“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.”
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“You have a unique body and mind, with a particular history and conditioning. No one can offer you a formula for navigating all situations and all states of mind. Only by listening inwardly in a fresh and open way will you discern at any given time what most serves your healing and freedom.”
― True Refuge: Finding Peace and Freedom in Your Own Awakened Heart
― True Refuge: Finding Peace and Freedom in Your Own Awakened Heart
“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.”
― Radical Acceptance: Embracing Your Life With the Heart of a Buddha
― Radical Acceptance: Embracing Your Life With the Heart of a Buddha
“As a friend of mine put it, “Feeling that something is wrong with me is the invisible and toxic gas I am always breathing.” When we experience our lives through this lens of personal insufficiency, we are imprisoned in what I call the trance of unworthiness. Trapped in this trance, we are unable to perceive the truth of who we really are.”
― Radical Acceptance: Embracing Your Life with the Heart of a Buddha
― Radical Acceptance: Embracing Your Life with the Heart of a Buddha
“Suffering is our call to attention, our call to investigate the truth of our beliefs.”
― True Refuge: Finding Peace and Freedom in Your Own Awakened Heart
― True Refuge: Finding Peace and Freedom in Your Own Awakened Heart
Jenna’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Jenna’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
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