Balanced Mind With Julie Potiker

Ease your body into this early morning loving kindness meditation led by Julie Potiker. She completes this guided meditation with her poem, "Soft Morning".Soft Morning, by Julie PotikerThe birds sound mutedA beetleNo bigger than a black nickelMakes its way on faded ceramic tilesto cream and red brick paversHe is headed somewhere fastSwift for his kindNo wingsJust short legsImpossibly thin pencil marksscurrying him alongThe longer I am stillmy ears collect bird songsI tuck each jingle into my heart with a smileand note of thanksIt seems Morning Dove and Spotted Towheecan always be counted onAlso, Bewick’s WrenThat should be enough, I thinkThen joy arises as Lesser Goldfinch, not less to me,and Northern Mockingbird gift their tunes to the scoreSurveying the scene from high in the skyRed-tailed HawkReleases his plaintive cryAs I witness ever earth boundTucked in my chairUnder the eavesSnug as a bugSoftly breathing.-"Soft Morning", by Julie PotikerFind out more about using mindfulness in everyday life through Jul

Sit back as you relax into this compassion meditation led by Julie Potiker. She completes the meditation with the poem, "Church", by James Crews.Church, by James CrewsWhen I ask how you are,imagine a field of untouched snowstretching blank between us,waiting for the answer of your steps –perhaps hesitant at first, thenmore certain as you begin to sharethe sorrows and joys that sitlike unwrapped offeringson the altar of your heart.Here, there is time for you to sayall the words that have weighedyou down, hidden in the bodyfor years like unasked prayers.No matter how far apart we stand,I promise to listen for as longas you need, in this open-air churchwe enter together wheneverwe agree to speak of deeper things.-"Church", by James Crews.Find out more about using mindfulness in everyday life through Julie's books, "SNAP: From Calm to Chaos", and "Life Falls Apart, But You Don't have To: Mindful Methods for Staying Calm in the Midst of Chaos". Both are available on Amazon.com.Follow Julie on YouTube and Facebook

In this end-of-the-year guided meditation led by Julie Potker you will use your breath to breathe in healing, awareness, and gratitude. She completes the mediation with the poem, "For the End of the Year", by Donna Ashworth.'For the End of the Year", by Donna Ashworth.Why do we start a new year, with promises to improve?Who began this tradition of never-ending pressure?I say, the end of a year, should be filled with congratulation,for all we survived.And I say a new year should start with promisesto be kinder to ourselves, to understand better just how much we bear,as humans on this exhausting treadmill of life.And if we are to promise more, let’s pledgeto rest, before our bodies force us.Let’s pledge to stop, and drink in life as it happens.Let’s pledge to strip away a layer of perfectionto reveal the flawed and wondrous humanitywe truly are inside.Why start another year, gifted to us on this earth,with demands on our already over-strained humanity.When we could be learning to accept,that we were always supp

Focus on what makes you happy, and who makes you happy - as Julie Potiker leads you through this guided meditation of peace and love. She begins the meditation with the reading of the poem, "Hold Out Your Hand", by Julia Fehrenbacher. She completes the meditation with her poem, "So Much Love," by Julie Potiker .Hold Out Your Hand, by Julia FehrehbacherLet's forget the world for a whilefall back and backinto the hush and holyof noware you listening? This breathinvites youto write the first wordof your new storyyour new story begins with this:You matter.You are needed--emptyand nakedwilling to say yesand yes and yes.Do you seethe sun shines, day after daywhether you have faithor not, sparrows continueto sing their songeven when you forget to singyours.Stop asking: Am i good enough?Ask only: Am I showing up with love?Life is not a straight lineit's a downpour of gifts, please--hold out your hand.So Much Love, by Julie PotikerI sit tucked under the eavescozy in my flannel pajamas, soft from so many washingsThe la

Embrace love and peace through this guided meditation led by Julie Potiker. She completes the meditation with her poem, "December 1, 2023, Coffee Poem"."December 1 , 2023, Coffee Poem", by Julie Potiker.My flannel pajama bottoms got wet when I folded myself into my morning sit spotThat’s okIt didn’t prompt me to moveJust to feel the dampness on the back of my thighs.I wonder whether my morning coffee meditation rituals are getting repetitiveAfter all, it’s the same locationSame coffeeSame meSame sameBut yet, what I really want to say is it’s always newAlways differentNow the Allen’s HummingbirdNow the California Scrub JayThe Western BluebirdConstruction equipment humming and beeping a yard awayMy big dogs barking their heads offThe faded terracotta tiles and bricks have dark patches where water still seeps into claycurled carob leavesSome yellowish greenSome brownarranged haphazardly hither and yonA perfect design wrought from a powerful rain.~"December 1 , 2023, Coffee Poem", by Julie Potiker.Find out more a

In this guided meditation, led by Julie Potiker, you will imagine breathing in a healing golden light -creating peace within your body. She completes this guided meditation with the poem, "Still Breathing".Still Breathing, by AnonymousI will stand with you,though I am shaken to my core.I will pray with you,though I question who might hear. I will cry with you,though the pain I feel cannot compare with your suffering.I will sing with you,because my hope will not be shattered.I will take your hand,because my heart is infinite.I will hold my breath with you for another day,though anguish, fear, love, and resolve,because we are still here, blessed with breathing. -Still Breathing, by Anonymous.Find out more about using mindfulness in everyday life through Julie's books, "SNAP: From Calm to Chaos", and "Life Falls Apart, But You Don't have To: Mindful Methods for Staying Calm in the Midst of Chaos". Both are available on Amazon.com.Follow Julie on YouTube and Facebook at Mindful Methods for Life.comThis podcast is

"Only love is big enough to hold all the pain in this world", (Sharon Salzberg). Julie Potiker leads you in this guided meditation of peace and love. She completes the meditation with the poem, "Only Love," by James Crews.Only Love, by James Crews.And so I image the entire earthas one beating heart held in the spaceof this universe, inside a larger bodywe can't fathom, filling with enoughlove to lead each of us out of the caveof our personal pain and into the light-enough love to lead all humans as oneout of collective fear, rage, and hateinto a place of peace that is found onlywithin our own hearts, beating in syncwith the pulse of this planet we wereborn to inhabit, despite the daily stormswhich overtake us and make us forgetwe are the lifeblood pumped into theseveins, every particle of love we generaterunning into rivers, lakes, and creeks,evaporating into the air we breathe,give back, and breathe again.-Only Love, by James CrewsFind out more about using mindfulness in everyday life through Julie's books,

Julie Potiker guides you through this meditation for peace for Israel. She completes the meditation with "Kiddish Poem, by Marge Piercy." Kiddish Poem," by Marge PiercyLook around us, search above us, below, behind.We stand in a great web of being joined together.Let us praise, let us love the life we are lentpassing through us in the body of Israeland our own bodies, let’s say amen.Time flows through us like water.The past and the dead speak through us.We breathe our children’s children, blessing.Blessed is the earth from which we grow,blessed the life we are lent,blessed the ones who teach us,blessed the ones we teach,blessed is the word that cannot say the glorythat shines through us and remains to shineflowing past distant suns on the way to forever.Let’s say amen.Blessed is the light, blessed is the darknessbut blessed above all else is peacewhich bears the fruits of knowledgeon strong branches, let’s say amen.Peace that bears joy into the world,peace that enables love, peace over Israeleverywhere, bless

Join together for this meditation of faith, hope and peace for Israel. Julie Potiker completes the meditation with a prayer by Rabbi David Wolpi, "El Maleh Rahamim - Compassionate God".El Maleh Raḥamim — Compassionate GodWe pray not to wipe out hatersbut to banish hatred.Not to destroy sinnersbut to lessen sin.Our prayers are not for a perfect worldbut a better onewhere parents are not bereavedby the savagery of sudden attacksor children orphaned by bladesglinting in a noonday sun.Help us dear God,to have the courage to remain strong,to stand fast.Spread Your light on the dark heartsof the slayersAnd Your comfort to the bereaved heartsof families of the slain.Let calm return Your city Jerusalem,and to Israel, Your blessed land.We grieve with those wounded in body and spirit,pray for the fortitude of our sisters and brothers,and ask You to awaken the world to our struggleand help us bring peace.-El Maleh Raḥamim — Compassionate God, by Rabbi David WolpiFind out more about using mindfulness in everyday life thr

Use this guided meditation to breath in love for yourself and others. Julie Potiker completes the meditation with the poem, "Monarch", by James Crews.Monarch by James Crews The butterfly does not break free triumphant.Once it claws through the chrysalis,it stands there shivering, new wings achingas they slowly fill with blood. It must keepits tiny eyes shut tight at first againstthe brightness and shimmer of a worldit has never seen before––not like this.It must listen until a deeper voice whispers:The flowers are waiting. Leave the skinof the old life far behind. Open your eyesand give in to the blue air that will carry youeverywhere you need to go.-Monarch by James Crews Find out more about using mindfulness in everyday life through Julie's books, "SNAP: From Calm to Chaos", and "Life Falls Apart, But You Don't have To: Mindful Methods for Staying Calm in the Midst of Chaos". Both are available on Amazon.com.Follow Julie on YouTube and Facebook at Mindful Methods for Life.comThis podcast is available on iTu

In this guided meditation, led by Julie Potiker, you'll concentrate on using your breath's healing power - with the backdrop of the 2023 Perseid meteor shower.Perseid Star Party, Julian, California 2023, by Julie PotikerAm I in your way?I can’t see her face in the inky darknessNo, it’s straight up in the skyA zillion pin pricks of lightMy spirit is huge, I say with a smile in my voiceNo worries, the jacketed jellybean person replied, folded into her black canvas camping chair -I can see right through itHow did she know my spirit is translucent?Tower of BabelI hear chips of Chinese, Spanish, EnglishHumans seeking the divine throughout space and timeIncredible telescopes - all different black chunks hooked up to gizmosRed light doohickeys retrofitted for their cool kid villageCode understood by manyA community that does this - monthly or more…Us, first timers fearlessly wading into the night skyI think they’ll be asleep when the show gets frantic - if it doesI’ll be awakeMy down jacket zipped up to my neckHead

Embrace a golden healing light as you use your breath to calm and restore. Julie Potiker completes this guided meditation with the poem, "Be a Prayer", by Carolyn Riker.Be a Prayer, by Carolyn Riker.Today when you brush your hair,reach for a mugh, listen to a sonbe a prayer.Today if all you do is walkor sleep, or drawbe a prayer.Today if you call a friend,hold a hand, stir your teaor sing softlybe a prayer.Today I only ask of youto reach, listen and holdwhat is inside of youbecause you are a prayer.we need you.We make each other whole.-"Be a Prayer", by Carolyn Riker, from The Colors I Hear; Poems & Prose to Inspire Creativity.Find out more about using mindfulness in everyday life through Julie's books, "SNAP: From Calm to Chaos", and "Life Falls Apart, But You Don't have To: Mindful Methods for Staying Calm in the Midst of Chaos". Both are available on Amazon.com.Follow Julie on YouTube and Facebook at Mindful Methods for Life.comThis podcast is available on iTunes, iHeart, Blubrry and everywhere you lis

This relaxing loving kindness meditation led by Julie Potiker will help you breathe in kindness for yourself and others. She completes the meditation with her poem, "Finery".Finery, by Julie PotikerIn the late 1940s, and early 1950s, as a teenager, he was impeccably dressedFrom stories of elegant supper clubsI imagineErmine and pearlsCuff links winking in the candlelightGrandma Esther made her own patterns out of bed sheetsCut and tailored like a proSkill tucked into her skirts as she journeyed across the Atlantic Oceanbetween the Great War, and WWIINo wonder her American born son who looked so fine became known as finery.For 67 years, he and my mom took care in their wardrobe, in their appearance.Even after she became ill, her body shrinkingSmaller and smaller sized clothes were brought in, some from my closetI held back some of his shirts when he passed awayKnowing I would want to wear themTo feel the soft cotton on my chestTo sport them as tunicsCuffs rolled up on my forearmsI shipped a stack in blues and

Sit back, relax, and focus on a cool breeze washing over you during this guided meditation led by Julie Potiker. She completes the meditation with the poem, " The Once Invisible Garden," by Laura Foley.The Once Invisible Garden, by Laura Foley.How did I come to bethis particular version of me,and not some other, this morningof purple delphiniums blooming,like royalty - destinedto meet these three dogsasleep at my feet, and not others -this soft summer morning,sitting on her screened porchbecome ours, our wind chime,singing of wind and timeyellow-white digitalisfeeding bees and filling me-and more abundance to come:basil, tomatoes, zucchini.What luck or fate, instinct,or grace brought me here? -In shade, beneath hidden stars,a soft, summer morning,seeing with my whole being,love made visible."The Once Invisible Garden", by Laura Foley, from "How to Love the World: Poems of Gratitude and Hope, edited by James Crews.Find out more about using mindfulness in everyday life through Julie's books, "SNAP: From Calm to

Release your breath as you breathe into this peaceful visualization meditation led by Julie Potiker. She completes the meditation with a reading of her poem, "Morning Time in July".Morning Time In July, by Julie PotikerIt must be a backhoe.And maybe a dump truck backing upBeep beep beepI’m folded into my sit spotMy favorite cushioned cane chairUnder the eavesFaded green and yellow scraps with brown spots are scattered on the multi-hued gravel at my feetThe leaves let go of the carob tree and land with a thwackCoffee in one of my mom’s tall lavender mugsNew poetry bookAnd peach from our treeRest on the cream cement side tableMy favorite post-it tabs lift their orange, yellow and blue squares in a helloready to be plucked and smoothed on lovingly selected pages of poetryA lizard doing push-ups in the dappled lightBees kissing the wild white rose bushespetals making bright thumb prints in the rich brown earthThe Spotted Towhee breaks through the airwaves with his trillUnder or over his sound there is a chorus fr

In this guided meditation led by Julie Potiker, you will shift your awareness to your senses; what you see, hear, feel, and taste while in meditation. She completes the meditation with a poem by Brad Aaron Modlin.What You Missed That Day You Were Absent from Fourth Grade, by Brad Aaron Modlin.Mrs. Nelson explained how to stand still and listento the wind, how to find meaning in pumping gas,how peeling potatoes can be a form of prayer. She tookquestions on how not to feel lost in the dark.After lunch she distributed worksheetsthat covered ways to remember your grandfather'svoice. Then the class discussed falling asleepwithout feeling you had forgotten to do something else -something important -and how to believethe house you wake in is your home. This promptedMrs. Nelson to draw a chalkboard diagram detailinghow to chant the Psalms during cigarette breaks,and how not to squirm for sound when your own thoughtsare all you hear; also, that you have enough.The English lesson was that I am is a complete sentence.An

The glow of a golden light of compassion surrounds you in this guided meditation led by Julie Potiker. She completes the meditation with the poem, "How It Might Continue", by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer.How It Might ContinueWherever we go, the chance for joy,whole orchards of amazement -one more reason to always travelwith our pockets full of exclamation marks,so we might scatter them for otherslike apple seeds.Some will dry out, some will blow away,but some will take rootand grow exuberant grovesfilled with long thin fruitsthat resemble one hand clapping -so much enthusiasm as they flutter back and forththat although nothing's heardand though nothing's really changed,people everywhere for years to comewill swear that the worldis ripe with applause, will filltheir own pickets with new seeds to scatter.-"How It Might Continue", by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer, from "How to Love the World, Poems of Gratitude and Hope", edited by James Crews.Find out more about using mindfulness in everyday life through Julie's books

Using your breath to calm yourself is the focus of this guided meditation led by Julie Potiker. She completes the meditation with the poem, "Self-Care", by James Crews.Self-Care, by James CrewsSome days it feels like a foreign languageI'm asked to practice, with new worldsfor happiness, work, and love. I'm still learninghow to say: a cup of tea for no reason,what to call the extra honey I drizzle in,how to label the relentless urge to do moreand more as useless. And how to translatethe heart's pounding message when it comes:enough, enough. This morning, I search for wordsto capture the glimmering sun as it liftsabove the mountains, clouds already closing inas fat droplets of rain darken the deck.I'm learning to call the stillness self-care too,Just standing here, as goldfinches scatter upfrom around the feeder like broken piecesof bright yellow stained-glass, reassemblingin the sheltering arms of a maple.-Self-Care, by James Crews.Find out more about using mindfulness in everyday life through Julie's books, "

Take a few moments as you sit in meditation to express appreciation for your body. Your hands, feet, and knees, all keep you going all day. Julie Potiker completes the meditation with the poem, "Improvement", by Danusha Lameris.Improvement, by Danusha LamerisThe optometrist says my eyesare getting better each year.Soon he’ll have to lower my prescription.What’s next? The light step I had at six?All the gray hairs back to brown?Skin taut as a drum?My improved eyes and Iwalked around town and celebrated.We took in the lettersof the marquee, the individual leavesfilling out the branches of the sycamore,an early moon.So much goes downhill: our jointswearing out with every mile,the delicate folds of the eardrumexhausted from years of listening.I’m grateful for small victories.The way the heart still beats timein the cathedral of the ribs.And the mind, watching its parade of thoughtsenter and leave, begins to see themfor what they are: jugglers, fire swallowers, acrobatstossing their batons in the air.-Improvement,

In this meditation you will focus on a golden healing light filling your body with joy and awareness. Julie Potiker completes this guided meditation with her poem, "Morning Light" .Morning Time, by Julie Potiker I am busy From the outside I might not appear as such Yet I dedicate this time to me.This precious timeWhen the house hums it’s mechanical hum, that sounds sometimes like a musical track is embedded in the low staticBirdsong fills my ears The Wrens soprano 1 and soprano 2 are joined by the Spotted Towhee, whose croaking tune my ear recognizes instantly now, like turning a doorknob in my mind.The Song Sparrow is aptly named, and I’m instantly cheered that it too, is here.There can be more and more, all included, none denied I’m thinking as a Mourning Dove layers it’s low cooing into the loop. They have all the time in the world.This cherished timeWhich is anything but quietIs noisy in all the best ways.My mug feels warm in my cupped handsI feel my heart beating it’s low slow rhythm in my chestMy back