In this guided meditation led by Julie Potiker you will focus on a being who brings you joy - and then move into classic loving kindness phrases. She completes her meditation with the poem, "Dream Life", by Billy Collins.

Dream Life, by Billy Collins

Whenever I have a dream about Poetry,

which is not very often

considering how much I think about her,

she appears as a seamstress

who works in the window of a tailor's shop

in a section of a provincial city

laden with a grey and heavy sky.

I know the place so well

I could find the dimly lit shop

without asking anyone for directions,

though the streets are mostly empty,

except when I saw a solitary man

looking in the window of a butcher's,

his hands in the pockets of his raincoat.

Poetry works long hours

and rarely speaks to the tailor

as she bends to repair the fancy costumes

of various allegorical figures

who were told by Thrift how little she charges.

Maybe the ermine collar on the robe

of Excess has come loose

or a rip in the gown of Abandon

needs mending, and no questions

will be asked about how that came to pass.

A little bell over the door rings

whenever a customer enters or leaves,

but Poetry is too busy thinking about her children

as she replaces a gold button on the blazer of Pride.

Dream Life, by Billy Collins, from his book of poems; The Rain in Portugal.

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

This podcast is available on iTunes, iHeart, Blubrry and everywhere you listen to podcasts.