Loving Presence Meditation

This guided meditation helps cultivate the heartspace that can hold our life with tenderness and grace. We begin by using the image and felt sense of a smile in a body scan, and then open to the spacious presence that includes the changing moment to moment flow of experience. The meditation closes with a few minutes of offering loving blessings to our inner life, dear ones in need and all beings.

Transcript

Which two sides lower?

Bell A beautiful way to begin a practice is just to sense the quality of heart that you'd like to hold the practice with.

You might sense your intention to regard what arises with a real gentleness,

Kindness,

Friendliness.

And part of the way you can embody that intention is with the image and the sense of a smile.

You might visualize vast open space of sky and let the image of a smile spread through that sky,

This curve and receptivity of a smile filling the sky.

And imagining your mind merging with that sky so that the smile is filling your whole mind.

Gently feeling the region of the eyes,

Sensing a smile spreading through the eyes,

Lifting the outer corners of the eyes slightly.

Slight smile at the mouth.

And see if you can sense the inside of the mouth smiling.

Notice the sensations of aliveness that fill the whole region of the mouth – tongue,

Gums,

Teeth,

Lips.

And then visualize the curve of a smile at the throat and feel the sense of a smile spreading through the throat so that the throat fills the whole neck.

And there is that receptivity and aliveness that can be felt in the space of a smile.

Again softening the eyes,

Smile spreading through the eyes.

Slight smile at the mouth,

The throat.

And sense that you could smile into the heart,

That a smile can spread through the heart and chest area,

That curve and receptivity of a smile.

Feeling how the space of a smile doesn't cover over anything,

It makes room for the life that's here.

You might sense that space of receptivity,

That openness widening out to include the shoulders.

Just letting the shoulders relax back and down a bit.

Feeling from the inside out the sensations,

The movement of energy in the shoulders.

Feel the length and the volume of the arms.

Let the hands rest in a very easy way,

Effortless.

Notice if you soften the hands how much more aliveness you can feel.

And feeling an openness at the chest,

A smile at the heart.

And loosening,

Softening the belly.

You might visualize and sense the felt experience of a smile at the belly,

That curve,

That receptivity,

That openness filling the belly.

You can feel the aliveness,

The sensations all the way to the back,

The spinal column.

Feeling the whole abdominal area.

And then scanning down,

Sensing the curve of a smile filling the pelvic region.

Feeling in that receptive space again the play of aliveness that becomes possible.

The eyes are smiling,

Soft,

Slight smile at the mouth,

Smile at the throat.

Feeling and having the felt sense of the smile spread through the heart,

The chest area.

Feeling and sensing the curve of a smile through the belly,

The pelvic region.

Right down at the base of the spine as if a vase with its base on the earth,

Sides spreading upwards you can feel the earth energy flowing into you,

Filling you with aliveness.

Sensing the image and the space of a smile spreading out in all directions.

So you can feel this whole field of energy within and around you.

Sensing within this openness and receptivity of a smile.

Rest in that openness,

That tenderness.

Right here just noticing the moment-to-moment flow of experience,

The sounds that are moving through.

All of them coming and going.

The sensations and aliveness bubbling up,

Appearing and disappearing.

The moods or emotions,

The weather systems that move through us.

All appearing and disappearing in this heart-space,

This receptivity,

Open presence.

The Notice that when the mind is lost in the cloud of thought there can just be a noticing of that,

Relaxing open,

Letting the cloud come and go,

Resting again in that open,

Tender heart-space.

Like a great sky all the weather belongs,

Everything belongs,

The clouds,

The moods,

The sensations.

If you find yourself lost in the story line or contracted or reactive,

You can begin fresh in this or any moment,

Reopening the attention,

Just listening,

Feeling the moment.

You can gently sense softening in the eyes,

A smile there,

A slight smile at the mouth,

Again smiling into the heart,

Reconnecting with that heart-space where everything that is is welcome,

Everything belongs.

You might take some moments to deepen your attention and notice if there is anything going on inside you in your life right now that is really wanting your attention,

Wanting your presence.

And if you sense something in this human heart that might be difficult to be with or that wants your attention,

Just sense what happens when you bring a very tender presence to the life that is here.

Let that part of you know it belongs.

To intentionally send a very deep quality of care to let it be bathed in care and tenderness.

Notice what happens.

And from the most awake part of your being,

From this awake heart-space,

Sending whatever message most resonates to your own human beingness here,

Human heart right now,

Sending a blessing,

A prayer inwardly.

And widening the attention to sense someone else in your life that you would like to feel held in loving presence,

Filled with loving presence,

Healed in loving presence,

Just offering your heart-space to hold that being.

And then widening in all directions that kind of boundless heart-space that really includes the earth,

Our mother,

And all beings everywhere.

May all beings everywhere be filled with loving presence,

Held in loving presence.

May all beings know loving presence as their deepest nature.

May all beings touch a great and natural peace.

And may all beings know the natural joy of being alive.

May all beings awaken and be free.

Amen.

Reviews

Thanks Tara, this is brilliant and I can feel the love for self and others coming into this presence 🙏🏾❤️

Beautiful guidance.. led with tenderness.. truly heart opening .. thank you 🙏

Love how you put me in my body! Beautiful.

Always a delight to share meditation space with you Tara ✨

I love Tara’s guidance, she bring the space we need to meditate, the guidance we need to put our minds at the either place so we can go deeper and be, just be!

Perfect. A great example of Tara’s work and guidance. Just the right length when you don’t have time for much more.

Very soothing, kind and lovely approach of a meditation. It makes me happy.
Today I’ll see and sense a lovely smile in everything 🥰

For IFS practitioners, this is useful guidance for strengthening awareness of the Self. 🙏

Thank you 🙏 for helping me open my heart space for myself and everyone 💛
🙏✨☺️💛🕊💫

One of my favorite meditations. Very centering and peaceful.

A beautiful meditation. Lovingly embracing. Thank you Tara.

Beautiful thank you Tara
You and Jack started my meditation practice
It’s always wonderful to learn again and again and to hear your beautiful voice and gorgeous teachings
Namaste 🙏🏼

This is one of the best meditation I have ever taken. I practice it pretty often these days. Thanks so much Tara 😊

One of the loveliest meditations I've ever done on this app. Thank you so much, Tara!

So nourishing!

Such a beautiful meditation especially at this time!

A perfect decompression after the holiday season. Thank you

Thank you for this ammazing practice 🙏 I had the most profound experience and bodily sensation of love pouring to my whole body and a vast open heart where everything can land and be held in love... truly amazing practice. Thank you Tara Brach❤️🙏

So lovely. Thank you 💗

Exactly what I needed today. Beauty 💛