The Daily Meditation with Brother Richard

In this meditation, I introduce compassion as a direction of practice, and we begin with compassion toward ourselves.

We reflect quietly on what compassion means, and on the truth that while suffering is part of being human, we can meet it with gentleness rather than struggle. Simply choosing to be here, to sit and attend, is already an act of compassion.
As the practice unfolds, attention rests with the breath and with the body as a whole, allowing each part to soften and breathe. There is nothing to fix or change. Compassion arises naturally when we allow ourselves to be present just as we are.
This daily guided meditation offers a moment of calm, whether you are pausing during the day or winding down before sleep, helping you cultivate kindness, steadiness and peaceful awareness.

Chapters

00:00 – Introduction
00:30 – What compassion means
01:20 – Meeting suffering with gentleness
01:50 – The bell
03:00 – Choosing to be here as compassion
04:10 – Coming to know the breath
06:40 – Allowing the whole body to breathe
08:40 – Resting in the breath
10:35 – Peaceful breathing
12:00 – Closing bell
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In this meditation, I invite you into a body scan practice, learning to be gently present to sensation as it arises.

We begin by noticing sensation itself, without judgement or analysis. Attention is then drawn to the foot, exploring feelings of warmth, weight, contact and subtle movement. There is no right experience here. Sensation may feel clear or faint, active or quiet, and all of it belongs.
As awareness moves through the body, the breath remains a steady companion, allowing us to return again to wholeness and balance. Sensation becomes a doorway into presence, helping the body rest and the mind settle.
This daily guided meditation offers a moment of calm, whether you are pausing during the day or winding down before sleep, supporting grounding, stillness and embodied awareness.

Chapters
00:00 – Introduction
00:45 – Noticing sensation
01:40 – The bell
05:20 – Bringing attention to the left foot
06:00 – Warmth and weight in the foot
07:30 – Contact and pressure
07:50 – Finding the pulse
10:30 – Moving awareness through the foot
11:37 – Returning to the whole body
12:30 – Closing bell
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In this meditation, I invite you to return to the full form of the practice, coming back once again to what grounds and supports us.

If this is your first time here, you’re very welcome. This meditation is part of a longer, cumulative practice, and these returning to form sessions help us reconnect with the foundations again and again. You’re welcome to join the practice as it is today, and if you’d like to go deeper, the earlier meditations in the archive lay out the journey step by step. If you’re curious about the tradition this practice comes from, you can also learn more about the life and work of the Capuchin community in the show notes.
As we settle, imagery and breath gently guide the body into stillness. Tension is allowed to release, the breath moves through every part of us, and the whole inner system is invited to rest. From this place of calm, intention is formed quietly and carried forward into the day.
This daily guided meditation offers a moment of calm, whether you are pausing during the day or winding down before sleep, helping you return to steadiness, ease and quiet awareness.

Chapters
00:00 – Introduction and welcome
00:45 – The bell
02:00 – The string imagery
04:30 – The tide of the breath
05:15 – Breathing with every cell
05:30 – Breathing out tension and stress
07:00 – The body’s systems coming to rest
12:00 – Forming an intention
12:36 – Closing bell
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In this meditation, I invite you to rest in loving presence, allowing yourself to be attended to just as you are.

We begin by exploring what rest truly means, and by finding a gentle way into it. As the body settles into form and the breath is noticed, awareness begins to soften. Gradually, we enter a more relaxed and balanced state, where effort eases and stillness becomes familiar.
This is a time of renewal. Resting in calm is something the body learns slowly, with patience and kindness. There is no hurry here, only an invitation to remain, to be present, and to allow stillness to hold you.
This daily guided meditation offers a moment of calm, whether you are pausing during the day or winding down before sleep, supporting rest, renewal and quiet presence.

Chapters
00:00 – Introduction
00:15 – What is rest
01:05 – Finding a way into rest
01:15 – The bell
01:45 – Finding the form
02:10 – Noticing the breath
04:45 – The cycle of breathing
05:15 – Entering relaxed awareness
05:25 – Balanced unity
06:15 – Resting in calm
06:25 – A time of renewal
09:15 – Teaching the body to rest
09:30 – The art of resting
09:45 – Patience
11:15 – Closing bell
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In this meditation, I introduce a master lesson drawn from the wisdom of St. Teresa of Avila, a great teacher of interior life.

We reflect on a common mistake made by beginners: the belief that meditation is about changing ourselves or achieving a particular state. Teresa reminds us instead that while everything else changes, what remains constant is that we are loved, and nothing alters that truth.
As we sit, intention helps us arrive gently into presence, a presence that meets us exactly as we are. With trust, tension is allowed to dissolve, and we rest in what Teresa described as calm abiding. The breath, the first gift given to us, becomes our steady companion once more.
This daily guided meditation offers a moment of calm, whether you are pausing during the day or winding down before sleep, helping you rest in trust, stillness and quiet love.

Chapters
00:00 – Introduction
01:00 – Introducing St. Teresa of Avila
02:00 – A common misconception
03:30 – What remains unchanged
04:00 – Being loved without condition
04:20 – The bell
05:00 – Arriving into trust
05:20 – A loving presence as we are
05:42 – Intention and deep stillness
06:10 – Calm abiding
07:00 – The gift of the breath
07:30 – The beauty of breathing
10:00 – Breathing in and out
11:00 – Resting in the breath
12:00 – Returning gently
12:30 – Closing bell

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