Talks for Beginners Archives - Tara Brach: Recent Episodes
Talks for Beginners Archives - Tara Brach
The compassion that arises from mindful awareness can heal our inner wounds, interpersonal conflict and the suffering in our world. These two talks focus on cultivating self-compassion and compassion for others. They look at the blocks to compassion and accessible powerful practices that awaken the full wisdom and tenderness of our hearts.
“What They Did Yesterday Afternoon”
they set my aunts house on fire
i cried the way women on tv do
folding at the middle
like a five pound note.
i called the boy who use to love me
tried to ‘okay’ my voice
i said hello
he said warsan, what’s wrong, what’s happened?
i’ve been praying,
and these are what my prayers look like;
dear god
i come from two countries
one is thirsty
the other is on fire
both need water.
later that night
i held an atlas in my lap
ran my fingers across the whole world
and whispered
where does it hurt?
it answered
everywhere
everywhere
everywhere.
poem by Warsan Shire
Photo: Jon McRay
The post Part 2 – The Jewel in the Lotus: Cultivating Compassion appeared first on Tara Brach.
The compassion that arises from mindful awareness can heal our inner wounds, interpersonal conflict and the suffering in our world. These two talks focus on cultivating self-compassion and compassion for others. They look at the blocks to compassion and accessible powerful practices that awaken the full wisdom and tenderness of our hearts.
Photo: Jon McRay
The post Part 1 – The Jewel in the Lotus: Cultivating Compassion appeared first on Tara Brach.
While fear is a natural and intelligent emotion, when fear goes on overdrive, we are in a trance of fear that contracts our body, heart and mind. Our resistance to the direct experience of fear sustains the trance and leads to decisions and behaviors that harm ourselves and others. Only by facing fear with mindfulness and compassion can we awaken from trance and reconnect with our capacity for creativity and full aliveness, wisdom and love.
Listen in to Awakening from the Trance of Fear – Part 1.
Practice with Meditation: Transforming Fear – from the end of part 1 of the talks.
Your support enables us to continue to offer these talks and meditations freely. If you value them, I hope you will consider offering a donation at this time at www.tarabrach.com/donation/.
With gratitude and love, Tara
photo: pixabay.com
The post Awakening from the Trance of Fear – Part 2 appeared first on Tara Brach.
While fear is a natural and intelligent emotion, when fear goes on overdrive, we are in a trance of fear that contracts our body, heart and mind. Our resistance to the direct experience of fear sustains the trance and leads to decisions and behaviors that harm ourselves and others. Only by facing fear with mindfulness and compassion can we awaken from trance and reconnect with our capacity for creativity and full aliveness, wisdom and love.
Listen in to Awakening from the Trance of Fear – Part 2.
Practice with Meditation: Transforming Fear – from the end of the talk.
photo: pixabay.com
The post Awakening from the Trance of Fear – Part 1 appeared first on Tara Brach.
Embodied Awareness – Embracing Unlived Life – Part 2 ~ When we disconnect from the aliveness of our body, we are in a trance that prevents us from living and loving fully. These two talks examine our habits of dissociation – including the cutting off that comes from trauma – and the suffering of “unlived life” that this creates. We then look at how practices of mindfulness and compassion, guided by the acronym RAIN, enable us to re-enter our bodies, and discover the creativity, love and wisdom that naturally flow from embodied awareness.
photo: Janet
The post Embodied Awareness – Embracing Unlived Life – Part 2 appeared first on Tara Brach.
When we disconnect from the aliveness of our body, we are in a trance that prevents us from living and loving fully. These two talks examine our habits of dissociation, and the suffering of “unlived life” that this creates. We then look at how practices of mindfulness and compassion, guided by the acronym RAIN, enable us to re-enter our bodies, and discover the creativity, love and wisdom that naturally flow from embodied awareness.
If you wish to practice the reflection at the end of the talk, here is the link:
Reflection: RAIN – Entering the Wilderness (10:10 min)
NOTE: from the talk: John Muir: “Here is a calm so deep, grasses cease waving. Everything in wild nature fits into us, as if truly part and parent to us. The sun shines not on us but in us. The rivers flow not past, but through us, thrilling, tingling, vibrating every fiber and cell of the substances of our bodies, making them glide and sing. The trees wave and the flowers bloom in our bodies as well as our souls. And every bird song, wind song, and tremendous storm song of the rocks, in the heart of the mountains is our song, our very own, and sings our love.”
Your support enables us to continue to offer these talks freely. If you value them, I hope you will consider offering a donation at this time at www.tarabrach.com/donation/.
With thanks and love, Tara
The post Embodied Awareness – Embracing Unlived Life – Part 1 appeared first on Tara Brach.
This talk explores three key features of the trance of unworthiness and introduces a guided meditation based on the acronym RAIN that awakens self-compassion and de-conditions the suffering of being at war with ourselves.
Listen to Meditation: The RAIN of Self-Compassion included at the end of this talk.
Please visit Blog: The RAIN of Self-Compassion for a written description of the RAIN practice.
Note:poem, “She Dreamed of Cows” is by Norah Pollard.
• More Resources on RAIN: Recognize, Allow, Investigate, Nurture
photo credit: Jon McRay
The post The RAIN of Self-Compassion appeared first on Tara Brach.
This two-part series offers a clear and fresh understanding of practices that cultivate mindful awareness. The first class examines our attitude towards practice and gives guidance on posture, establishing an […]
The post Part 2: Basic Elements of Meditation Practice appeared first on Tara Brach.
This two-part series offers a clear and fresh understanding of practices that cultivate mindful awareness. The first class examines our attitude towards practice and gives guidance on posture, establishing an […]
The post Part 1: Basic Elements of Meditation Practice appeared first on Tara Brach.
The universal experience of stress (in Buddhism, called dukkha) is a message that we are not realizing, trusting and living from our true nature. Our habitual reactions to stress – grasping, aversion, resistance – deepen emotional pain and lock us in a limiting sense of egoic-self. This talk explores how, with conscious intention and deepened attention, the stressful difficulties we encounter can become the very grounds of healing and spiritual awakening.
The post Stress and Our Evolving Consciousness appeared first on Tara Brach.