Tara Brach

2013-09-04 - From Egoic to Unconditioned Loving - When we are caught in the sense of separation and unmet needs, our love is marbled with fear and attachment. This talk describes the chain of conditioning that perpetuates the constrictions of egoic love and explores several courageous activities--sharing our vulnerability, expressing love, extending and receiving love-- that awaken us to the vastness and freedom of pure loving awareness. Please support this podcast by donating at www.tarabrach.com or www.imcw.org. Your donations allow us to continue to freely offer the teachings!

2013-09-04 - Guided Meditation - Letting Life Be As It Is

2013-08-28 - Part 2: Relating to the Fearsome Deities - Whenever Mara--the shadow side--appeared during the Buddha's life, his response was simple and liberating: "I see you Mara," and,"Please, come…let's have tea." In that spirit, this talk explores three approaches to relating to fear with a mindful and compassionate presence. The flute meditation at the end of the talk is given by Akal Dev. Please support this podcast by donating at www.tarabrach.com. Your donations allow us to continue to freely offer the teachings!

2013-08-28 - Guided Meditation: Rest As Presence

2013-08-21 - Part 1: Relating to the Fearsome Deities - Our relationship to fear shapes our life experience. If we are unconscious, and reflexively try to manage fear, our identity takes the shape of the body of fear. If instead we learn to attend and befriend fear, we discover the freedom of our awakened heart. Please support this podcast by donating at www.tarabrach.com or www.imcw.org. Your donations allow us to continue to freely offer the teachings!

2013-08-21 - Guided Meditation: Resting As Awareness

2007-09-26 - The Gift of Silence - Through all spiritual traditions, there is a valuing of silence and stillness. When the mind has quieted, it becomes possible to see into the truth of what we are. Yet quieting can turn into a battle with the process of the thinking mind. This talk explores practices that allow us to settle in a natural way, the presence which is silence itself, and the wisdom and love that flows freely when we live from that silence. Please support the continuation of this podcast by donating at www.tarabrach.com or www.imcw.org. Thank you for your generosity.

2007-09-26 - Guided Meditation: Into the Stillness

2013-08-07 - True Belonging - We all have a longing to belong. When pursued at the egoic level--often through our good-personhood projects--there may be temporary satisfaction but our sense of separation is ultimately reinforced. In contrast, bringing mindfulness and compassion to whatever is arising dissolves the sense of separation and reveals the basic goodness of our own loving presence. Please support this podcast by donating at www.tarabrach.com or www.imcw.org. Your donations allow us to continue to freely offer the teachings!

2013-08-07 - Guided Meditation - The Aliveness and Space of Presence

2009-09-09 - From Story to Presence - A fundamental skill cultivated through meditation is awakening from our stories and arriving back in the aliveness of the moment. If we investigate, we find that a large portion of our stories create physical and emotional stress, separate us from others, and obscure the truth of who we are. In this talk you are invited to identify several of your "top ten hits", explore how these stories live in your body, and reconnect with living presence.

2009-09-09 - Relaxing the Heart

2013-07-24 - Three Gestures of Love - If we inquire "what is between me and presence" we usually find we've been caught inside a limiting story of self, contracted by wants and fears. This talk explores a simple yet powerful way of arousing loving presence and dissolving the narrow identification that keeps us from inhabiting our awakened heartmind.

2013-07-24 - Guided Meditation: A Listening, Receptive Presence

2010-10-13 - Introducción a la Meditación Parte 1: El Arte y Ciencia de la MeditaciónLa primera sesión define la meditación y describe las enseñanzas budistas que le dan contexto al camino de la practica. Exploramos las dos formas básicas de meditación - concentración y conciencia plena - y luego nos enfocamos en el entrenamiento de conciencia plena: trayendo atención de conciencia plena a la respiración y sensaciones corporales. Las meditaciones guiadas incluyen el establecimiento de una intención y la pausa sagrada; aprendiendo a "regresar" usando la respiración como un ancla; y "estando aquí" con una presencia encarnada. Transcriptora: Sashi Gabrielle ([email protected])Traductora: Lara Cozzo ([email protected])Editora: Diana Bermudez ([email protected]) Voz: Diana María Holguín ([email protected])

2013-07-17 - Absolute Cooperation with the Inevitable - This talk addresses common misunderstandings about acceptance (allowing, "letting be") and explores the challenges and blessings of opening to the raw emotions that we habitually avoid. Please support this podcast by donating at www.tarabrach.com or www.imcw.org. Your donations allow us to continue to freely offer the teachings!

2013-07-17 - Guided Meditation: Letting Life Be, Just As It Is

2013-07-10 - Skeleton Woman: Embracing This Living and Dying World - Based on a wonderful myth told by Clarissa Estes, this talk looks at the way we run from "lady death" and the blessings of opening our arms and heart. It is a repeat from 2009-10-07 and fits in well with Tara's topic for next week. If we can embrace the whole of our nature with unconditional presence - including the inevitability of change and loss--we discover deep wisdom and enduring love. Please support this podcast by donating at www.tarabrach.com or www.imcw.org. Your donations allow us to continue to freely offer the teachings!

2012-09-19 Guided Meditation: Embodied Spirit

2013-07-03 - Part 2: Hope and the Spiritual Path - In this talk we further define the nature of mature or spiritual hope as part of a trinity that includes trust and love, and explore what blocks its unfolding. We then review how different people have "hit bottom" and found their way to the energy, receptivity and openness of hope.

2013-07-04 - Guided Meditation: Beingness and Aliveness

2013-06-26 - Guided Meditation: The Dance of Aliveness

2013-06-26 - Part 1: Hope and the Spiritual Path - This talk looks at the difference between egoic hopes and fears, and the quality of hopefulness ("holy hope") that is an essential demension in spiritual experience. We reflect on the three components of hope that serve awakening: Aspiration, Trust and Dedication of energy.

2009-05-07 - Bodhisattva Path - Widening Circles of Compassion - A bodhisattva (awakened being) is committed to relieving suffering and living life from an all inclusive loving presence. This shift of identity from a self centered focus to one of realizing our radical interdependence is a natural part of our spiritual evolution and represents the hope for healing our world. Please support this podcast by donating at www.tarabrach.com or www.imcw.org. Your donations allow us to continue to freely offer the teachings!

2009-05-02 - (retreat talk) Awakening from Virtual Reality - This talk examines how we get stuck in identifying as a separate, deficient self, and the way that a deep attention frees us from trance.

Tara is away this week. Enjoy a favorite talk from 12/9/2009. Spiritual practice reveals our belonging through bringing presence to three gateways: the aliveness of the present moment, loving relatedness, and the openness and lucidity of awareness itself. This talk includes guided meditations in exploring each gateway. Note: poem, "She Dreamed of Cows" is by Norah Pollard.

2013-05-29 - Practicing Meditation: "Getting Out Of Your Own Way" - The depth and vitality of a meditation practice depends on our sincerity, and an attitude of curiosity and friendliness. With this as the grounds, our practice will cultivate the clear seeing and openheartedness that expresses our deepest nature. This talk covers basic ingredients in a meditation practice, and includes a half hour of questions and responses. Please support this podcast by donating at www.tarabrach.com or www.imcw.org. Your donations allow us to continue to freely offer the teachings!

2013-05-22 - Being to Being - Loving Beyond the Trance - We have strong conditioning to relate to each other from a sense of separateness--persona to persona. This talk looks at what traps us in egoic relating and how several simple yet powerful reflections can open us to pure, unconditioned loving.

2013-05-15 Guided Meditation: Open, Wakeful Presence

2013-05-15 - Releasing the Barriors to Unconditional Loving - We long for love and habitually armor our hearts. This talk explores the aggression and clinging that protect our wound of feeling unlovable, and the ways that mindfulness can dissolve our defenses and reveal our inner refuge of pure loving presence.

2013-05-08 - Meditation: Coming Home to Being - Enjoy the meditation prior to the talk at Tara's Wednesday night's class at RRUUC.

2013-05-08 - Remembering Being - Our fear-based doings block us from realizing the formless dimension of our Being, and living from that source of wisdom and love. This talk explores the habitual control strategies that keep us from presence; and the role of mindfulness and lovingkindness in reconnecting with the ground of Being.

2013-04-28 - Retreat Talk: Loving Ourselves - The greatest truths we forget, and one of them is that if we don't love the life that is right here--what we perceive as self--we are unable to embrace our world. This talk explores the suffering of turning on ourselves and the deep freedom that arises when we commit to relating to our inner life with loving presence.

2013-04-24 - Letting Go Into Living and Dying - Our capacity to live and love fully is directly related to our acceptance of change and loss. This talk explores how we avoid the pain of loss, ways of practicing that open us to this changing world, and the gifts of letting go into the flow.

2013-04-17 - Entering the Mystery - John O'Donahue writes, "We are so busy managing our lives, we forget this great mystery we are involved in." This talk looks at the ways we pull away from the mystery and the path of "beginners mind" that enables us to encounter this living world with freshness, courage and wonder. Please support this podcast by donating at www.tarabrach.com or www.imcw.org. Your donations allow us to continue to freely offer the teachings!

2013-04-10 - Heavenly Messengers - Tara interviews Frank Ostaseski, founder of Zen Hospice, on a contemplative approach to death and dying. Please support this podcast by donating at www.tarabrach.com or www.imcw.org. Your donations allow us to continue to freely offer the teachings!

2013-04-03 - Part 3: Three Blessings - Looking In the Mirror - The third gift on the journey of awakening is the mirror. In this talk we explore how to look back into our own minds and discover the timeless, radiant presence that is our essence. It is this realization of our Beingness that enables us to live these lives with wisdom, love and wonder. Please support this podcast by donating at www.tarabrach.com or www.imcw.org. Your donations allow us to continue to freely offer the teachings!

2013-03-27 - Part 2: Three Blessings - Inner Fire - Each of us has the longing to manifest our full potential--to realize and live from loving, awake awareness. This longing is our inner fire, and when conscious and vibrant, it energizes the spiritual path. In this talk we reflect on how fear obscures and redirects our inner fire, and how practices of presence and wise reflection awaken the power and purity of our longing. Please support this podcast by donating at www.tarabrach.com or www.imcw.org. Your donations allow us to continue to freely offer the teachings!

2009-10-26 - (retreat talk) Self Compassion - We can only find love and peace in this life if we are able to hold our inner life with compassion. This talk explores the subtle and therefore often unseen ways that we turn on ourselves, and the pathways to a forgiving heart. Please support this podcast by donating at www.tarabrach.com or www.imcw.org. Your donations allow us to continue to freely offer the teachings!

2013-03-13 - Part 1: Three Blessings of Awakening Consciousness - In this two part series we explore the evolution of consciousness through the lens of three key capacities: A forgiving heart, inner fire (conscious aspiration toward freedom) and self-inquiry. Please support this podcast by donating at www.tarabrach.com or www.imcw.org. Your donations allow us to continue to freely offer the teachings!

2010-12-31 - Minting Gold - Embodying the Awakened Heart - Our core conditioning expresses as both a longing for love and the pain of not trusting we are loveable. This talk explores how we create the experience of separation, and the key meditative heart- trainings that lead us to realizing and living from the truth of our connectedness. NOTE: Snowed out on Wednesday, so offering a retreat talk from 2010. Please support this podcast by donating at www.tarabrach.com or www.imcw.org. Your donations allow us to continue to freely offer the teachings!

2010-06-16 - The Fires of Loss - We all encounter the great losses of our own health and life, and of cherished others. We are conditioned to resist opening to the rawness and grief that comes with loss. This talk describes the refuge of presence in the face of loss, and the gift of timeless love that arises as we make peace with the reality of this living, dying world. NOTE: Tara was traveling this week, so offering a well-loved talk from 2010. Please support this podcast by donating at www.tarabrach.com or www.imcw.org. Your donations allow us to continue to freely offer the teachings!

2013-02-20 - Beyond the Interpreted World - Hildegard of Bingen writes, "An interpreted world is not a Home." This talk explores the suffering that arises from believing in an interpreted reality, and the love, aliveness and freedom that becomes accessible as we challenge beliefs and awaken into living presence. Please support this podcast by donating at www.tarabrach.com or www.imcw.org. Your donations allow us to continue to freely offer the teachings!

2013-02-13 - The Wings of a Liberating Presence - No matter what is happening in our lives, if we relate to our experience with mindful recognition and an allowing presence, it becomes a portal to freedom. In this talk we explore how the cultivation of these wings of presence awakens us from the identification with an egoic self, and reveals the awareness and love that is our true nature. Please support this podcast by donating at www.tarabrach.com or www.imcw.org. Your donations allow us to continue to freely offer the teachings!

2013-02-06 - Embodying True Refuge--Serving and Savoring Life - This talk traces the story of the Buddha's awakening, and reflects on four key archetypal elements that are relevant for each of us as we come home to our true nature. There is a particular emphasis on how these elements enable us to encounter challenges in relationships and find our way to openhearted presence. Includes music honoring the launch of Tara's new book, True Refuge: vocal by La Sarmiento and Kirtan band with Guru Ganesha. Please support this podcast by donating at www.tarabrach.com or www.imcw.org. Your donations allow us to continue to freely offer the teachings!

2013-01-30 - Remembering What Matters - Our conscious aspiration toward awakening is what energizes the spiritual path. This talk reviews the main characteristic of a vital aspiration, the conditioning that obscures our deepest intentions and offers guided reflections to connect us with what most matters. Please support this podcast by donating at www.tarabrach.com or www.imcw.org. Your donations allow us to continue to freely offer the teachings!

2012-12-29 - (retreat talk) The God Whom I Love is Inside - Our suffering arises from unlived life--the fears and loneliness and hurt that we have been unable to digest and include in our heart. This talk explores our conditioning to become dis-embodied and the blessings of spiritual realization that arise as we inhabit our aliveness fully. Please support this podcast by donating at www.tarabrach.com or www.imcw.org. Your donations allow us to continue to freely offer the teachings!

2013-01-16 - Stepping Out of the Cave - If we are suffering it is because we are believing something that is not true. This talk explores the genesis of our core beliefs and the investigation, mindfulness and compassion that can release their grip. Please support this podcast by donating at www.tarabrach.com or www.imcw.org. Your donations allow us to continue to freely offer the teachings!

2013-01-09 - The Barriers to Loving Presence - You might reflect on someone important to you, and ask: "What is between me and loving fully?" Notice what happens. This talk explores the ways we create separations from others, and the power of inquiry and presence to awaken an unconditionally loving heart. Please support this podcast by donating at www.tarabrach.com or www.imcw.org. Your donations allow us to continue to freely offer the teachings!

2013-01-02 - Finding True Refuge - This talk explores the three classic gateways to peace and freedom and includes a living ritual that invites us to bring a conscious, sincere dedication to our awakening on the spiritual path. Please support this podcast by donating at www.tarabrach.com or www.imcw.org. Your donations allow us to continue to freely offer the teachings!