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The greatest gift is the
gift of the teachings
 
Tara Brach's Dharma Talks
Tara Brach
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.
2009-11-18 Refuge in Loving Presence 1:19:15
There are times when there is so much fear and reactivity, that the first step in moving toward freedom is to connect with some sense of safety and love. This talk explores how an inner pathway to loving presence can support us in facing and awakening through traumatic wounding.
Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC IMCW Wednesday Evening Talks
2009-11-11 Choosing Presence 1:19:21
Spiritual awakening is energized by conscious intention. This talk explores how we get waylaid by habitual wants and fears, and the ways we can connect with the power and purity of our deep aspiration for love, truth and freedom.
Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC IMCW Wednesday Evening Talks
2009-11-04 Intimacy with Life 1:24:03
Zen mast Dogen taught that "...to study the Buddhist way is to be Intimate with all Things." This talk reviews the often unconscious ways that we habitually block intimacy and two trainings of attention that foster a natural sense of belonging to this living world and to timeless presence.
Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC IMCW Wednesday Evening Talks
2009-10-26 Self Compassion 58:31
Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC 2009 - IMCW Fall Residential Retreat - "Intimacy with Life"
2009-10-26 Self-Compassion 58:31
(retreat talk) We can only find love and peace in this life if we are able to hold our inner life with compassion. This talk explores the subtle and therefore often unseen ways that we turn on ourselves, and the pathways to a forgiving heart.
Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC 2009 - IMCW Fall Residential Retreat - "Intimacy with Life"
2009-10-21 Behind the Mask 49:00
The development of a mask or persona based on our activities and roles is a natural way the ego tries to protect and enhance itself. Yet unless we wake up from our identification with the mask, we are unable to discover the truth and wholeness of what we are. This talk investigates how our masks manifest and the process of wise attention that can free us from a limiting sense of separate self. Includes a guided meditation.
Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC IMCW Wednesday Evening Talks
2009-10-14 Question and Response 58:09
Tara responds to questions from the sangha.
Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC IMCW Wednesday Evening Talks
2009-10-07 Skeleton Woman 45:55
If we can embrace the whole of our nature with unconditional presence - including the inevitability of change and loss--we discover deep wisdom and enduring love.
Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC IMCW Wednesday Evening Talks
2009-09-30 Two Wings of a Liberating Attention 49:46
The attention that serves spiritual awakening is based on the capacity to recognize clearly what is happening in the present moment, and to regard what arises with a kind heart. This talk explores the challenges to a clear and honest presence, and how we cultivate understanding and compassion.
Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC IMCW Wednesday Evening Talks
2009-09-23 Wise Effort and Spiritual Freedom 51:12
In the Buddhist tradition, wise effort, or the purposeful dedication of our energy, is an essential part of the spiritual path. While the attitudes of grasping or fear can contract the quality of our effort and create suffering in our lives; when our effort arises from sincerity and wisdom, it creates the conditions for liberation.
Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC IMCW Wednesday Evening Talks

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