Meditation: Entering Heartspace with the “Smile-Down” (18:40 min.)

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

🗓️ 14 August 2025

⏱️ 19 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The practice of visualizing and feeling a smile spreading through the body helps us access the natural tenderness and openness of our being. This meditation guides us in the smile-down, and then invites a full opening and resting in openhearted presence. We close by bringing that awake heart to an area of difficulty in our life.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	The following meditation is led by Tara Brock.
0:04.1	To access more of my meditations or join my email list,
0:07.9	please visit tarabrock.com. And then and And then In the stillness and silence you might envision a great open blue sky,
0:49.3	boundless, edgeless sky.
1:10.0	And imagine the curve of a smile spreading through that sky, luminous, receptive, benevolent. So you feel the atmosphere of that open sky filled with a smile.
1:17.6	Letting the mind merge with that sky.
1:24.6	Open awareness, illuminated with the receptivity of a smile.
1:37.3	And since floating in that open space the eyes soft,
1:45.0	letting the curve of a smile lift the outer corners of the eyes.
1:55.0	The sensations in the brow smoothing.
2:04.6	The eyes are smiling in that open field of awareness.
2:14.6	In the mouth too, the lips in a slight smile.
2:21.8	The inside of the mouth smiling.
2:30.9	Helping to bring a whole sense of kindness and gentleness spreading through the body.
2:40.0	You might feel the sensations of the face, the cheeks, the lips, gums, and teeth.
2:53.6	Relaxed, receptive.
3:01.6	I'm gonna imagine and sense the throat filling the neck and a curve of a smile spreading
3:13.9	through the neck, the throat area.
3:18.2	Softening, opening.
3:23.3	To you're both visualizing the smile and feeling it.
3:31.0	Notice what happens to the sensations in the throat.
3:39.0	When you really imagine and feel a smile there.
	...

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.