Tara Brach – Ending ‘The Trance Of Unworthiness’
Tara Brach On How To End ‘The Trance Of Unworthiness’ & Move Through Fear
Tara Brach is a leading Western teacher of Buddhist meditation, emotional healing and spiritual awakening. She has practiced and taught meditation for over 35 years, with an emphasis on mindfulness meditation. Tara is the senior teacher and founder of the Insight Meditation Community of Washington and author of several books on meditation and spiritual awakening.
In this video Tara gives a heartfelt talk about the ‘trance of unworthiness’ and how mindfulness can help us wake up into a more connected and loving sense of self.
She teaches about the essence of the spiritual path and how waking up to our true nature can alleviate our suffering, help us move through fear, and bring us home to who we truly are.
Show Notes
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You can find Tara’s website here http://www.tarabrach.com/ where you can find out about her books and find free audios of talks and meditations by Tara.
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I am finding that each day of the summit, I feel this sense of “this is just what I needed in this moment.” Tara’s class gave me a sense of peace and some important ways to consider how I might be the kindness I need for myself. Thank you, Tara for today, and Melli for the work you invested so I could gain this insight into so many aspects of mindfulness.
This touched me in many ways, thank you Tara and Melli for organising such an amazing summit!
thank you!
Wow; that was so powerful. Thank you so much.
I have cried most of the time of the video, realising the big crunch I have around me and the dificulty of giving love to myself with all that fears around me. Wonderful the words of Tara Bach, really moving and emotive. I will try to practice the pause and the compassion and love towards me everyday.
Thanks Millie for your generosity organising this event.
I love the way of presentation of this talk.
My eyes are full of tears. I am so moved and touched. Thanks a lot for this Summit. I am very grateful.
Best presentation yet, one I really resonated with immediately – I think partly due to the format, the speaker was able to continue through her entire thoughts with no interruptions or interjections which allowed me to go deeper too without distraction. Thank you for this talk, I hope they continue in this format or just have the interviewer ask the immediate question then silence her side of the microphone completely while the presenter is talking. Great job!
yes, I agree this format is the best… I could concentrate and focus on this better without the two way q&a style used on the other speakers.
I found it harder to take notes because there were no questions being asked. (I draw and take notes while listening to maintain focus.)
I prefer the dialogue. I think you can get Tara like this from her books and elsewhere but the authentic sense of dialogue is deeper and fresher.
I too prefer the dialog with Melli, but, will take it in anyway it comes…
Cannot agree more with you that this format is best, especially for some of the speakers.
Loved this
Every day has been wonderfully insightful. Each interview a crucial gem of wisdom from those who have walked the path. With their vastly diverse and poignant personal experiences each contributing significantly to the complete theory surrounding Mindfulness meditation and practice…every angle covered every heart reached.
Absolutely love how holistic this summit is. Something very unique is being cultivated here …I personally feel strengthened and supported by this experience and will keep on aiming to humbly live by these principles in hopes of inspiring others along the way. Thank you so much for all your hard work on this Melli and those supporting Melli. I’m confident the ripple effect of our collective inspiration will be felt throughout the world.
Truly
profound. I was deeply touched.
Her talk was just like listening to poetry!
You’ve touched my heart…You’ve touched my soul. Thank-you Tara.
So many tears. That deep, deep wound of “not good enough” is beginning to mend. It will be a long journey, but a good one. Tara’s deep compassion and gentle teachings are exactly what I needed today. I really appreciated how she spoke of the space between the stimulus and response, how we can use that to be aware of ourselves and compassionate of others. And the sweet loving-kindness we can give ourselves – laying our hands on our hearts and self-comforting. We always have ourselves, regardless of what else happens in our lives. If we can cultivate self-compassion then we will have power from within to meet all the challenges that life can bring. Thank you Tara and Melli.
What an amazing “presence”. Thank you Tara for sharing your wisdom in such a heartfelt and compassionate way. Today I truly “felt” the practice!
Beautiful stories and moving talk. I too loved the idea of the two wings and the sacred pause 🙂
I also found myself missing the interview format, though this was a wonderful talk. They’re different approaches, each with their own pros and cons. It was also interesting to observe how attached i’d become to the interview format, and how it took a little while to get over my initial confusion, and reorient myself to receive the content of this beautiful lecture 🙂 the mind clearly loves routine and predictability 🙂 hehe.
Self-love and compassion are so needed in the turbulent times in this world. Thank you.
She is reading from notes.
I had the same experience! ^_^
I admire Tara Brach for her sharing her deep knowledge and commitment; she is a great source of comfort and inspiration. I did, however, miss the spontaneity of the give & take when Melli is involved and on screen. Hopefully, that format will return with future sessions. This is a wonderful and welcomed summit. Thank you Melli.
Love program Naomi
Beautiful Tara. Thank you.
Oh My God I felt as if Tara was reading my mind! This class was so so helpful. I’m gonna watch it again and again and again <3 Thank u.
Beautiful talk, thanks Tara Brach
Lovely talk , I have read, re-read and appreciated Tara ‘s books and enjoy listening to her talks. Unlike others I would have preferred Melli to intervene with questions, as it is always possible to listen to Tara s talks on her you tube channel,, but thank you, so much, this iis such a fantastic initiative.
Thank you so much! This was a very emotional journey from beginning to end. I do want to mention that I did missed you and your interacting with questions and inputs through out the session. This was amazing of course but it made me appreciate the work you have done in the previous interviews. You really do add something to it. And once again thank you thank you thank you for this amazing opportunity the mindfulness summit brings! Best wishes from Malmö, Sweden
Wonderful video today, I loved Tara’s message and she presented it with such kindness and compassion
Thank you for this gentle yet powerful message of kindness. It’s really moving to hear how your words have touched so many hearts right here today.
I’m very grateful for the day that I found Tara’s book four years ago. It’s helped me to understand myself and my journey with anxiety and depression and allowed me to see the need and also a way to include some much needed self love. Much love to you Tara Brach! Thanks Melli for including Tara!
Tara Brach is one of the most inspiring of teachers. She is authentic. My soul is nourished each time I listen to her talks. I recommend subscribing to her podcasts. Thank you Meli for the energy and love you have put into creating this summit. It has been no mean feat.
wonderful, beautiful, …mindful…
thxx
Beautiful and spiritually profound!
Wonderful words of wisdom. Thank you. Delivered at exactly the right time.
Great! I really love hearing Tara Brach’s message. Thank you.
Thank you so much Tara, your words moved me so much. I was crying in the end but I realise now I’ve been holding something very painful in for a long time and I really needed to allow my feelings to happen and accept them. I’m really loving this summit and am learning so much. This was the most engaging speaker yet. I am learning to have so much self acceptance and kindness for myself. It’s starting to help me be more forgiving, understanding and kinder towards others. Thank you so much.
This was so beautiful. Tara Brach’s words are wise and her voice is comforting. Just one thing, though. The Buddha did not say “I see you Mara, come please, let’s have tea”. The Buddha did say “I see you Mara”. He said this whenever saw through yet another of Mara’s continual guises of deception, trickery and treachery. And whenever Buddha recognized Mara, Mara would disappear.
Inviting Mara for ‘tea’ identifies Mara as an entity that is permanent and independent. The Buddha was able to free himself from Mara by doing exactly the opposite, and it is how we can do it, too: The Buddha came to understand that everything is impermanent and contingent.
“Identifying with a desire or a fear tightens the knot that binds one to it and, thereby, the sway it can have over one. Only when the Buddha was able to experience the desires and fears that threatened to overwhelm him as nothing but impersonal and ephemeral conditions of mind and body, did they lose their power to mesmerize him. Instead of perceiving them as forces of an avenging army intent on his destruction, he recognized that they were no more solid than brittle, unfired pots that crumble on being struck by a well-aimed stone. As soon as Buddha stopped compulsively identifying the thoughts, feelings, and sensations that arose within him as ‘me’ or ‘mine,’ Mara could no longer influence him.” (Batchelor, p. 19).
“Mara’s tireless efforts to undermine Buddha by accusing him of insincerity, self-deception, idleness, arrogance, and aloofness are ways of describing the doubts within Buddha’s own mind.
“Mara stands for those patterns of behavior that long for the security of clinging to something real and permanent rather than facing the question posed by being a transient and contingent creature. ‘It makes no difference what you grasp,’ said Buddha, ‘when someone grasps, Mara stands beside him.’
“Mara is that desperate longing for a self and a world that are comprehensible, manageable, and safe. Such clinging, however, turns into a kind of death. As its hold tightens, one feels as though life itself is being stifled and snuffed out.
“In response to Mara’s provocations, Buddha says, ‘I know you, evil one. Do not think otherwise.’ The devil is conquered not by forcibly expelling him but by understanding his strategies and seeing through his charade of invincibility. Experiential insight into the nature of Mara is the key to freeing oneself from his grip. Buddha was able to overcome Mara by stabilizing his attention sufficiently in meditation to be able to see clearly and deeply into the nature of the demonic powers that assailed him. Once he understood exactly what he was up against, he could no longer be tricked by Mara’s hypnotic and seductive gaze.
“As soon as Mara realizes that Buddha understands him and is inaccessible to him, he departs” (Batchelor, pp 21-22).
Reference: Batchelor, Stephen. (2004). Living with the Devil.: A Meditation on Good and Evil. New York: Riverhead Books.
Thank you Tara for remind me of my true nature. You have so much wisdom and compassion. Brilliant class!
Thank you for a wonderful and inspiring session. Today really resonated with me and I found a deep sense of calm and understanding, I’m looking forward to endeavoring to be kinder to myself and more loving. These words will definitely be ones to aspire to. Thanks again
Thank you.
Extremely powerful. Tara is an earth angel. Love and awareness is our true nature is a new concept to me; self compassion, radical acceptance, etc…I am so grateful to be with everyone and experiencing with you. Thank you Melli and Tara
Thank you Tara. You delivered your wisdom with the power of kindness and the strength of gentleness. I resonate with your message and will endeavor to pause more often in my day.
Thank you Tara is one of my favorite teachers, this was a blessing.
I love this talk. I’m taking the image of dyeing indigo into my daily life. Seems such a good way to describe how we need to practice to form a new habit.
The stories helped me to understand. Thank you Tara. A precious moment.
This was so incredibly powerful. Thank you Tara. The messages appeared to me many times, in many ways though my journey. The lessons more deeply understood and meaningful after being with you today. Thank you, Lauren
Oh, thank you so much for your wise words. They have deeply touched and helped me.
I felt like that was directly spoken to me, I had tears, and feelings of hopefulness. I’m OK. I’m going to be OK, we are all going to be OK. Thankyou so much Melli.
Beautiful! Thank you.
Thank you so much for all of the collective support offered in this summit, the wisdom, guidance and love shines though, Feeling very blessed for this life expanding and connecting experience, the vibrations are rippling far and wide, deeper and greater. I see you
Thank you, Tara. What a very beautiful and very inspiring talk. It struck so many chords on so many different levels. It also opened my heart and I felt immense compassion for myself and for those around me. And has given me an important answer as to how to continue at this moment in my life,
With gratitude and love,
Lucy
A very wonderful and helpful talk. Thank-you so much, Tara! Melli, I missed your smiling and gentle presence. 🙂
I am loving every session. But isn’t it October 10, 2015, rather than October 11 as shown in the other posts?
This session really hit home for me. I was able to really open up and share a part of me with my husband that I kept hidden before. It gave me the words that I needed to do this.
Thank you….truly blessed to be a part of this journey with so many wonderful teachers.
Had tears flowing the entire time.
This was a beautiful talk. Tara managed to get right to the core of what blocks self love and acceptance. I so appreciate how Tara connects our inner work with our capacity to work in the world. I preferred this format and was relieved that there were no interruptions. I’m so very grateful that Melli has created this meaningful summit and has such a deep understanding of the work of the folks she has assembled, but I find the style mostly distracting. So this was like a deep breath, especially given Tara’s style. It is all lovely.
I received gentleness personified. Thank you so much!
Hi Meili, yet another wonderful speaker and thank you.
I do however prefer the open conversation that you had with the past speakers. as stated before I can get this on youtube, in cds and books…what I really value is the realness that comes through in open dialogue, what treasures are whitnessed when 2 share…there’s something new!!! The spontaneity and a very strong sense of the interviewer and interviewee coming through. more human, reality of applying the practice to ‘real life’, As the dialogue opened between you and the others I found that they blossomed into themselve and showed us that.
I really valued that I could get a sense of them as individuals. every where we go nowadays its very easy to come across people who have their “wisdom’ to share…what I want to see is ‘real’ people who are truely suceeding in applying it to their lives and that’s what open dialogue offered, a sense of their humanity and not a ‘talk’ on their ideals. more of the realness of the individuals, connection and community. This for me is fundamentally what is unique and precious about this program.
I feel Meili you are a wonderful interviewer and I love the deep interest and listening you offer your guest and all of your’hmms’ and questions serve, to offer them the space to blossom before our eyes from the ‘speakers’ about living well which we can tumble upon if we stick our nose out the door… to actually being offered through you a rare and wonderful glimpse at who these individuals are that carry the wisdom I seek.
you are doing a precious and wonderful job!!!!
I hope you will continue to host in the wonderful way you have been.
kindest regards Karen
Karen Mccarthy, I totally agree with you and you beautifully put it in words.
What I loved about this summit for the first nine days was the dialog, the questions, and back and forth, the serenity… Melli’s interview style and approach would just breathe life into the talks. I thought the interaction was something special and I looked forward to the daily dialog.