Readitations
Are you looking for more calm in your life? Do you want to connect with reading on a deeper level? Do you want your inner voice to sound more peaceful, confident, and kind every day? Each week in Readitations, I talk about something I've read and create a guided meditation based on the text to help you ground, care for, and listen to yourself. We've each got our own story and meditation and reading are here to help us write those stories the way we want to.
Episodes
28 episodes since 2021
Ground Yourself with Earth Energy: Spring Poetry Selection
Have you smelled a flower today? It's the beginning of bloom season and spring is in the air. These selected poems all speak to the grounding, peaceful, restorative nature of nature. When we spend time being mindf...
April 07, 2022
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26:09
27. Get Rich and Love It: You Are A Badass at Making Money by Jen Sincero
What's your relationship to money? If you're like so many people, you want it and you fear it, love the freedom it brings but hate the baggage. In this episode on the power-packed self-help book You Are A Badass At Making Money by Jen ...
March 28, 2022
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Season 1
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Episode 27
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23:59
26. Listen Deeply to Hear Your Deepest Desires: The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo
What is your deepest desire—the one that keeps you up at night because you want it so badly? Maybe you know immediately, or maybe you haven't allowed yourself to think about it for a while. In this episode on the classic short and spiritual nov...
March 16, 2022
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Season 1
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Episode 26
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23:59
25. Let Yourself Rest: Selected Poems on Rest, Sleep, and Hibernation (Stevenson, Tharp, and Longfellow)
When was the last time you felt fully rested? If you're like most folks, it may have been a looong time ago. In this episode on three selected readings ("Winter-Time" by Robert Louis Stevenson, "Sleep" by Twyla Tharp, and "Song" by Hen...
March 07, 2022
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Season 1
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Episode 25
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26:06
24. Practice Intentional Media Consumption: Reading Deprivation, Week 2
What do you choose to put into your brain on a daily basis? Books? Social media? Movies? Podcasts? Over the past week, I tried Julia Cameron's reading deprivation exercise from The Artist's Way. During that time, I learned a lot about ...
March 01, 2022
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Season 1
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Episode 24
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25:39
23. Make More Space in Your Head: Reading Deprivation, Week 1
When was the last day when you didn't consume any media? Can't remember? Neither could I, until I began the reading deprivation exercise from Julia Cameron's acclaimed book and course The Artist's Way. In this episode, I do somet...
February 23, 2022
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Season 1
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Episode 23
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25:57
22. Find Deeper Empathy Through Stories: Maus by Art Spiegelman
Do you feel a story when you read it? What makes it feel real? In this episode on the groundbreaking graphic novel Maus by Art Spiegelman, I explore how Spiegelman makes his father's story come to life as more than just ...
February 15, 2022
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Season 1
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Episode 22
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26:54
21. Do What You Want: Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
Do you follow the rules or break them? Do you believe your success depends on it? In this episode on the novel-turned-television-show Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng, explore the motivations you may carry for following the ...
February 08, 2022
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Season 1
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Episode 21
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23:02
20. Trust and Validate Your Own Experience: Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
How do you respond in moments when you feel invalidated? In this episode on the deliciously creepy novel Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, explore the feelings of fear and powerlessness that Noemí Taboada endures duri...
January 31, 2022
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24:57
19. Consciously Create Your Identity: The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
What makes up your identity and how much of it do you consciously choose? In this episode on the beautiful book The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett, explore the many complex ways we shape our own identities and create oursel...
January 24, 2022
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26:29
18. Discover Real Self-Care Practices: Wow, No Thank You. by Samantha Irby
What's your relationship with the phrase "self care?" In this episode on the cuttingly funny collection Wow, No Thank You. by Samantha Irby, explore the idea of self care and what that means apart from the commercialized versions...
January 17, 2022
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Season 1
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Episode 18
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25:00
17. Live in the Present Moment: "Ballad in A" by Cathy Park Hong
Read the poem here: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/53500/ballad-in-a•Read the poetry guide here (one of my main sources of information for this episode): https://www.poetryfoundation.org/articles/146063/cathy-park...
January 10, 2022
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Season 1
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Episode 17
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24:15
16. Befriend Yourself: Solutions and Other Problems by Allie Brosh
Do you treat yourself like a friend? In this episode on the wickedly funny collection Solutions and Other Problems by Allie Brosh, explore the process of what it takes to become friends with yourself and why it's worth the effort. ...
January 03, 2022
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Season 1
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Episode 16
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23:30
15. Find Faith Amidst Uncertainty: Jesus Shaves by David Sedaris
What's your relationship with the word "faith?" In this episode on the dryly humorous essay "Jesus Shaves" by David Sedaris, explore the sometimes-challenging concept of faith and its companion, uncertainty. Dig in to find simple, g...
December 27, 2021
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Season 1
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Episode 15
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23:46
14. Release Expectations: Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
How do you feel when a plot twist takes a book (or your life) in a different direction than you anticipated? In this episode on the cozy mystery Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie, immerse yourself in Christie'...
December 20, 2021
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26:05
13. Savor Today: My Life in France by Julia Child
When was the last time you allowed yourself simply to take pleasure in your life? In this episode on the autobiography My Life in France by Julia Child, surround yourself with Julia's sunny joie de vivre and allow yourse...
December 13, 2021
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Episode 13
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23:29
12. Get Still: "Keeping Quiet" by Pablo Neruda
When was the last time you got really quiet? In this episode on the poem "Keeping Quiet" by Pablo Neruda, immerse yourself in the poet's imagining of a world where, for twelve seconds, we all became still and quiet. The earth would flouri...
December 06, 2021
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Season 1
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Episode 12
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23:50
11. Sit with Your Pain - On Pain by Kahlil Gibran
What is your relationship with your inner pain? Do you resist it or listen to it? In this episode on the poem "On Pain" by Kahlil Gibran, hear how the poet frames pain as a bitter medicine from a divine source. Then try the meditation to drop i...
November 29, 2021
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Episode 11
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22:20
10. Tap into Gratitude: A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
How do the people you love shape your life? In this episode on the novel A Man Called Ove by Frederik Backman, hear how the people in Ove's life are his saving grace and how the characters bring color to each other's lives. Then try th...
November 22, 2021
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Season 1
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Episode 10
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20:41
9. Let Go of Attachment - Early Autumn by Langston Hughes & the lesson of the leaves by Lucille Clifton
How can you let go more fully? In this episode on the short story Early Autumn by Langston Hughes and the poem "the lesson of the leaves" by Lucille Clifton, compare how characters in Hughes' story suffer as they cling to the past and ...
November 15, 2021
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Episode 9
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22:54
8. Build Deeper Community: Plainsong by Kent Haruf
How can you build deeper connections? In this episode on the novel Plainsong by Kent Haruf, hear how the characters in Plainsong's small-town community knit their lives together by looking out for each other. Then try the medi...
November 08, 2021
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21:10
7. Rediscover Your Place - Wild Geese by Mary Oliver
What small part do you and I play in this vast and ever-expanding universe? In this episode on the poem "Wild Geese" by Mary Oliver, hear how Oliver's bird's-eye view of life helps lighten the weight of our human concerns. Then try the meditati...
November 01, 2021
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Season 1
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Episode 7
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20:23
6. Rekindle Your Creativity - Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple
How does being in a creative mindset make you feel more alive? In this episode on Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple, I discuss how creating things makes us more vibrant, engaged, and whole. Then I offer a meditation to help yo...
October 25, 2021
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Season 1
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Episode 6
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19:25
Fulfill Your Deepest Desires - Hunger by Roxane Gay
Do you have your own permission to fulfill your deepest desires? In this episode on Hunger by Roxane Gay, I discuss how hunger takes many forms—emotional, spiritual, and physical. Then I offer a meditation to help you recognize and hon...
October 18, 2021
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Season 1
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Episode 5
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25:10
Cat's Cradle E4: How to Choose Beliefs That Make You Brave, Kind, Healthy, and Happy
How do our beliefs affect our wellbeing? In this last episode on Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut, I discuss how to choose beliefs that bolster your happiness and that of others. Then I offer a meditation to help you bring those positive ...
October 11, 2021
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24:21