Tara Brach - Meditation: Transforming Fear (2017-12-06)

Episode Date: December 19, 2017

Meditation: Transforming Fear - This guided practice invites us to identify a situation where we habitually become anxious or fearful, and then to explore bringing mindfulness and self-compassion to where we feel most vulnerable. By engaging fear with an embodied and caring presence, we discover the fearless heart that includes but is not contracted by fear. NOTE: this meditation is from the end of the talk Awakening the Trance of Fear – Part 1.

The following meditation is led by Tara Brock. To access more of my meditations or join my email list, please visit tarabrock.com. Close your eyes and sense this as a pause. Re-awaken your senses. Listening to the sounds that are here, opening to the sensations in your body, feeling the movement of the life breath,

the inflow, the outflow. And from this place of present, scanning your life and sensing where you might be habitually moving on your way to trouble, where you feel that you're in some way moving towards something you fear. It may be something to do with work, some fear of failure at work, or it may be that something that you're afraid of in a relationship with another person. something you're afraid you're going to miss out on. Where is the habit that feels like a trance of fear?

Where you get more contracted, where you lose contact with really what matters to you, with creativity, with open-heartedness? Sense where you get small, anxious, and just recognize in that particular situation,

what kind of thoughts go on in your mind? What do you worry about? What are you afraid it's going to happen? What are you believing is wrong? Sensing the trance of fear and to begin to unfurl this wing of mindful presence, you might inquire, well, what's it like?

What does the fear feel like? What most wants attention, what most feels vulnerable. Let the attention drop, the awareness drop into the body, the throat, the chest, the belly. You're inviting that vulnerability to make its presence known, an interested and friendly attention, an intimate attention. You might note whatever you become aware of. Maybe a clenching in the chest. or tightness or a pressure, squeezing in the throat, tightness in the belly.

You might mentally whisper the words fear or shame or if it feels unpleasant, unpleasant. If it feels very strong and intense, you might sense making some space for what's here, letting it sit next to you or sensing the world around you. as you remember a larger space, but stay in communication with the vulnerability. What is it most need? What's the flavor of care that it needs? Maybe forgiveness or acceptance, compassion, love. What would help this fearful place to heal?

We awaken the wing of loving by in some way offering care. to this vulnerability. For some the most direct ways just to put a hand on the heart gently and sense that we do care and sending that loving energy in and you might experiment with that, just the touch being tender and light and just offering, just saying I care, I'm here, I'm not leaving. And if it helps to imagine someone who cares about you and loves you, Just the atmosphere and sense of their love also flowing through your hands right into the vulnerability. Maybe you can feel the loving, filling you so that it's as if you're really dissolving your whole body and being in a loving way right into the place of vulnerability. Really giving love fully.

For some you might be imagining your high self or your future self. this very awake heart mind, very tenderly bathing the fearful place with love. Sensing your own experience of your own being as you bring these wings of mindful presence and love to the vulnerability, sensing that natural opening out of the vulnerable, scared self and into presence itself, loving presence. You might widen the attention to sense many others with you, right this moment for those that are sitting here or those that are practicing at other times listening to this.

All of us together meeting fear with loving presence, sensing who we are together when we're meeting fear with loving presence. getting to know this fearless, boundless heart space that can include the waves of fear. Often on the spiritual path, the metaphors climbing a mountain and transcending fear, but instead we're practicing going in and in and in. Rumi speaks of night travelers who turn towards the darkness and are willing to know their own fear.

He says, sit with your friends, Don't go back to sleep. Life's water flows from darkness. Search the darkness. Don't run from it. Night travelers are full of light and you are too. Don't leave this companionship.