Talks: Reflections on the Path
“The intimacy that arises in listening and speaking truth is only possible if we can open to the vulnerability of our own hearts. Breathing in, contacting the life that is right here, is our first step. Once we have held ourselves with kindness, we can touch others in a vital and healing way.”
Cultivating Loving Kindness – Seeing the Goodness
The ground of loving kindness is seeing the basic goodness in ourselves, each other and our world. This is what gives rise to pure appreciation, friendliness, love and the felt-sense of belonging. In this talk we explore what obscures and contracts our perceptual field, and the...
Love in Action: Realizing Interbeing
The suffering in our world arises out of a sense of separation—from our own bodies and hearts, each other, and this living web. These two talks explore this trance of separation and how it's led humans to destroying our larger body, Earth. We then look at the pathways of...
The Earth is Crying in Our Hearts
The suffering in our world arises out of a sense of separation—from our own bodies and hearts, each other, and this living web. These two talks explore this trance of separation and how it's led humans to destroying our larger body, earth. We then look at the pathways of...
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Living with Courageous Presence
The essence of courage is to willingly feel our vulnerability; this is what allows us to respond to life with an undefended, wise heart. This talk explores the ways we resist opening to vulnerability, and three key steps in cultivating a courageous presence. Ask, “What does it...
Resilience and Wisdom in an Uncertain World – Conversation: Trisha Stotler & Tara Brach
Resilience and Wisdom in an Uncertain World, a conversation between IMCW's executive director, Trisha Stotler and Tara Brach. The Buddhist scriptures describe a mind that “no longer shakes, in a world where everything is shaking.” Our times are deeply stressful and troubling,...
Compass of Our Heart
All of our actions, our entire life experience, arises from the energy of intention. While it’s natural that our intentions are shaped by egoic wants and fears, when we bring this into conscious, compassionate awareness, we can discover the deep aspiration that guides and...
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Path of True Refuge
This talk explores the three archetypal gateways to liberation – awareness (Buddha), truth (Dharma) and love (Sangha). It includes guided reflections and a refuge ceremony that can help us discover the path “inside out” through daily life
NOTE: Stuart Rakoff’s blog is here:
http://stuspeaks.wordpress.com/
Part 2: Evolving Toward Unconditional Love
This two part series explores the evolutionary conditioning of fear and judgment that contracts us away from love and acceptance, and the quality of mindful presence - in relating inwardly and in communicating with others - that awakens and frees our hearts....
Part 1: Evolving Toward Unconditional Love
This two part series explores the evolutionary conditioning of fear and judgment that contracts us away from love and acceptance, and the quality of mindful presence – in relating inwardly and in communicating with others – that awakens and frees our hearts.
The Evolving of Generosity
This talk explores how we can open out of the habit of grasping and deliberately nourish our natural capacity for generosity, for living love.
Accessing Innate Wisdom
Wisdom is an innate capacity, but often covered over by trance. This talk explores how we abandon ourselves as we busily seek ways to feel more worthy, loveable and safe. We then look at the pathway home, the radical non-doing and space of silence that allows wisdom and love to flow through.
Part 2: Vulnerability, Intimacy, & Spiritual Awakening
We each live with uncertainty and the fear of rejection and loss, and we each are conditioned to avoid feeling or expressing that vulnerability. Yet intimacy with this unlived life is the gateway to connecting authentically with others, full aliveness and spiritual realization. These talks explore the ways that we defend ourselves, and the pathway to gently, wisely and intelligently disarming and freeing our hearts.
Monday Night Satsang – Question and Response
Question and response from Tara's monthly evening satsang on 2013-11-11. NOTE: Satsang means exploring and realizing truth in the gathering of spiritual friends. The word comes from Sanskrit – “sat” means truth – and “sangha” is community or company of spiritual...
Part 1: Vulnerability, Intimacy, & Spiritual Awakening
We each live with uncertainty and the fear of rejection and loss, and we each are conditioned to avoid feeling or expressing that vulnerability. Yet intimacy with this unlived life is the gateway to connecting authentically with others, full aliveness and spiritual realization. These talks explore the ways that we defend ourselves, and the pathway to gently, wisely and intelligently disarming and freeing our hearts.
Healing Self-Doubt
Siddhartha Gautama’s last challenge before enlightenment was doubt, and to some degree, most of us live with limiting beliefs about our own worthiness and goodness. This talk looks at the tenacity of self-doubt and the power of mindfulness, investigation and compassion in releasing its grip.
Guided Forgiveness Practice (from fall 2013 IMCW retreat)
Instructions, then a guided forgiveness meditation.
The Heartspace That is Our True Home (retreat talk)
By dedicating ourselves to loving the life that is right here–ourselves–we discover the heartspace that holds this world. This talk explores the pathways of forgiveness, offering and letting in love, and gratitude that reveal the vastness of loving presence.
Part 2: Happiness
This 2-part series explores conditioned and unconditioned happiness: What blocks us from experiencing true well-being, and the skillful means that allow this natural expression of our being to shine through.
Satsang – Closing Prayer for Peace (6:58 min.)
A Prayer for Peace from Tara at the Monday evening satsang gathering. NOTE: Satsang means exploring and realizing truth in the gathering of spiritual friends. The word comes from Sanskrit – “sat” means truth – and “sangha” is community or company of spiritual...
Evening Satsang – “Peace is This Moment”
(published for the first time):
Question and response with Tara from 2013-10-14. Questions relate to a reading of Dorothy Hunt’s poem, “Peace is This Moment Without Judgment,” as well as to RAIN, meditation practice and self-judgment. The evening closes with a prayer for peace.