The Daily Meditation with Brother Richard

In this episode, Brother Richard explores the invitation to enter the inner room — a timeless contemplative image for turning inward and resting in stillness.He reflects on how meditation draws us away from distraction and into a quieter, more spacious awareness, where peace, light and presence can be encountered. Listeners are gently guided to rest at the centre of awareness, discovering a place of calm that is not created, but already held.The practice encourages returning to this inner space regularly, not as an escape from daily life, but as a way of meeting it with greater steadiness and clarity. Breath becomes the bridge in and out of this inner room, supporting a gentle return to the present moment.This episode offers a moment of calm, whether you are pausing during the day or winding down before sleep, helping you rest in stillness, light and quiet presence.00:00 – Introduction01:34 – Entering the inner room01:45 – Ritual gesture01:50 – Setting intention02:03 – The bell06:50 – Perfect peace and perfect light07:20 – Stepping into the inner chamber07:39 – Held in being by love08:00 – Resting in light, love and peace08:25 – Resting at the centre of awareness08:55 – Intending to return often10:00 – Returning through the breath10:55 – Closing bell Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.