Dharma Talks
given at Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC
2018-04-11
Listening with an Awake Heart - Part 1
50:22
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Tara Brach
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Deep listening - to our inner life, each other and our world - is an intrinsic expression of our awakened heart. Yet because we have strong conditioning to be caught in wants and fears, there is often much interference in the field of communications. These two talks are an opportunity to intentionally deepen your capacity to listen in a way that leads to increased understanding and connection. You’ll have the opportunity to investigate what gets between you and deep listening, and to practice the key elements that nurture receptive presence.
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Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC
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IMCW Wednesday Evening Talks
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2018-03-28
Meditation: Continuous Space Suffused with Awareness
18:41
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Tara Brach
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By learning to inhabit the body, we discover the space and aliveness that fills the universe. In this meditation we are guided through the body, filling different domains with presence. We then open into the continuous awake space that is both within and surrounds the body. When we notice the mind drifts, we relax back to be that awake space, aware of the changing flow of sensations, thoughts, feelings and sounds.
We close with a simple prayer:
May we come home to the light, love and aliveness that’s our deep nature. May we live our lives from loving presence.
May that loving presence ripple out in a way that brings peace and healing to our world.
Namaste
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Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC
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IMCW Wednesday Evening Talks
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2018-03-28
Namaste: Seeing the Truth of Who We Are
59:32
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Tara Brach
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A gift of evolving consciousness is the capacity to recognize and honor the sacred awareness that lives through our own and all beings. This capacity is blocked by our identification with our “mask” or ego self, and not seeing past other people’s masks. In this talk we reflect together on some key filters of superior/inferior and good/bad that shape the trance of a narrowed identity, and then explore how mindfulness and kindness free us to inhabit the vastness of our natural awareness. We close with tasting the possibility of bringing the spirit of Namaste to ourselves, others and all beings.
Rumi writes: ““Are you searching for your true self? Then come out of your own prison. Leave the little creek and join the mighty river that flows into the ocean. Like an ox, don’t pull the wheel of this world on your back. Take off the burden. Whirl and circle, and rise above the wheel of the world. There is another view.”
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Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC
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IMCW Wednesday Evening Talks
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2018-03-07
Meditation: Homecoming with the Breath
23:52
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Tara Brach
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This meditation focuses on the breath as an anchor for homecoming. We begin with an intentional breath (coherence breathing) and then establish the natural breath as a home base. The instructions are to rest in the breath, offering a relaxed, intimate intention. Other waves of sensation or emotion are included when they ask for attention as we cultivate an open and full mindful presence. Our freedom arises as we recognize the formless awareness that is our home, and the natural and ever-changing waves that live through us.
Ten thousand flowers in spring, the moon in autumn,
a cool breeze in summer, snow in winter.
If your mind isn’t clouded by unnecessary things,
this is the best season of your life.
by Wu Men Hui-k’ai
English version by Stephen Mitchell
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Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC
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IMCW Wednesday Evening Talks
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