Ralph De La Rosa

"How can I practice acceptance when what I see all around me is unacceptable?" "How can I 'let go' when the headlines that trigger me are constant?" "How do I get involved without burning myself out?" For empathetic people who don't want to ignore the challenges of living in a politically divisive time and don't want to have our minds commandeered by the media, the challenge of living with mindful equanimity is a daily struggle. If distress isn't at the forefront of our awareness, we are, at the very least, holding a background anxiety that makes us susceptible to emotional reactivity. We know that acting out strong emotions impulsively robs us of our clarity, hinders our relationships, and distorts our ability to respond effectively. Yet, so many approaches to emotional intelligence and mindful coping seem to fall short in the fever-pitch moments. How do we walk through the fire of these times without getting scorched? With his signature warm, funny, street-wise style, author Ralph De La Rosa gives us a handbook for mindful living in contentious times. Full of insights and dozens of practices to address common reactions to our current political climate--from media addiction and rage to dissociation and apathy--Don't Tell Me to Relaxbrings the welcome news that our thoughts and emotions are not the enemy. That in fact, when used skillfully, they can become a powerful foundation to support our practice.

Emotional Resilience in the Age of Rage, Feels, and Freak-Outs

Don't Tell Me to Relax

An engaging, funny, and introductory guide for anyone whose overactive mind gets in the way of starting a regular meditation practice “My mind is so busy, I really need to meditate.” “My mind is so busy, there’s no way I can meditate.” Familiar dilemma? These days just about all of us know we should be meditating, but that doesn’t make it any easier to sit down and face the repetitive thoughts careening around our brains—seemingly pointless, sometimes hurtful, nearly always hard to control. Rather than quitting meditation or trying to wall off the monkey mind, Ralph De La Rosa suggests asking yourself a question: If you were to stop demonizing your monkey mind, would it have anything to teach you? In a roundabout way, could repetitive thoughts be pointing us in the direction of personal—and even societal—transformation? Poignant and entertaining, The Monkey Is the Messenger offers a range of evidence-based, somatic, and trauma-informed insights and practices drawn from De La Rosa’s study of neuroscience and psychology and his long practice of meditation and yoga. Here at last—a remedy for all those who want to meditate but suppose they can’t because they think too much.

Meditation and What Your Busy Mind Is Trying to Tell You

The Monkey Is the Messenger

Für einfühlsame Menschen, die die Herausforderungen des Lebens nicht ignorieren wollen, fühlt sich der Versuch, mit achtsamem Gleichmut zu leben, oft an wie ein täglicher Kampf. Einerseits sind wir also mit Stresssymptomen und Burn-out konfrontiert. Andererseits hören wir ständig, dass wir entspannen, "loslassen" und eine andere Einstellung zu den Dingen finden sollen. Wir würden gerne glauben, dass emotionale Intelligenz und Achtsamkeit helfen - aber warum scheitern diese Ansätze in brenzligen Momenten so oft? Auf seine warmherzige und oft humorvolle Art bietet Ralph De la Rosa in seinem neuen Buch Werkzeuge, um gut durch turbulente Zeiten und langanhaltende Krisen zu kommen. Auch dieses Buch ist wieder voller Einsichten, Tipps und Praktiken, die sich mit allem befassen, was uns unsere Gefühle besser verstehen lässt – von Trauma-Auslösern über Schuldgefühle bis hin zur Kunst, Nein zu sagen. "Don't tell me to relax" vermittelt uns, dass unsere Gedanken und Gefühle nicht der Feind sind. Wenn wir geschickt mit ihnen umgehen, öffnet sich vielmehr ein Weg zu Selbstliebe, emotionaler Resilienz und mehr Verständnis für uns und für andere.

Emotionale Resilienz in turbulenten Zeiten

Don't tell me to relax

Hope for all those who want to meditate but feel they can't because they think too much. “My mind is so busy, I really need to meditate.” “My mind is so busy, there’s no way I can meditate.” Familiar dilemma? These days just about all of us know we should be meditating, but that doesn’t make it any easier to sit down and face the repetitive thoughts careening around our brains—seemingly pointless, sometimes hurtful, nearly always hard to control. Rather than quitting meditation or trying to wall off the monkey mind, Ralph De La Rosa suggests asking yourself a question: If you were to stop demonizing your monkey mind, would it have anything to teach you? In a roundabout way, could repetitive thoughts be pointing us in the direction of personal—and even societal—transformation? Poignant and entertaining, The Monkey Is the Messenger offers a range of evidence-based, somatic, and trauma-informed insights and practices drawn from De La Rosa’s study of neuroscience and psychology and his long practice of meditation and yoga. Here at last—a remedy for all those who want to meditate but suppose they can’t because they think too much.

Ralph De La Rosa

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