Balanced Mind with Julie Potiker

Julie Potiker leads you through this guided meditation focused on compassion. She completes the meditation with the poem, "In a Friend's Garden", by James Crews.This meditation ends with music allowing you to drift off into sleep.

In a Friend's Garden, by James Crews"I want to be here to seethe poppies open," my friend says,telling me why she never travelsanymore in the middle of summer.We each hold one of the heavy budswhose petals already ache to breakfree and spread, bursting red at the seams.The mulch is warm beneath our feet,and sunlight shimmers pink in thesifting leaves of the Japanese maple.I keep hearing her words - I wantto be here - and feel something newleaning toward the light inside me too,some seed of need just to be rootedright where I am for each small pleasure,every rippling wave of sorrow.She wraps an arm around me, and wego inside for tea. There is nothingto escape from, but our own desireto escape at all.-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 iTunes, iHeart, Blubrry and everywhere you listen to podcasts.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 listen to podcasts.

Julie Potiker leads you through this guided meditation focused on compassion. She completes the meditation with the poem, "In a Friend's Garden", by James Crews.

In a Friend's Garden, by James Crews"I want to be here to seethe poppies open," my friend says,telling me why she never travelsanymore in the middle of summer.We each hold one of the heavy budswhose petals already ache to breakfree and spread, bursting red at the seams.The mulch is warm beneath our feet,and sunlight shimmers pink in thesifting leaves of the Japanese maple.I keep hearing her words - I wantto be here - and feel something newleaning toward the light inside me too,some seed of need just to be rootedright where I am for each small pleasure,every rippling wave of sorrow.She wraps an arm around me, and wego inside for tea. There is nothingto escape from, but our own desireto escape at all.-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 iTunes, iHeart, Blubrry and everywhere you listen to podcasts.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 listen to podcasts.

Breathe in as you relax into this calming meditation led by Julie Potiker. She completes the meditation with her poem, "Whispers of a Fifth Force".

This meditation ends with music allowing you to drift off into sleep.

Whispers of a Fifth Force, by Julie PotikerIn Idaho’s early morning hush,I settle into the Adirondack chair by the fire pit,fast running river less than a pickle-ball court away,my slippered feet rest on the cool back of a boulder,smooth and steady beneath me.Above, the Aspen leaves shimmer—green coins rustling their soft applausein the mountain breeze.A plump American Robin bounces a spindly branch nearby. Gravity holds me gently,as it always has,the known forces humming their familiar song:electromagnetism weaving light across the sky,strong and weak nuclear threads binding the world within. Resting my head on the chair, I contemplate Far beyond this stillness,Bennu drifts—its ancient body charting paths we can measure,paths we can question.Physicists tilt their heads,listening for the quiet slip of anomaly,searching for a fifth force hidden in the mathematics. So far, Bennu holds its silence.But Apophis approaches—another messenger tumbling closer,another chance to findwhat might have always been there. Since the 1980s they have wondered—Could it be anti-gravity?Could it be quintessence?A hidden thread explaining dark energy, or light dark mattera secret folded into the fabricof everything we thought we knew. I breathe in the pine-sweet air,feel the steady earth beneath my feet,The cool breeze gently touches my face—and in the rustling leaves above,the universe whispers:there may yet be more.

-Julie Potiker

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 listen to podcasts.

Breathe in as you relax into this calming meditation led by Julie Potiker. She completes the meditation with her poem, "Whispers of a Fifth Force".

Whispers of a Fifth Force, by Julie Potiker

In Idaho’s early morning hush,

I settle into the Adirondack chair by the fire pit,

fast running river less than a pickle-ball court away,

my slippered feet rest on the cool back of a boulder,

smooth and steady beneath me.

Above, the Aspen leaves shimmer—

green coins rustling their soft applause

in the mountain breeze.

A plump American Robin bounces a spindly branch nearby.

 

Gravity holds me gently,

as it always has,

the known forces humming their familiar song:

electromagnetism weaving light across the sky,

strong and weak nuclear threads binding the world within.

 

Resting my head on the chair, I contemplate

 

Far beyond this stillness,

Bennu drifts—

its ancient body charting paths we can measure,

paths we can question.

Physicists tilt their heads,

listening for the quiet slip of anomaly,

searching for a fifth force hidden in the mathematics.

 

So far, Bennu holds its silence.

But Apophis approaches—

another messenger tumbling closer,

another chance to find

what might have always been there.

 

Since the 1980s they have wondered—

Could it be anti-gravity?

Could it be quintessence?

A hidden thread explaining dark energy, or light dark matter

a secret folded into the fabric

of everything we thought we knew.

 

I breathe in the pine-sweet air,

feel the steady earth beneath my feet,

The cool breeze gently touches my face—

and in the rustling leaves above,

the universe whispers:

there may yet be more.

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 listen to podcasts.

Use your breath to breathe in compassion for yourself and others through this guided meditation led by Julie Potiker. She completes the meditation with the poem, "The Guest House", by Rumi.

This meditation ends with music allowing you to drift off into sleep.

 The Guest House This being human is a guest house. Every morning a new arrival. A joy, a depression, a meanness, Some momentary awareness comes As an unexpected visitor. Welcome and entertain them all! Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows, Who violently Weep your house Empty of its furniture, Still, treat each guest honorably. He may be clearing you out For some new delight. The dark thought, the shame, the malice, Meet them at the door laughing, And invite them in. Be grateful for whoever comes, Because each has been set As a guide from beyond. -Rumi

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 listen to podcasts.

Use your breath to breathe compassion for yourself and others through this guided meditation led by Julie Potiker. She completes the meditation with the poem, "The Guest House", by Rumi.

 

 The Guest House This being human is a guest house. Every morning a new arrival. A joy, a depression, a meanness, Some momentary awareness comes As an unexpected visitor. Welcome and entertain them all! Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows, Who violently Weep your house Empty of its furniture, Still, treat each guest honorably. He may be clearing you out For some new delight. The dark thought, the shame, the malice, Meet them at the door laughing, And invite them in. Be grateful for whoever comes, Because each has been set As a guide from beyond. -Rumi

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 listen to podcasts.

This meditation may be just what you need right now. Julie Potiker completes this guided meditation with her poem, "Sunday Morning June 1, 2025".This meditation ends with music allowing you to drift off into sleep.

Sunday Morning June 1, 2025, by Julie Potiker

Stretched out on the thick grey sofa cushion,the courtyard still cool with early light.Above me, the carob treeleans in—its green leaves filtering the sun,green pods long and thick,not yet brown or curled with time.Before me,a swath of pale blue Texas rangershimmers like sky.Tucked above and below,magenta moss rose spills in bright whispers.Closer to the ground,white dog rose lifts its face,next to the flame of alstroemeria—orange petals flared with red,as if the morning is speaking in color.In another bed,tiny prairie flea-banemends the spaces betweenhybrid tea roses—their soft blush in peach and pinkrising like a slow breath.California tree poppy—floppy, wild—leans toward the bold crimson bottle-brush.The soundtrack, a bird symphony.The rhythmic coo of the mourning dove.The grosbeak’s steel tapping.The sparrow and finch melodies,warbler, towhee, woodpecker—each voice layered into the morninglike a choir without need for harmony.Allen’s hummingbird stitchesbetween sage vine and air,a flash, then absence.I stay still.Let the morning hold me.Let the petals, birdsong, feathers, the lightbe enough.This is the benediction I needed.

-Julie PotikerFind 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 listen to podcasts.

This meditation may be just what you need right now. Julie Potiker completes this guided meditation with her poem, "Sunday Morning June 1, 2025".

Sunday Morning June 1, 2025, by Julie Potiker

Stretched out on the thick grey sofa cushion,the courtyard still cool with early light.Above me, the carob treeleans in—its green leaves filtering the sun,green pods long and thick,not yet brown or curled with time.Before me,a swath of pale blue Texas rangershimmers like sky.Tucked above and below,magenta moss rose spills in bright whispers.Closer to the ground,white dog rose lifts its face,next to the flame of alstroemeria—orange petals flared with red,as if the morning is speaking in color.In another bed,tiny prairie flea-banemends the spaces betweenhybrid tea roses—their soft blush in peach and pinkrising like a slow breath.California tree poppy—floppy, wild—leans toward the bold crimson bottle-brush.The soundtrack, a bird symphony.The rhythmic coo of the mourning dove.The grosbeak’s steel tapping.The sparrow and finch melodies,warbler, towhee, woodpecker—each voice layered into the morninglike a choir without need for harmony.Allen’s hummingbird stitchesbetween sage vine and air,a flash, then absence.I stay still.Let the morning hold me.Let the petals, birdsong, feathers, the lightbe enough.This is the benediction I needed.

-Julie PotikerFind 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 listen to podcasts.

Breath in loving kindness for yourself, and out for others through this guided meditation led by Julie Potiker. She completes the meditation with her poem, "Going Gently Looks Like".

This meditation ends with music allowing you to drift off into sleep.

“Going gently looks like” (prompt from Julia Fehrenbacher)

This rounded cane chair, my body nestled in cozy fleece, the breeze kissing my thighs, knees, shins, and ankles.

Black-headed Grosbeak trilling like a Song Sparrow

Cobweb threads fluttering from the body of the cracked wooden shorebird to its black wire legs

Western Backyard Birds pocket guide dusty atop the Cornell Lab of Ornithology field guide book, on the weathered cement side table.

Going gently is me on my second cup of coffee in a mug that says, fill this cup with joy, given to me by a place where I feel belonging and connection.

A Cedar Waxwing is here, a Sparrow, the Grosbeak, the wind, and me, going gently.

~Julie Potiker

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 listen to podcasts.

Breathe in loving kindness for yourself, as you breathe out for others through this guided meditation led by Julie Potiker. She completes the meditation with her poem, "Going Gently Looks Like".

“Going gently looks like” (prompt from Julia Fehrenbacher)

This rounded cane chair, my body nestled in cozy fleece, the breeze kissing my thighs, knees, shins, and ankles.

Black-headed Grosbeak trilling like a Song Sparrow

Cobweb threads fluttering from the body of the cracked wooden shorebird to its black wire legs

Western Backyard Birds pocket guide dusty atop the Cornell Lab of Ornithology field guide book, on the weathered cement side table.

Going gently is me on my second cup of coffee in a mug that says, fill this cup with joy, given to me by a place where I feel belonging and connection.

A Cedar Waxwing is here, a Sparrow, the Grosbeak, the wind, and me, going gently.

~Julie Potiker

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 listen to podcasts.