esther's everyday meditation

On the podcast I share the meditation of the week as two posts: one to teach you how to practice the technique, and one to practice the meditation.

For newcomers, the “How to” episode is meant to reduce any worry about whether you’re doing the practice "correctly." (You are! Showing up for yourself is 90% of the practice.)

And for my regular listeners, I like to add a little perspective from my own practice, either on the technique or meditation in general, so that "how to" ends up being more like "how & why."

Occasionally, I'll post a discussion episode on a topic related to practicing meditation, musing through questions that I have pondered many times over the years:

• Why should I meditate? Why should anyone meditate?
• What does meditation do for us? What does it ask of us?
• Is meditation an investment in yourself? or just a chore?
• Can meditation quiet your internal struggles and help you change your perspectives?

My podcast is meant to be a casual and inclusive space to practice meditation. I'm always open to ideas for how to do this better, so feel free to send me your thoughts!

My hope is that the podcast helps you learn some of the ins and outs of meditation, inspires personal delight in your day, quiets your reactivity to other people’s opinions, or helps you calm the internal struggles that run through your head everyday. Because those internal dialogues and the reactive emotions that arise are real.

Meditation can be a powerful resource to create a shift in your mind. To help you change your perspective, value your interconnected body, mind, and self, and give you a boost of daily courage to manage worry and anxiety.

Even as I continue to gather solid evidence about meditation’s measurable effects, my practice has given me courage. Courage to make choices, every day, that bring me joy.

The places I go, the people I spend time with, the work I do — over time, all of those have some element of choice in them, and it isn’t always easy to pick the ones that resonate most strongly. And we can always choose how we engage. Meditation helps me quell irrational fears, and gives my rational mind a chance to say “hey! over here! go this way! towards a true sense of belonging and purpose!”

Maybe meditation can help you with those things too, whether you set up a regular practice or tune into the podcast just when you're needing a boost. You can find out through giving it a try when you're ready.