Devotion: Grounds of a Path with Heart, Part 1

Tara Brach

Tara, Dharma, Selfhelp, Talks, Spiritual, Buddhist, Insight, Audio, Tarabrach, Mindfulness, Rain, Psychology, Compassion, Vipassana, Health & Fitness, Mental Health, Meditation, Guided, Brach, Buddhism, Religion & Spirituality

4.8 • 10.6K Ratings

🗓️ 17 April 2025

⏱️ 42 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In this two-part series, we reflect on the power of devotion as a gateway to awakening that reconnects us with what we love most deeply. Together, we’ll look at how prayer and heartfelt longing can open us to the intrinsic experience of belonging we yearn for. Especially in these times of fear and division, cultivating our natural devotion helps us soften, remember our true nature, and realign with love.

In this talk, Tara explores:

The essence of devotional practice as a gateway to belonging and spiritual awakening.
How longing and sincere intention can guide us back to our true nature.
Prayer as the bridge between longing and belonging
The difference between substitutes for love and true aspirations that arise from presence.
Tracing desire inward as a practice to reconnect with the source of love and aliveness.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Greetings. We offer these podcasts freely and your support really makes a difference.
0:06.0	To make a donation, please. Thank you for being here.
0:33.1	So I'll start by sharing a story I heard from my friend who, her mother, for years and years,
0:40.0	you know, everybody kind of considered her this refuge of the heart.
0:45.3	Anybody who's having difficulty in their extended family and circles.
0:50.2	My friend discovered in her mother's later years that through most of her life, she had been
0:57.5	an hour a day doing prayers for her circle, all those that she was, you know, considered
1:05.6	and thought of as part of the extended family, I think about 100 people, she'd include them
1:11.8	with blessings. And my friend described her dying as so peaceful that she really sensed
1:19.1	this belonging to all beings. And as we can imagine, there's, when you really trust your
1:25.1	belonging, there's no loneliness or fear.
1:28.7	So the words that jump out for me when I listen to the story of this woman, the main word was devotion.
1:35.5	That she was just living true to what most mattered in her heart.
1:40.5	And we know what devotion looks like.
1:44.0	You know, whether it's the devotion that's expressed
1:46.8	when someone's creating a work of art, a work of beauty, nurturing a garden, healing others,
1:54.9	those fighting for justice, for freedom, are someone communing with the divine.
2:06.3	Devotion expresses our sincere, pure,
2:12.8	love for life. And the sign of devotion is that there's a sense of belonging to something larger. And inquiry I'd like to invite you to explore really is what is your life devoted to?
2:23.4	What is your life devoted to?
2:26.3	And just take a moment to sense what comes up, what matters?
2:32.8	What's the deep intention, the sacred intention that guides your life?
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Tara Brach, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Tara Brach and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.