Dharma Seed - Tara Brach's Dharma Talks

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In Memoriam: Rick Woudenberg

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Tara Brach's Dharma Talks

Tara Brach

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A pervasive but often invisible source of suffering in our culture is self-aversion. We are a busy culture, and we move through our life feeling anxious and dissatisfied, but not fully conscious of how we neglect or judge our inner experience. We suffer from a lack of belonging: to our own bodies, to each other and to the earth. When we practice Buddhist meditation, we learn how to listen deeply and hold our life tenderly.

The open space of compassion allows us to realize that our thoughts and emotions are not who we are; they are waves in our ocean. This gives us the freedom to live more wisely and love more fully.

For over thirty-five years, I've been exploring the awakening of awareness with yoga, meditation, a clinical psychology practice and relationships in spiritual community (sangha). Since the untying of emotional knots is an essential part of "waking up," it is natural for me to weave these elements into my Buddhist practice and teaching. With formal practice, and a genuine engagement in sangha, we can cultivate the qualities of heart and awareness that allow for deep emotional healing and spiritual freedom.

Buddhism guides us in slowing down, quieting and paying attention in an honest and caring way. Through our mindfulness and compassion practices, we establish a sense of intimacy and belonging to our life. We discover that there is no Buddha "out there." Rather, we realize that our true refuge is the wakefulness, openness and love of our own natural awareness.

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2017-10-04 River of Change – Bringing a Wise Heart to this Impermanent Life – Part 1 54:35	Download Listen
These two talks look at how we relate to change – especially the notable changes involving loss of relationships and our own body and mind. We examine our strategies for avoiding uncertainty and fear; the consequences of resisting reality; our refuges of presence and compassion in the face of grief; and the gifts of opening fully to the river of change.
Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC : IMCW Wednesday Evening Talks

2017-08-30 Meditation: Present Heartspace 18:00	Download Listen
This meditation establishes an embodied presence with the gentleness of a smile-down scan, then opens us to the heartspace that includes the changing waves of experience. It ends with a short lovingkindness meditation that offers prayers for relief of the current great suffering from floods in Texas, India, Bangladesh and Nepal.
Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC : IMCW Wednesday Evening Talks

2017-08-30 True Resilience – Part 2: Awakening through All Circumstances 48:06	Download Listen
Spiritual resilience enables us to deepen compassion and wisdom as we navigate life’s difficulties. In this two part series, we will look at the conditions that incline us towards or away from True Resilience, and explore practical and powerful practices that nourish this precious capacity. “The hard times are what move us to become who we really are. We grow through the tough stuff if we are willing to be present. Whatever is arising, without exception, can be a portal to awakening and freedom. If you deepen your attention to the waves, how might it awaken and free you?”
Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC : IMCW Wednesday Evening Talks

2017-08-30 Reflection: Cultivating a Loving Heart 7:10	Download Listen
Love is an innate capacity, and when we intentionally cultivate it, love shifts from a state to a trait. This meditation offers guidance on how to access love, and open ourselves to it in a way that serves this awakening of our hearts. “Know that you’re rewiring your brain, your heart, your body, your mind – and that the more times you do this, the more you really give it 20 or 30 seconds to feel the loving directly, the more access you have to this very innate capacity in your being.”
Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC : IMCW Wednesday Evening Talks

2017-08-23 30-Minute Meditation: Open Awareness – Relaxing Back into Presence 30:00	Download Listen
This practice brings attention to the continuous space within and around the body, and the aliveness of sound, sensation and feeling that lives through us. While it’s natural for attention to get distracted, the pathway home is a relaxing back into the awake space that is aware of this changing life. NOTE: from August 2, 2017 for those seeking a full 30-minute open awareness guided meditation.
Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC : IMCW Wednesday Evening Talks

2017-08-16 Meditation: Filling our Body with Love 16:27	Download Listen
When we are fully awake, love shines through our entire body and being. This meditation awakens that embodied love through the image and felt sense of the smile, scanning through the body, resting in loving presence and offering loving prayer.
Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC : IMCW Wednesday Evening Talks

2017-08-16 True Resilience – Part 1: Awakening through All Circumstances 50:01	Download Listen
Spiritual resilience enables us to deepen compassion and wisdom as we navigate life’s difficulties. In this two part series, we will look at the conditions that incline us towards or away from True Resilience, and explore practical and powerful practices that nourish this precious capacity.
Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC : IMCW Wednesday Evening Talks

2017-08-09 Meditation: Listening to Life 19:20	Download Listen
The attitude of meditation is one of engaged listening – a relaxed, receptive yet intimate attention. This meditation explores how we can listen to sounds, listen to and feel sensations, and then relax back into the ocean of awareness that includes and perceives the changing waves. In this relaxing back, we realize the peace and freedom of inhabiting our wholeness and essence.
Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC : IMCW Wednesday Evening Talks

2017-08-09 Three Blessings in Spiritual Life – Part 3: A Mirror 55:49	Download Listen
This 3- part series explores three capacities we all have, that when cultivated, bring spiritual awakening and serve the healing of our world. Drawing on an ancient teaching story from India, we explore together the power of a forgiving heart, the inner fire that expresses as courage and dedication, and the inquiry of “who am I” that reveals our deepest nature. From the talk: “These are three qualities often described as the essence of awareness: wakeful, open, tender.” And a blessing: “May all beings everywhere remember and trust the loving awareness that is our source. May all beings everywhere live in natural and great peace. May we touch true joy in living. May all beings everywhere awaken and be free.”
Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC : IMCW Wednesday Evening Talks

2017-08-02 Meditation: Open Awareness – Relaxing Back into Presence (19:22 min) 19:20	Download Listen
This practice brings attention to the continuous space within and around the body, and the aliveness of sound, sensation and feeling that lives through us. While it’s natural for attention to get distracted, the pathway home is a relaxing back into the awake space that is aware of this changing life.
Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC : IMCW Wednesday Evening Talks

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