Tara Brach

How do we keep our hearts open when our world is filled with fear, anger, uncertainty and division? In Part 1 of Cultivating a Courageous Heart, we explore how mindfulness and compassion can help us meet difficult times without becoming imprisoned by reactivity. Courage, at its deepest, is a greatness of heart—the willingness to stay present with vulnerability and respond to life from wisdom and l...

In this guided meditation, we explore the freedom that comes from allowing our experience to be just as it is. Beginning with the breath and a gentle body scan, we soften habitual tension and awaken to the aliveness within and around us. As the practice deepens, we sense thoughts, emotions and physical sensations as waves moving through a larger sea of awareness. When fear, sadness, anger or disco...

What becomes possible when we learn to imagine from presence rather than fear? In Part 2 of this series, Tara explores spiritual imagination as a powerful capacity for healing, transformation and awakening. When we are caught in stress, fear or limiting beliefs, our imagination contracts and reinforces a world of separation. Yet when grounded in mindful presence, imagination can open us to new pos...

Behind the changing sounds, sensations, feelings and thoughts is an alert inner stillness that is purely aware. This meditation begins with accessing the receptivity of a smile, awakening through the body and opening the senses. We then sense the background of awareness and relax back to inhabit that wholeness. When the mind is distracted, the pathway home is a relaxing back, and the essential pra...

What becomes possible when we learn to imagine from presence rather than fear? In Part 1 of this series, Tara explores spiritual imagination as a powerful capacity for healing, transformation and awakening. When we are caught in stress, fear or limiting beliefs, our imagination contracts and reinforces a world of separation. Yet when grounded in mindful presence, imagination can open us to new pos...

In this guided meditation, Tara Brach invites us into an embodied practice of metta—loving-kindness—awakening a felt sense of openness, warmth and care throughout the body. Beginning with the image of a smile, we soften the eyes, face, throat, heart and body, allowing this spirit of friendliness to gradually permeate our whole being. As we deepen into presence, we learn to bring this same loving a...

What would it mean to truly trust the goodness that lives within you? In this talk, Tara Brach explores what she calls "trusting the gold"—awakening from the stories of deficiency, fear and separation that keep us from recognizing our deepest nature. We may spend much of our lives trying to improve ourselves, earn approval or finally become "enough," while overlooking the loving awareness that is...

In this guided meditation, Tara Brach invites us to relax out of the thinking mind and return to the living presence of the moment. Through a gentle body scan, awareness of breath, sound and sensation, we begin to sense the aliveness that is always here—and to rest more fully in reality. As the mind naturally wanders into thought, we practice letting go and opening again to the changing river of e...

What would your life be like if you were no longer at war with your imperfections? In this talk, Tara explores Radical Acceptance as a pathway out of self-judgment, shame and the trance of unworthiness. Rather than believing that acceptance will keep us from changing, we discover the opposite: when we stop making ourselves wrong for what we feel and who we are, we create the conditions for genuine...

Just as a cup is full with water, this body is filled with awareness. As we sense the awareness inside the body, and the awareness that listens to sounds beyond the body, we discover the continuous space of awareness that includes, and gives rise to this entire creation. Opening in this way allows for homecoming to wholeness and freedom.   Our introduction music is from "Opening" by Adrienne Torf,...

How do we keep our hearts open when we've been deeply hurt? How do we respond to injustice without becoming consumed by anger? And how can we love without trying to control or change another? In this final installment of the Ask Me Anything series, Tara responds to questions about some of the most challenging places on our spiritual path. She explores how tending our own wounds can open the way to...

In this guided meditation, we explore the possibility of finding an inner refuge of calm—a presence that can hold whatever is moving through our lives. Beginning with the breath, we gradually soften tension through the body and settle into a relaxed, awake presence. As thoughts, emotions or physical discomfort arise, the invitation is not to resist or control our experience, but to acknowledge wha...

How do we return to presence when we're overwhelmed? How do we heal the trance of unworthiness, navigate difficult relationships, set healthy boundaries—and find compassion without abandoning ourselves? In Part 2 of this Ask Me Anything series, Tara responds to questions from listeners about some of the most tender and challenging places in our lives. Together, we explore practical ways to come ho...

In this guided body scan meditation, we explore a simple and nourishing pathway into presence—awakening awareness through the living sensations of the body. Beginning with a gentle softening of the eyes, face and shoulders, we gradually move awareness through the hands, heart, belly, legs and feet, sensing the aliveness that is already here. As the meditation unfolds, we widen our attention to exp...

How much joy do you experience in your life? Joy is part of our natural human capacity—along with the grief, fear, and sorrow that arise in response to the losses and suffering of our lives and our world. Yet habits of thought and feeling can cut us off from joy, even when it is available to us.  Opening to joy takes intention—and it can be cultivated.  In this conversation with beloved teacher an...

What if happiness is not something we need to create or strive for, but something we discover when we soften and let go? In this guided meditation, we awaken through the body, inviting the energy of a smile into the eyes, heart, belly and whole field of awareness. As we relax habitual tension and release the effort to control our experience, we begin to sense the aliveness and openness that are al...

What becomes possible when we truly listen—to ourselves, to one another and to the life around us? In part 2 of this two-part series, we'll continue to explore listening as a profound spiritual practice and a pathway to intimacy, compassion and healing. When we feel genuinely heard, our defenses can soften, our hearts can open and something that has been blocked begins to flow again. Together, we'...

In this guided meditation, we cultivate an embodied sense of acceptance, kindness and care—learning to meet each moment with a friendly, allowing presence. Beginning with the breath and a relaxed, awake awareness, we explore the felt sense of an inner smile, allowing its warmth to move through the face, heart, belly and whole body. This embodied friendliness becomes a way of making room for whatev...

What becomes possible when we truly listen—to ourselves, to one another and to the life around us? In part 1 of this two-part series, we'll explore listening as a profound spiritual practice and a pathway to intimacy, compassion and healing. When we feel genuinely heard, our defenses can soften, our hearts can open and something that has been blocked begins to flow again. Together, we'll look at w...

In this guided meditation, we turn attention inward and come into intimate presence with the life that is here. Beginning with the body, breath and sensations, we gradually open into the spacious awareness that holds all experience. As we soften habitual tension and allow thoughts, emotions and sensations to arise and pass, we discover the tender wakefulness that is always here. Like waves held by...

What does it truly mean to say Namaste? In this talk, we'll look at the deeper invitation behind this ancient greeting—not merely as a gesture, but as a living practice of recognizing the sacred essence within ourselves and one another. When we learn to look beyond fear, judgment, and the stories we carry about ourselves and others, we begin to remember our shared basic goodness. When we pause lon...

This guided meditation invites you to come home to the simple aliveness of this moment. Through mindful breathing, softening the body, and resting in the awareness that is already here, we discover that presence is not something we create—it is our true home. As we gently release the momentum of thinking, we begin to recognize the quiet wakefulness that is always available beneath the changing flo...

When we pause and gently return to the living experience of this moment, we begin to discover a refuge that has always been here. This guided meditation invites you to relax the body, soften the heart, and awaken to the vibrant aliveness that is present beneath the constant stream of thinking. Together we'll practice using the breath and the body as a home base—learning to meet whatever arises wit...

What is the difference between having goals and living from aspiration? How do we respond when fear takes over? What if self-compassion feels impossible? How do we forgive ourselves, navigate profound grief, heal from trauma, or rediscover joy in practice? In this first Ask Me Anything session, Tara responds to heartfelt questions from our global community, exploring many of the challenges that to...

The stories we believe shape the life we experience—but they are not the truth of who we are. In Part 2 of Stories That Imprison Our Heart, we explore how fear-based narratives create separation, anxiety, and suffering, and how mindfulness allows us to recognize these stories without becoming trapped inside them. When we learn to meet the vulnerable feelings beneath our thoughts with compassionate...