It's amazing how many people will say,

I'm afraid to look at myself in the mirror, I can never do that.

And so, what does that really say about one's relationship to themselves?

Hello and welcome to the Psychology Podcast.

Today we welcome Tara Well on the show.

Tara is an associate professor of psychology at Barnard College of Clubing University,

where she has taught personality psychology, health psychology, and psychology of leadership

for over 20 years. Her research on motivation, perception, and cognition

have been funded by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Mental Health.

She outlines the research and benefits of her meditation program in her latest book,

Mirror Meditation. In this episode I talked to Tara about mirror meditation.

What is the first thing you think of when you look in the mirror?

For a lot of us, our initial instinct is to nitpick at our flaws.

Using mirror meditation, Tara teaches people how to use one's reflection to promote self-acceptance

and inner knowing. The mirror can also help us become kinder not just to ourselves,

but to the people around us as well. We also touch on the topics of narcissism,

compassion, and attachment. It was really great catching up with my colleague,

Ed Columbia, Tara, who I hold in very high esteem. Her work is really great and really novel.

I hope that it helps you view the world in new ways and to view yourself in new ways,

just like her work has helped me with. So that further ado, I bring you Tara Well.

Tara Well. I'm so glad to finally have you on my show.

It's great to be here, Scott. Thank you for the invitation.

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