Clearing Space for Spirit: A Conversation with Tara Brach & Patty Morrissey
Tara Brach
In this wide-ranging and heartfelt conversation, KonMari Club teacher Patty Morrissey sits down with Tara Brach to explore what spirituality truly means. Together, they reflect on the qualities of spiritually awake people, the foundational habits that sustain a vibrant inner life, and the surprising role of humor on the path. They also delve into how tidiness—a central practice in the KonMari Method—can either express control or become a liberating act of presence and care. With two short guided meditations woven in, this interview offers practical nourishment for living in a way that...
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Meditation: Continuous Space Suffused with Awareness (19:21 min.)
Tara Brach
By learning to inhabit the body, we discover the space and aliveness that fills the universe. In this meditation we are guided through the body, filling different domains with presence. We then open into the continuous awake space that is both within and surrounds the body. When we notice the mind drifts, we relax back to be that awake space, aware of the changing flow of sensations, thoughts, feelings and sounds. Our introduction music is from "Opening" by Adrienne Torf, © 2025 ABT Music
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Trauma: The Light Shines through the Broken Places
Tara Brach
Most of us have encountered trauma either in our own direct experience or with someone in our immediate circle. This talk examines the shame and suffering that arise from trauma and how meditation practices can support a path to full spiritual healing. We focus on practices that help us access a sense of love and safety, and then increase our capacity to bring presence to the unprocessed, unlived life in the body. (Note: For many who suffer from PTSD, therapy is invaluable and these practices are not considered as a substitute.) Podcast Intro Music: Adrienne Torf ()
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Meditation: Breath by Breath - Relaxing with Our Life (19:04 min.)
Tara Brach
The breath can be a powerful portal to presence. This meditation guides us in relaxing with the breath, including the breath in a body scan, and then allowing the breath to serve as an anchor when the mind gets lost in thoughts. As we settle with the breath as a home base, we find we can then open to the changing waves of experience with increasing balance, clarity and ease.
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Showing Up For Each Other | Tami Simon & Tara Brach on the Intersection of Spirituality & Therapy
Tara Brach
What is the role of spirituality in mental therapy? And what roles do therapy and mental health play in spiritual growth? What’s the overlap, where are they distinct, and how can both work together to help us face the challenges of this world? In this special episode honoring World Mental Health Day in October, Tami Simon and Tara Brach sit down for a wonderfully open-hearted discussion at the intersection of spirituality and mental health. As a clinical psychologist and renowned meditation teacher, Tara Brach brings forward what it takes to truly meet someone in pain, the spontaneous...
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Meditation: Collecting and Quieting the Mind (17:02 min.)
Tara Brach
Our conditioned mind is filled with distractions, including worry-thoughts that continually create anxiety in the body. This meditation guides us in relaxing the body, and then establishing the breath as a home base. By gathering and collecting the attention, the mind can settle and allow for a relaxed, wakeful presence.
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Meditation: The Sacred Pause — Clearing to remember Heartspace (6:56 min)
Tara Brach
In just a few minutes, this practice guides us to pause, deepen attention and reconnect with the spaciousness, presence and of caring of our awakening heart.
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Spiritual Audacity: The Lion's Roar of the Heart
Tara Brach
When we remember our deep belonging to this world, a fierce and tender courage begins to move through us. In this talk, we’ll explore “spiritual audacity” as a sacred, embodied boldness—the lion’s roar of the awakened heart. Through personal and collective lenses, we’ll reflect on what it means to live true to our essence: grounded in love, guided by truth, and called to serve the freedom and healing of all beings.
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Part 2: Healing Depression with Meditation
Tara Brach
Most people get depressed at times, and many suffer greatly from bouts of major depression. At the heart of the suffering is the experience of severed belonging—of being imprisoned in the pain of separation, unworthiness, unlovability and hopelessness. These two talks explore several meditation practices that reconnect us with our natural aliveness, openheartedness and awareness. They empower us to develop our inner resources, energize us to awaken, free us from rumination and remind us that we are not our depressive thoughts and feelings. The growing realization of the loving awareness that...
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Meditation: The Heartspace That is Home (21:49 min)
Tara Brach
No matter how far you’ve wandered, this heartspace – this awake tender awareness – is only a half-breath of remembrance away. This meditation awakens attention to the space of awareness…
info_outlineAs our societies unravel in fear and reactivity, we are called to live from our most awake and wise heart. This talk and meditation was first offered to Satyam, a community of Palestinians, Israelis, and internationals devoted to creating a future of justice, safety, freedom, and dignity for all. It invites us to move beyond the conditioning of “bad-othering,” and to cultivate clarity, compassion, and the capacity to respond in ways that seed healing.
In this talk, Tara explores:
- how the trance of “bad othering” fuels division and how compassion can free us from blame.
- the practice of the U-turn—turning inward with kindness to transform anger, fear, and grief into care.
- the balance of a “strong back and soft front,” cultivating courage and tenderness in times of violence.
- how seeing the suffering beneath harmful actions allows us to meet others with wise compassion.
- how presence, RAIN practice, and shared belonging can guide us toward healing and peace.