Fear Archives - Tara Brach: Recent Episodes
Fear Archives - Tara Brach
This meditation guides us through a relaxing body scan and then explores how we can allow the breath to calm our body and bring peace to our heart.
Photo: Tara Brach
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Anxiety is spiking around the world and we need the radical medicine of awareness to unwind it. In this two-part conversation, Tara and Dr. Judson Brewer look at how anxiety […]
The post Unwinding Anxiety with Awareness: A conversation with Tara and Dr. Judson Brewer (Part 2) appeared first on Tara Brach.
Anxiety is spiking around the world and we need the radical medicine of awareness to unwind it. In this two-part conversation, Tara and Judson Brewer look at how anxiety is […]
The post Unwinding Anxiety with Awareness: A conversation with Tara and Dr. Judson Brewer (Part 1) appeared first on Tara Brach.
Fear is a natural and universal part of our incarnation, and, when it goes on overdrive, we get imprisoned in the suffering of separation. These two talks explore how the RAIN meditation can help us face fear, and discover the boundless loving awareness that includes but is not contracted by currents of fear.
Life’s water flows from darkness.
Search the darkness don’t run from it.Night travelers are full of light,
and you are, too; don’t leave this companionship. ~ Rumi
Photo credit: Shannon Lavery – in Alaska
The post Facing Fear (Part 2) – Awakening Your Fearless Heart appeared first on Tara Brach.
Fear is a natural and universal part of our incarnation, and, when it goes on overdrive, we get imprisoned in the suffering of separation. These two talks explore how the RAIN meditation can help us face fear, and discover the boundless loving awareness that includes but is not contracted by currents of fear.
How did the rose ever open up its heart and give to this world all of its beauty? It felt the encouragement of light against its being, otherwise we all remain too frightened. ~ Hafez (Daniel Ladinsky, translation)
Image by Aravind kumar from Pixabay
The post Facing Fear (Part 1) – Awakening Your Fearless Heart appeared first on Tara Brach.
Download the free PDFWhile we all need to customize meditation, this is particularly important for those living with PTSD or strong, potentially overwhelming emotions.
This talk explores how trauma cuts us off from wholeness, and is accompanied by a deep and painful experience of shame. We look at the ways meditation can be adapted to cultivate sufficient safety for the full transformational healing of mindfulness to unfold.
The gift of processing trauma is that the place of woundedness becomes a gateway into profound love, healing, and freedom.
More Resources: Working with Fear and Trauma
NOTE: The audio and video recordings from the Wednesday, January 25 talk will be posted soon below and on Tara’s Facebook, and YouTube.
The post WEBCAST: Trauma Sensitive Mindfulness – The Power of Self-Nurturing – Tara Brach (Wednesday, January 25 at 7:30pm EST – US) appeared first on Tara Brach.
In the midst of difficulty we need access to our deepest wisdom and love. This guided meditation calls forth this loving presence by opening to the heart and spirit of […]
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Nourishing Our Spirit in Times of Collective Fear – We are living with the threat of increasing, dramatic suffering around the globe. This talk looks at the direct ways our […]
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Only when we face our fears can we discover the freedom to love without holding back. This talk looks at how unprocessed fear contracts our body, heart and mind, and […]
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Unprocessed fear cuts us off from our full aliveness and spirit, and it separates us from others. This talk looks at how we bring healing to the trauma and deep […]
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Unser Vermögen, tief empfunden zu leben und zu lieben ist stark davon abhängig, wie wir mit Veränderungen und Verlusten in unserem Leben umgehen. Dieser Vortrag lädt uns ein, darauf zu […]
The post Veränderung, Verlust und zeitlose Liebe (Teil 1) appeared first on Tara Brach.
While it’s natural to have fears of what’s ahead, when we learn to face the inevitability of change and loss without resistance, we discover true peace and freedom in the […]
The post Fear of Aging: Finding Freedom in this Impermanent World – Part 2 appeared first on Tara Brach.
There are two common fears that can block us from our full potential – fear of failure (FOF), and fear of missing out (FOMO). This talk explores how to meet […]
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While it’s natural to have fears of what’s ahead, when we learn to face the inevitability of change and loss without resistance, we discover true peace and freedom in the […]
The post Fear of Aging: Finding Freedom in this Impermanent World – Part 1 appeared first on Tara Brach.
Our capacity to live and love fully is entirely intertwined with how we relate to change and loss. These two talks are an invitation to look honestly, and without judgment, […]
The post Change, Loss and Timeless Love (Part 1) appeared first on Tara Brach.
Turning Toward Fear with RAIN Adapted from Tara’s new book –Radical Compassion: Learning to Love Yourself and Your World with the Practice of R.A.I.N. In a far-off land, word spread far and wide of a holy man with magic so powerful it could relieve the most severe suffering. After seekers of healing traveled through the wilderness to reach him, he’d swear them to secrecy about what was next to pass between them. Once they took the vow, the holy man asked a single question: What are you unwilling to feel?
Learning to directly face anxiety and fear with the RAIN meditation—Recognize, Allow, Investigate, and Nurture—gives you a pathway to inner transformation and a fearless heart.
Recognizing the Trance
After a daylong seminar on RAIN and stress, Brianna came up to me and asked for some help with a personal situation. She’d recently been hired as a marketing vice-president in a large corporation, but she felt intimidated by the CEO, who was very quick to cut off anyone who he felt was wasting his time. He ruled over the weekly staff meetings, which Brianna described as “torture” that put her into a state of “brain freeze.”
“I shouldn’t be worried about my competence,” she said. “I was recruited because I got an industry award at my last job. But the atmosphere here is totally different—really corporate, and the other VPs pretty much ignore me. I just go back to my office with my stomach churning and wonder how long I’ll last.”
I suggested that Brianna practice RAIN for a few minutes right before each meeting and asked her what was going on for her at that time.
“On those mornings I can really feel the anxiety building, and it lands me in a frenzy of busyness . . . reviewing reports, marking what I might need to comment on . . . nothing really productive.”
I smiled because I recognized that feeling all too well. “Okay, so before you start RAIN, imagine you’re pressing the pause button on that frenzy.” Brianna closed her eyes and pictured herself at her desk, a half-hour before the weekly meeting.
“As you pause,” I said, “your first job is to Recognize (R) the anxiety and Allow (A) it to be there.” After she nodded, I added, “Now, what do you notice if you bring your attention and interest to how it feels in your body?”
Beginning to Investigate (I), she muttered, “dry mouth . . . really tight chest . . . heart hammering . . . and, oh yeah, my stomach’s in knots.” I suggested she place her hand on her abdomen and send her breath there with a long slow inflow and outflow. This would to help her steady her attention and stay in contact with the fear.
What Does this Most Need?
Now I guided her to ask the scared place inside her what it needed most, a key inquiry in Investigating. After a moment, she looked up, surprised. “It said, ‘let it be ok that I’m here.’”
The Nurturing (N) that scared place needed was to be accepted, not to be made wrong. I asked Brianna how the wisest, kindest part of her wanted to respond. Could she find a way to acknowledge this very vulnerable part of herself with compassion?
She sat quietly, still breathing slowly, her hand on her belly. Then she nodded. “I just sent the message—it’s ok, this belongs. And . . . it does feel more ok. I’m actually a bit more relaxed.”
This became Brianna’s RAIN practice each week before going to the staff meeting. And when she felt anxiety spiking during the meeting, she’d simply breathe into it and send the message—It’s ok.
The freedom of This Belongs
About three months later, Brianna updated me. Her tension around the CEO hadn’t disappeared, but her anxiety had lessened somewhat. More important, it didn’t feel like such a big deal: “I’m not so alarmed when I get anxious,” she told me. “I was fighting it so hard, but now it’s ok that it’s there. That really does free me up.” She also shared some real progress in making creative contributions and connecting with others.
Asking yourself “what am I unwilling to feel?” can open you to deep spiritual healing. Fear is the feeling that something is wrong and that, rather than facing it, we need to act to protect ourselves. When, instead, we have the courage to pause and meet fear with the mindfulness and compassion of RAIN, our awareness and wisdom enlarges. If we need to respond to a threat, we’ll do so—with increased balance and presence. But often we’ll see: It’s just anxiety, it’s ok . . . this belongs—and begin to unhook from a lifetime pattern of reactivity. While fears continue to arise, we have access to a heart space that is open and free.
Adapted from Radical Compassion: Learning to Love Ourselves and Our World with the Practice of RAIN, Tara Brach (Viking, 2019).
Brach, T. (2019). Radical Compassion: Learning to Love Yourself and Your World with the Practice of Rain. New York, NY: Viking Life.
More Resources on RAIN here.
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While fear is a natural part of our make up, many of us suffering when the “on” button gets jammed. This talk looks at how our fears generate habitual patterns […]
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The world is having a difficult moment. Each day we learn of a different conflict or crisis, which threatens the lives of so may people. It is easy to live […]
The post Love and Fear During Times of War: An Interview with Lama Rod Owens appeared first on Tara Brach.
This meditation guides us through a relaxing body scan and then explores how we can allow the breath to calm our body and bring peace to our heart.
The post Meditation: Meeting Fear with a Healing Breath (22:59 min.) appeared first on Tara Brach.