Real change

Real change Mindfulness to heal ourselves and the world

Sharon Salzberg

Book - 2021

How to use mindfulness to build our inner strength, find balance, and help create a better world. In today's fractured world we're constantly flooded with breaking news that cause anger, grief, and pain. People are feeling more stressed out than ever and in the face of this fear and anxiety they can feel so burnt out and overwhelmed that they end up frozen in their tracks and can't do anything. In Real Change Sharon Salzberg shares sage advice and indispensible techniques to help free ourselves from these negative feelings and actions. She teaches us that meditation is not a replacement for action, but rather a way to practice generosity with ourselves and summon the courage to break through boundaries, reconnect to a movemen...t that's bigger than ourselves, and have the energy to stay active. To help tame our inner landscape or chaos, Salzberg offers mindfulness practices that will help readers cultivate a sense of agency and stay engaged in the long-term struggle for social change. Real Change will help guide you with the fundamental principles and mindfulness practices that will lead to the clarity and confidence that lets us lift a foot and take our next step into a better world.

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158.13/Salzberg
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2nd Floor New Shelf 158.13/Salzberg (NEW SHELF) Due Mar 11, 2026
Subjects
Mindfulness (Psychology)
Self-actualization (Psychology)
Social change > Psychological aspects.
Published
New York : Flatiron Books 2021.
Language
English
Main Author
Sharon Salzberg (author)
Edition
First Flatiron Books Paperback edition
Item Description
Includes index.
Physical Description
ix, 229 pages ; 21 cm
ISBN
9781250310590
  • Preface
  • Introduction: We Are All in This Together
  • 1. Change Is Possible
  • 2. Agency
  • 3. Awakening to the Fire: When Anger Turns to Courage
  • 4. Grief to Resilience
  • 5. Coming Home to Ourselves
  • 6. Interconnectedness
  • 7. Seeing More Clearly
  • 8. Exquisite Balance
  • Grateful Acknowledgments
  • Index
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Salzberg (Real Happiness), cofounder of the Insight Meditation Society, explores the intersection of social activism, mindfulness, and meditation in this discerning work. She argues that human beings have a basic desire for happiness and to serve others, but "reactions of fight, flight, or freeze... rule our patterns of communication... and the limits of imagination," creating a cycle of self-defense, rejection, and fatigue. Practicing "mindfulness and lovingkindness," Salzberg writes, should induce calmness and be a reminder of one's agency and ethical values: "the point of developing these qualities is not to judge ourselves harshly when we are less than mindful or kind but to learn how to not be stuck in an automatic reaction." Through interviews with activists, lawyers, community organizers, artists, and philanthropists, along with meditation practice instructions, Salzberg teaches readers how to transform feelings of stress or anxiety into catalysts for change and encourages reclaiming one's agency and connecting with others who are engaged in social activism. Though no new ground is trod, Salzberg's earnest call to put compassion into one's social and political life will appeal to any Buddhist. (June)

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Review by Library Journal Review

Salzberg (Real Happiness) addresses society's ever-present need for mindfulness as a tool to mitigate human suffering on a global scale. One of the first to bring Eastern meditation teachings to the West, the author offers personal wisdom as well as poignant interviews with pivotal thinkers such as bell hooks, Mallika Dutt, and Ellen Agler, providing insight into navigating the intersection between compassion and activism. Chapters touch on Buddhist philosophy; however, meditative practices remain simple and clear, focusing on loving-kindness meditation. The stories gathered from those who have dealt with extreme suffering yet creatively cultivate space for compassionate change are both inspiring and transformative. Salzberg continually refocuses the lens, reminding us that one person can foster change with skillful action while maintaining personal awareness and equanimity. VERDICT Fans of Salzberg's Real Love podcast series and anyone seeking loving-kindness meditative guidance will appreciate these words on compassionate activism.--Angela Forret, State Lib. of Iowa, Des Moines

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