#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * A timely and important book that challenges everything we think we know about cultivating true belonging in our communities, organizations, and culture, from the #1 bestselling author of Rising Strong, Daring Greatly, and The Gifts of Imperfection Look for Brené Brown's new podcast, Dare to Lead, as well as her ongoing podcast Unlocking Us! HELLO SUNSHINE BOOK CLUB PICK   "True belonging doesn't require us to change who we are. It requires us to be who we are." Social scientist Brené Brown, PhD, LMSW, has sparked a global conversation about the experiences that bring meaning to our lives--experiences of courage, vulnerability, love, belonging, shame, and empathy. In Braving the Wilderness, Brown redefines what it means to truly belong in an age of increased polarization. With her trademark mix of research, storytelling, and honesty, Brown will again change the cultural conversation while mapping a clear path to true belonging. Brown argues that we're experiencing a spiritual crisis of disconnection, and introduces four practices of true belonging that challenge everything we believe about ourselves and each other. She writes, "True belonging requires us to believe in and belong to ourselves so fully that we can find sacredness both in being a part of something and in standing alone when necessary. But in a culture that's rife with perfectionism and pleasing, and with the erosion of civility, it's easy to stay quiet, hide in our ideological bunkers, or fit in rather than show up as our true selves and brave the wilderness of uncertainty and criticism. But true belonging is not something we negotiate or accomplish with others; it's a daily practice that demands integrity and authenticity. It's a personal commitment that we carry in our hearts." Brown offers us the clarity and courage we need to find our way back to ourselves and to each other. And that path cuts right through the wilderness. Brown writes, "The wilderness is an untamed, unpredictable place of solitude and searching. It is a place as dangerous as it is breathtaking, a place as sought after as it is feared. But it turns out to be the place of true belonging, and it's the bravest and most sacred place you will ever stand."

"Revolutionary findings in neuroscience have demonstrated that we can change our happiness setpoint. But it's not through changing our external world. It's through changing our internal landscape," writes Shauna Shapiro. In Good Morning, I Love You, Dr. Shapiro--one of the leading scientists studying the effects of mindfulness on well-being--shows us that acting with compassion toward ourselves is the key. In short, lively chapters, Dr. Shapiro explains the basic brain science and offers numerous mindfulness and self-compassion practices. Stories from her life and research demonstrate how this powerhouse combination alleviates anxiety, boosts creative thinking, and enlarges our sense of belonging and purpose. We can see it on brain scans. Negative and critical thoughts (and the vast majority of our thoughts are negative) cause the part of the brain responsible for learning to literally shut down. Kind and self-compassionate thoughts, by contrast, turn on the parts responsible for growth and change. With practice, we can literally rewire our brains for greater feelings of calm, joy, and possibility. Try it and see . . . even if it makes you squirm. When you wake up tomorrow, take a deep breath, hand on heart, and say, "Good morning, I love you." Then try it the next day. And the next. See what happens.

"Buck up." "Stop feeling sorry for yourself." "Don't ruin everything." When you are anxious, sad, angry, or lonely, do you hear this self-critical voice? What would happen if, instead of fighting difficult emotions, we accepted them? Over his decades of experience as a therapist and mindfulness meditation practitioner, Dr. Christopher Germer has learned a paradoxical lesson: We all want to avoid pain, but letting it in--and responding compassionately to our own imperfections, without judgment or self-blame--are essential steps on the path to healing. This wise and eloquent book illuminates the power of self-compassion and offers creative, scientifically grounded strategies for putting it into action. Free audio downloads of the meditation exercises are available at the author's website: www.chrisgermer.com. See also The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook, by Kristin Neff and Christopher Germer, which provides step-by-step guidance for building mindful self-compassion skills and applying them to specific life challenges, and Teaching the Mindful Self-Compassion Program, by Christopher Germer and Kristin Neff (for professionals). Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT) Self-Help Book of Merit

2,000,000 COPIES SOLD WORLDWIDE; TRANSLATED IN MORE THAN 35 LANGUAGES What is Violent Communication? If "violent" means acting in ways that result in hurt or harm, then much of how we communicate --judging others, bullying, having racial bias, blaming, finger pointing, discriminating, speaking without listening, criticizing others or ourselves, name-calling, reacting when angry, using political rhetoric, being defensive or judging who's "good/bad" or what's "right/wrong" with people-- could indeed be called "violent communication." What is Nonviolent Communication? Nonviolent Communication is the integration of four things: ; Consciousness: a set of principles that support living a life of compassion, collaboration, courage, and authenticity ; Language: understanding how words contribute to connection or distance ; Communication: knowing how to ask for what we want, how to hear others even in disagreement, and how to move toward solutions that work for all ; Means of influence: sharing "power with others" rather than using "power over others" Nonviolent Communication serves our desire to do three things: ; Increase our ability to live with choice, meaning, and connection ; Connect empathically with self and others to have more satisfying relationships ; Sharing of resources so everyone is able to benefit

We always have a choice in how we react to the circumstances of our lives. This is the heart of renowned Buddhist nun Pema Ch dr n's teachings and the essential message of her book The Places That Scare You. We can let the circumstances of our lives harden us and make us increasingly resentful and afraid, or we can let them soften us and allow our inherent human kindness to shine through. Here Pema provides essential tools for dealing with the many difficulties that life throws our way. This wisdom is always available to us, she teaches, but we usually block it with our habitual patterns of fear and apprehension. This book shows how to awaken our basic human goodness and to connect deeply with others, to accept ourselves and everything around us complete with faults and imperfections. It shows us the strength that comes from staying in touch with what's happening in our lives right now, and it helps us unmask the ways in which our ego causes us to resist life as it is. If we go to the places that scare us, Pema suggests, we just might find the boundless life we've always dreamed of.

Playful Mindfulness brings together wisdom from the worlds of mindfulness (paying attention to the present moment with curiosity and kindness) and improvisation (making life up courageously as you go along) so readers can find greater confidence, calm, and connection. CONFIDENCE. CALM. CONNECTION. Do you long to express that creative project or idea but tell yourself you're not good or clever or funny enough, so why even try? Do you dream of a wide-open life filled with moments of wonder, delight and surprise but find yourself trapped in routine and smothered by stress? Do you yearn for deep, meaningful connection with those around you but feel yourself ever more isolated by social media and modern technology? HOPE IS ON THE WAY. In these pages, Ted DesMaisons takes your hand and leads you on a beautiful, surprising and unruly adventure into the lands where mindfulness and improvisation overlap. There, you'll discover the same freedom, ease, and joy that thousands of his students at Stanford and elsewhere have found for themselves.

Start Where You Are is an indispensable handbook for cultivating fearlessness and awakening a compassionate heart. With insight and humor, Pema Chödrön presents down-to-earth guidance on how we can "start where we are"--embracing rather than denying the painful aspects of our lives. Pema Chödrön frames her teachings on compassion around fifty-nine traditional Tibetan Buddhist maxims, or slogans, such as: "Always apply only a joyful state of mind," "Don't seek others' pain as the limbs of your own happiness," and "Always meditate on whatever provokes resentment." Working with these slogans and through the practice of meditation, Start Where You Are shows how we can all develop the courage to work with our inner pain and discover joy, well-being, and confidence.

Pema Chödrön's perennially best-selling classic on overcoming life's difficulties cuts to the heart of spirituality and personal growth--now in a newly designed 20th-anniversary edition with a new afterword by Pema--makes for a perfect gift and addition to one's spiritual library. How can we live our lives when everything seems to fall apart--when we are continually overcome by fear, anxiety, and pain? The answer, Pema Chödrön suggests, might be just the opposite of what you expect. Here, in her most beloved and acclaimed work, Pema shows that moving toward painful situations and becoming intimate with them can open up our hearts in ways we never before imagined. Drawing from traditional Buddhist wisdom, she offers life-changing tools for transforming suffering and negative patterns into habitual ease and boundless joy.