Listening is more than a communications skill, it is a capacity that awakens our awareness. And given our current times, this capacity is essential if we are to navigate the great divides that separate us from our inner life and others. As we learn to listen inwardly, we begin to understand and care for the fears and vulnerability that ask for our attention. And as we listen to others, that same intimacy emerges. In this two-part series we examine the blocks to listening and the practices that cultivate this essential domain of human potential. Our focus is both on the transformational power of listening in our personal lives, and also the necessity for deep listening if we are to bring healing to our wider society.

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

In this guided meditation, we cultivate an embodied sense of acceptance, kindness and care—learning to meet each moment with a friendly, allowing presence.

Beginning with the breath and a relaxed, awake awareness, we explore the felt sense of an inner smile, allowing its warmth to move through the face, heart, belly and whole body. This embodied friendliness becomes a way of making room for whatever is here, without pushing away our experience or holding on to it.

As thoughts, emotions or tension arise, the practice invites us to soften, open and return to a heart-space that can include it all. Rather than needing this moment—or ourselves—to be different, we discover the peace that comes from meeting life with acceptance and care.

As poet Dorothy Hunt writes, "Peace is this moment without judgment."

This meditation is especially supportive for cultivating mindfulness, self-compassion, loving-kindness (metta), emotional healing, inner peace and embodied presence.

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 1 of this two-part series, we'll 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.

In this talk, you will:

✨ Discover how deep listening can create greater intimacy, understanding, and connection
✨ Recognize the habits—distraction, fear, reactivity, and hidden agendas—that keep us from truly hearing one another
✨ Learn to listen inwardly with mindfulness and self-compassion so we can be more present with others
✨ Explore how listening with an open, undefended heart can bring healing to our relationships
✨ Practice cultivating a receptive presence that helps us listen more deeply to ourselves, each other, and our world

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

In this guided meditation, we turn attention inward and come into intimate presence with the life that is here. Beginning with the body, breath and sensations, we gradually open into the spacious awareness that holds all experience.

As we soften habitual tension and allow thoughts, emotions and sensations to arise and pass, we discover the tender wakefulness that is always here. Like waves held by the ocean, our changing experiences belong to awareness but do not define who we are.

As we close, we are invited to rest in that open, loving presence—and to remember that beneath the changing forms of our lives, awake awareness is our true home.

This meditation is especially supportive for:

✨ Relaxing physical and emotional tension
✨ Cultivating embodied mindfulness and presence
✨ Meeting difficult emotions with tenderness
✨ Resting in open awareness
✨ Remembering our shared belonging and essential nature

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

What does it truly mean to say Namaste?

In this talk, we'll look at the deeper invitation behind this ancient greeting—not merely as a gesture, but as a living practice of recognizing the sacred essence within ourselves and one another. When we learn to look beyond fear, judgment, and the stories we carry about ourselves and others, we begin to remember our shared basic goodness. When we pause long enough to truly see one another, we nourish the possibility of compassion—not only in our relationships, but in the collective heart of humanity.

Together, we'll explore:
-The deeper meaning of Namaste
-Seeing beyond the "small self" and conditioned identity
-Awakening to our shared basic goodness
-Transforming judgment through mindful awareness
-Bringing compassion into difficult relationships
-Living with greater reverence, belonging, and love

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

This guided meditation invites you to come home to the simple aliveness of this moment. Through mindful breathing, softening the body, and resting in the awareness that is already here, we discover that presence is not something we create—it is our true home.
As we gently release the momentum of thinking, we begin to recognize the quiet wakefulness that is always available beneath the changing flow of sensations, emotions, and thoughts. Each time we return to the immediacy of "here," we strengthen the pathway home to ourselves.
This practice offers a refuge for times of stress, anxiety, overwhelm, or uncertainty, reminding us that freedom begins by simply arriving—fully and compassionately—in this moment.

In this meditation you'll explore:
- Mindful breathing as a portal to presence
- Relaxing the body with awareness
- Resting in witnessing awareness
- Returning gently from distraction without judgment
- Cultivating inner peace and embodied presence

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

When we pause and gently return to the living experience of this moment, we begin to discover a refuge that has always been here. This guided meditation invites you to relax the body, soften the heart, and awaken to the vibrant aliveness that is present beneath the constant stream of thinking.
Together we'll practice using the breath and the body as a home base—learning to meet whatever arises with kindness, openness, and an accepting "yes." As we become more intimate with our present-moment experience, we begin to realize that true peace isn't found by changing this moment, but by fully inhabiting it.
Whether you're new to meditation or a longtime practitioner, this practice offers a gentle pathway to greater presence, inner ease, and a deeper sense of belonging to life.

In this meditation you'll explore:
• Relaxing deeply into the body and breath
• Using the body as an anchor for mindful awareness
• Meeting thoughts and emotions with compassion instead of resistance
• Returning again and again to the aliveness of the present moment
• Resting in the spacious awareness that is always here

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

What is the difference between having goals and living from aspiration? How do we respond when fear takes over? What if self-compassion feels impossible? How do we forgive ourselves, navigate profound grief, heal from trauma, or rediscover joy in practice?

In this first Ask Me Anything session, Tara responds to heartfelt questions from our global community, exploring many of the challenges that touch us most deeply. Together we investigate how mindfulness and compassion help us meet fear, shame, loss, trauma, illness, and uncertainty—not by escaping our experience, but by discovering the awareness and love that can hold it all.

These reflections are offered as practical guidance and as an invitation to trust the innate wisdom and tenderness that live within each of us.

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