The Daily Meditation with Brother Richard

In this episode, Brother Richard explores the difference between discursive and passive meditation, and asks a central contemplative question: where does transformation take place?He reflects on stillness and quietude, and on the different forms meditation can take, before guiding listeners into a simple hand scanning practice. Through gentle attention to sensation, absence of sensation, and subtle awareness, the hands become a doorway into deeper presence.This practice invites a softening of effort and a turning towards passive awareness, where change happens not through control, but through attentive being. The hands, so familiar and so often unnoticed, reveal how transformation unfolds quietly within awareness itself.This episode offers a moment of calm, whether you are pausing during the day or winding down before sleep, helping you rest in stillness and allow change to emerge naturally.00:00 – Introduction00:07 – Stillness and quietude01:45 – Comparing different forms of meditation02:19 – Ritual gesture02:35 – The bell03:45 – Areas of sensation04:15 – Blank areas04:40 – Checking in with the hands07:25 – Being with the left hand07:45 – Being with the right hand07:58 – Deepening awareness08:30 – The ball of the thumb10:05 – Washing the hands11:10 – Closing reflection

In this episode, Brother Richard reflects on why regular recovery is essential in meditation, returning once again to the Deep Relaxation Form.Rather than seeing relaxation as something to achieve once and move beyond, he explains why the contemplative tradition places such importance on repeatedly coming back to rest. Listeners are gently guided into a posture of ease, allowing the body to settle, the breath to find its rhythm, and awareness to open to both receiving and giving.Through simple imagery and bodily awareness, the practice invites lightness, cooling and release, reminding us that recovery is not a failure of practice, but its foundation.This episode offers a moment of calm, whether you are pausing during the day or winding down before sleep, helping you restore balance, steadiness and quiet presence.00:00 – Introduction00:45 – The bell00:55 – Ritual gesture01:35 – Assuming the position02:20 – Allowing the body to rest03:10 – Awareness of the breath03:40 – The rhythm of breathing04:10 – What you are receiving04:25 – What you are giving05:10 – Light filling the body05:55 – A cool pool in the stomach07:35 – Relaxing the jaw08:20 – Breathing in09:10 – Breathing in and out09:15 – Breathing out10:42 – Bringing the practice into the day10:45 – Closing bell11:00 – Thank you

In this episode, Brother Richard introduces the versiculum, often described as the little word, a simple and ancient mantra practice rooted in the Christian contemplative tradition.Drawing on the teaching of the Desert Fathers and early monastic writers such as John Cassian, John Climacus and Evagrius, he explains how a short word or phrase can steady attention and gently gather the mind. Listeners are guided to choose a word that carries meaning without strain, and to repeat it lightly, alongside awareness of the breath.The practice is not about analysing the word or turning it into narrative, but allowing it to settle and, in time, even to fall away. What remains is a quieter awareness, held by breath and presence.This episode offers a moment of calm, whether you are pausing during the day or winding down before sleep, helping you rest more deeply in simplicity and stillness.00:00 – Introduction01:10 – What is a mantra01:38 – The versiculum02:16 – Early monastic teaching02:35 – A traditional versiculum03:05 – The final word of scripture04:00 – Choosing a simple word04:09 – Choosing the name of Jesus04:35 – Taking time to choose04:55 – Ritual gesture05:03 – The bell05:50 – Finding posture05:55 – Awareness of the breath06:20 – Resting with the breath07:05 – Becoming aware of thoughts10:29 – Being with the breath and the word10:40 – Avoiding narrative11:11 – Repeating the word gently11:50 – Allowing the word to fade13:50 – Closing bell

In this episode, Brother Richard deepens the practice of working with thoughts, exploring how to examine them without becoming caught in them.He explains how, within the Christian contemplative tradition, a thought in itself carries no moral weight until it is acted upon. Listeners are introduced to different kinds of thoughts including imaginal, emotional, analytical, desiring and egoic, and are guided to recognise how each pulls attention in different ways.Rather than suppressing thoughts, the practice invites gentle noticing, simple categorisation and a compassionate return to the breath. Again and again, awareness is restored by remembering that we are more than our thoughts, and more than the stories they create.This episode offers a moment of calm, whether you are pausing during the day or winding down before sleep, helping you relate to your inner world with greater freedom, clarity and ease.00:00 – Introduction00:30 – A thought is just a thought03:00 – Finding ways to move forward03:50 – Desire and fantasy04:07 – Egoic thoughts and the self04:27 – God as the centre05:14 – Setting intention05:33 – The bell05:50 – Coming to sit07:10 – Becoming aware again08:20 – Noticing and naming thoughts09:30 – Categorising thoughts11:10 – Returning to the breath11:30 – I am more than my thoughts13:46 – Closing bell

In this episode, Brother Richard returns to the Deep Relaxation Form, the foundational practice that underpins all breath-based meditation.He reflects on why this form was traditionally treated with such care, and why early contemplative teachers believed it was essential to establish deep relaxation before moving further. The ability to return easily and reliably to this state, he explains, provides a stable ground for working with the breath, thoughts and awareness.Listeners are guided back into the body through posture, gentle alignment of the spine, and a simple mantra that reinforces spaciousness and perspective. The practice emphasises ease rather than effort, reminding us that relaxation is not something to force, but something to recover.This episode offers a moment of calm, whether you are pausing during the day or winding down before sleep, helping you reconnect with a sense of safety, steadiness and inner rest.00:00 – Introduction00:43 – The origins of the deep relaxation form01:50 – Why this practice is the foundation02:45 – The bell03:25 – Lengthening the spine09:35 – A mantra for spacious awareness12:35 – Closing bell

In this episode, Brother Richard explores how thoughts and distractions are not obstacles to meditation, but an essential part of the practice.He reflects on how encountering our thoughts can feel uncomfortable or challenging, and why this is a natural and necessary stage of growth. Using images such as a train station and the discipline of physical training, Brother Richard describes meditation as a gym for the mind and soul, where awareness strengthens through repetition, patience and return.Listeners are guided to observe thoughts without trying to stop them, learning instead how to befriend them and gently stand back from their pull. Drawing on mystical teaching, Brother Richard speaks about taming the restless or animal mind with compassion rather than control.This episode offers a moment of calm, whether you are pausing during the day or winding down before sleep, helping you meet your inner life with greater steadiness, kindness and perspective.00:00 – Introduction00:20 – Returning to the breath practices00:38 – When encountering thoughts feels disturbing01:22 – Discomfort and challenge as part of the process01:35 – Distraction belongs to the practice01:43 – Meditation as training the mind02:18 – Encountering the thought02:50 – You cannot stop thoughts from happening03:05 – Befriending the thoughts03:40 – Observing thoughts03:55 – The bell04:07 – Taking the seat and ritual gesture04:42 – Feet on the floor05:23 – Observing the breath05:33 – Checking in with the body06:16 – Allowing the body to relax06:46 – Breathing out calm, breathing in peace07:16 – Standing back from thoughts07:27 – Letting thoughts roll by08:17 – Familiar and unfamiliar thoughts10:50 – Love as the doorway to the present moment11:15 – Taking the practice into the day11:22 – Hand on the belly11:34 – I have thoughts, but I am more than my thoughts12:20 – Closing reflection