Tara Brach - Meditation: Present Heart

Episode Date: July 13, 2023

Meditation: Present Heart - We awaken a present heart by relaxing with the breath and bringing the kindness of a smile into our bodily experience. This meditation ends with offering blessings to our inner life and all beings.

The following meditation is led by Tara Brock. To access more of my meditations or join my email list, please visit tarabrock.com. In a stillness, let your attention gently come to the inflow and outflow of the breath. Extending the in-breath now, extending so the in-breath is full and deep, so you can feel yourself filling the chest in the lungs. and then a slow out breath, slow enough so you can feel the sensations of releasing the breath. And again, a long, deep in-breath, taking your time, you might count to five slowly as you breathe in.

Matching the length of the in-breath with the out-breath, slow, conscious, letting go, letting go. breathing in long and slow and deep and breathing out slowly releasing letting go letting go and again a nice full deep in-breath and a slow out-breath continuing equal part in-breath long and slow and slow continuing the slow breath you might sense the possibility as you breathe of having a slight smile at the mouth, letting the inside of the mouth smile. Continuing the same breath, slight smile. You might sense the eyes can soften. The outer corners of the eyes lift the bits of the eyes are smiling too.

Continuing with this breathing, you might sense that you can smile into the heart, sensing a smile spread through the heart, sensing the smile spread through the heart, sensing the space in the region of the heart open, low in breath, filling the chest, slow out breath, letting go, continuing the breath and sensing that you can relax the shoulders as you breathe. You might notice with the in-breath that you can bring all the attention to the shoulders and with the out-breath a kind of letting go, dissolving, softening, still slight smile, smile at the heart, along with the breathing you might sense you can soften the hands. Maybe with the in-breath feeling the attention go to the hands and with the out-breath softening

more space there. As if with the in breath you can breathe in and sense the spaces between the cells opening to receive and then settling with the out-breath. And then letting go of any intention around how the breath is, letting the breath be natural now. Feeling your full awareness right here, awake in this body, aware of the sensations, the life, just as it is. You can rest the attention gently with the natural movement of the breath like a raft in the sea, just moving with the movement of the sea.

Or in a more broad way you can rest with the whole field of sensation. Be aware of the quality of presence that's right here, right now. You can let your practice be very simple. When there's a recognition that the mind's drifted into a more virtual reality, you're often thoughts of the future or the past, time traveling. there's a noticing of that without any judgment to gently relax back into this inflow and outflow of the breath that's right here, relax back into this field of aliveness of sensation, sensing again the presence that's here, that quality of heerness, you might

even mentally whisper here if your mind has been drifting. Just to appreciate this as a moment of waking up, waking up from the dream and gently relaxing back. Just noticing the body right now you might re-relax your shoulders a little and soften the hands. Relax your heart. Gently feeling the movement of the breath, feeling this whole field of sensation. One of the definitions for mindfulness is heart presence. You might sense that slight smile at the mouth, the eyes, the heart, just to feel the presence that fills your heart.

I'm sensing this heart space that really can include this present heart that can include whatever's going on right now. sensing in these last few moments, what does it really mean to rest in that present heart space? From this present heart space offering your own being whatever wish or blessing most resonates in this moment. Sensing this heart space is edgeless, boundless, offering your blessing or your prayer to all beings.