Episode Overview

Title: Meditation on Intention
Host: Tara Brach
Date: December 3, 2025
Duration: 22:39

In this episode, Tara Brach guides listeners through a gentle, heart-centered meditation designed to help clarify and embody one’s deepest intentions. Drawing from both Western psychology and Eastern contemplative traditions, Tara gently encourages awareness, self-compassion, and realignment with what truly matters. The meditation focuses on inviting presence into the body, relaxing habitual tensions, and exploring heartfelt aspirations.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Settling into Presence and Breath (01:13 - 03:00)

• Tara begins by leading listeners into a quiet state of presence using the breath as the core anchor.

• Guidance: Deep, conscious inhalations are followed by slow, mindful out-breaths, inviting participants to "let go."

  • "Inhaling deeply, filling the lungs and then a very slow out breath and sense with the out breath very consciously, a letting go, letting go." (01:16)

• The natural rhythm of breathing is welcomed; attention gently shifts between breath, bodily sensations, and surrounding sounds.

2. Turning Toward the Heart and Intention (03:00 - 06:30)

• Listeners are encouraged to tune in to the heart, both physically and energetically, to discover their sincere intentions for this meditation and their lives.

• Inquiry: “What is my intention right now for being here... what do I really want? What matters?” (03:54)

  • Tara suggests a fresh, beginner’s mind for this inquiry, regardless of past meditative experience.
  • She prompts further reflection: “What is it about that that really matters to me?”

• This inquiry is framed as an act of deep sincerity and care, connecting to one’s life purpose and heartfelt aspirations.

3. Expanding Through Community & Chanting Om (06:30 - 08:15)

• Tara invites the group to share their aspirations in spirit while chanting Om three times.

  • “So we bring this sense of aspiration, of caring to the chant of Om... to connect even more energetically with the truth of our hearts and with each other and with this life.” (06:22)

• The chant serves as a communal ritual to ground personal intention in a sense of shared human connection.

4. Scanning & Softening the Body (08:15 - 13:30)

• Tara leads a detailed body scan, encouraging softness and awareness in various areas:

  • Soften the eyes, mouth, and flesh around the eyes (“You might smile into the eyes, feel the corners of the eyes up a little, let the flesh around the eyes be soft, brow smooth,” 08:52)
  • Smile into the heart; allow relaxation to ripple out to shoulders, hands, abdomen, legs, feet.
  • Visualizations (e.g., “visualize a smile [at the navel]”) support embodied openness and release.

• The entire body, from the inside out, becomes a “vibrant field” of sensation and energy (“just this aliveness, like dancing light that’s empty, awake, vibrant field,” 12:12).

5. Cultivating Awake Presence & Returning from Distraction (13:30 - 16:20)

• Tara normalizes the mind’s tendency to wander, reframing returning to presence as a “gift you give to yourself.”

  • “At some point you’ll notice that the mind’s drifted... it’s an opportunity to practice... this coming back, this arriving again in presence, to strengthen that pathway, is really a gift that you give to yourself” (13:47)

• Listeners are encouraged to gently come back to sensations, sounds, and the “aliveness of the body” with kindness and patience.

6. Softening the Heart—Allowing Longing & Sincerity (16:20 - End)

• Tara leads a closing inquiry into the heart’s deepest longing, framing it as a prayer or aspiration.

  • “If your heart could communicate very directly, what would it be expressing as its longing or its want? As its prayer right now, what is your heart really longing for?” (20:35)

• She offers examples: freedom from fear, peace, openhearted living, self-realization, happiness.

• The closing is gentle and reverent: “Just keep offering an attention to this aspiration or longing or prayer in a way that's respectful, just bowing to the sincerity of your own heart that this is what matters.” (22:11)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Core Practice:
  • “Just bring that presence to your heart right now. A committed kind of listening to your heart.” (02:57)
• On Inquiry:
  • “What is my intention right now for being here, for coming to this gathering tonight? What do I really want? What matters?” (03:54)
• On Returning to Presence:
  • “To strengthen that pathway, is really a gift that you give to yourself of just choosing to come back.” (14:40)
• On Sincerity:
  • “Bowing to the sincerity of your own heart that this is what matters.” (22:15)

Timestamps for Core Segments

• [01:13] – Breath as Gateway to Presence
• [03:00] – Turning Attention to the Heart and Intention
• [06:22] – Setting Aspiration with ‘Om’ Chant
• [08:15] – Body Scan & Softening Practice
• [13:30] – Working with Distraction & Returning to Presence
• [20:35] – Closing Reflection on Heart’s Prayer

Overall Tone and Takeaway

Tara’s guidance is gentle, warm, and inviting, emphasizing self-kindness, sincerity, and a deep respect for personal longing. The meditation offers not only a toolkit for relaxation and presence but also a reminder of the value of tuning in to one's heart—what it truly longs for—amidst the busyness of life.

This episode is ideal for those seeking to explore their motivations and intentions with mindful awareness, and for anyone yearning to cultivate greater self-compassion and clarity.