Spiritual

Tara Brach

Meditation

Guided Meditation - Letting In Love

In this introduction to a retreat Stephan Pende invites the participants to relax into the present moment and to let go of any self-improvement project. Everything you need to come to a place of no more seeking is given to you just now. 

Putting down the burden of Self-Improvement

It is painful to exclude a person from your heart. In this meditation you are invited to soften that pain and see a difficult person in a different way. It might change the way you relate to that person as well. 

Loving - Kindness With A Difficult Person

Gratefulness is a felt sense of wonder, thankfulness, and appreciation for life. Emerging research has recently started to draw attention to its multiple benefits.  People who are  grateful have been found to be relatively happier, more energetic, and more hopeful and to report experiencing more frequent positive emotions. Stephan Pende guides you into a gratefulness meditation using a simple mantra.  

Developing Gratefulness with a mantra

Thich Nhat Hanh shares a Christmas Eve talk from Plum Village in 2012. The practice of going home is a very deep practice. We need the energy of mindfulness. We don’t need a plane or train ticket to go home. There is a station – Radio NST – (non-stop thinking) and this doesn’t help us arrive home. Walking and breathing allow us to arrive. The more you are mindful and concentratesd the more pleasant. Help you stop the thinking and the worrying. Just walk and heal.

Christmas Eve 2012. I have Arrived. I am Home.

Zen master and poet Thich Nhat Hanh was forcibly exiled from his native country of Vietnam more than 40 years ago. We visited the Buddhist monk at a Christian conference center in a lakeside setting of rural Wisconsin. Here, Thich Nhat Hanh offers stark, gentle wisdom for living in a world of anger and violence. He discusses the concepts of "engaged Buddhism," "being peace," and "mindfulness."

See more at www.onbeing.org/program/thich-nhat-hanh-mindfulness-suffering-and-engaged-buddhism/74

Thich Nhat Hanh, Cheri Maples, and Larry Ward — Mindfulness, Suffering, and Engaged Buddhism

This 3 part series is based on a teaching story from the Upanishads that shows our potential to awaken from an ego-based trance and discover the full luminosity and freedom of our natural awareness.  In each class we'll explore one of the three gifts considered as essential on the spiritual path.  The first is the capacity to forgive, to let go of the blame and resentment that prevents our hearts from being open and free.  The second gift is "inner fire," the capacity to devote ourselves wholeheartedly to what we most cherish.  The third gift is a "mirror" or the capacity to look deeply into our own hearts and minds and realize the truth of who we are. Each class includes guided meditations that explore how these gifts can be nourished right here and now in our lives.

Three Liberating Gifts - Part 1 - Forgiveness - Tara Brach

Three Liberating Gifts - Part 2 - Inner Fire - TaraBrach

This 3 part series is based on a teaching story from the Upanishads that shows our potential to awaken from an ego-based trance and discover the full luminosity and freedom of our natural awareness. In each class we'll explore one of the three gifts considered as essential on the spiritual path. The first is the capacity to forgive, to let go of the blame and resentment that prevents our hearts from being open and free. The second gift is "inner fire," the capacity to devote ourselves wholeheartedly to what we most cherish. The third gift is a "mirror" or the capacity to look deeply into our own hearts and minds and realize the truth of who we are. Each class includes guided meditations that explore how these gifts can be nourished right here and now in our lives.

Three Liberating Gifts Part 3 - Looking In the Mirror - TaraBrach

Well being is the deep contentment that arises from a relaxed, wakeful presence. This talk explores the beliefs and habits that contract us away form presence, and several key ways we can nourish our natural capacity for happiness.

True Happiness Realizing Well Being - TaraBrach

The skillful use of inquiry - asking questions in a way that energizes and focuses our attention - brings what is hidden into the light of awareness. This talk explores the healing that arises as we investigate the unseen, unfelt parts of our psyche, and the freedom discovered as we look into the very essence of who we are.

Investigating Reality - TaraBrach

Our capacity to accept this life is key to our freedom, yet there are many misconceptions about acceptance: People wonder, if acceptance makes us a doormat in relationships? Isn’t acceptance akin to resignation? Doesn’t it make us passive when what is needed is action? This talk explores some of the misunderstandings about acceptance and offers teachings on the nature of genuine and liberating acceptance.

Tara Brach - Genuine Acceptance

This first Self-Love Sunday recording explores the importance of honouring your past selves and respecting the terrain of your life journey. I also touch on the critical role of internal permission and the righteous gift of transpersonal experience among other things.. A holy ramble, delivered from me to you. I hope it helps! Feel free to download.

Self-Love Sunday: How to Fill Your Heart Up Like the Ace of Cups

This second Self-Love Sunday recording explores the role of self-awareness as a vehicle for identifying your unhelpful core beliefs and compensatory assumptions. This one delves deep into self-talk, cyclical negative thought patterns and how to break the restrictive rules that hold you back. A holy ramble, delivered from me to you. I hope it helps! Feel free to download.

Self-Love Sunday: The Beauty of Self-Awareness

This third Self-Love Sunday recording explores the theme of communication and how your spoken words enhance your relationship with yourself. Those difficult conversations which require raw honesty can create a lot of fear, but it doesn't have to be that way. A holy ramble, delivered from me to you. I hope it helps! Feel free to download.

Self-Love Sunday: Opening the Throat Chakra

Meditation teacher, author, and clinical psychologist: Tara Brach has practiced and taught meditation for over 40 years, with an emphasis on vipassana (mindfulness or insight) meditation. Tara is a teacher and founder of the Insight Meditation Community of Washington. A clinical psychologist, Tara is the author of Radical Acceptance, True Refuge, Radical Compassion, and Trusting the Gold. Her podcasts are downloaded over 2 million times a month.