View Top 200 Chart

Back to Rankings Page

Health & Fitness

The Daily Meditation with Brother Richard

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.

Latest Episodes:

Resting in Loving Presence Feb 03, 2026

Show notes

In this meditation, I invite you to rest in loving presence, allowing yourself to be attended to just as you are.

We begin by exploring what rest truly means, and by finding a gentle way into it. As the body settles into form and the breath is noticed, awareness begins to soften. Gradually, we enter a more relaxed and balanced state, where effort eases and stillness becomes familiar.

This is a time of renewal. Resting in calm is something the body learns slowly, with patience and kindness. There is no hurry here, only an invitation to remain, to be present, and to allow stillness to hold you.

This daily guided meditation offers a moment of calm, whether you are pausing during the day or winding down before sleep, supporting rest, renewal and quiet presence.

Chapters

00:00 – Introduction

00:15 – What is rest

01:05 – Finding a way into rest

01:15 – The bell

01:45 – Finding the form

02:10 – Noticing the breath

04:45 – The cycle of breathing

05:15 – Entering relaxed awareness

05:25 – Balanced unity

06:15 – Resting in calm

06:25 – A time of renewal

09:15 – Teaching the body to rest

09:30 – The art of resting

09:45 – Patience

11:15 – Closing bell

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Meditation Master Lesson Feb 02, 2026

Show notes

In this meditation, I introduce a master lesson drawn from the wisdom of St. Teresa of Avila, a great teacher of interior life.

We reflect on a common mistake made by beginners: the belief that meditation is about changing ourselves or achieving a particular state. Teresa reminds us instead that while everything else changes, what remains constant is that we are loved, and nothing alters that truth.

As we sit, intention helps us arrive gently into presence, a presence that meets us exactly as we are. With trust, tension is allowed to dissolve, and we rest in what Teresa described as calm abiding. The breath, the first gift given to us, becomes our steady companion once more.

This daily guided meditation offers a moment of calm, whether you are pausing during the day or winding down before sleep, helping you rest in trust, stillness and quiet love.

Chapters

00:00 – Introduction

01:00 – Introducing St. Teresa of Avila

02:00 – A common misconception

03:30 – What remains unchanged

04:00 – Being loved without condition

04:20 – The bell

05:00 – Arriving into trust

05:20 – A loving presence as we are

05:42 – Intention and deep stillness

06:10 – Calm abiding

07:00 – The gift of the breath

07:30 – The beauty of breathing

10:00 – Breathing in and out

11:00 – Resting in the breath

12:00 – Returning gently

12:30 – Closing bell

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Honing Inner Attention Jan 30, 2026

Show notes

In this meditation, I invite you to hone inner attention, resting with the presence that is already here.

This practice is not about making anything happen or asking for an experience to arrive. Instead, we allow the present moment to become the place of encounter, where attention and love are not separate, but one. Change, when it comes, comes quietly, from within.

As we sit, we notice sensations and thoughts as they arise, breathing them in gently and letting them go on the out-breath. Again and again, awareness is anchored in the breath and in the moment at hand, discovering a steadiness that remains even as everything else changes.

This daily guided meditation offers a moment of calm, whether you are pausing during the day or winding down before sleep, helping you rest in stillness, presence and quiet love.

Chapters

00:00 – Introduction

00:30 – The heart of this practice

00:50 – The bell

01:15 – Entering sacred time

02:20 – The present moment as meeting place

02:35 – When change happens

03:20 – The life within

05:20 – Understanding the moment fully

05:50 – Stability amid change

07:00 – Breathing in and letting go

08:55 – Anchoring in the breath

09:40 – Awareness of breath and moment

11:10 – Setting intention for the day

11:40 – Closing bell

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Honing Outer Attention Jan 29, 2026

Show notes

In this meditation, I invite you to hone outer attention by gently reflecting on a single, ordinary object.

We begin by settling into the body and the rhythm of the breath, allowing awareness to become steady and grounded. From there, attention is brought to the object itself, noticing its texture, sound, appearance and presence, without analysis or judgement.

As the practice deepens, we reflect quietly on the object’s story, what it means to us, or perhaps that it means nothing at all. Either way is enough. Attention is then returned to the breath and the body, resting once more in simplicity and presence.

This daily guided meditation offers a moment of calm, whether you are pausing during the day or winding down before sleep, helping you cultivate attentiveness, gratitude and quiet awareness of the world around you.

Chapters

00:00 – Introduction

00:35 – Choosing an object

01:03 – The bell

01:33 – Returning awareness to the body

01:57 – The rhythm of the breath

04:30 – Attending to the object through the senses

06:00 – The history of the object

06:50 – Will it exist after me

07:50 – What the object means to you

08:06 – When it means nothing

10:10 – Trusting the breath

10:38 – Feet grounded, body supported

10:58 – Intending gratitude and awareness

11:15 – Closing bell

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Different Types of Attention Jan 28, 2026

Show notes

In this meditation, I invite you to explore different types of attention — sensory, outer, inner, breath and spiritual — and how each can gently deepen our practice.

We begin by resting in a state of relaxed awareness, allowing attention to be brought to bear without strain or effort. From here, we notice the senses as gateways into the present moment, before widening awareness to include inner experience, the rhythm of the breath, and a quieter spiritual attention.

Nothing needs to be forced or held tightly. Attention is allowed to move and settle naturally, guided by intention and supported by stillness.

This daily guided meditation offers a moment of calm, whether you are pausing during the day or winding down before sleep, helping you cultivate clarity, steadiness and gentle awareness.

Chapters

00:00 – Introduction

00:15 – Relaxed awareness

00:35 – Bringing awareness to bear

01:55 – The bell

02:30 – The five types of attention

03:00 – Intending awareness of the senses

03:30 – Hearing, seeing, smelling, tasting and touching

04:40 – Honing attention

06:40 – Noticing background sounds

07:40 – Inner attention

08:40 – Outer attention

10:20 – Spiritual attention

12:25 – Closing bell

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Recovering the Full Basic Form Jan 27, 2026

Show notes

In this meditation, I invite you to return to the full basic form, the foundation that quietly supports all of our practice.

These returning meditations are here to help us come back to what is essential. If you are new, you are very welcome to join the practice as it is today. And if you wish to go deeper, the earlier meditations in the archive lay out this practice from the beginning, step by step.

As we settle, the body is allowed to soften and relax, gradually and without effort. Simple affirmations remind us that we are more than body, more than thoughts and feelings, and that a deeper centre of awareness remains steady beneath it all.

This daily guided meditation offers a moment of calm, whether you are pausing during the day or winding down before sleep, helping you rest again in stillness and carry that intention gently into the hours ahead.

Chapters

00:00 – Welcome back

00:15 – Returning to the archive and foundations

00:56 – The bell

03:15 – The body softening and relaxing

05:45 – Relaxation moving through the body

07:15 – I have a body, but I am more than my body

08:14 – Noticing judgement without curiosity

08:28 – I have feelings, but I am more than my thoughts

09:45 – I am I

10:10 – Resting in the centre of the breath

11:15 – Carrying the intention into the day

11:40 – Closing bell

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Returning to Discursive and Passive Meditation Jan 26, 2026

Show notes

In this meditation, I return with you to the two complementary modes of practice: discursive and passive meditation, and how they work together over time.

I reflect on why both forms are necessary, and how practices such as the rosary can help us understand this movement between intention and rest. Discursive prayer gives shape and direction, while passive meditation allows us to receive, to settle, and to be held.

We come gently into stillness, using the body as a place of awareness, beginning with the hands and the simple experience of openness. As intention is named and held lightly, a word or versiculum may be added, allowing the practice to rest again in love and presence.

This daily guided meditation offers a moment of calm, whether you are pausing during the day or winding down before sleep, supporting stillness, openness and quiet awareness.

Chapters

00:00 – Introduction

00:10 – Discursive and passive meditation

00:40 – Why both forms are needed

00:50 – The rosary as meditative prayer

02:10 – A direction for this practice

02:40 – The bell

03:00 – Coming to stillness

03:50 – Awareness of the palms

05:30 – Experiencing openness in the hands

06:40 – Releasing the hands

07:10 – Sensation and tingling

07:20 – The intention to feel

07:50 – An intention of openness

08:10 – Naming the divine

09:20 – Introducing the versiculum

10:30 – Resting in love

11:40 – Closing bell

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Intentionality: The Direction of the Mind and Heart Jan 23, 2026

Show notes

In this meditation, I invite you to explore intentionality — the quiet direction of the mind and heart that gives shape and energy to our practice.

We reflect on what it means to hold an intention: not as effort or striving, but as a gentle desire that something might be, for ourselves or for another. As intention gathers our inner faculties, attention naturally settles, and the breath becomes a steady companion.

Resting with the rhythm of breathing, where the out-breath becomes the in-breath, we allow awareness to fill the whole body. Intention is not forced here; it is simply held, present in the here and now.

This daily guided meditation offers a moment of calm, whether you are pausing during the day or winding down before sleep, supporting clarity, steadiness and quiet presence.

Chapters

00:00 – Introduction

00:15 – Exploring intentionality

01:22 – Gathering the inner faculties

01:42 – Holding an intention for others or yourself

02:07 – Intention as something that unfolds

03:10 – The bell

05:52 – Finding the rhythm of the breath

06:08 – Where the out-breath becomes the in-breath

07:52 – Breathing with every cell

09:09 – Resting in the here and now

10:52 – Closing bell

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Four Directions of Meditative Practice Jan 22, 2026

Show notes

In this meditation, I introduce the four directions of meditative practice — intention, attention, compassion and wisdom — as simple guides for deepening our prayer and meditation.

We begin by taking our seat and making a clear, gentle intention. From there, attention is invited to rest with the breath, allowing calmness and steadiness to grow without effort. As the practice unfolds, we open deliberately to compassion and to the presence of love, holding the body in stillness and stability.

These four directions are not steps to complete, but orientations we return to again and again. They help us practise with clarity and kindness, allowing wisdom to emerge naturally over time.

This daily guided meditation offers a moment of calm, whether you are pausing during the day or winding down before sleep, supporting stillness, presence and gentle awareness.

Chapters

00:00 – Introduction

00:10 – The four directions of meditative practice

01:13 – The bell

01:25 – Taking the seat

02:40 – Making an intention

04:00 – Practice arising from intention

05:20 – Bringing attention to the breath

06:05 – Breathing in peace and love

06:10 – Calmness

08:25 – Entering the presence of love

09:09 – Holding stillness and stability

11:04 – Returning to awareness

11:17 – Closing bell

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How to Meditate Lying Down Jan 21, 2026

Show notes

In this meditation, I offer a gentle practice of meditating while lying down, for those who are unwell, fatigued, or who find sitting difficult.

We begin by settling into a comfortable position, allowing the body to be fully supported by the ground. From here, attention is guided softly to the breath and the diaphragm, inviting warmth, ease and stillness to unfold without effort.

This way of meditating can be especially helpful if you find it hard to rest or to fall asleep. There is nothing to achieve here. You’re invited simply to notice the breath, to rest in grace, and to allow the body to settle in its own time.

This daily guided meditation offers a moment of calm, whether you are pausing during the day or winding down before sleep, supporting rest, recovery and quiet awareness.

Chapters

00:00 – Introduction

00:15 – Can you meditate lying down

00:55 – Difficulty falling asleep

01:45 – Why this practice can support sleep

02:15 – Finding a comfortable place to lie down

02:35 – Assuming a supportive position

03:00 – The bell

03:55 – Setting your core intention

05:50 – Awareness of the breath and diaphragm

06:10 – Adjusting the shoulders

07:04 – Coming to stillness

08:00 – Warmth and subtle movement

08:23 – The uniqueness of your breath

08:35 – Drifting towards sleep

09:28 – Returning gently to the breath

10:20 – Resting in grace and breath

10:33 – Stretching and three deep breaths

10:55 – Expressing gratitude

11:10 – Closing bell

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Related Podcasts