Tara Brach
Tara Brach, Ph.D is an internationally known meditation teacher and author of bestselling Radical Acceptance and True Refuge. Tara shares a weekly guided meditation and talk that blend Western psychology and Eastern spiritual practices. The podcast addresses the value of mindfulness meditation and self-compassion in relieving emotional suffering, serving spiritual awakening and bringing healing to our world.
Episodes
In a recent conversation on Tami Simon's podcast Insights at the Edge, Tara and Tami reflected on themes from The Courageous Heart Workbook: Choosing to Love in Perilous Times. As many know, Tami is an exceptional interviewer, and the dialogue opened into questions that feel deeply relevant for these times.
What does it mean to be bodhisattvas—to be awakening beings and caring beings—in a world marked by uncertainty and division? W...
In this guided meditation, Tara invites us to discover the healing power of a listening presence—an awake and receptive awareness that allows us to come home to the aliveness of this moment. Together, we'll explore how listening deeply—to sounds, sensations, the breath, and the heart—can soften the grip of habitual thinking and reconnect us with the peace, openness, and tenderness that live beneath the surface of our busy minds.
A...
Equanimity unfolds as we find a wise balance and spaciousness in the midst of this living, dying world.
This series reflects on four primary expressions of an awake, wise heart: lovingkindness, compassion, joy and equanimity. In each talk we explore the habitual patterning that blocks our full realization of these innate capacities, and the understandings and practices that nurture their unfolding.
In this guided meditation, we explore the healing power of embodied presence—awakening through the living intelligence of the body and relaxing into the spacious awareness that is always here. Together, we gently soften habitual tension, reconnect with the aliveness flowing through the heart and body, and rediscover the stillness that holds all experience with tenderness and care.
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Joy blossoms in the moments our hearts open boundlessly to reality, to the 10,000 joys and sorrows.
This series reflects on four primary expressions of an awake, wise heart: lovingkindness, compassion, joy and equanimity. In each talk we explore the habitual patterning that blocks our full realization of these innate capacities, and the understandings and practices t...
This meditation scans through the body, and awakens attention to the open, inclusive awareness that all life arises in. We then explore experiencing that openness in the region of the heart, saying yes to life and including whatever is here with unconditional presence.
Our introduction music is from "Opening" by Adrienne Torf, © 2025 ABT Music
This guided meditation invites you into the living presence that is always here—an awake awareness that can hold the changing waves of sensation, emotion, and thought with tenderness and ease. As we soften into the moment, we discover a natural peace and loving awareness that is not separate from life, but intimately connected with all beings.
Whether you are new to meditation or deepening an established mindfulness practice, this ...
Compassion – the tender resonance of heart – awakens as we allow ourselves to be touched by our shared vulnerability.
This series reflects on four primary expressions of an awake, wise heart: lovingkindness, compassion, joy and equanimity. In each talk we explore the habitual patterning that blocks our full realization of these innate capacities, and the understandings and practices that nurture their unfolding.
In this talk, ...
Discover the essence of lovingkindness in this first talk of Tara's series, "Present Heart: The Universal Expressions of Love." This series delves into four primary qualities of an awake, wise heart: lovingkindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity.
In Part 1, Tara explores the nature of lovingkindness — how it can be blocked by our habitual patterns, and how we can nurture and fully realize this innate capacity through mindful prac...
This meditation guides us to awaken to our senses through scanning through the body and then listening to sounds. When distracted by thoughts we relax open again and again, learning to rest in the formless awareness that includes sounds, sensations and all passing experience.
Our introduction music is from "Opening" by Adrienne Torf, © 2025 ABT Music
In the midst of a world that often feels like it's coming apart, what does it mean to truly flourish? Drawing on his new book Born to Flourish, Richard Davidson joins Tara Brach to explore the science and practice of well-being—how awareness, connection, insight, and purpose can be cultivated, and how flourishing may extend beyond the individual into a more compassionate, connected world.
Our introduction music is f...
This guided meditation offers a pathway to quieting our mind and calming anxiety. We begin with long deep breathing, and with the breath, engage the image of a smile and relax through the body. Then we practice resting in relaxed awareness, allowing waves of thoughts, feelings and sensations to come and go. The meditation ends with a beautiful verse from poet Philip Booth.
Our introduction music is from "Opening" by Adrienne Torf...
Most of us value honesty yet are not aware of how regularly we avoid facing what's difficult inside us, and how we are less than truthful with others. This talk explores the practice of radical self-honesty as the grounds of being more honest with others, and bringing more love and freedom to our lives.
Our introduction music is from "Opening" by Adrienne Torf, © 2025 ABT Music
Vipassana, also known as insight meditation, is training in bringing a clear mindful attention to our moment to moment experience. We begin by relaxing through the body and then resting attention with the breath - or some other sensory anchor - and allowing the mind to settle. Then we open to whatever is predominant or calling our attention - sensations, emotions, sounds - meeting each arising experience with a...
In this talk, we explore how compassion can arise in the midst of conflict—within our lives and in the larger world. In a conversation with Paul Gilbert, moderated by Rick Hansen, we reflect on how our evolutionary conditioning—especially the brain's threat system—fuels fear, shame, and the reflex to see others as "other."
Drawing on Buddhist psychology, we look at how a sense of separation and the stories of blame keep us caught i...
If we can recognize thoughts as thoughts, it becomes possible to open from virtual to living reality. This meditation guides us in awakening the senses and discovering the freedom - the awake space of Being that is beyond the confines of thoughts.
Our introduction music is from "Opening" by Adrienne Torf, © 2025 ABT Music
Tara is joined by two longtime friends and wonderful teachers, Devon and Nico Hase, to explore their recent book, This Messy, Gorgeous Love: A Buddhist Guide to Lasting Partnership. This refreshingly real and relatable book offers guidance for anyone wanting to deepen love in their relationships. Drawing from their own lived experience—with humor, humility, and insight—Devon and Nico reveal how partnership can be both challenging ...
Love is often abstract, and not fully alive. In this practice, with the supportive image and felt sense of a smile, we are guided to awaken loving in our body, mind and whole being.
Our introduction music is from "Opening" by Adrienne Torf, © 2025 ABT Music
In this talk, we'll explore the deep evolutionary and spiritual currents that shape our lives—the pull of fear and separation, and the quiet, persistent call toward love, compassion, and belonging. Drawing on stories, reflections, and contemplative practices, this talk invites us to remember that caring is our true nature, even when it feels distant or obscured.
Through mindful awareness and heart-centered practices, we begin to se...
In this guided meditation, we are invited into a gentle, receptive presence—listening not only to sound, but to the living experience of our body and heart. Through mindful awareness of breath, sensation, and the changing flow of experience, we begin to soften into a deeper intimacy with life just as it is.
As attention opens and relaxes, this practice supports us in meeting whatever arises—pleasant or difficult—with tenderness and...
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