|
Dharma Talks
given at Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC
|
2018-07-04
Meditation: Blessings of Love
11:27
|
|
Tara Brach
|
|
|
A blessing is whatever reminds us of the sacred loving presence that shines through all of us. This meditation is a transformational practice in receiving and offering blessings. First we connect with the vulnerable tender place within us that longs to feel loved, and call on loving presence to bless us. By imagining and allowing ourselves to receive love, our hearts become open and filled with light. We then bring that inner loving presence fully alive as we offer blessings to other beings. The image of receiving a kiss on the brow, and offering one, is suggested as a powerful channel for the blessings that awaken our heart.
“…being loved into being more who we are is a moment of blessing. What is a blessing? A blessing is a reminder or homecoming into more realness – more love. We’re blessed when we remember.”
“Part of what keeps us from realness – in that small self identity – is the avoiding of what’s here.”
|
|
Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC
:
IMCW Wednesday Evening Talks
|
|
|
2018-07-04
Skeleton Woman: Embracing This Living and Dying World
45:58
|
|
Tara Brach
|
|
|
Based on a wonderful myth told by Clarissa Estes, this talk looks at the way we run from “lady death” and the blessings of opening our arms and heart. 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. (a favorite from the archives)
May what I do flow from me like a river,
no forcing it and no holding back,
the way it is with children.
Then in these swelling and ebbing currents,
these deepening tides moving out, returning,
I will sing you as no one ever has,
streaming through widening channels
into the open sea.
— from Rilke’s Book of Hours: Love Poems to God, by Rainer Maria Rilke
|
|
Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC
:
IMCW Wednesday Evening Talks
|
|
|
2018-06-27
Evolving Beyond “Unreal Othering”
52:19
|
|
Tara Brach
|
|
|
What motivates us – as individuals and as a society – to build walls and knowingly hurt others? This talk explores the evolutionary roots of “unreal othering” and how when we are hijacked by fear, it can take over and disconnect us from the very real suffering of others. We then look at how meditative strategies awaken us from othering, and reveal our intrinsic belonging. Finally, we apply this to our own lives in a reflection that helps us respond to someone we have turned into “unreal other” with compassion and wisdom.
|
|
Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC
:
IMCW Wednesday Evening Talks
|
|
|
