What if happiness is not something we need to create or strive for, but something we discover when we soften and let go?

In this guided meditation, we awaken through the body, inviting the energy of a smile into the eyes, heart, belly and whole field of awareness. As we relax habitual tension and release the effort to control our experience, we begin to sense the aliveness and openness that are already here.

The practice guides us to rest back into presence—meeting sensations, sounds and thoughts with a receptive awareness. Again and again, we discover that the pathway to happiness can be surprisingly simple: relaxing our grasping and allowing ourselves to be fully here.

This meditation is especially supportive for:

• Relaxation and stress relief
• Mindfulness and embodied presence
• Letting go of tension and over-efforting
• Cultivating happiness and inner peace
• Reconnecting with the aliveness of the present moment

Our introduction music is from "Opening" by Adrienne Torf, © 2025 ABT Music

How much joy do you experience in your life? Joy is part of our natural human capacity—along with the grief, fear, and sorrow that arise in response to the losses and suffering of our lives and our world. Yet habits of thought and feeling can cut us off from joy, even when it is available to us.

Opening to joy takes intention—and it can be cultivated. In this conversation with beloved teacher and Awakening Joy author James Baraz, we explore what joy really is, why it matters, what gets in the way, and the practices that help us become more available to it. We also look at finding joy in difficult times, and how joy can deepen our resilience, connection, and engagement with life.

For more information about James Baraz and is current programs, visit https://awakeningjoy.info

Our introduction music is from "Opening" by Adrienne Torf, © 2025 ABT Music

What becomes possible when we truly listen—to ourselves, to one another and to the life around us?

In part 2 of this two-part series, we'll continue to explore listening as a profound spiritual practice and a pathway to intimacy, compassion and healing. When we feel genuinely heard, our defenses can soften, our hearts can open and something that has been blocked begins to flow again.

Together, we'll look at what gets in the way of deep listening, along with practices for cultivating a more receptive presence: setting an intention for understanding and connection, listening inwardly to our own experience, and learning to listen to others with what Saint Benedict called the "ears of the heart."

Especially in a time of distraction and division, deep listening can become a radical expression of care. As we learn to quiet ourselves and listen beneath the words, we create the conditions for greater understanding, connection and healing—in our relationships and in our world

Our introduction music is from "Opening" by Adrienne Torf, © 2025 ABT Music