What if every meal began with a moment of intimate connection? In this episode, I offer a short practice for thanking your food, a blessing that moves through the plants, water, sun, animals, and human hands that brought your meal to you. Simple enough to carry in your mind, deep enough to quietly change how you eat. May it nourish your soul!

Music and sound mixing by Eric Fischer.

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Host: Tess Callahan
Substack: Writers at the Well
Interview Podcast: Writers at the Well
Meditations on Insight Timer
Meditations on YouTube
Tess's novels: https://tesscallahan.com/
Music (unless otherwise noted above): Christopher Lloyd Clark
Audio Editing: Eric Fischer

By tapping "like" and "follow" you help others find the show.
Thank you for listening!

DISCLAIMER: Meditation is not a substitute for professional psychological or medical healthcare or therapy. We do not accept any liability for any loss or damage incurred by you acting or not acting as a result of listening to this recording. Use the material provided at your own risk. Do not drive or operate dangerous equipment while listening. The views expressed in this podcast may not be those of the host or the management.

This brief meditation encourages you to find moments of connection to yourself and to Spirit throughout your day, no matter what challenges you’re facing. The act of pausing supplies the calm clarity we need to address our challenges wisely. Be attentive to portals to presence, and observe the observer within. The meditation concludes with a quote from the 12th century Christian mystic Meister Eckhart about the unity of love. I hope you enjoy.

Support the show

Host: Tess Callahan
Substack: Writers at the Well
Interview Podcast: Writers at the Well
Meditations on Insight Timer
Meditations on YouTube
Tess's novels: https://tesscallahan.com/
Music (unless otherwise noted above): Christopher Lloyd Clark
Audio Editing: Eric Fischer

By tapping "like" and "follow" you help others find the show.
Thank you for listening!

DISCLAIMER: Meditation is not a substitute for professional psychological or medical healthcare or therapy. We do not accept any liability for any loss or damage incurred by you acting or not acting as a result of listening to this recording. Use the material provided at your own risk. Do not drive or operate dangerous equipment while listening. The views expressed in this podcast may not be those of the host or the management.

There’s a lot going on—in the world, in us. So how do we hold it all? This meditation grew out of a friend’s morning and evening prayer: “whatever” and “oh well.” Simple, honest, maybe even a little funny—but also surprisingly profound. Together we explore what it means to release ourselves into the present moment, to notice what’s well and good even amidst what’s broken, and to make our hearts big enough to hold it all. Includes a reading of Rumi’s “The Guest House" and the Serenity Prayer. I hope you enjoy.

Thank you creative genius, Eric Fischer, for the inspiration.

Support the show

Host: Tess Callahan
Substack: Writers at the Well
Interview Podcast: Writers at the Well
Meditations on Insight Timer
Meditations on YouTube
Tess's novels: https://tesscallahan.com/
Music (unless otherwise noted above): Christopher Lloyd Clark
Audio Editing: Eric Fischer

By tapping "like" and "follow" you help others find the show.
Thank you for listening!

DISCLAIMER: Meditation is not a substitute for professional psychological or medical healthcare or therapy. We do not accept any liability for any loss or damage incurred by you acting or not acting as a result of listening to this recording. Use the material provided at your own risk. Do not drive or operate dangerous equipment while listening. The views expressed in this podcast may not be those of the host or the management.

Yoga Nidra relaxes your body into deep restorative sleep while your mind, like a night-blooming flower, opens to formless awareness. Over the course of these 8 hours, the guiding voice softens into ocean waves, yet remains barely audible to guide you back to sleep should you awaken during the night. Drawn partly from the teachings of Swami Jnaneshvara Bharati, this practice includes a complete body relaxation, 61-point exercise, and ascending breath practice. Yoga Nidra relaxes the body and mind, and unhooks the neuro-conditioning that keeps you stuck. Studies show regular practice alleviates stress, PTSD and improves wellbeing. I wish deep, restorative sleep.

Audio engineering and remixing: Eric Fischer
Music: Christopher L Clarke

Support the show

Host: Tess Callahan
Substack: Writers at the Well
Interview Podcast: Writers at the Well
Meditations on Insight Timer
Meditations on YouTube
Tess's novels: https://tesscallahan.com/
Music (unless otherwise noted above): Christopher Lloyd Clark
Audio Editing: Eric Fischer

By tapping "like" and "follow" you help others find the show.
Thank you for listening!

DISCLAIMER: Meditation is not a substitute for professional psychological or medical healthcare or therapy. We do not accept any liability for any loss or damage incurred by you acting or not acting as a result of listening to this recording. Use the material provided at your own risk. Do not drive or operate dangerous equipment while listening. The views expressed in this podcast may not be those of the host or the management.

In this special episode of Heart Haven Meditations, Tess Callahan speaks with author George Saunders abou the intersection of meditation, writing, and his Buddhist practice. Drawing from his new novel Vigil, Saunders reflects on attention, revision as a form of meditation, and the challenge of inhabiting another person's consciousness with honesty and care. Saunders emphasizes the value of cultivating “a quiet mind” in writing and in life.

George Saunders is the author of thirteen books, including the novel Lincoln in the Bardo, which won the Man Booker Prize, and five collections of stories, including Tenth of December, which was a finalist for the National Book Award, and the recent collection Liberation Day. Saunders hosts the popular Story Club on Substack, which grew out of his book on the Russian short story, A Swim in a Pond in the Rain. In 2013, he was named one of the world’s 100 Most Influential People by Time. He teaches in the creative writing program at Syracuse University.

Support the show

Host: Tess Callahan
Substack: Writers at the Well
Interview Podcast: Writers at the Well
Meditations on Insight Timer
Meditations on YouTube
Tess's novels: https://tesscallahan.com/
Music (unless otherwise noted above): Christopher Lloyd Clark
Audio Editing: Eric Fischer

By tapping "like" and "follow" you help others find the show.
Thank you for listening!

DISCLAIMER: Meditation is not a substitute for professional psychological or medical healthcare or therapy. We do not accept any liability for any loss or damage incurred by you acting or not acting as a result of listening to this recording. Use the material provided at your own risk. Do not drive or operate dangerous equipment while listening. The views expressed in this podcast may not be those of the host or the management.

This contemplative meditation draws from the fourth century BCE Taoist master Chuang Tzu, as retold by Thomas Merton. Through the ancient parable of wind moving through ten thousand holes in the earth, we listen to nature’s voice—a symphony of mooing, roaring, and whistling that emerges when the invisible breath of life moves through all things. The voice of the wind becomes a powerful metaphor for the higher power many seek in recovery and spiritual practice: an unseen presence speaking through us, singing the music of our lives. What is it that blows through these ten thousand holes? This teaching invites you to rest in stillness, to listen deeply, and to surrender to the mysterious power whose voice awakens all beings. Perfect for those seeking presence, peace, and connection to something greater than themselves.

Based on “The Breath of Nature” from The Way of Chuang Tzu by Thomas Merton.

Music by Eric Fischer and Christopher Lloyd Clarke.

Audio by Eric Fischer.

Support the show

Host: Tess Callahan
Substack: Writers at the Well
Interview Podcast: Writers at the Well
Meditations on Insight Timer
Meditations on YouTube
Tess's novels: https://tesscallahan.com/
Music (unless otherwise noted above): Christopher Lloyd Clark
Audio Editing: Eric Fischer

By tapping "like" and "follow" you help others find the show.
Thank you for listening!

DISCLAIMER: Meditation is not a substitute for professional psychological or medical healthcare or therapy. We do not accept any liability for any loss or damage incurred by you acting or not acting as a result of listening to this recording. Use the material provided at your own risk. Do not drive or operate dangerous equipment while listening. The views expressed in this podcast may not be those of the host or the management.

This talk/meditation invites you to access inner wisdom through sleep and the liminal spaces between waking and sleeping. In many ancient traditions, monks, yogis, and shamans dreamed worlds into being. These dreamed realms, called Pure Lands, Buddha Fields, and Fields of Spirit, exist outside of ordinary time and can be visited in meditation and dreams. They are, in essence, the Kingdom of God within you. This practice invites you to set an intention to visit these realms in dreams, releasing any expectations, and preparing the mind and body for deep, restful sleep. The meditation guides you into state of deep coherence and surrender. Relax and enjoy.

Support the show

Host: Tess Callahan
Substack: Writers at the Well
Interview Podcast: Writers at the Well
Meditations on Insight Timer
Meditations on YouTube
Tess's novels: https://tesscallahan.com/
Music (unless otherwise noted above): Christopher Lloyd Clark
Audio Editing: Eric Fischer

By tapping "like" and "follow" you help others find the show.
Thank you for listening!

DISCLAIMER: Meditation is not a substitute for professional psychological or medical healthcare or therapy. We do not accept any liability for any loss or damage incurred by you acting or not acting as a result of listening to this recording. Use the material provided at your own risk. Do not drive or operate dangerous equipment while listening. The views expressed in this podcast may not be those of the host or the management.

This is a guided relaxation meditation for promoting restful sleep. If possible, aim for a dark, quiet, cool sleeping environment. The meditation invites you to recall a moment of gratitude from you day, followed by a full-body relaxation scan, and a short round of 4-7-8 breathing (inhaling for four seconds, holding for seven, and exhaling for eight). Then, you release your breath, letting the body breathe naturally as you visualize the heart and mind mingling. The main focus is on surrendering the mind to deep, peaceful sleep. The session ends with five minutes of ocean wave sounds. I hope you enjoy.

Audio by Eric Fischer.

Music by Christopher Lloyd Clarke.

Support the show

Host: Tess Callahan
Substack: Writers at the Well
Interview Podcast: Writers at the Well
Meditations on Insight Timer
Meditations on YouTube
Tess's novels: https://tesscallahan.com/
Music (unless otherwise noted above): Christopher Lloyd Clark
Audio Editing: Eric Fischer

By tapping "like" and "follow" you help others find the show.
Thank you for listening!

DISCLAIMER: Meditation is not a substitute for professional psychological or medical healthcare or therapy. We do not accept any liability for any loss or damage incurred by you acting or not acting as a result of listening to this recording. Use the material provided at your own risk. Do not drive or operate dangerous equipment while listening. The views expressed in this podcast may not be those of the host or the management.