The Daily Meditation with Brother Richard is a short daily podcast offering stillness, clarity and spiritual grounding - a moment of calm in a busy, noisy world.
Hosted by Brother Richard, a Capuchin Franciscan friar and meditation teacher, each episode draws on the Christian monastic contemplative tradition, one of the oldest continuous meditative practice in the world. With warmth, simplicity and deep humanity, Brother Richard offers reflections and guided meditations shaped for modern life.
These meditations are open to people of all faiths, and to those with none. No belief is required - only a few quiet minutes and a willingness to pause, breathe and be present, whether taking a pause during the day or winding down before sleep.
Brother Richard belongs to the Capuchin community in Dublin, Ireland, where a life of prayer and meditation has been practiced every day for over 400 years. This podcast carries that living tradition forward, translating ancient wisdom into a form that speaks to contemporary experience. To find out more about the Capuchins’ work visit: https://capuchindaycentre.ie/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The Daily Meditation with Brother Richard is a short daily podcast offering stillness, clarity and spiritual grounding - a moment of calm in a busy, noisy world.
Hosted by Brother Richard, a Capuchin Franciscan friar and meditation teacher, each episode draws on the Christian monastic contemplative tradition, one of the oldest continuous meditative practice in the world. With warmth, simplicity and deep humanity, Brother Richard offers reflections and guided meditations shaped for modern life.
These meditations are open to people of all faiths, and to those with none. No belief is required - only a few quiet minutes and a willingness to pause, breathe and be present, whether taking a pause during the day or winding down before sleep.
Brother Richard belongs to the Capuchin community in Dublin, Ireland, where a life of prayer and meditation has been practiced every day for over 400 years. This podcast carries that living tradition forward, translating ancient wisdom into a form that speaks to contemporary experience. To find out more about the Capuchins’ work visit: https://capuchindaycentre.ie/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In this episode, Brother Richard explores stillness in a world shaped by constant movement, reaction and noise.
He introduces the idea of relaxed awareness - a third state beyond effort and distraction - and explains how meditation is not about judging experience, but gently noticing it. Through the simple practice of checking in, listeners are guided to become aware of the body, the breath and the present moment, exactly as they are.
Brother Richard emphasises that meditation is not a struggle for improvement or escape, but a compassionate return to what is already here. Whatever you notice - tension, restlessness, ease or resistance - all of it belongs.
This episode offers a moment of calm, whether you are pausing during the day or winding down before sleep, supporting recovery, presence and deeper awareness.
00:00 — Introduction
00:40 — Recap from the previous episode
01:49 — Events without wisdom
01:50 — The third state: relaxed awareness
02:40 — A moment of awareness
03:10 — Leaving the moment
03:20 — No judgement
03:40 — A lesson on false spirituality
04:00 — Transformation
04:20 — The bell
05:00 — Taking the seat
06:00 — Hands and palms
06:10 — Eyes open or closed
07:10 — Checking in
07:55 — How are you?
08:05 — Noticing without judgement
08:22 — Wanting to be elsewhere
08:40 — The feet
09:20 — The legs
09:27 — Sensitivity and imbalance
09:55 — Left and right sensations
10:05 — The pelvis
10:45 — Points of contact with the chair
11:05 — The natural curve of the body
11:15 — Back pain and adjustment
11:55 — The urge to reset
12:10 — No struggle with the body
12:23 — Shoulders and upper spine
12:49 — Tension in the shoulders
13:25 — Clenched tightness
14:10 — Base of the head
14:40 — Sensation in the hair
15:10 — The whole face
15:30 — Softening the face
16:00 — The face as the entrance for breath
16:20 — Noticing the breath
16:50 — The chest
17:00 — Hidden tension in the chest
17:30 — The rhythm of breathing
17:45 — Expansion of the breath
18:38 — The solar plexus
18:56 — The whole body again
19:15 — However you are, you are
19:30 — Closing Bell
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In this episode, Brother Richard guides listeners into the practical beginnings of meditation - how we arrive, how we sit, and how we prepare ourselves for stillness.
He explores the importance of taking our seat with intention, the role of posture in supporting the breath, and how meditation is not a struggle with the self, but a gentle act of presence. Brother Richard explains different sitting postures, from kneeling to sitting on a chair, and how the body - legs, trunk, diaphragm and breath - works together to support awareness.
The episode also introduces ritual action: small, intentional gestures that help mark the transition into meditation, including the use of sound as a signal of beginning and ending.
This episode offers a moment of calm, whether you are pausing during the day or winding down before sleep, helping you build a sustainable and compassionate meditation practice.
00:10 — Beginning always beginning
00:30 — Taking our seat
00:55 — Setting intention
01:45 — Meditation as divine encounter
02:10 — How we sit
02:50 — Posture and alignment
03:15 — Kneeling and alternative postures
04:02 — Sitting on a chair
04:22 — Feet and soles on the ground
04:55 — The legs
05:15 — The trunk
05:47 — Avoiding compression of the breath
06:25 — A thread from the crown of the head
07:03 — The solar plexus
07:35 — Finding ease in the breath
08:15 — Building and restoring the body
08:40 — The diaphragm and deep muscles
08:54 — Breathing into the belly
09:20 — Ritual action
10:10 — Examples of ritual
10:35 — A heavenly helper
11:22 — The bell as a ritual signal
12:20 — Recap
13:05 — Deeper awareness
13:20 — What it feels like to be here
13:30 — Your deeper gesture
13:52 — Closing bell
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In this opening episode, Brother Richard introduces the practice of meditation and its place within the Christian contemplative tradition.
While meditation is often associated with Eastern traditions, Brother Richard explains how it has always been present in the West, with roots stretching back thousands of years. He traces the development of Christian meditation through the early Desert Fathers, the formalisation of monastic life, the Franciscan school, and the Capuchin tradition - a lineage that has been teaching and practising meditation for over 500 years.
This episode offers a gentle moment of calm, whether you’re taking a pause during a busy day or winding down before sleep, and sets the foundation for the daily meditations to come.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Welcome to The Daily Meditation with Brother Richard - a short daily podcast offering a moment of calm in a busy, noisy world.
In this trailer, Brother Richard Hendrick, a Capuchin Franciscan friar, introduces a meditation practice rooted in the Christian monastic tradition, one of oldest continuous meditative practices in the world. Shaped for modern life, these reflections are designed to help you slow down, breathe, and reset, whether you’re starting your day, taking a pause, or winding down before sleep.
Drawing on a tradition of prayer and meditation practiced daily by the Capuchin community in Dublin for over 400 years, this podcast offers gentle guidance, clarity and grounding - open to people of all faiths, and to those with none.
Short episodes. No experience required. Just a few quiet minutes each day.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.