Tara Brach - Meditation: Aware and Alive (20 min.)

Episode Date: September 17, 2026

Just as a cup is full with water, this body is filled with awareness. As we sense the awareness inside the body, and the awareness that listens to sounds beyond the body, we discover the continuous space of awareness that includes, and gives rise to this entire creation. Opening in this way allows for homecoming to wholeness and freedom.   Our introduction music is from "Opening" by Adrienne Torf, © 2025 ABT Music

Welcome friends to the Tara Brock podcast. I'm so glad you're here. Each week I share teachings and guided meditations to help us awaken our hearts and bring healing to our world. You can learn more or support this offering by visiting tarabrock.com where you can also join our email list. Now let's explore together the many ways we can live from the love and presence that's our deepest essence. Namaste. Letting your attention go inward. You might feel the breath at your heart,

sensing with the in-breath, that you can really feel your breath touching the heart area. And breathing out, letting go from the heart, sensing whatever mood is here, with a listening quality of attention, sense what brings you here right now. What brings you to practice? What brings you to a path of meditation?

Listen to what your heart really cares about. So you can touch in a bit to your real sincerity of heart. There's a prayerful quality when we sense what we really care about. Whether we language it as presence or being more loving, realizing our true nature who we really are, freedom, peace. The pathway to a relaxed and open heart is waking up and relaxing and finding the awareness and space inside the body. You might begin by sensing the region of the brow, letting the eyes be soft and the brow smooth.

Let a smile spread through your eyes, lifting up the outer corners. Just be aware of the tingling and vibrating, perhaps the flickering of light and dark, letting a slight smile spread through the lips, even the inside of the mouth smiling. Let the tongue fill the upper palate. relaxing down to the base or the root of the tongue.

You can feel the sensations that fill the mouth, the tongue, the gums, the lips. Can you sense the space and awareness and sensation inside the mouth? Imagine and sense the throat filling the neck. Perhaps imagining the curve of a smile, filling the throat in the neck. And feeling from the inside out can you sense the awareness and the aliveness inside the neck? You might allow the shoulders to relax back and down,

letting the shoulders fill with awareness so that you're feeling from the inside out, feeling the sensations, the aliveness, the space of awareness inside the shoulders, letting your hands rest in a very easy way, effortless, soft, feeling the hands from the inside out, Sense how awareness is receiving, tingling, and vibrating, pulsing, warmth, pressure. Let there be an openness to the chest.

And since the whole heart area filled with awareness, receiving the aliveness there, places of pressure, squeeze, flow, warmth, tingling, vibrating, aliveness. Scanning down, you might let this next breath be received in a softening belly. This breath and now this one and again, letting the awareness fill the belly, noticing the play of aliveness, sensations, the dance, movement of sensation, moment to moment in the belly, letting the awareness fill the whole pelvis,

region, opening to the aliveness that's here and letting awareness fill the legs. So you can feel the length and volume of the legs, feeling the feet from the inside out, aware of the tingling and vibrating there, and then opening the lens of perception wide so you can feel this whole body simultaneously, filled with awareness and aliveness, extending that presence outward and sensing how awareness includes sound, sensing how the space of awareness outside you and inside you is really a continuous space of awareness, sounds and sensations all floating, rising and appearing in awareness. You can relax back and just be the space that everything's happening in. Be the space that's filled

with the light of awareness, including this changing flow of sound and feeling sensation, including the inflow and the outflow of the breath. For many in a very short while, there's a noticing that there's no longer a resting in that awareness, the mind has drifted into thought clouds, plans or mental commentary. ideas about things, judgment, memory. That's completely natural, just like clouds in the sky are natural. Let your practice be when you notice you're inside the cloud of thoughts to just relax open again, sense the space around you,

the sounds that are here, sense the inner space and the aliveness and sensation in the body. If it helps take a few full breaths, you relax a little, sensing the awareness that's right here, that which is including all the sounds and the sensations, that which is listening, the awareness or stillness that's feeling the sensation, awareness that's listening to the thoughts, relax back and be that awareness. And if it helps to steady the attention and some, be that awareness and be particularly aware of the movement of the breath, see you the ocean aware of the waves of the breath on the surface, relaxing with that rhythmic inflow and outflow, receptive at ease. You might notice what's happening right now. And again,

if the mind's been lost in thoughts to unhook, opening the attention, listening to the sounds that are here, sensing the space that sounds are happening in, that awake space of awareness, sense the aliveness inside the body, the awareness that's receiving that aliveness, relax back over and over into this wakeful presence, this ocean of awareness that includes all the changing waves, sounds, sensation, feelings, all moving on the surface of your being included with kindness and presence. Noticing if there's any part of your being that wants to let go a little right now, and relaxing back and sensing from this heart space that's open and at ease, whatever wish or blessing

you'd like to offer to yourself as you close this meditation. This calling on the most awake, tender heart space that's right here in your being and offering a wish and sensing that this whole world lives in your heart and offering your wish or prayer to the world.