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Who exactly is Tara Brach? Ed Gould takes an in-depth look at the career of this respected writer, psychologist, spiritual teacher and meditation and mindfulness expert. With a PhD in Clinical Psychology, Tara Brach is an American psychologist and writer, mostly associated with advocating for the role of Eastern spiritual practices in Western contexts. She grew as a Unitarian and lives in Virginia with her husband, a teacher of meditation and yoga. Tara Brach helped found the Insight Meditation Community in Washington DC in 1998. This spiritual community teaches and practices insight (or Vipassana, as referred to by Buddhists). Her teaching focuses on drawing attention to the mindful attention to the inner life of people, as well as developing a full and compassionate engagement with the world. Tara Brach: meditation and teaching A spiritual teacher who travels all over America, Tara teaches online, in written form, and also in person. She has visited Europe to discuss her views on meditation and Eastern spirituality in psychology. Her teaching focuses on the application of what are essentially Buddhist teachings to bring about healing at an emotional level. Her first published work, Radical Acceptance, dealt with how practices such as mindfulness can be effective in healing trauma. Other written teachings offer similar suggestions, such as how tapping into inner peace and wisdom can help people who are going through psychological difficulties and stressful situations. “Imperfection is not our personal problem: it's a natural part of existing.” Tara Brach, from her book Radical Acceptance In person, Tara Brach is well-versed as a presenter. In addition, she teaches classes, provides workshops and leads silent meditations. Brach is also well-known as a teacher of mindfulness and meditation on the internet. She even produces a regular podcast which is so popular it's downloaded around one million times every month! Education and background Tara Brach gained her qualification in psychology from the Fielding Institute. Her dissertation centred on a ground-breaking analysis of the effectiveness of meditation in the healing of certain eating disorders. As an undergraduate, she received a double major in psychology and political science from Clark University. Tara Brach travels globally teaching on meditation and mindfulness © Facebook/Tara Brach It was at this time in her life that Brach began attending yoga classes, something which led to an interest in exploring Eastern approaches regarding inner transformation. After graduation, she chose to spend a decade in an ashram (a spiritual hermitage) where she developed techniques in concentrative meditation. Later, she attended a Buddhist Insight Meditation retreat run by Joseph Goldstein. During this part of her life, Brach trained her mind in unconditional and loving presence. “I knew this was a path of true freedom,” she says. Brach bases many of her past teachings around the processional development in her life. It's from her direct personal experiences with the role of Eastern spirituality in her own life, as well as her academic understanding of clinical psychology, that has led to her particular vision for blending Buddhist ideas with psychological ones. Written works Among the many notable works of Tara Brach is her book, Radical Self-Acceptance: A Buddhist Guide to Freeing Yourself from Shame. The book looks into how crippling self-judgements and inner conflicts can lead to futile perfectionism, loneliness and an over-reliance on self-worth based on work. In it, Brach offers interpretations of Buddhist tales and meditations to show how to overcome such judgements by a radical acceptance of one's self. “Tara Brach is well-known as a teacher of mindfulness and meditation on the internet. She even produces a regular podcast.” Another title worth seeking out is True Refuge: Finding Peace and Freedom in Your Own Awakened Heart. It deals with subject matter such as obsessive behaviour, life-changing illness and relationship breakdown. Brach has also produced a free guide to meditation which is available in several languages. This easy-to-read guide provides entry-level advice for establishing a meditative regime. It deals with hindrances to meditation and guidance on how to sustain meditation as a practice (we have some ideas of our own; check out Five strategies to help you develop a meditation practice). Online resources for Tara Brach As mentioned, many of Brach's teachings and ideas in psychology are accessible via the net, much of it for free. Although she frequently teaches in person, for many people it's the online world which has brought her vision of a blend Western psychology and Eastern spiritual teachings to the fore. You can find several online courses on mindfulness, which she developed with Jack Kornfield, at Soundtrue. We've already tried Mindfulness Daily – an app which provides daily lessons and shot meditations. Tara Brach bases many of her teachings around her life development © tarabrach.com Brach's audio podcasts, which include led meditations, can be opened in iTunes for free. Another place to listen to her talks and other audio freely is via her website which includes an integrated audio player. The archive goes back several years, so there's plenty to hear and learn from. Some of Brach's past talks are also available on video. They offer many insights into matters such as awakening consciousness, seeking internal and external truths and spiritual empowerment. While addressing from a lectern, Brach's style is engaging and often compelling while never becoming overly technical in either psychological or spiritual terminology. Her website hosts a number of these videos. She also has her own YouTube channel which includes a fascinating free-to-watch playlist named 'Finding True Refuge'. .embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; } Tara Brach: meditation talks and events As a practising psychotherapist and meditation teacher, some of Brach's talks and training sessions are for professionals only. For example, some of her groundbreaking work in showing how psychotherapists can integrate mindfulness strategies into their clinical work is conducted in academic institutions in the United States only. However, public events are online. Other than Brach's frequent work with Vipassana meditation instruction, occasional retreat teaching sessions are listed on her website. She also maintains regular updates of her Facebook page which details upcoming talks and public events. ● Written by Ed Gould Ed Gould is a UK-based journalist and freelance writer. He's also a practitioner of Reiki.

Looking to develop or improve your mindfulness practice? Tine Steiss reviews Mindfulness Daily, an app that aims to do just that. In Mindfulness Daily, Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach are presenting a 40-day introduction for mindfulness and meditation. You can access the daily lessons via an app or online. Mindfulness Daily app: what is it? The lessons are usually around 10 minutes long and are either taught by Jack or Tara. An explanation about today's subject is followed by a guided meditation to dig deeper into the subject. It's wrapped up with a daily practice to try throughout the day. Finding some space to incorporate your Mindfulness Daily practice during the start of your day could be a great idea. RELATED: Morning meditation – the secret to a great day Once you've completed a lesson you can access the following one the next day. This creates a nice pace and means that you can't rush through the course. You're given the time to explore each lesson throughout your day and you can always revisit the lessons you've already completed. These lessons are currently divided into four main topics: Mindfulness Basics Emotional Intelligence Resilience, Healing and Inner Freedom Mindful Living With the latest update of the Mindfulness Daily app, each lesson also has a name. This makes it much easier to revisit your most influential lessons when you feel like you need them. With this, you can tailor your sittings to your daily needs once you've finished the course by starting out with a subject you'd like to focus on. Which means the app keeps being your little helper, even after having finished the course. “Once you've completed a lesson on Mindfulness Daily you can access the following one the next day. This creates a nice pace and you can't rush through the course.” The course has a great structure that guides you through all the relevant areas of mindfulness without being boring or too demanding. It's suitable for beginners as a first introduction to mindfulness, but if you're more experienced you will still find this course helpful and structured and are likely to discover new aspects of mindfulness for yourself. Get 'appy: Mindfulness Daily offers 40 lessons Going through 40 aspects in 40 lessons you'll most likely encounter some that seem to be an easy ride and some that touch you on a deeper level. So, this is also a great way to explore where to focus on more in your future practice. Pricing and benefits Mindfulness Daily is distributed by Sounds True, an independent multimedia publishing company focusing on spiritual traditions, arts and humanities. I paid $38 for the app, so each lesson came down to less than $1. If you download Mindfulness Daily you also get access to other free Sounds True content. Even its regular newsletters come with free content, so the marketing is actually a win-win deal; they remind you to spend your money with them and give you something nice for free. Fair enough if you ask me. [UPDATE] Mindfulness daily is now available for free! RELATED: The 5 best happiness apps to improve well-being The Sounds True library app is a similar deal. It provides you with easy access to meditations, music, Mindfulness Daily and whatever else you may buy there in the future. It also tracks the time you've been meditating with the app, offers a meditation timer with different bells, and a journal for your experiences. This keeps me from not deleting the app from my phone and even using it on a daily basis. Mindfulness Daily: my personal experience Due to the briefness of each lesson, it's easily incorporated into your morning routine. At least for me, it was easy to sit down for ten minutes each morning and I didn't skip or postpone a single day. Most of the time I'd even revisit a lesson in the evening again to wrap up my day. “The Mindfulness Daily app course has a great structure that guides you through all the relevant areas of mindfulness without being boring or too demanding.” I started with meditation many years ago, but it wasn't until about two years ago that I developed my personal daily routine. Having a structured program is very helpful for me to keep up a daily practice. Even better if it helps me revisit and expand my knowledge and practice. So, the structured daily lessons were really up my alley to start with. I also realized how I got a bit slack after the course had finished. But I started using single lessons matching my needs that day as an intro to my daily practice. High praise: daily meditation using Mindfulness Daily works Furthermore, I admit to being a bit of a Tara Brach fangirl. She has a lot of free content out there that I listen to regularly. Normally it's harder for me to concentrate on a subject if I'm just listening and I prefer reading about it. In her case, it's the other way around. I had some troubles reading her book True Refugee. On the other hand, listening to her talks is a great experience, as the way she explains things really resonates with me. So, that's one of the main reasons I chose this course. If you're unsure about whether or not you like Tara Brach's or Jack Kornfield's style, just check out the free content they provide. Some of it you can also get for free on Sounds True. ● Main photo: colourbox.com Written by Tine Steiss Tine is part of the happiness.com team. She's an artist, meditator, media engineer and MBSR teacher. If she's not traveling she's working on turning her rooftop terrace into a garden paradise. Find out more about her on Instagram.

The final month of the year is a time for happiness, hope and reflection on the 12 months that have just passed. In his final installment for the year, here are Ed Gould's Top 10 positive news stories from December... 1. US takes a big step for a renewable energy future The United States may be seen on the international stage as a country that's not fully lined up with climate change policies, but that hasn't stopped the country from announcing its largest federal wind farm plans. No less than 390,000 acres of government waters are to be set aside for wind turbines close to the coast of Rhode Island. Several energy companies will now bid for the right to use the area for sustainable energy production. The deal has been reported to be worth an astonishing $405 million. 2. Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) can help back pain Scientific research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association has made the claim that MBSR can help the body handle a range of pain symptoms including those that impact on the lower back. The study involved eight two-hour sessions per week. As a result of following an MBSR programme, around 60 per cent of participants found that they gained some relief from the pain they'd been feeling. MBSR can help back pain © shutterstock/F8 studio 3. University of New South Wales develops winning solar car While car makers the world over are offering hope of a fossil fuel free future with the development of electric car technology, student designs are continuing to break new ground. A team from the University of New South Wales set a world record for their solar-powered car for driving across the country with the lowest ever use of energy. The university reported in December that its team had covered the 4,100km trip without any problems, even arriving in Sydney two days ahead of schedule! 4. Scientists develop anti-cancer spray In news that made headlines around the globe, research undertaken at UCLA in California has led to the development of a treatment which is applied to cancer sufferers post surgery. When a tumour is removed by a surgical procedure, all too often there can be a recurrence of the condition. Now, a biodegradable gel has been made which, in tests, has shown to reduce the risk of post-operative complications. It's simply sprayed on and helps to boost the body's own immune system. 5. Yoga's benefits for older people to be studied According to associate professor of Exercise and Health Sciences, Garry Tew, at Northumbria University, yoga has many benefits for older people. They include better strength, flexibility, balance, and the overall happiness one feels due to improved quality of life. In order to prove it, Tew's team of researchers have secured funding worth £1.4 million, which will allow them to probe further into yoga's impact on those suffering from long-term conditions into older age. It's hoped the research will help to save the UK's National Health Service money in the long run. Yoga has lots of benefits for seniors © shutterstock/vectorfusionart 6. Plastic bag usage drops dramatically in Australia It's one of those things that is so easily done: turning up at the shop to buy groceries without bags to take them home in. To encourage shoppers to consume fewer bags, two large supermarket chains in Australia banned single-use plastic bags. In positive news for the environment, it was announced in December that the use of such bags had dropped by 80 per cent across the country over the last quarter. In fact, the country's National Retail Association said that in some areas of Australia, use of these bags had by up to 90 per cent in that time period. 7. Shrinkable technology may be with us soon Research undertaken at MIT in Boston has moved into the realm of science fiction after academics there announced they were working on systems which could reduce objects to a thousandth of their original size. Lasers are used to shrink items down to what's known as the nanoscale and it's hoped that there will be many industrial applications for the technique. Likely ones include several medical techniques which could be used in the brain without surgery, and even in areas like DNA therapy. 8. Mindfulness may help boost weight loss The widely respected Nursing Times reported in December that adopting mindfulness techniques could help a range of public health programmes that focus on weight loss. Ongoing research is being undertaken in the UK by the Warwickshire Institute for the Study of Diabetes Endocrinology and Metabolism, as well as at the University of Warwick. It aims to augment weight loss programmes in the UK with elements of mindfulness, so that people undergoing them are able to manage their conduct in improved ways. Mindfulness could help weight loss 9. Shipping company commits to a carbon-free future The world's biggest shipping company, Maersk, says it wants the whole industry to go carbon-free. According to CNN, the freight business is aiming to stop using unsustainable fuels by 2050. The CEO of Maersk, Soren Toft, has called on competitors in the sector to make similar changes. The shipping industry currently accounts for about the same level of carbon release from its fuel usage as the international aviation sector. 10. Free public transportation for all in Luxembourg In a world's first, the Benelux country of Luxembourg has announced that it will provide public transport without any cost throughout the entire state. As reported in The Guardian, the country's authorities hope the decision will help in the fight against global warming as well as being a positive way to improve air quality and to reduce congestion. Charges for using trains, trams and buses will all be done away with by the summer of 2019 under the scheme. ● Written by Ed Gould Ed Gould is a UK-based journalist and freelance writer. He's also a practitioner of Reiki.

October may mark the mid-point between summer and winter, but it remains a good one from the point of view of positive news. This October saw many new stories that were full of hope and happiness: here's Ed Gould's round-up of the ten best... 1. Boost your happiness with a short review of your day The BBC reported in October that a simple exercise to appraise your day can improve your happiness and well being. Its report focused on Sandi Mann, a lecturer at the University of Central Lancashire, who suggested that the habit offers a straightforward psychological boost when completed regularly. She suggests conducting a review of your day in which six questions, including what experiences gave you pleasure, are asked. By focusing on your answers you can gradually shift your mindset, no matter how bleak, to a happier one. 2. New hope for fossil fuel free energy A fuel that's packed with energy just like coal would make a huge difference to electrical energy production – if it didn't release so much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and add to global climate change. Incredibly, exactly this could be on the horizon thanks to Spanish company Ingelia. The Valencia-based company has developed an industrial process called hydrothermal carbonisation. Essentially, this means it can make biocarbon named 'biochar', which can be burned with zero emissions. What's more, there should be a plentiful supply of biochar's raw material: it's made from nothing more than sewage, meaning we can all contribute! 3. Toy giant to harness to power of mindfulness You might not put Lego and mindfulness in the same headspace but that may change according to reports in The Daily Telegraph. The Denmark-based toy brand has decided to use a new marketing ploy in which its simple bricks are used to help achieve a sense of inner calm. A spokesperson for the company said that the idea was to highlight the benefits of mindfulness through Lego, since playing with it offered a “challenge that's at once relaxing and creatively stimulating.” The campaign is primarily aimed at young adults rather than Lego's core audience of children: perhaps it's time to break that tub of bricks open! Building blocks of happiness? Lego could help... 4. The era of single-use plastic is coming to an end In more positive news for the environment, the European Union has taken steps to ban the use of plastics which are designed for single use only. Many media outlets reported that MEPs had voted to ban things like plastic cotton buds, knives and forks, drink stirrers and straws. Many such plastic products end up in the ocean and enter the food chain when eaten by fish (which are subsequently caught and consumed by humans). The move is expected to take effect from 2021. 5. French city leads the way in public transport revolution During October, The Guardian reported how the citizens of the coastal city of Dunkirk were taking up public transport in ever greater numbers. Not surprising given that the city's authorities decided to offer all bus services to its community for free. What's newsworthy is the fact that buses have since become places of social interaction, meeting points and even places to get work done: Dunkirk's buses offer complimentary Wi-Fi. Research suggests that as bus use rises, so fewer cars head into the city, freeing it up and generating cleaner air for all: a win-win situation. 6. Could mushrooms treat depression? In America, where the use of substances is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), permission has been granted into a scientific study into the effects of psilocybin mushrooms. Long known for their psychedelic effect, these fungi may unlock some clues as to how to treat mental health disorders like depression. It took some time for the FDA to come to its final decision, but the path now appears to be clear for researchers to progress with their studies. Mushroom for improvement: fungi could treat depression 7. Cannabis may hold the key to treating Crohn's disease Medical News Today reported a story that should bring some happiness to those with Crohn's disease. A debilitating condition that impacts negatively on the digestion system, people living with Crohn's may soon be able to make use of the properties of cannabis to lessen the severity of symptoms. The medical uses of cannabis are well known, but this Israeli-led research indicates that the drug may soon be widely used to help treat pain caused by the condition. Project lead Timna Naftali, a gastroenterology specialist at Tel Aviv University's Meir Hospital, said it's yet to be determined how a treatment might work but its effects are already there to be seen. 8. Solar farm created on former disaster site Chernobyl may forever be linked with the worrying outcome of a fully-blown nuclear power plant disaster, but it's making power once more. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the old power plant – which was thought to be completely unusable following its meltdown – has now been converted into a solar energy farm. It still may be too radioactive to live there, but workers can safely set up solar panels which create green electricity. So far, the Ukraine has installed in excess of 3,700 solar panels at the site. 9. UN recognizes Indian state's farming achievement Affording new hope to anyone who believes in the future of an agricultural sector which does not rely on pesticides and antibiotics, the Indian state of Sikkim has officially become 100 per cent organic. Over 60,000 farms have adopted the practice, which, according to Reuters, has boosted tourism in the state, as well as setting an example of what can be achieved with a collective effort. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN recognized the achievement by awarding Sikkim with its most prestigious prize. Congratulations! Indian farmer with eggplants © Hari Mahidhar/shutterstock.com 10. Police beat stress with mindfulness techniques Few jobs can be as stressful as working for the police. In response to the needs of officers, the United Kingdom's College of Policing has developed a 'Mindfit Cop' programme to teach officers how to use methods derived from Buddhist meditation to help face up to their work difficulties and anxieties. The eight-week course has already been taken up by officers from South Wales, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Somerset and Avon. It's hoped the course will see fewer cases of burnout within the service, so that officer retention rates are improved. ● Do you think Lego could help you be more mindful? Have you ever tried an end-of-day appraisal? Share your thoughts on October's positive news stories with the community below... Written by Ed Gould Ed Gould is a UK-based journalist and freelance writer. He's also a practitioner of Reiki.