Taking Refuge
This class explores the three classic gateways to true refuge – Buddha (awareness); Dharma (path, truth of reality) and Sangha (spiritual friends, loving relatedness). It includes reflections and a ceremony that supports us in remembering the pathway home....
Tara Talks: The “If Only” Mind (3:01 min. video)
Without desire, this world would not exist. Yet if we become possessed by our need to have life a certain way, we lose our capacity for presence and joy. Listen and watch the full talk: Relating Wisely to Desire
Tara Talks: The Warmth of Compassion (3:44 min. video)
We cultivate compassion by letting ourselves be touched by the suffering within and around us. As this short presentation shows, this requires intention and courage. Watch and listen to the full talk: Divine Abodes: Compassion
Tara Talks: Keeping Busy (5:04 min. video)
We are sometimes described as “human doings” versus “human beings.” In this short presentation we look at how our drive to keep busy and to over-achieve is a way of avoiding facing the inevitability of loss. Listen and watch the full talk: The...
Tara Talks: Catching Fear Thoughts (3:49 min. video)
Unless we recognize it, fear thinking can take over our lives. This brief talk points to the power of these thoughts, and the importance of cultivating mindfulness of them. Listen and watch the full talk: Part 1: Do You Pay Regular Visits.
Tara Talks: This Moment Counts (3:01 min. video)
Much of our life we have the sense that we are on our way to something else. In this short talk we hear an ancient myth with a timeless reminder: What we are seeking is here, now, within our very being. Listen and watch the full talk: The Backward Step.
A Generous Heart
Our deep potential is to live from an awake, loving heart. This talk looks at how, with a kind and mindful attention, we can decondition habitual tendencies toward grasping and self-centeredness, and nourish the sense of connectedness and care that gives rise to...
Awakening Through Change and Loss
Our capacity to live and love fully is entirely related to how we open to the truth of impermanence. This talk examines how our ways of trying to control life solidify our perception of being separate and threatened. We then look at the wings of mindful presence and compassion that open us to loss and grief, and reveal the loving awareness that is beyond birth and death.
The Sacred Art of Listening
Just as presence is the heart of meditation, so deep listening is at the center of all conscious, loving relationships. This talk explores how our wants and fears block listening, ways we can deepen our capacity for listening, and the healing that unfolds when we truly feel heard by another.
Radical Self-Honesty: The Joy of Getting Real
Our suffering arises from the unseen, unfelt, resisted parts of our psyche. This talk explores ways we can deepen self-honesty and reconnect to a wholeness of being that enables us to live with spontaneity, confidence, wisdom and love.
Quote from Elizabeth Lesser: “My prayer to god every day: Remove the veils so I might see what is really happening here and not be intoxicated by my stories and my fears.”
Part 2: Happiness
The Buddha said that he would not teach about happiness if it were not possible to realize this experience of peace and deep well-being. In this three part series, we explore two kinds of happiness – that which arises out of particular causes and the experience...
Part 1: Happiness
The Buddha said that he would not teach about happiness if it were not possible to realize this experience of peace and deep well-being. In this three part series, we explore two kinds of happiness – that which arises out of particular causes and the experience of “happy for no reason.” The talks examine the attachments that block happiness, ways to “gladden the mind,” and the liberating presence that naturally expresses as pure happiness.
Part 2: Unconditional Love
These two talks explore key elements in manifesting our innate capacity for unconditional love. Both talks include teachings and meditative strategies for recognizing our blocks to loving, and, through courageous, embodied presence, discovering who we are when not...