The essence of mindfulness is the capacity to be present to what arises in our lives with compassion and without judgment. This guided meditation invites us to face what arises in our bodies and minds with kind curiosity.

This is a departure from my normal guided meditation offering. It’s graduation season. And as I was thinking about what I should write for this week’s No Trifling Matter, I thought about a sermon that I preached at a commissioning ceremony seven years ago, a sermon that I’ve never shared and that still seems relevant today. Since it’s a sermon, it was written for the ear. So I thought I’d use this opportunity to do my first video post. It also caused a bit of an uproar on campus and honestly I’m not sure why. I’ll let you be the judge of that.

This guided practice invites you to embrace the renewal of spring with mindful awareness. Through deep breathing and intentional reflection, you’ll connect with the shifting energy of the season. By releasing stagnation and welcoming growth, you cultivate a sense of clarity, vitality, and openness to new possibilities.

This guided visualization invites you to connect with the steady strength of mountains, the flowing adaptability of water, and the rooted wisdom of trees. This practice cultivates resilience, flexibility, and inner balance, helping you feel both grounded and free as you move through life.

No Trifling Matter is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Political turmoil, environmental disasters, and personal crisis can make us feel like we are living under siege, triggering cycles of anger, fear, and grief. It is easy to feel overwhelmed, hopeless, and out of control. This practice helps to ground us in hope by recalling our gifts for survival. This can be done as a sitting meditation or as a guided journaling practice.

No Trifling Matter is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

As the calendar turns from one year to another, we are invited to reflect and take stock of our journey. This guided journaling practice leads you through a process of reflection, encouraging you to revisit the highlights and challenges of the past year, to identify unhealthy patterns, and to cultivate gratitude for the people, experiences, and circumstances that have shaped your journey. While designed for the end of the calendar year, this is also a good practice to utilize at the end of an academic year, fiscal year, or other transition points.

Thank you for practicing with me! If you enjoyed this practice, please share it with a friend. And be sure to subscribe to No Trifling Matter to receive new posts and support my work.

This full body scan invites us to connect to our bodies with moment-by-moment awareness. I practice a body scan weekly as a way of checking in with my body. When done regularly, it helps us to cultivate attentiveness, compassion, and kindness toward our embodied selves. Try it and leave a comment to let me know what you think.

In this practice, we direct attention to different areas of the body, such as the feet and the breath, in order to train our minds to be present. When our mind wanders, we gently bring our attention back to the chosen focus. This is a foundational technique for meditation. Over time, it enhances our ability to stay present in and to bring calm into any moment.

No Trifling Matter is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.