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The Mindful Path to Self-Compassion: Freeing Yourself from Destructive Thoughts and Emotions 1st Edition

by Christopher K. Germer (Author), Sharon Salzberg (Foreword)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 1,021 ratings
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“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
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  1. ISBN-10
    9781593859756
  2. ISBN-13
    978-1593859756
  3. Edition
    1st
  4. Publisher
    The Guilford Press
  5. Publication date
    April 29, 2009
  6. Language
    English
  7. Dimensions
    5.91 x 0.79 x 9.06 inches
  8. Print length
    306 pages
  9. See all details
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  1. We don’t meditate to improve ourselves; we meditate to end our compulsive striving to do everything better.
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  2. The challenge is to turn toward our difficulties with nonjudgmental awareness and compassion.
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  3. Acceptance is not resignation or stagnation; change naturally follows acceptance.
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From the Publisher
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4.6 out of 5 stars
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4.5 out of 5 stars
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4.6 out of 5 stars
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Price $14.55 $12.99 $10.01 $19.38
How can you use this book for self improvement? Accept self-critical thoughts to move forward on the path to healing Cultivate mindfulness to live a more balanced life Break free from anxiety by changing how you relate to it Learn to move through painful emotions without being ruled by them
Discover self-compassion through creative strategies and techniques Use effective strategies and step-by-step action plans Follow along with examples and step-by-step strategies Use meditation and acceptance practices to build self-knowledge and self-compassion
Live more fully in the moment and practice being kind to yourself Become more focused, cope with difficult emotions, feel less stressed, and more Achieve a new level of emotional and physical well-being Overcome the stumbling blocks of worry, fear, and negativity

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Those of us treating people who struggle with addictions know all too well how clients' feelings of shame or self-blame often undermine efforts to achieve effective interventions. In this remarkable book, Germer shows readers how to use mindfulness and self-compassion to open up to their pain and treat themselves with kindness. Ideal for recommendation to clients who have fallen off the wagon or who are blaming themselves for failed relationships, lost jobs, and scattered lives, this book offers a way out of a vicious cycle."--G. Alan Marlatt, PhD, Department of Psychology and Director, Addictive Behaviors Research Center, University of Washington

"In this important book, Christopher Germer illuminates the myriad synergies between mindfulness and compassion. He offers skillful and effective ways of making sure that we are inviting ourselves, as well as others, to bathe in and benefit from the kind heart of awareness itself, and from the actions that follow from such a radical and sane embrace."--Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD, author of Arriving at Your Own Door and Letting Everything Become Your Teacher

"Loving-kindness and compassion are the basis for wise, powerful, sometimes gentle, and sometimes fierce actions that can really make a difference--in our own lives and those of others....In the following pages you will find a scientific review, an educational manual, and a practical step-by-step guide to developing greater loving-kindness and self-compassion every day."--from the Foreword by Sharon Salzberg, author of Lovingkindness

"Self-compassion is the ground of all emotional healing, and Dr. Germer has produced an invaluable guide. Written with great clarity, psychological wisdom, and warmth, this book will serve anyone seeking practical and powerful tools that free the heart."--Tara Brach, PhD, author of Radical Acceptance

"Explains both the science and practice of developing kindness toward ourselves and others. Dr. Germer offers powerful and easily accessible steps toward transforming our lives from the inside out. It's never too late to start along this important path."--Daniel J. Siegel, MD, author of The Mindful Brain

"An elegant and practical guide to cultivating self-compassion, by a dedicated and wise clinician and meditation teacher. The author offers time-honored practices and exercises with the potential to illuminate and transform the background chatter of our minds that determines so much of the course of our lives."--Samuel Shem, MD, author of The House of God

"Very well written....filled with practical suggestions and methods....Both the reasoning supporting the importance of the method and the method itself are presented in a clear and compelling fashion. I felt excited, touched, and enriched as I read on, and I am sure most readers will have a similar response....Offers a good integration of Eastern spirituality with Western science to make a compelling argument for the values and effectiveness of mindfulness and compassion meditation. Not only is the argument clear and convincing, but the book also offers plenty of practical aids....Should you read this book? Enthusiastically, yes....An excellent review of the evidence for mindful self-compassion in a psychoeducational manual and a step-by-step guide to developing awareness, self-compassion, and loving kindness." ― PsycCRITIQUES Published On: 2009-05-01

"A very accessible introduction....[Germer] writes in a relaxed style that makes the book easy to read, without skimping on detail....The layout is clear and uncluttered, with a mix of explanation, theory, practice, along with case study examples from Germer's own life and that of his clients. There are useful websites scattered through the book....Mindfulness could well become an important part of my own self-care, which will also feed into my client work. This book is a helpful start and a handy resource." ― Independent Practitioner Published On: 2009-05-01

"In this intelligent, concise, and easy-to-read book, Christopher Germer presents an exciting synthesis of mindfulness and self-compassion that is much needed and long overdue. Drawing upon decades of practice as a clinician and meditator, Dr. Germer offers a rich and insightful guide to emotional healing. While thoroughly covering the relevant psychological research, the book is written for a general audience, and will be of enormous benefit to both therapists and their clients....Germer's narrative voice is warm, gentle, and down-to-earth. His years of meditation practice have clearly paid off in the writing of this book: every word is infused with wisdom and compassion. An invaluable guide to anyone wanting to learn how to transform their relationship with difficult emotions, this important book will undoubtedly change the lives of many who read it." ― British Journal of Psychology Published On: 2009-05-01

About the Author

Christopher Germer, PhD, has a private practice in mindfulness- and compassion-based psychotherapy in Arlington, Massachusetts, and is a part-time Lecturer on Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School/Cambridge Health Alliance. He is a founding faculty member of the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy and of the Center for Mindfulness and Compassion. His books include The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook and The Mindful Path to Self-Compassion (for the general public) and Teaching the Mindful Self-Compassion Program, Wisdom and Compassion in Psychotherapy, and Mindfulness and Psychotherapy, Second Edition (for professionals). Dr. Germer lectures and leads workshops internationally. His website is https://chrisgermer.com.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 1593859759
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ The Guilford Press; 1st edition (April 29, 2009)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 306 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9781593859756
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1593859756
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.91 x 0.79 x 9.06 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 1,021 ratings

About the author

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Christopher Germer

Christopher Germer

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For more info and free downloads of self-compassion meditations, please visit https://chrisgermer.com/ and https://centerformsc.org/

Christopher Germer, PhD is a clinical psychologist and lecturer on psychiatry (part-time) at Harvard Medical School. He is a co-developer (with Kristin Neff) of the Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) program, author of The Mindful Path to Self-Compassion, co-author of The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook and Teaching the Mindful Self-Compassion Program, and co-editor of Mindfulness and Psychotherapy, and Wisdom and Compassion in Psychotherapy.

Dr. Germer is a founding faculty member of the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy as well as the Center for Mindfulness and Compassion, Cambridge Health Alliance, Harvard Medical School. He teaches and leads workshops internationally on mindfulness and compassion, and has a private practice in Arlington, Massachusetts, USA specializing in mindfulness and compassion-based psychotherapy.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
1,021 global ratings
A Masterpiece on the Subject - Brilliant and Simple with Practice
5 Stars
A Masterpiece on the Subject - Brilliant and Simple with Practice
This is by far the "closest thing" I have ever come to ("in my emotional life,") which I truly feel is answering my deepest questions for why I have not been able to overcome my "multi-faceted" anxieties. The approach is entirely new to me and comes from a completely different angle (quite the opposite actually) from my self-critical approach. The heart of this book for me personally has much to do with seeing and feeling (and allowing with softness and kind loving awareness) the suffering I "endured" as a young child. The solution Christopher write about has been for me (for us) to love that hurt little boy and to accept that there were causes -- which in my case had to do with my mother (God bless her) who was in many ways unavailable to me physically and emotionally -- and who was quite opinionated and critical of others. I now see my anger clearly in my body (when it is revisited) and how I am now more able to accept it with a self-loving and compassionate attitude. I highly recommend this book as a tool for many people who suffer from childhood trauma whether it be slight or deep.
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Top reviews from the United States

T. L. Cooper
5.0 out of 5 stars Practicing Loving Kindness Leads to Self-Compassion
Reviewed in the United States on August 29, 2023
Verified Purchase
The Mindful Path to Self-Compassion: Freeing Yourself from Destructive Thoughts and Emotions by Christopher K. Germer, PhD focuses on mindfulness in a way that gently glides into self-compassion. Germer weaves his personal and professional experience using mindfulness to get to self-compassion with research into self-compassion in a way that is easy to read and makes both mindfulness and self-compassion feel approachable. He includes exercises and meditations to demonstrate the effectiveness of mindfulness on self-compassion. I really like that Germer explains that self-compassion isn't a self-help goal but a continuous journey that sometimes brings up pain while helping one to heal in a way that encourages and inspires one to pursue embracing self-compassion. The Mindful Path to Self-Compassion helped me with my own journey to strengthen my mindfulness and my self-compassion.
3 people found this helpful
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Charles E Bradley
5.0 out of 5 stars A Masterpiece on the Subject - Brilliant and Simple with Practice
Reviewed in the United States on July 10, 2016
Verified Purchase
This is by far the "closest thing" I have ever come to ("in my emotional life,") which I truly feel is answering my deepest questions for why I have not been able to overcome my "multi-faceted" anxieties. The approach is entirely new to me and comes from a completely different angle (quite the opposite actually) from my self-critical approach. The heart of this book for me personally has much to do with seeing and feeling (and allowing with softness and kind loving awareness) the suffering I "endured" as a young child. The solution Christopher write about has been for me (for us) to love that hurt little boy and to accept that there were causes -- which in my case had to do with my mother (God bless her) who was in many ways unavailable to me physically and emotionally -- and who was quite opinionated and critical of others. I now see my anger clearly in my body (when it is revisited) and how I am now more able to accept it with a self-loving and compassionate attitude. I highly recommend this book as a tool for many people who suffer from childhood trauma whether it be slight or deep.
Customer image
Charles E Bradley
5.0 out of 5 stars A Masterpiece on the Subject - Brilliant and Simple with Practice
Reviewed in the United States on July 10, 2016
This is by far the "closest thing" I have ever come to ("in my emotional life,") which I truly feel is answering my deepest questions for why I have not been able to overcome my "multi-faceted" anxieties. The approach is entirely new to me and comes from a completely different angle (quite the opposite actually) from my self-critical approach. The heart of this book for me personally has much to do with seeing and feeling (and allowing with softness and kind loving awareness) the suffering I "endured" as a young child. The solution Christopher write about has been for me (for us) to love that hurt little boy and to accept that there were causes -- which in my case had to do with my mother (God bless her) who was in many ways unavailable to me physically and emotionally -- and who was quite opinionated and critical of others. I now see my anger clearly in my body (when it is revisited) and how I am now more able to accept it with a self-loving and compassionate attitude. I highly recommend this book as a tool for many people who suffer from childhood trauma whether it be slight or deep.
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112 people found this helpful
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Anonymous Jack
4.0 out of 5 stars Pleasurable read, includes psychological and neurological case studies
Reviewed in the United States on July 24, 2012
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I had only recently heard of the concept of "self-compassion" through a blog I stumbled upon last year, and I'm trying to learn more about meditation to deal with chronic neuropathic pain and "self-compassion" as a tool to deal with depression and alcoholism. There are a few people in mind I have when reading this book, myself and others, and I was pleased how the book had a variety of case studies that included not only psychological case studies, but also other experiments and studies involving functional MRIs. The book gives actual "steps" on what you can do to practice mindfulness and self-compassion. It's not preachy, it's not sappy. It's a good how-to book with studies and stories to introduce you to "mindfulness" and self-compassion. I haven't finished reading it (I have a tendency to have several books "in progress" and bounce around according to my mood), but it's an easy read, not overly scientific nor full of medical terminology. It's for the "regular" person seeking practical ways to deal with their depression, pain, ptsd, alcoholism, grief, feelings of failure, or other deadening and self-defeating habits or battles. If you're trying to get through an exhausting mental battle, tired of not being able to function, keep "slipping back" or sick of being on medication, I recommend you read this book for practical ways to help heal yourself and be able to face daily challenges.
22 people found this helpful
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ADK
5.0 out of 5 stars Accepting - Living
Reviewed in the United States on October 9, 2023
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A nice tour of ways to grow peace. Using exercises and stories and explanations Germer wades into the sea of life with the reader and gives us tools to accept the waves
One person found this helpful
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Russell Kolts
5.0 out of 5 stars So good that I keep buying it - because I always end up giving it away.
Reviewed in the United States on May 27, 2011
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I won't go into a description of this book, because there are plenty of reviews that do that. What I will say is that as a psychology professor and psychotherapist, I have a few "go-to" books - books that I constantly have to replace because I end up giving them out to students or loaning them to clients. For couples, for example, it's Notarius & Markman's "We Can Work It Out." For people that need to work on mindfulness and learning to relate compassionately with themselves, this excellent book is it. I finally bought it on kindle as well just to have a copy that I could count on being able to get my hands on! Probably my favorite part about this book is the way that it uses mindfulness as a vehicle for the development of self-compassion, such that as readers move through the book, they develop both of these capacities. I can see it not appealing to some - it might be too psychological for those who prefer Thich Nhat Hahn, or not empirical enough for psychology professionals looking for empirically-validated treatment approaches supported by dozens of clinical trials...but for those who want a readable, sensitive path that is rooted in both spirituality and psychology, it is a tremendous resource. Highly recommended.
116 people found this helpful
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Beth
5.0 out of 5 stars Life changing
Reviewed in Canada on December 7, 2022
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"Attention regulation leads directly to emotion regulation". This book was so helpful in so many ways.
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H MCI
5.0 out of 5 stars Clear & concise.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 9, 2021
Verified Purchase
This is an excellent manual on practicing mindfulness with self - compassion to provide relief from emotional suffering. I only wish that I had been aware of both mindfulness & self compassion a long time ago and that easily followed guides like Christopher Germer’s had come to my attention earlier. I have also recently found the teachings of Thay Thich Nhat Hanh both on You Tube & in books to be of immense help.I really hope that anyone suffering from any form of emotional imbalance find these resources to bring the relief that they are providing for me - as long as you are prepared to practice they work.
5 people found this helpful
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Regina Maria Hori
5.0 out of 5 stars Sem compaixão não dá...
Reviewed in Brazil on October 5, 2018
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O livro é excelente. Simples, direto, e, principalmente, bem fundamentado. A leitura é prazerosa, e as práticas são valiosas. Recomendo.
2 people found this helpful
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Dan Bon
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
Reviewed in Germany on April 11, 2018
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A wonderful book which helped me to overcome some sleeping problems. It's written in a very convincing way.
I can honestly recommend it!
One person found this helpful
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Ana García
5.0 out of 5 stars Gran libro
Reviewed in Spain on March 8, 2017
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Buen libro, claro, conciso. Una gran ayuda para comprender las enseñanzas de la compasión y autocuidado. Didactico, ameno, muy recomendable.
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