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Already Free
- Buddhism Meets Psychotherapy on the Path of Liberation
- Narrated by: Bruce Tift MA
- Length: 7 hrs and 17 mins
- Categories: Religion & Spirituality
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Summary
Different Paths, Different Strengths
Freedom from unnecessary suffering is the goal of both Buddhism and modern psychotherapy, yet each approaches this intention from a very different perspective. "Buddhist practice helps us awaken to a well-being that is independent of our circumstances," explains Bruce Tift, "while Western psychotherapy helps us bring our disowned experience into awareness in order to live in a more skillful and satisfying way."
On Already Free, this therapist and Buddhist practitioner opens a fresh dialogue between these two perspectives, and explores how each provides us with essential keys to experiencing full presence and aliveness.
Practical Tools and Wisdom from the Eastern and Western Traditions
Buddhism gives us powerful tools for breaking free of our own identity drama and our fascination with day-to-day problems, yet it does not address how early childhood experience shapes our adult lives. Western psychotherapy provides a wide range of proven techniques for understanding and untangling the development of our neurotic patterns, but it is only beginning to recognize the powerful impact of exploring awareness itself."These two approaches sometimes contradict and sometimes support each other," Tift explains. "When used together, they can help us open to all of life in all its richness, its disturbances, and its inherent completeness. "With a keen understanding of the wisdom of East and West, and a special focus on working with intimate relationships as a pathway to spiritual awakening, Bruce Tift presents seven immersive sessions of insights, wisdom, and practical instruction for realizing the fundamental freedom that is your birthright.
- The Developmental Approach - why we still use our childhood survival skills after we outgrow them
- The Fruitional Approach - Buddhist wisdom on finding liberation without resolving our historic issues
- Relationships and Awakening - practices for couples to develop "healthy intimacy" and welcome connection and separateness
- Why we use "neurotic organization" to limit our life experience, and how to challenge this self-perpetuating process
What listeners say about Already Free
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Andrew
- 17-04-15
INVALUABLE !
Enjoyed the delivery and content immensely. Have listened twice and will certainly listen a third time !!
This book delivers great insight from beginning to end.
7 people found this helpful
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- shaun dowling
- 31-05-18
Spectacular work
Such a densely distilled down and clearly communicated ideas. Couldn't recommend more for people interested in how east and west psychology can work together
1 person found this helpful
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- Ted
- 21-02-21
Exceptional material and enjoyed the speaker
Really well paced and broad in its cover. provides levels of insight that help better make sense of life and our fated responsibility to ourselves and others.
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- Sean J Joyce
- 20-10-20
A simple yet profound approach
Bruce Tift compassionately delivers a deceptively simple yet profound approach to living our lives with more presence and less struggle. Many people in relationships may find the last two chapters particularly useful. I highly recommend this to any person keen to understand themselves better.
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- Paul
- 26-03-18
Very enlightening book
Detailed text from a well seasoned Buddhist Therapist. The book held several revelations for me and I listened to it twice it is so good!
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- Kat Kolegas
- 04-01-19
Wisdom packed; Overhaul your understanding of relationship and be free
I love this book because it holds the paradox of both letting go and dealing with our minds and wounds. Listen to it over and over, do the practices, invite in a new perspective and you will find yourself relieved more than anything else. Relieved that you don’t need to “figure out” anything, that actually there is nothing to figure out. The only thing that’s wrong is that we think something is wrong. And that, at the same time, we are human, we have feelings, we react, we are impacted by the experiences of our past, and that’s OK too. Bruce offers body-based practices to chill out when you’re feeling stressed. To let go of some of the worry and invite in what he calls “open awareness”. Just being. That understanding alone has been a life changer for me.
3 people found this helpful
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- MER
- 04-02-18
I think even Sam Harris would enjoy this book
This is the best description of Buddhist philosophy entering into our Western culture focused specifically on relationships. However its usefulness is much broader.
3 people found this helpful
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- Matt
- 15-11-16
Extraordinary
What made the experience of listening to Already Free the most enjoyable?
This is a really incredible work. In fact, it would be my desert island human life operating manual if I had to choose one. I have read and listened to many, many works on spirituality, dharma, personal growth, trauma, etc, etc, and I would say currently that this is the best thing I have come across. I love listening to Bruce's voice and this is a work I will return to again and again. The book version, which is slightly different from the audio but contains most of the same info, is a nice compliment to the audio program. Jayson Gaddis' podcast with Bruce is also terrific if you want more of him or a preliminary taste.
3 people found this helpful
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- Phyllis
- 31-05-19
Thoughtful and insightful
Bruce Tift gives an insightful look into conceptualizing mental health within a Buddhist context and at the same time groundings this information in a traditional psychotherapy. I found this very useful and practical. Bruce Tift is able to verbalize key concepts of mindfulness in such a way to make them extremely accessible to everyone.
2 people found this helpful
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- Kindle Customer
- 30-03-17
practical, kind and down to earth
I found this course really useful. The information is uncomplicated, easy to relate to personal experience and in the end encouraging.
I look forward to listening to it again and working to look at my life and relationships with Tift's insight.
2 people found this helpful
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- Joshua Taulbee
- 05-07-16
Genius!
I found this to be the most brilliant writing covering the topics of Buddhism and psychotherapy. This book has literally changed my life!
2 people found this helpful
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- Nishna-botna
- 04-07-15
Helped me understand my life's journey
I had many insights as I listened. The author put together a kind of map which helped me understand my life's journey. The information is down to earth and practical. I got so much out of it that I will listen to it again. His narration style is conversational and easy to listen to.
5 people found this helpful
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- Steve W.
- 17-06-19
Perfect Blend of Buddhist and Western Wisdom
Bruce Tift is a master psychotherapist. I witnessed his brilliance in person at a weekend retreat which was attended by ruffly half Buddhist practitioners and half practicing psychotherapists. Though his style was very direct, to a person he cut straight to the heart of their issues. I personally was left no where to hide. My usual bypasses and stories were not allowed. The results were transformative. A very overused word, but not one often used by me. This book does an excellent job of sharing his mastery and wisdom.
1 person found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 30-01-21
When the student is ready the master arrives
The author skillfully helps the reader to understand why there exists the unavoidable reality of going through life with contradictions and what to do with this fundamental disturbance about life.
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- Anonymous User
- 05-01-21
Therapeutic Lifeline for Working with Codependent Pain
I've listened to this over and over. Each time, a bit more sinks in. Bruce's reading feels neutral. The way he presents such paradigm bucking content is helping me shift my experiences, little by little. Re-listening is more fruitful than any counselling I've had. I'm definitely aware now, at least sporadically, that shedding victimhood behooves me and my family. Great material to discuss with my therapist. Thank you, Bruce.