Episodes

Julie Potiker leads you through this compassionate breath meditation followed by her poem, "Aspen Trees".This version ends with music allowing you to drift off into sleep.Aspen Trees, by Julie PotikerThe pale grey trunks welcome metheir black eyes and thick painterly designsthousands of delicate arms swaying in the wind.A blink in time laterthe branches are deckedin shimmering green clothesmillions of sequins dancing in the sun.Above the soft roar of the river,birds flaunting spangled dressesin ...

Julie Potiker leads you through this compassionate breath meditation followed by her poem, "Aspen Trees".Aspen Trees, by Julie PotikerThe pale grey trunks welcome metheir black eyes and thick painterly designsthousands of delicate arms swaying in the wind.A blink in time laterthe branches are deckedin shimmering green clothesmillions of sequins dancing in the sun.Above the soft roar of the river,birds flaunting spangled dressesin flashes of lemon, ruby and emeraldcommunicate in bird language.I w...

Use your breath to focus on compassion through this guided meditation led by Julie Potiker. She completes the meditation with the poem, "An Ode to Thistle Seeds", by Sam AureliAn Ode to Thistle SeedsI catch you during my morning ritual—specks of light caught in the low angleof a late spring sun.Lift, dip, tilt—some of you in a hurry,others meander, carried more by whim than wind.No two of you take the same path.One of you snags in the thorny clutchof the hawthorns tangled branch,another settles ...

Use your breath to focus on compassion through this guided meditation led by Julie Potiker. She completes the meditation with the poem, "An Ode to Thistle Seeds", by Sam Aureli.An Ode to Thistle SeedsI catch you during my morning ritual—specks of light caught in the low angleof a late spring sun.Lift, dip, tilt—some of you in a hurry,others meander, carried more by whim than wind.No two of you take the same path.One of you snags in the thorny clutchof the hawthorns tangled branch,another settles...

Breathe in peace for yourself and others through this guided meditation led by Julie Potiker. She completes the meditation with the poem, "Can You Hear It?", by Paula Gordon Lepp. There are days when,although I try to open myselfto wonder, wonder justwon't be found. Or perhaps,it is more accurate to sayon those days I am simplyblind to what the worldhas to offeruntil I look down, and there,beside the sidewalk,are blades of grass completelyenrobed in ice, shimmeringin the glow of the setting sun...

Breathe in peace for yourself and others through this guided meditation led by Julie Potiker. She completes the meditation with the poem, "Can You Hear It?", by Paula Gordon Lepp. This version ends with music- allowing you to drift off into sleep. There are days when,although I try to open myselfto wonder, wonder justwon't be found. Or perhaps,it is more accurate to sayon those days I am simplyblind to what the worldhas to offeruntil I look down, and there,beside the sidewalk,are blades of gra...

Julie Potiker brings you a compassion meditation marking three years since the tremendous loss and heartbreak of October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led attacks on Israel. This version ends with music allowing you to drift off into sleep. "We have been bent, but not broken, and we carry forward the light of a people who generation after generation continue to remember, to love, to gather, and to live."Continue your mindfulness journey with Julie - through her writings. Her latest book is, "Gentle Curr...

Julie Potiker brings you a compassion meditation marking three years since the tremendous loss and heartbreak of October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led attacks on Israel."We have been bent, but not broken, and we carry forward the light of a people who generation after generation continue to remember, to love, to gather, and to live."Continue your mindfulness journey with Julie - through her writings. Her latest book is, "Gentle Currents: Poems of Pause & Peace", a collection of poems focusing on theme...

Settle into this deep relaxation meditation led by Julie Potiker. She completes the meditation with a poem by Betzy Lynch. This version ends with music allowing you to drift off into sleep In the days leading to the New Year,I have been feeling the heat.How it lingered,how it dried the earth,how after enough days of iteven my bones began to feel dry.I found myself longing for somethingto break through the heaviness,to reach those dry placesand breathe life into them again.But this year,the New...

Settle into this deep relaxation meditation led by Julie Potiker. She completes the meditation with a poem by Betzy Lynch. In the days leading to the New Year,I have been feeling the heat.How it lingered,how it dried the earth,how after enough days of iteven my bones began to feel dry.I found myself longing for somethingto break through the heaviness,to reach those dry placesand breathe life into them again.But this year,the New Year arrived quietly.Rosh Hashanah entered with Shabbat.The gates ...

Julie Potiker guides you through this meditation focusing on compassion. She completes the meditation with the poem,"Wordless", by Julia Fehrenbacher, from her book, "This Too, Words to Walk You Home". This version ends with music allowing you to drift off into sleep. WordlessThe blank page keeps calling to me,but when I arrive here with pen in hand,words do not come. Or, when they docome, I swat them away,call them names like inadequate,stupid, cliche. I look out the windowand notice the sun ...

Julie Potiker guides you through this meditation focusing on compassion. She completes the meditation with the poem,"Wordless", by Julia Fehrenbacher, from her book, "This Too, Words to Walk You Home". WordlessThe blank page keeps calling to me,but when I arrive here with pen in hand,words do not come. Or, when they docome, I swat them away,call them names like inadequate,stupid, cliche. I look out the windowand notice the sun has made her waythrough days and days of gray,and everything is danc...

Use your breath to breathe in what you need right now as Julie Potiker leads you in this guided meditation. She completes the meditation with her poem, "Perseid Star Party, Julian, California".This version ends with music allowing you to drift off into sleep. Perseid Star Party, Julian, California.Am I in your way?No, it’s straight up in the sky, she said.But my spirit is huge, I say. No worries, the jacketed person replied,folded into her black canvas camping chair,I can see right through it.H...

Use your breath to breathe in what you need right now as Julie Potiker leads you in this guided meditation. She completes the meditation with her poem, "Perseid Star Party, Julian, California".Perseid Star Party, Julian, California.Am I in your way?No, it’s straight up in the sky, she said.But my spirit is huge, I say. No worries, the jacketed person replied,folded into her black canvas camping chair,I can see right through it.How did she know my spirit is translucent?Tower of Babel.I hear chips...

Quiet your mind and find inner peace through this guided meditation led by Julie Potiker. She completes the meditation with the poem, "What the Heart Says", by James Crews. This version ends with music allowing you to drift off into sleep. What the Heart Says The mind may leap five steps ahead,devices pinging with new messages,alerts, alarms. But the heart says,There is no emergency. That musclewanting to unclench, aching to flexas free as the monarch nectaringon a Mexican sunflower at the cu...

Quiet your mind and find inner peace through this guided meditation led by Julie Potiker. She completes the meditation with the poem, "What the Heart Says", by James Crews. What the Heart Says The mind may leap five steps ahead,devices pinging with new messages,alerts, alarms. But the heart says,There is no emergency. That musclewanting to unclench, aching to flexas free as the monarch nectaringon a Mexican sunflower at the cuspof autumn. Don't we all long forspace to pause and draw sweetnessf...

Place your focus on kindness - for yourself and others - through this guided meditation led by Julie Potiker. She completes the meditation with the poem, "The Peace", by James Crews. This version ends with music allowing you to drift off into sleep. The PeachBy James CrewsIt is almost enough, even betterthan biting into it—holdingthis ripe peach to your noseand breathing in its perfume,like entering a room of abundanceand sweetness, filled with latesummer sun slanting in throughthe shifting tr...

Place your focus on kindness - for yourself and others - through this guided meditation led by Julie Potiker. She completes the meditation with the poem, "The Peace", by James Crews. The PeachBy James CrewsIt is almost enough, even betterthan biting into it—holdingthis ripe peach to your noseand breathing in its perfume,like entering a room of abundanceand sweetness, filled with latesummer sun slanting in throughthe shifting trees. But you don’thave to stop there—you can staywith the soft momen...

Feel grounded through this compassionate breath meditation led by Julie Potiker. She completes the meditation with the poem, "Hope Watches", by James Crews. This version ends with music allowing you to drift off into sleep. Hope WatchesHope watches from the windowlike a small child waitingfor his parents to come home.His eyes are the lightshope keeps burninglong into the night, even whenit seems no one will return.Hope breathes on the glass,asks each of us to write our name,leave some sign tha...

Feel grounded through this compassionate breath meditation led by Julie Potiker. She completes the meditation with the poem, "Hope Watches", by James Crews. Hope WatchesHope watches from the windowlike a small child waitingfor his parents to come home.His eyes are the lightshope keeps burninglong into the night, even whenit seems no one will return.Hope breathes on the glass,asks each of us to write our name,leave some sign that we were herethat we cared enoughto keep searching. -James Crews, f...

Join Julie Potiker as she leads this open awareness meditation. She completes the meditation with her poem, "Before Dawn". This version ends with music allowing you to drift off into sleep. Before Dawn, by Julie Potiker.Even with fences, even with locks, I’m not always safe from the thoughts in my head. The second sleep—that strange, lucid hour before dawn—can be a dangerous place. My mind unspools anxieties, wild and uninvited.I climb out from under the dogs and tangled covers, pour a strong ...

Join Julie Potiker as she leads this open awareness meditation. She completes the meditation with her poem, "Before Dawn". Before Dawn, by Julie Potiker.Even with fences, even with locks, I’m not always safe from the thoughts in my head. The second sleep—that strange, lucid hour before dawn—can be a dangerous place. My mind unspools anxieties, wild and uninvited.I climb out from under the dogs and tangled covers, pour a strong brew, and step into the courtyard. The air is cool, the sky still a ...

Join Julie Potiker for this quiet meditation. Using your breath as an achor - focus on the message you feel you need right now. She completes the meditation with the poem, "Promise", by Barbara Crooker. This version ends with music allowing you to drift off into sleep.PROMISEThis day is an open roadstretching out before you. Roll down the windows.Step into your life, as if it were a fast car.Even in industrial parks,trees are covered with white blossoms,festive as brides, and the air is softas ...

Join Julie Potiker for this quiet meditation. Using your breath as an achor - focus on the message you feel you need right now. She completes the meditation with the poem, "Promise", by Barbara Crooker.PROMISEThis day is an open roadstretching out before you. Roll down the windows.Step into your life, as if it were a fast car.Even in industrial parks,trees are covered with white blossoms,festive as brides, and the air is softas a well-washed shirt on your arms. The grass has turned implausibly g...