Breathe in as you relax into this calming meditation led by Julie Potiker. She completes the meditation with her poem, "Whispers of a Fifth Force".

Whispers of a Fifth Force, by Julie Potiker

In Idaho’s early morning hush,

I settle into the Adirondack chair by the fire pit,

fast running river less than a pickle-ball court away,

my slippered feet rest on the cool back of a boulder,

smooth and steady beneath me.

Above, the Aspen leaves shimmer—

green coins rustling their soft applause

in the mountain breeze.

A plump American Robin bounces a spindly branch nearby.

 

Gravity holds me gently,

as it always has,

the known forces humming their familiar song:

electromagnetism weaving light across the sky,

strong and weak nuclear threads binding the world within.

 

Resting my head on the chair, I contemplate

 

Far beyond this stillness,

Bennu drifts—

its ancient body charting paths we can measure,

paths we can question.

Physicists tilt their heads,

listening for the quiet slip of anomaly,

searching for a fifth force hidden in the mathematics.

 

So far, Bennu holds its silence.

But Apophis approaches—

another messenger tumbling closer,

another chance to find

what might have always been there.

 

Since the 1980s they have wondered—

Could it be anti-gravity?

Could it be quintessence?

A hidden thread explaining dark energy, or light dark matter

a secret folded into the fabric

of everything we thought we knew.

 

I breathe in the pine-sweet air,

feel the steady earth beneath my feet,

The cool breeze gently touches my face—

and in the rustling leaves above,

the universe whispers:

there may yet be more.

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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