Find a quiet place to settle into your own stillness through this guided meditation led by Julie Potiker. She completes the meditation with the poem, "Natural Silence", by James Crews.

Natural Silence, by James Crews

It's not easy to find the silence

behind traffic noise and the rush of a jet

dragging its contrails through the sky.

But here it is again in the in-between,

when I learn to listen long enough

to the call-and-response of birdsong,

to wind pulsing in the canopies of trees,

and every wing-flutter of the phoebe

who's built her cup of a nest out of moss

and mud beneath the eaves of our house.

I know the stillness will last for just

a few beats before the roar of a Harley

takes over, and a tractor rumbles through

the rocky field outside my window.

So I sink into it while I can, as I do into water

so clean and clear, for a moment at least

I swear I can see to the bottom of everything.

-Natural Silence, by James Crews (from "Unlocking the Heart; Writing for Mindfulness, Courage, and Self-Compassion", by 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.com

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