Radhule Weininger is a clinical psychologist who trained as a medical doctor in Germany before coming to the United States more than 30 years ago. She encountered Buddhism in Sri Lanka as a medical student. She now teaches meditation in the United States and abroad.

In the foreword to this helpful resource, Buddhist teacher Jack Kornfield writes:

"Heartwork is a beautiful and encouraging book. It offers a compass, a map, a guide to help us navigate the tender, and at times difficult, passages of life. It spells out how we can hold ourselves and others with compassion and understanding. It's greatest gift is its practicality; it offers direct help to the heart."

Weininger is firmly convinced that the human heart can grow in compassion for self and others; it can nurture openness and empathy in us as well. The author has created a series of mindfulness meditations to cope with a variety of situations including self-criticism, old family wounds, feeling betrayed, money problems, and rage or sadness.

We are eager to regularly practice these practical short meditations. Perhaps the most timely one is a Bodhichitta prayer, "Dissolving Hopelessness," which was used by one of the author's clients as noted in the excerpt from the book.

Try a Spiritual Practice on Compassion