Born in 1953, Tara Brach is an advocate of the healing nature of certain aspects of Buddhism, specifically focussing on the in the Vipassana meditation tradition. This form of meditative Buddhism centres on prajñā, something that approximately translates as achieving insight into the true nature of reality. In addition to her work as a teacher and advocate of this form of healing and mental well-being, Tara Brach is a PhD level psychologist. She gained her qualification in clinical psychology from the Fielding Institute years after attending Clark University, in Massachusetts, where she gained bachelors degrees in psychology and political science. As such, she is one of the growing number of Buddhists in the West who combine their understanding of Eastern traditions, such as mindfulness, with their knowledge of psychology and science in their work, writing and teaching.
The spiritual leader of the Tibetan form of Buddhism, known as Gelug, the term Dalai Lama is an honorific title. In Tibetan, Dalai means oceanic or expansive, and Lama means master or guru. The Tibetan way of writing Dalai Lama is ཏཱ་ལའི་བླ་མ་. In the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, the Dalai Lamas who were spiritual leaders also headed the Tibetan government as regents. Various degrees of Chinese control, notably under the Qing dynasty, have been established over Tibet since then. The Dalai Lama continues to advocate for Tibetan people and Buddhists more generally since the People's Republic of China took over Tibet in 1951. However, he wields no direct political power. In terms of his spirituality, the Dalai Lama teaches Lamrim, the stages towards Enlightenment, and Sunyata, a word that relates to meditation, meaning openness or emptiness.
There are numerous diets that are described as being low carb. Essentially, they all suggest the same thing – namely, that the amount of high carbohydrate foods that go into a conventional diet are reduced. In practical terms, this means cutting down on starchy foods like bread, pasta or potatoes. However, it will also often mean that simpler carbohydrates in sugars are reduced. Conversely, foods which have a low carb content can be eaten in greater quantities to make up the same – or close – calorie intake of the individual concerned. Some of these diets place a heavy emphasis on upping the amount of protein that is consumed while others focus on higher amounts of fibrous vegetables. Scientific studies have found that following a low carb diet will help with weight loss, but they have few health benefits to offer other than that.
