Tara Brach - Meditation: "Yes" to Life (2017-12-20)

Episode Date: December 22, 2017

2017-12-20 - Meditation: "Yes" to Life (2017-12-20) - This guided practice awakens a relaxed and friendly attention that rests in the breath and opens to whatever is arising. We deepen that presence with the intention to truly say "Yes" to experience, allowing life to be just as it is. Your support enables us to continue to offer these talks and meditations freely. If you value them, I hope you will consider offering a donation at this time at www.tarabrach.com/donation/. With gratitude and love, Tara

The following meditation is led by Tara Brock. To access more of my meditations or join my email list, please visit tarabrock.com. And as you come into stillness, become aware of this body breathing. You might imagine and sense the breath gently coming into the heart area, blowing out of the heart area,

so you can bring a attention, a listening to your heart. And we open with a very simple inquiry which is, what is my intention for meditating right now, for practice? What is it that really matters to my heart? What's important? As you're reflecting, you might gently bring your palms together at your heart and really bring your full attention and focus and listening inward, sensing what matters, sensing your sincerity right now. See if you can let your awareness come into the body. You might notice if

there's areas of particular tightness or tension and see if just being aware helps to soften and loosen and relax to connect with the spirit of friendliness. You might smile into your eyes, sense the outer corners of the eyes lifting a little, the flesh around the eyes, softening, the brow smooth, the eyes are smiling, the mouth be in a very slight but real smile also, the inside of the mouth smiling. Oh, the face to be relaxed, feeling the aliveness in the face, and smiling into the heart, imagining and visualizing and feeling the curve of a smile spread through your heart. And this isn't to cover over but rather to make room for whatever is here right now.

The eyes smiling, the mouth, the heart. And if you imagine widening rings of energy expanding outwards, that the whole body can be filled with the ease and friendliness. of a smile. Feeling this body breathing and is resting with the gentle movement of the breath, the inflow, the outflow. Letting your practice be very simple

just to rest with the breath, relax with the breath. And if something arises that calls your attention, maybe some other sensations in the body that are intense or strong in some, way, tightness or tension, ache, burning, cool, whatever, just to notice what happens, witnessing and say yes to it. Just let the life be as it is.

It could be an emotion that comes up. Happiness, sadness, excitement, fear. Your only job is to notice what's happening and let you know you. your heart say yes, letting this life come and go, letting the breath come and go, moment to moment. It's natural for the mind adrift. When you notice you can choose to gently arrive again right here, feeling the inflow and the outflow of the breath, noticing whatever experiences are arising with a friendly presence just noting what's happening and saying yes to it.

But the last few moments experiment with relaxing completely with what's happening sense how deeply the yes to life can go. From the poet Dana Falls, in the shared quiet, an invitation arises like a white dove, lifting from a limb and taking flight. Come and live in truth.

Take your place in the flow of grace. Draw aside the veil you thought would always separate your heart from love. All you ever longed for is before you in this moment if you dare draw inner breath and whisper yes. Namaste.