Real Love: The Art of Mindful Connection Hardcover – June 6, 2017

With a voice like a wise, compassionate aunt we all wish we had, Salzberg conveys principles of lovingkindness, mindfulness and connection through stories and simple exercises. A centerpiece of the book is the RAIN protocol to handle negative emotions: RECOGNIZE it, ACKNOWLEDGE it, INVESTIGATE it with a sense of openness and curiosity, and NON-IDENTIFY with it -- it's not you! This is not just one of the foundations of Buddhist psychology, but also of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy -- excellent life advice that totally works.The exercises are not just effective but also easy to implement, e.g. for practicing lovingkindness, forgiveness, and handling anger. I felt their effects immediately and intend to incorporate some into my daily routine, like the one about extending love to neutral passersby.And then there are the final five pages in which she summarizes the whole book. This was the most concentrated wallop of wisdom to hit my face in a long time. If you feel like you could use more love in your life, here's the recipe book.-- Ali Binazir, M.D., M.Phil., Happiness Engineer & author of The Tao of Dating: The Smart Woman's Guide to Being Absolutely Irresistible, the highest-rated dating book on Amazon for 4 years

This was my introduction to lovingkindness and meditation, and I was absolutely thrilled with this book! I believe that if you read this book with an open mind and really listen, you will find that you can experience "real love" with the world around you. I would strongly recommend this book to anyone feeling depressed, unloved, unhappy, disconnected, and the like. This book brings real hope that we can have fulfilling experiences and relationships with the world around us by first cultivating the capacity for love within us.The practices in this book cultivate positivity, healing, love, and a sense of wholeness with the universe, which is tremendously powerful. Sharon also used plenty of real world examples and has a down-to-earth style, which makes so if this much less daunting to beginners like me! I plan on buying Sharon's other books, including a print copy of this book as a gift for someone, continuing my studies of lovingkindness and meditation, and seeking supportive communities as mentioned in this book.

I first heard Sharon speak at Wisdom 2.0, this past fall, at a Mindfulness conference - a movement she has supported and contributed to in great measure. She had so many thought provoking things to say, from her global perspective. Her extraordinary background somehow seems to resonate in so many different ways to people.So Real Love was my first read of her canon. I liked the harmonic structure of it as a whole, and the easy demonstrative examples she gave for everyday thoughts and challenges we all go through, and how this ties into a larger truth - that we're all in this together.The book is accessible to most readers, with concise, plain spoken syntax, no new age flakiness, and just like she is in person, so you don't feel like some brain surgeon's editor wrote the book. Each chapter ends with some practical exercises to try - meditation is one she puts a huge value on, which is consistent with Mindfulness, as well. You'll feel better just reading it, trust me.

This book has been really great to work through. The section on perfectionism was super helpful for me.

Helped me so much heal from my past. I credit this book. I love it.

Sharon's book Real Love is a very important addition to the vast (and growing) mindfulness literature. Her accessible, compassionate voice helps reads take mindfulness practice "off the cushion" and into the daily life of relationship (with others and ourselves). In a time of division and separation as we're seeing play out on the world stage right now, it is so important to take in the heart-teachings of someone like Sharon and learn how to bring down the barriers to real love. Mitch Abblett, PhD, Author of The Five Hurdles to Happiness - and the Mindful Path to Overcoming Them

I have not finished the book, however so far I greatly appreciate it and am enjoying it! I really like how there are activities at the end of each chapter to help you put the concepts into practice. It makes you think about how you have handled relationships in the past and how to break free of those patterns to obtain the type of healthy relationship you deserve!

There is some powerful stuff in here—things to think about as you read and things to ponder for years to come.Read this book. Read all of Sharon’s books. Want a particular one to read next? For me, Faith is a very profound book.

This book is packed with wisdom, insight and understanding. I will read it again as there was so much to digest and to fully take in at a first read. The practices are easy to understand and use. The audible version doesn’t have chapter titles and could probably benefit from from separating the practices into their own chapters for ease of access.

What I loved about this book is how relatable it is. You can reas it and immediately get engaged with every story.Is nothing but life experiences placed in one single book that will ultimately bring you peace of mind and heart.

A powerful and insightful perspective on Real LOVE

Ich bewerte hier nicht den Inhalt des Buches, sondern seine Verarbeitung. Das Buch kam bei mir mit unbeschnittenen und daher völlig ungleichmäßigen Seiten an. Die waren dann auch noch zum Teil eingedrückt. Der Schutzumschlag war noch dazu befleckt. Das ist eindeutig Mangelware. Und so etwas bin ich von Amazon nicht gewöhnt!

Right book at the right time.