Tara Brach

In an age of polarization, conspiracy thinking, and deepening mistrust, how can we cultivate a trust that is wise and healing –for our own heart and the world? This talk explores the personal and collective forces that foster mistrust, and through reflection and applied practices, we'll explore how to nurture a trust in basic goodness and a felt sense of belonging, even in the most divided times.

In our everyday life we are conditioned to feel that life is happening to us, or that we are the doer. This meditation deconditions that self-centrality by bringing attention to the aliveness in our bodies, and then opening to receive the entire play of sounds, sensations and feelings in awareness.

Desire is intrinsic to all living forms – the urge to exist and flourish. It turns to suffering when, due to unmet needs, it contracts, intensifies and separates us from our full aliveness and awareness. These two talks guide us in awakening from this trance, and discovering how within desire is the longing that can carry us to true belonging.

In this talk, Tara explores:

• how the "wanting mind" pulls us away from presence and freedom.
• how unmet needs fuel craving and why substitutes never bring lasting joy.
• the suffering of identifying with desire and how mindfulness offers release.
• using the RAIN practice to recognize, allow, and soften the wanting mind.
• tracing back desire to discover love, belonging, and freedom already here.

This guided meditation invites you to gently come home to the aliveness of the body. Through mindful awareness, you'll learn to soften tension, release mental agitation, and rest in the simplicity of presence. As you bring a compassionate attention to sensations, you discover a refuge that is always here—an embodied wholeness that allows you to meet life with greater ease and tenderness.

Desire is intrinsic to all living forms – the urge to exist and flourish. It turns to suffering when, due to unmet needs, it contracts, intensifies and separates us from our full aliveness and awareness. These two talks guide us in awakening from this trance, and discovering how within desire is the longing that can carry us to true belonging.

In this talk, Tara explores:

- how the "wanting mind" pulls us away from presence and freedom. - how unmet needs fuel craving and why substitutes never bring lasting joy. - the suffering of identifying with desire and how mindfulness offers release. - using the RAIN practice to recognize, allow, and soften the wanting mind. - tracing back desire to discover love, belonging, and freedom already here.

When our hearts open to the life that is here, just as it is, we discover vast loving presence. This meditation engages the smile as we scan through and awaken to our body and senses. Then we practice meeting the changing flow of life with a full allowing, wakeful and open awareness.

In an age of polarization, conspiracy thinking, and deepening mistrust, how can we cultivate a trust that is wise and healing –for our own heart and the world? This talk explores the personal and collective forces that foster mistrust, and through reflection and applied practices, we'll explore how to nurture a trust in basic goodness and a felt sense of belonging, even in the most divided times.

This brief practice calls on conscious breathing, relaxing, letting go and a touch of lovingkindness to nurture inner balance, harmony and ease.

As our societies unravel in fear and reactivity, we are called to live from our most awake and wise heart. This talk and meditation was first offered to Satyam, a community of Palestinians, Israelis, and internationals devoted to creating a future of justice, safety, freedom, and dignity for all. It invites us to move beyond the conditioning of "bad-othering," and to cultivate clarity, compassion, and the capacity to respond in ways that seed healing.

In this talk, Tara explores:

• how the trance of "bad othering" fuels division and how compassion can free us from blame.
• the practice of the U-turn—turning inward with kindness to transform anger, fear, and grief into care.
• the balance of a "strong back and soft front," cultivating courage and tenderness in times of violence.
• how seeing the suffering beneath harmful actions allows us to meet others with wise compassion.
• how presence, RAIN practice, and shared belonging can guide us toward healing and peace.

Behind the activity of thinking, and the ever-changing flow of sounds, sensations and feelings, there is a great and awake silence that holds all that unfolds. This space of awareness is our formless essence, and learning to open and rest into this alert, knowing vastness has the blessings of homecoming.