Jenna

“The muscles used to make a smile actually send a biochemical message to our nervous system that it is safe to relax the flight of freeze response.”
― Tara Brach, Radical Acceptance: Embracing Your Life With the Heart of a Buddha

“Feelings and stories of unworthiness and shame are perhaps the most binding element in the trance of fear. When we believe something is wrong with us, we are convinced we are in danger. Our shame fuels ongoing fear, and our fear fuels more shame. The very fact that we feel fear seems to prove that we are broken or incapable. When we are trapped in trance, being fearful and bad seem to define who we are. The anxiety in our body, the stories, the ways we make excuses, withdraw or lash out—these become to us the self that is most real.”
― Tara Brach

“Each time you meet an old emotional pattern with presence, your awakening to truth can deepen. There’s less identification with the self in the story and more ability to rest in the awareness that is witnessing what’s happening. You become more able to abide in compassion, to remember and trust your true home. Rather than cycling repetitively through old conditioning, you are actually spiraling toward freedom.”
― Tara Brach, True Refuge: Finding Peace and Freedom in Your Own Awakened Heart

“Suffering is our call to attention, our call to investigate the truth of our beliefs.”
― Tara Brach, True Refuge: Finding Peace and Freedom in Your Own Awakened Heart