it's helping me understand why it has/hasn't worked for me at different times.
I guess you could say that I was primed for a good experience based on where I'm at in my life, mentally, but also with what I've been reading and reflecting on since about the covid pandemic first hit. More recently, just before reading Radical Honesty, I read Come As You Are (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...), and I do think the self-awareness focus of that book leads in well to this book.
As someone who has spent a lot of time inside my head, thanks to reading the first 2/3rds or so of this book I feel like I finally have a great understanding of what it means to be in your head and, better, how to get out of it. This book has helped me re-shape my context of life in a positive way, helped me better understand what I am feeling -- which allows me to take the time to consider why I am feeling it and how to act on it.
Usually when I read I will highlight passages that cause me to reflect, but the note taking was extensive while reading this book. It offered up so much insight that it kind of carries that sense of reading an instruction manual about how to live, answering the questions I didn't realize I had. I'm not a parent, but reading his thoughts on how we parent incorrectly helped me understand who I am now and why I am who I am. Things absolutely connected.
The ninth chapter, about anger, ended up being very powerful for me. I don't have a lot of anger in my life but I'm realizing that's not healthy or normal, definitely not honest, and so I think I basically copied the entirety of that chapter as a note. It, and sections like it, have given me so much to reflect on and hopefully incorporate within me as I move forward in life.
Earlier I specifically cited the first 2/3rds as great. That wasn't meant to disparage the end of the book, but rather to emphasize what parts were of value to me. The last third goes into stuff like creating a life statement or plan and strategizing your next six months and attending workshops and getting involved in the community and so forth. They are good practices, and make sense in a book about establishing good practices. But at the stage I'm at in life, I'm more interested in self-reflection and healing/growing rather than building a social network that becomes my new life.
Anyway, a decently-written book stuffed with good, easily digestible ideas that are both thoughtful and inspiring. It definitely spoke to me in where I'm at in life, and from that context I would highly recommend it.
I didn't think of his Radical Honesty series as necessarily linear, I kind of took it as multiple books providing different perspectives into a singular space, maybe I'll learn otherwise, but I opted to read this book first because it sounded a bit more interesting to me than the first book. I will almost assuredly go back and read that first book, maybe within the next year or so, and I guess we'll see if that changes anything for me.
This book talks a bit about the cult of radical honesty and it seems like on some level it actually is a cult. I haven't read into that, yet, but I did come across this audio of Starlee Kine (https://themoth.org/stories/radical-h...), and, perhaps it's judgmental but whatever, comments by Blanton about being separated from his wife and now having multiple love partners... some other little things here and there like enforced nudity at the workshops... I mean, in the context of "cult," it raises some questions.
But all that's aside, for purposes of Goodreads, to the book itself.
So far as the book, at a very high level I'd say the writing feels impassioned but not exactly well edited; there's some rambling, some repetition, some points that aren't always clear until later. But I don't think it really takes away from the experience of reading the book.
The book is called Radical Honesty (II), but it's as much about being honest as it is a philosophical approach to life. In other words, it's not just "be honest" but "be present." Maybe that's one and the same, but I think they are different, and individually important.
"Being present" is something that I have been off-and-on good at throughout life, but never deliberately nor with awareness. Recently, I've been reading about the whats-and-the-whys of stuff like meditation and it's helping me understand why it has/hasn't worked for me at different times.
I guess you could say that I was primed for a good experience based on where I'm at in my life, mentally, but also with what I've been reading and reflecting on since about the covid pandemic first hit. More recently, just before reading Radical Honesty, I read Come As You Are (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...), and I do think the self-awareness focus of that book leads in well to this book.
As someone who has spent a lot of time inside my head, thanks to reading the first 2/3rds or so of this book I feel like I finally have a great understanding of what it means to be in your head and, better, how to get out of it. This book has helped me re-shape my context of life in a positive way, helped me better understand what I am feeling -- which allows me to take the time to consider why I am feeling it and how to act on it.
Usually when I read I will highlight passages that cause me to reflect, but the note taking was extensive while reading this book. It offered up so much insight that it kind of carries that sense of reading an instruction manual about how to live, answering the questions I didn't realize I had. I'm not a parent, but reading his thoughts on how we parent incorrectly helped me understand who I am now and why I am who I am. Things absolutely connected.
The ninth chapter, about anger, ended up being very powerful for me. I don't have a lot of anger in my life but I'm realizing that's not healthy or normal, definitely not honest, and so I think I basically copied the entirety of that chapter as a note. It, and sections like it, have given me so much to reflect on and hopefully incorporate within me as I move forward in life.
Earlier I specifically cited the first 2/3rds as great. That wasn't meant to disparage the end of the book, but rather to emphasize what parts were of value to me. The last third goes into stuff like creating a life statement or plan and strategizing your next six months and attending workshops and getting involved in the community and so forth. They are good practices, and make sense in a book about establishing good practices. But at the stage I'm at in life, I'm more interested in self-reflection and healing/growing rather than building a social network that becomes my new life.
Anyway, a decently-written book stuffed with good, easily digestible ideas that are both thoughtful and inspiring. It definitely spoke to me in where I'm at in life, and from that context I would highly recommend it.
December 12, 2022
Brilliant, some parts get a little too abstract but since reading it I've been able to be more upfront with people who give me the shits, even if it's been uncomfortable and fucking terrifying. I like that he calls you on your shit and also reminds you that you can't assign the task of enriching your life the way your parents didn't to future partners, because you're never going to get what you needed then. There needs to be a bit of exploration into the scenarios where forgiveness and moving on isn't really an option though, such as in the case of narcissistic parents and siblings where the outcomes aren't easily navigated, if at all.
Overall though it made me laugh and got me in the feels a lot, as a fellow hippie punk who just wants everyone to be more fucking nice to each other and stop shitting on each other. 😊
The exercises are great and helpful, I'm still working through them and I reckon I'm slightly less of a cunt this year after listing them.
Turns out even though people piss me off a lot I still genuinely like them and wanna help them when I can, so long as they aren't slow walkers who stop in front of me or keep putting shit back in the wrong spot at my work.
Overall though it made me laugh and got me in the feels a lot, as a fellow hippie punk who just wants everyone to be more fucking nice to each other and stop shitting on each other. 😊
The exercises are great and helpful, I'm still working through them and I reckon I'm slightly less of a cunt this year after listing them.
Turns out even though people piss me off a lot I still genuinely like them and wanna help them when I can, so long as they aren't slow walkers who stop in front of me or keep putting shit back in the wrong spot at my work.
August 24, 2023
This book reveals the concept of “Radical Honesty” not to be an excuse to blabber the dumb thoughts in your head, but a technique to cultivate presence in your life by deconstructing all of your beliefs to focus on noticing and being rather than self.
December 14, 2017
amazing book
September 11, 2019
This book helps me to put into practice what I have learned in Radical Honesty. It’s a good complement and implementation tool.
July 17, 2023
Tell the truth about everything, all the time.
September 13, 2025
The content within this book was very interesting. I took several notes during my reading of this book. The only thing I will mention is not to buy the audible version of this book because the narration is awful.
July 31, 2012
Brad Blanton sigue abundando en su idea de que mentir es la causa de la mayoría de nuestros males vienen de mentir, sólo que esta vez presenta un manual de "how-to" aplicar esas ideas en nuestra vida, y para cambiar la sociedad.
En general, diría que este libro podría haber ido incluido en el primero de no ser porque para muchos lectores habría sido excesivo. De modo que aplaudo el que lo partieran en dos, la verdad.
Al igual que en el primero, la parte referida a las prácticas en la vida personal están muy bien, las prácticas de cómo cambiar el mundo son un coñazo. El problema es que el estilo de este hombre, en plan chorro de conciencia, a veces puede ser abrumador. Además, parte de la idea de que nuestro mundo está a punto de estallar Y QUE EL MINERALISMO VA A LLEGAR y no compro esa idea. Para nada. Eso sí, creo que se equivoca honestamente ;)
En resumen, es provocador, interesante, y merece leerse y aplicarse.
En general, diría que este libro podría haber ido incluido en el primero de no ser porque para muchos lectores habría sido excesivo. De modo que aplaudo el que lo partieran en dos, la verdad.
Al igual que en el primero, la parte referida a las prácticas en la vida personal están muy bien, las prácticas de cómo cambiar el mundo son un coñazo. El problema es que el estilo de este hombre, en plan chorro de conciencia, a veces puede ser abrumador. Además, parte de la idea de que nuestro mundo está a punto de estallar Y QUE EL MINERALISMO VA A LLEGAR y no compro esa idea. Para nada. Eso sí, creo que se equivoca honestamente ;)
En resumen, es provocador, interesante, y merece leerse y aplicarse.
Currently reading
June 14, 2009I love this book, it helps give you a plan to put the practice of honesty into motion (Its harder than it looks to break your addiction to lying!), and then throw away your action plan and forget it! Or don't forget it. Or forget it and have a listener remind you in six months!
March 21, 2016
Great read
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews