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Retreat Dharma Talks
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IMCW Wednesday Evening Talks
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Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC
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2018-09-19
Mindful of Race: Transforming Racism From The Inside Out
52:42
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Ruth King
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The world’s heart is on fire, and race is at its core. The bitter racial seeds from past beliefs and actions are blooming all around us, reflecting not only a division of the races that is rooted in ignorance and hate, but also, and more sorely, a division of the heart. Racism is a heart disease. How we think and respond is at the core of racial suffering and racial healing. If we cannot think clearly and respond wisely, we will continue to damage the world’s heart.
In this talk, my hope is to ignite your imagination and help you discover your voice in the song of racial healing, and how we could live in this world if every one of us aimed our energy toward awakening, non-harming, generosity, and kinship—a world with race but without racism. It all begins with an examination of our habits of harm.
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2018-10-03
Meditation: Coming Home with the Breath
14:48
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Tara Brach
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Our breath is always available as a pathway back to presence. This simple meditation guides us to relax and awaken in the body, and then establishes the breath as a home base for our attention. Our practice is to notice when the mind becomes distracted, and gently return to our breath and senses. This helps the mind to become increasingly settled, calm and clear. We close with a short heart blessing.
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2018-10-03
Part 1: Rewiring for Happiness and Freedom
51:22
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Tara Brach
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The Buddha said, “I would not be teaching this (a path of awakening) if genuine happiness and freedom were not possible.” While this is our potential, we each have deep conditioning to get stuck in feelings of fear, deficiency and separation from others. These talks explore the two interdependent pathways of undoing the conditioning that blocks our potential. In Part I we will look at how we can intentionally arouse states of wellbeing, and with practice, develop them into ongoing traits that bring presence and joy to our lives. In Part II, we will investigate how to cultivate an unconditional presence, and the radical acceptance and love, that are the grounds of true happiness and inner freedom.
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2018-10-17
Meditation: Relaxing Back into the Mystery
18:26
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Tara Brach
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All true meditation guides us back to presence, and the mystery that is our source. In this guided meditation we awaken the senses, collect with the breath, and when lost in thought, practice relaxing back into the aliveness and awareness that is always here. We close with a beautiful poem from poet Danna Faulds.
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2018-10-17
Part 2: Rewiring for Happiness and Freedom
51:10
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Tara Brach
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The Buddha said, “I would not be teaching this (a path of awakening) if genuine happiness and freedom were not possible.” While this is our potential, we each have deep conditioning to get stuck in feelings of fear, deficiency and separation from others. These talks explore the two interdependent pathways of undoing the conditioning that blocks our potential. In Part I we will look at how we can intentionally arouse states of well-being, and with practice, develop them into ongoing traits that bring presence and joy to our lives. In Part II, we will investigate how to cultivate an unconditional presence, and the radical acceptance and love, that are the grounds of true happiness and inner freedom.
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2018-10-24
Meditation: Resting in Awake Awareness
18:52
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Tara Brach
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This practice opens with a body scan, employing the image and felt sense of a smile to awaken awareness through the body. We then open to all the senses, and rest in the awareness that includes this changing life.
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2018-10-24
Part 1 – The Jewel in the Lotus: Cultivating Compassion
50:35
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Tara Brach
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The compassion that arises from mindful awareness can heal our inner wounds, interpersonal conflict and the suffering in our world. These two talks focus on cultivating self-compassion and compassion for others. They look at the blocks to compassion and accessible powerful practices that awaken the full wisdom and tenderness of our hearts.
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2018-11-07
Meditation: Whole Body Breathing
19:52
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Tara Brach
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This guided meditation includes a body scan and invites the receptivity and letting-go of whole body breathing. Once we have awakened the vitality and presence throughout the body, we have access to the formless dimension, the awareness that is our source.
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2018-11-07
Part 2 – The Jewel in the Lotus: Cultivating Compassion
54:58
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Tara Brach
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The compassion that arises from mindful awareness can heal our inner wounds, interpersonal conflict and the suffering in our world. These two talks focus on cultivating self-compassion and compassion for others. They look at the blocks to compassion and accessible powerful practices that awaken the full wisdom and tenderness of our hearts.
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2018-11-14
Meditation: The Presence Beyond Thoughts
17:33
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Tara Brach
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We spend many life moments in a trance of thinking. This meditation awakens the senses through a body scan, and attention to sound. We then rest in the presence that can come alive in the gap between thoughts—the presence that is our true home.
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