Path of Sacred Relatedness – Undoing the Blocks to Loving Presence

Path of Sacred Relatedness – Undoing the Blocks to Loving Presence

We long for soul friends, and yet often engage with each other in reactive ways – caught inside the experience of a wanting, guarded, fearful self. This talk explores practices that release identification with these scales that confine us, so we can remember the...
The Superpower of Mindful Witnessing

The Superpower of Mindful Witnessing

The capacity to witness what is happening inside us with a non-judging attention allows us to respond to life from our full intelligence and heart. This talk looks at the role of witnessing in spiritual practice, and how we can cultivate this superpower in a way that...
Part 2: Rewiring for Happiness and Freedom

Part 2: Rewiring for Happiness and Freedom

The Buddha said, “I would not be teaching this (a path of awakening) if genuine happiness and freedom were not possible.” While this is our potential, we each have deep conditioning to get stuck in feelings of fear, deficiency and separation from others. These talks...
Part 1: Rewiring for Happiness and Freedom

Part 1: Rewiring for Happiness and Freedom

The Buddha said, “I would not be teaching this (a path of awakening) if genuine happiness and freedom were not possible.” While this is our potential, we each have deep conditioning to get stuck in feelings of fear, deficiency and separation from others. These talks...
Intimacy with Life (Part 2)

Intimacy with Life (Part 2)

Zen master Dōgen teaches that enlightenment is intimacy with all things. These two talks explore teachings and practices that cultivate intimacy – a liberating experience of relatedness and oneness with our living world. “Awakening presence in our relating,...
Intimacy with Life (Part 1)

Intimacy with Life (Part 1)

Zen master Dōgen teaches that enlightenment is intimacy with all things. These two talks explore teachings and practices that cultivate intimacy – a liberating experience of relatedness and oneness with our living world. Listen and watch: Intimacy with Life...
Meditation: Present Heart (14:16 min)

Meditation: Present Heart (14:16 min)

We awaken a present heart by relaxing with the breath, and bringing the kindness of a smile into our bodily experience. This meditation ends with an offering of blessings to our inner life and all beings. Photo: Tara...
Being with Love, Death and Grief: Tara Brach and Frank Ostaseski

Being with Love, Death and Grief: Tara Brach and Frank Ostaseski

Grief is our natural way of expressing loss for what we love, and learning to open to grief serves the deepening and widening of our loving. This event, given at the Upaya Zen Center on June 25, 2023, includes short meditations and talks by Frank and Tara, and...
Meditation: Loving What Is (18:49 min.)

Meditation: Loving What Is (18:49 min.)

While we might not directly love what is, there is a pathway to this inner freedom. As we explore in this meditation, we begin with allowing the changing sensations and emotions to move through us, just as they are. As this allowing presence deepens, it becomes...
Three Core Reminders for Spiritual Practice

Three Core Reminders for Spiritual Practice

This talk explores three powerful ways you can direct your attention when you find yourself emotionally stuck: Wake up from thoughts; feel your feelings and remember love. We explore both the habits blocking these basic movements toward freedom, and what nourishes...
Meditation: Meeting Life with a Kind Presence (21:05 min.)

Meditation: Meeting Life with a Kind Presence (21:05 min.)

This practice guides us to a receptive, kind presence by starting with listening, and moving through a body scan. We then rest in an open awareness, responding to whatever arises with a gentle attention. Photo: Jonathan...