Talks: Reflections on the Path

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.

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.

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. If we can embrace the whole of our nature with unconditional presence - including the inevitability of change and loss--we...

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.

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 dimension in spiritual experience. We reflect on the three components of hope that serves awakening: Aspiration, Trust and Dedication of energy.

Bodhisattva Path – Widening Circles of Compassion (Retreat Talk)
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 […]

Awakening from Virtual Reality (Retreat Talk)
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.

Longing to Belong
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.

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.

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.

Releasing the Barriers 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.

A Special Evening Satsang – Question and Response – RAIN
Question and response with Tara from an evening satsang on 2013-05-13. Many of the questions that evening were about R.A.I.N. [NOTE: in 2013, Tara was using the older concept of […]

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.

Loving Ourselves (from Spring 2013 IMCW Reteat)
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...

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.

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.

Heavenly Messengers: Tara Interviews Frank Ostaseski
Tara interviews Frank Ostaseski, founder of Zen Hospice, on a contemplative approach to death and dying.
For more information on the new “Heavenly Messengers: Awakening Through Aging, Sickness and Death” 2-year training program – a collaborative effort through Spirit Rock and the Metta Institute, go to https://www.spiritrock.org/heavenlymessengers

Part 3: Three Blessings of Awakening Consciousness – 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

Part 2: Three Blessings of Awakening Consciousness – 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.

Self Compassion (Retreat Talk)
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.
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