Hey, my guest today, Tara Brock, has been one of my teachers for years, though she probably never knew it.
Back in the early days of podcasting, I stumbled upon her weekly dharma talks or buddhist teachings and meditations that she would offer at her insight meditation center in DC and then record and air as podcasts.
And the blend of her gentle presence and her deep wisdom that was clearly not just studied, but also lived, her humility, real world sensibility and humor just absolutely drew me in.
In Tara's teachings, they blend western psychology.
She's also a clinical psychologist, along with eastern spiritual practices, mindful attention to our inner life, and a full, compassionate engagement with our world.
And the result is this distinctive voice in western Buddhism, one that offers a wise and caring approach to freeing ourselves and society from suffering.
She is kindness and insight embodied, and I have learned so much from both Tara's offerings and also the way she seems to move through her life.
Which is why I was so excited to be able to spend some time going deep into not just certain pivotal moments in her path, but also some of the really powerful tools and practices that she has developed in the name of allowing us to breathe more easily into really whatever comes our way.
At the core of which is something Tara shorthands with the acronym RaIN, which is this transformational process that we explore and we look at how we can move into our lives, especially in the context of compassion, acceptance, and what's been going on in society these days with a bit greater awareness and ease.
So excited to share this conversation with you.
I'm Jonathan Fields, and this is good life project.
So I heard Lamorado in conversation with Dan Harris, and he mentioned this interesting question to lead with, and that was, how's your heart?
And not long ago, I heard you in conversation with your friend Dan Gottlieb, which was this beautiful conversation, and we'll touch on that a bit.
And you led into that conversation with that very same question.
So I thought maybe it would be an interesting way for us to lead into our conversation by simply inviting you to share how your heart is right now.
Jonathan, I'm glad you're opening that way.
I first heard it when you heard it, that opening with Lamarod, and I started with him that way.
And there's nothing better than a check into the heart.
So right now I'm just feeling a kind of gladness and just a gratitude.
I often think of Rumi saying, do you make regular visits to yourself?