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Dharma Talks
given at Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC
Publicly available talks can be browsed here in the order indicated by
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Get the latest Dharma talks from Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC by Podcast
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2018-09-26
The Mighty Force of Mudita - Sympathetic Joy
44:14
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Shell Fischer
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| As the great Zen master Thich Nhat Hahn tells us, “Suffering is not enough.” In order for us to not be pulled under by the great forces of greed, hatred, and delusion in our world, the teachings urge us to continually and consciously nurture the heart and mind states of kindness, compassion, peace, and joy (mudita), which includes a deep wish or aspiration for all beings to be happy and to know the causes of happiness – including ourselves. During this talk, Shell dives into the rich practice of Mudita, and shows us how it can help to more fully open and expand our hearts, and discover more joy in our lives. |
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IMCW Wednesday Evening Talks
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2018-08-29
Part 2: Vulnerability, Intimacy, & Spiritual Awakening
55:05
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Tara Brach
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| We each live with uncertainty and the fear of rejection and loss, and we each are conditioned to avoid feeling or expressing that vulnerability. Yet intimacy with this unlived life is the gateway to connecting authentically with others, full aliveness and spiritual realization. These talks explore the ways that we defend ourselves, and the pathway to gently, wisely and intelligently disarming and freeing our hearts. (a special talk from the archives) |
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IMCW Wednesday Evening Talks
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2018-08-22
Part 1: Vulnerability, Intimacy, & Spiritual Awakening
59:10
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Tara Brach
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| We each live with uncertainty and the fear of rejection and loss, and we each are conditioned to avoid feeling or expressing that vulnerability. Yet intimacy with this unlived life is the gateway to connecting authentically with others, full aliveness and spiritual realization. These talks explore the ways that we defend ourselves, and the pathway to gently, wisely and intelligently disarming and freeing our hearts. |
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IMCW Wednesday Evening Talks
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2018-08-15
Meditation: Presence and Breath
21:39
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Tara Brach
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| This simple meditation guides us to wake up awareness of the body, and rest with the movement of the breath. We are invited to discover the presence that arises as we come home to our moment-to-moment experience. The practice ends with a short prayer, connecting with what most matters to our heart. |
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IMCW Wednesday Evening Talks
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2018-08-15
Discovering the Power of Prayer
45:36
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Tara Brach
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| We all know the pain of separation and have a longing for connection. When we silently listen to and contact the depth of that longing, we are at the root of transformational prayer. This talk looks at what prayer is, who/what we are praying to, the shadow side of prayer, and ways of cultivating our prayers so that they become authentic vehicles for spiritual awakening. |
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IMCW Wednesday Evening Talks
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2018-08-08
Meditation: Letting Go of Doing
21:50
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Tara Brach
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| Meditation becomes truly freeing in the moments when there is no controlling whatsoever; when nothing is resisted or grasped after. This guided meditation begins with a simple body scan, relaxing and awakening to sensations in the body and then including the play of sound. Then we let go of any doing, and simply notice and allow the changing flow of experience, letting life be just as it is. In this pure allowing presence we become aware of the background silence that is listening. The invitation is to relax and be the awareness that is conscious of all that is unfolding. |
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IMCW Wednesday Evening Talks
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2018-08-08
Healing Depression with Meditation – Part 2
52:19
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Tara Brach
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| Most people get depressed at times, and many suffer greatly from bouts of major depression. At the heart of the suffering is the experience of severed belonging—of being imprisoned in the pain of separation, unworthiness, unlovability and hopelessness. These two talks explore several meditation practices that reconnect us with our natural aliveness, openheartedness and awareness. They empower us to develop our inner resources, energize us to awaken, free us from rumination and remind us that we are not our depressive thoughts and feelings. The growing realization of the loving awareness that is our home heals the very roots of depression. |
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IMCW Wednesday Evening Talks
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2018-08-01
Meditation: Refuge in Living Presence
22:55
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Tara Brach
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| We spend great swaths of time in a trance that removes us from awareness of our body and senses. This meditation reconnects us by scanning through the body, including sounds and then resting in the field of awareness and aliveness. We practice relaxing and gently arriving again when thoughts carry us away; learning the pathway home to living presence. |
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IMCW Wednesday Evening Talks
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