In Touch: How to Tune into the Inner Guidance of Your Body and Trust Yourself

Description

Your body has a natural sense of truth. We can feel authenticity in ourselves and in others. However, this innate wisdom is obscured by our conditioning the core limiting beliefs, reactive feelings, and somatic contractions that fuel our sense of struggle and veil who we really are.In Touch is a groundbreaking, experiential guide to the felt-sense of our inner knowing the deep intelligence available through our bodies. Each chapter presents moving stories, helpful insights from spirituality, psychology, and science, and simple yet potent experiments for integrating the gifts of inner knowing into every aspect of daily life. Join pioneering psychotherapist and teacher Dr. John J. Prendergast to explore: The phenomenon of attunement how we accurately sense and resonate with ourselves and others including an introduction to attachment theory, mirror neurons, and interoception (the ability to sense into the interior of your body) Felt-sensing and the subtle body our ability to have a whole-body sense of reality and how the seven major energy centers relate to common psychospiritual issues Shadows as portals how our dark and painful feelings and sensations can point us toward an essential radiance within The art of identifying and undoing our core limiting beliefs The four somatic qualities of inner knowing relaxed groundedness, inner alignment, open-heartedness, and spaciousness and how these subtle signals, once recognized, can guide our choices and help us to navigate life s challenges The fruits of inner knowing the realization of who we are in our depths and the great intimacy with life we can all enjoy As we tune into our deepest nature, our body relaxes, grounds, lines up, opens up, and lights up, writes Prendergast. So far this extraordinarily useful subtle feedback has been largely overlooked; almost nothing has been written about it. We need to both sense and decode these signals if we are to benefit from them. These bodily markers are here to be seen and used as guides to enable us to more gracefully navigate life and to awaken. They are part of our birthright, available to anyone. Here is his invitation to start listening in a profound new way, deeply in touch with reality and our shared journey of awakening."

John J. Prendergast John J. Prendergast, PhD, is a psychotherapist, retired professor of psychology, spiritual teacher, and founder and editor-in-chief of Undivided: The Online Journal of Nonduality and Psychology. For more, visit listeningfromsilence.com. Rick Hanson Rick Hanson, PhD, is a psychologist, senior fellow of the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley, and New York Times bestselling author. His books are available in 26 languages and include Resilient, Hardwiring Happiness, Buddha's Brain, Just One Thing, and Mother Nurture. He edits the Wise Brain Bulletin and has numerous audio programs. A summa cum laude graduate of UCLA and founder of the Wellspring Institute for Neuroscience and Contemplative Wisdom, he's been an invited speaker at NASA, Oxford, Stanford, Harvard, and other major universities, and has taught in meditation centers worldwide. Dr. Hanson has been a trustee of Saybrook University and has served on the board of Spirit Rock Meditation Center. His work has been featured on the BBC, CBS, and NPR, and he offers the free Just One Thing newsletter with 135,000 subscribers, plus the online Foundations of Well-Being program in positive neuroplasticity that anyone with financial need can do for free. He enjoys rock climbing and taking a break from emails. He and his wife have two adult children.

"In Touch is a remarkable journey through the body into a wholeness of Being. A gifted clinician and dedicated spiritual practitioner, John Prendergast guides us in a powerful process of inner attunement, one that unfolds into deep realization and full, embodied aliveness." --Tara Brach, PhD, author of Radical Acceptance and True Refuge "An intriguing set of observations that will stimulate reflections on who you really are and how to best wed the dual realities of identity. Soak in these words of wisdom and you may just find your 'self' opening to the exciting liberation that emerges when inner and interconnected self are integrated into a coherent, flourishing whole." --Daniel J. Siegel, MD, author of Mindsight: The New Science of Personal Transformation and Brainstorm: The Power and Purpose of the Teenage Brain "This book stands out. Prendergast'sIn Touch helps us sort out the bodily promptings of the true self from the 'noise' of our habitual emotions, expectations, and fixed beliefs. A powerful guide, both for beginners and those already committed to a path of inner exploration." --Peter A. Levine, PhD, bestselling author of Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma "A remarkable book. And a much-needed map to explore our inner experience through listening to the signals of the physical body--a map that can guide us to a profound intimacy with ourselves and our own deep knowing." --Roger Housden, author of Keeping the Faith Without a Religion "With keen insight, inspiring stories, and potent exercises, In Touch is a treasure and pleasure to read--a seminal work." --Richard Miller, PhD, author of The iRest Program for Healing PTSD and Yoga Nidra "Whether making important decisions or sensing what will best serve us, we have all the love and wisdom we need right inside of us. In Touch is the perfect guidebook to access this 'inner knowing, ' which will connect you to your deepest truth. John Prendergast's beautiful book is insightful, practical, and full of heart. I highly recommend it." --James Baraz, coauthor of Awakening Joy: 10 Steps to Happiness and cofounding teacher of Spirit Rock Meditation Center "Dr. Prendergast walks us compassionately through the tricky terrain of the awakening process in this clear-eyed exploration of four somatic markers of an evolving consciousness. In Touch is an invaluable practical guide for those probing the depths and heights of what it means to be both truly divine and truly human." --Meg Lundstrom, author of What To Do When You Can't Decide: Useful Tools for Finding the Answers Within and coauthor of The Power of Flow: Practical "John Prendergast is a leading voice on the emerging interface between therapy and nonduality. His approach to therapy in general and the body in particular is deeply informed by his experiential understanding of nonduality, and his approach to nonduality is grounded in the felt and lived experience of the body and world. As such, In Touch is an insightful and heartfelt meditation for anyone who seeks not only to realize the essential, unconditioned nature of themselves but to live its implications fully in all realms of experience." --Rupert Spira, teacher of nonduality and author of The Transparency of Things, Presence, The Ashes of Love and The Light of Pure Knowing "In Touch is a beautifully written book that navigates the reader through the inner multisensory world of all knowing. With grace and love, John Prendergast has created a masterpiece." --Marie Manuchehri, RN, author of Intuitive Self-Healing "A beautiful and undogmatic guide, rich and practical, to the ins and outs of waking up and waking down in the modern world. In a style that is scholarly yet deeply human and accessible, drawing from his many years of experience as a therapist and spiritual teacher, John Prendergast speaks of the deepest kind of healing: how a curious, self-shining awareness at the core of our experience is remembered and uncovered, then permeates through every layer of our body-minds, saturating every feeling and sensation, every crevice of our known world with light and understanding. This is an embodied awakening that leaves us not more detached from the world, but more intimate with the world than ever, more awake to the sacredness of every moment, to the gifts of being alive, to the preciousness of connection in all its forms. We wake up to unchanging awareness, and we wake down to the beauty and intelligence of our ever-changing bodies, and we finally discover how transparent we always were, how limitless, how vast, how free. This is an important book that will illuminate the way ahead for countless seekers of truth all over the world, and clear up many misunderstandings about the pathless path of awakening. With John, you are in safe hands. Highly recommended." --Jeff Foster, author of The Deepest Acceptance and Falling in Love with Where You Are "This is a beautifully written, accessible guide to deeper dimensions of self-knowledge and connection with other people. Supported by scientific research and decades of experience as a psychotherapist and spiritual teacher, John Prendergast shows us how listening to our body can increase our capacity for spaciousness, subtle attunement, love, and clarity. This is an intelligent, compassionate contribution to the new frontier of embodied psychological healing and spiritual awakening." --Judith Blackstone, PhD, author of Belonging Here, The Intimate Life, and The Enlightenment Process "In Touch is a wonderful read. John Prendergast is a gifted guide who puts the invisible inner knowing into clear words and simple effective practices. This book offers us a map, deep insights and methods to discover the wholeness, intimacy and wisdom that is already within us." --Loch Kelly, M.Div, LCSW author of Shift Into Freedom: The Science and Practice of Open-Hearted Awareness "This book is a wonderful tool to navigate your way to your inner self. Full of research, stories, guidance, and techniques, ?it is a vital and important contribution to the journey of self-knowledge and self-discovery. What a treasure!" --Ed and Deb Shapiro, authors of Be the Change and The Bodymind Workbook "Psychotherapist and spiritual mentor John Prendergast has written a beautiful, inspiring book that helps us tune in to our deepest nature so that we can sense and decode subtle body-sensed information that enables us to 'more gracefully navigate life and to awaken.' Drawing from his extensive experience as spiritual practitioner, psychotherapist, and teacher, John Prendergast integrates strands of contemporary psychological theory and esoteric spiritual teaching brilliantly, bringing depth and maturity to this work, yet making it accessible and easy to understand. Interwoven throughout are 'experiments' that invite us to explore for ourselves the concepts so clearly described. I will recommend In Touch to my friends, colleagues, and my EMDR students as a helpful guide for how to connect with their inner knowing and unfolding of True Self." --Laurel Parnell, PhD, author of Attachment-focused EMDR: Healing Relational Trauma, Tapping In, A Therapist's Guide to EMDR, EMDR in the Treatment of Adults Abused as Children, and Transforming Trauma: EMDR "In this remarkable book, Dr. Prendergast opens up the enormous potential of subtle body awareness as a vital instrument in allowing us to feel into the innermost spiritual and psychological realities of our own and others' existence. This book is essential reading for everyone who aspires to meet others in a spirit of loving care and boundless intimacy. It is stunning in the territory it covers in detailing a new cartography of embodied awareness. Dr. Prendergast shows how deep somatic sensitivity and empathic resonance ultimately rely on the clean-clear presencing of nondual awareness. This book is a must-read." --Peter Fenner, PhD, author of Radiant Mind and Natural Awakening "In this lucid, comprehensive, groundbreaking book, master psychotherapist and spiritual teacher John Prendergast shows us how to listen to our elusive inner wisdom as a path not only to psychological healing but also to the realization of our nondual spiritual nature. Informed by the author's 30 years of experience as a guide on the journey of greater authenticity and inner alignment, and illuminated by the teachings of Advaita Vedanta and by the latest neuroscience, In Touch is a must-read for everyone who aspires to realize and live from the truth of their being, beyond the mind." --Stephan Bodian, author of Meditation for Dummies and Beyond Mindfulness "This guide to the process of listening within is clear and practical, while also helping the reader plumb the multi-dimensional depths and nuances of the inner journey. Highly recommended." --John Welwood, PhD, author of Toward a Psychology of Awakening "In Touch synthesizes essential insights in the fields of spirituality, psychology, and embodiment that could only be written by someone who walks their talk. John Prendergast's lifetime of dedication to the spiritual path and decades of dedicated work as a psychotherapist shine through these pages and offer a rare degree of both subtlety and accessibility. We are fortunate to have this book available to us!" --Mariana Caplan, PhD, psychotherapist and author of six books in the field of psychology and spirituality, including Eyes Wide Open: Cultivating Discernment on the Spiritual Path and Halfway Up the Mountain: The Error of Premature Claims to Enlightenment "Although it may seem a rare and elusive task at first, it is entirely possible to learn to relax the subtle contractions that disconnect us from our embodied awareness. John Prendergast has long studied the epic journey from abstracted head to wise, embodied heart. In this book, he is a compassionate friend to the reader, showing, step-by-step, what is possible and real. Each word is spoken authentically and with care. This book will teach you how to drop in and to get 'in actual touch' with your always already sanity and joy. What a gift!" --Terry Patten, coauthor of Integral Life Practice and creator and host of Beyond Awakening