The Book

In Awareness That Heals and The Guided Meditations, Robert weaves  his experience in Spirituality and Psychotherapy to create an integrated tapestry of healing for spirit and mind. Buckminster Fuller said, “I seem to be a verb,” and Robert gives readers and listeners the instructions for how to “verb” with integrity and in the right relationship to the larger whole. Robert has poured decades of experience and timeless love into this work that will enable you to boldly face the present moment. As we face a future of Utopia or Oblivion, it is vital that we heal our connections with ourselves, each other and the living planet we are part of. This book, meditations, and visualizations are a critical tool for the critical path to-ward a future that works for 100 percent of humanity.

At this moment in our nation’s political history, we could all use a little healing. While we face existential threats on all sides, we must be mindful of how we’re impacted, and of how we might work through that to achieve a better world for ourselves and our community. Awareness That Heals provides a practical road map for individual and collective healing so that we may show up to our communities restored and with intention.

One of the unique gifts of Awareness That Heals is the remarkable range of its relevance. The benefits of reading this book are so deep and enduring because the practices enrich every level of our lives—personal, professional, even political.

Awareness That Heals and The Guided Meditations capture Robert’s heart, which I experienced whenever we met throughout the years, and I’m truly overjoyed that he’s going public. I look forward to seeing the impact that this brilliant work will have in the field of psychology and most importantly, its broader implications for our troubled world.

When you are fortunate enough to work with Robert Strock, he passes his wisdom and loving awareness along so humbly that you discover that in truth, you are healing yourself. Further, when you stumble back into some darker crevices, you go to the gifts within his website—filled with rich resources—and you navigate even more as your own therapist, with Robert as your guide. Life is a lifelong process and my gratitude is reawakened constantly, as I am, within this work.

If you ever feel alone, discouraged, and doubt your ability to change your own experience—much less the world at large—then this book is for you. What if you can reclaim your own peace, heal yourself and grow your compassion to help the world at large? That (and more) is what Robert Strock offers in his groundbreaking book and meditations, Awareness That Heals. I’ve personally had the benefit of working with this therapist and thought-leader when my own world felt dark. Now everyone can access Robert’s deep caring and open heart through these easy-to-incorporate healings. You may never sit across from him in a therapy session, but when you hear his words read through his own voice, you’ll feel as if you have.

True healing in a very real sense begins with merciful awareness. Robert Strock’s very personal book reminds us that this boundless quality of our being can include every aspect of our self. No part left out.

Robert’s decades of practice as both a devoted psychotherapist and dedicated Buddhist meditator uniquely qualify him to show in clear, plain language how to gently hold our suffering while simultaneously awakening our natural capacity for healing. By bringing universal spiritual values forward into the mainstream of best mental health practices, Robert has created new tools for caring—facets of the diamond of compassion to shine far and wide, illuminating our life and healing our world.

As each of us confronts life’s challenges, we can feel lost, or alone. Robert Strock’s work provides unique healing strategies that bridge meditation, self-awareness, and develop our capacity to connect to ourselves, and the world. Robert speaks honestly about the exhaustion and anguish created by the severe chemical side effects of his kidney transplant and how the prior psychological tools he developed were insufficient. This inspired the new practices you will read, hear and see. Awareness That Heals is a powerful, vulnerable and honest companion to anyone coping with challenges big and small.

Written and read aloud by one of the leading therapists and thinkers of our time, Awareness That Heals is one of the best guidebooks to achieving self-compassion and inner and outer peace ever written.

Awareness That Heals draws on Robert’s 45 years of experience as a psychotherapist to help people take a revolutionary approach to the areas of our greatest suffering. Robert is not afraid to openly share from his own “dark night of the soul” in order to help others. This book has helped me respond to the deepest stresses in my life by helping me find my instinct to care for myself, and at the same time, giving me several ways to move toward healing.

In this multi-sensory experience (book, audio and audio-visual presentations), Robert Strock brilliantly and compassionately navigates the fathomless waters of psychology, spirituality, healing, mindfulness practice and the self-help movement without running aground or anchoring in a safe harbor any longer than necessary. Awareness That Heals is an invitation to a practical methodology that is both intellectually rigorous and emotionally satisfying. The combination of Awareness, Intention to Heal and Friendly Mind (as so beautifully presented in this collection) will become a guiding principle for me as my personal and professional life unfolds.

My kidney disease brought me to the day of my longtime friend giving me her kidney. I was reeling with questions, doubts and worries. A friend connected me with Robert, and everything changed. He shared so openly, both on the very pragmatic questions and the medical ones he had already journeyed through. Robert reached deep into my soul with his medicine of profundity; the chatter and nervous tension calmed and opened up a flow of clarity and peace.

The transplant was successful. Rob’s depth of seeing and years of practice gave me a spiritual teaching that slipped into my fibers and changed my pathway and seeing of the world that keeps me on track to this day.

In our lifetime, we savor those rare moments when genius and need intersect. Robert Strock has created this uplifting work to help all of us face the daily challenges with clear, accessible, and self-affirming practices. Mr. Strock travels beyond how to make the best of difficult situations. He shows us in simple ways how to grow and become better people with these compassionate techniques. This is a work that both the professional and novice will cherish.

Robert is the best therapist I’ve ever known—and at 84 I’ve known plenty, having been in the field for over 50 years. His understanding of both the spiritual and emotional dimension of people is unique and has been invaluable in allowing his therapeutic skills to flourish. This book is the culmination of his journey toward “awareness that heals.” It’s a journey that takes courage to share and an awareness that is deeper than insight.

Robert’s book offers a foundation in self-awareness. From the Introspective Guides that break down challenging emotions and related needs you might have left dormant, to a series of practices with accompanying meditations, the sequencing helped me to build a muscle of deeper self-understanding. Throughout, Robert is a solid presence in reminding you that these practices are exactly that—something you have to practice. I recommend this book and the guided meditations to everyone, especially those who have chosen a career of caring for others but may need a reminder to care for themselves.