Viral Mindfulness the Podcast

What if one of the most powerful mindfulness tools isn't an app... ...but a pencil? In this playful and surprisingly moving episode, Alexander explores the unexpected wisdom hidden inside a freshly sharpened Blackwing pencil. Beginning with a little pencil ASMR (yes, really), he reflects on creativity, presence, handwriting, grief, sobriety, technology, and the growing need for an "analog renaissance" in an increasingly digital world. Drawing inspiration from the Blackwing Manifesto, Alexander asks what happens when we intentionally step away from our screens and return to slower practices that reconnect us with our own thoughts, imagination, and inner life. Along the way you'll hear stories about teaching Harvey Rose to draw, writing haiku together, preparing for his birthday piano recital, living with HIV, navigating grief after the loss of his father, and why he believes pencils may be one of the healthiest "gateway drugs" available. This isn't really an episode about pencils. It's about remembering how to pay attention. Details about my upcoming birthday virtual piano recital! Friday, August 14 - Sunday, August 16. Three different recital times to choose from. Four ticket prices, including complimentary access.

What if the sacred isn't somewhere else? What if it has been quietly waiting for us in ordinary moments all along? In this episode, Alexander shares an influential voice in his own spiritual life: writer, conservationist, and naturalist Terry Tempest Williams. Inspired by her newest book, The Glorians: Visitations from the Holy Ordinary, this conversation becomes an invitation to slow down, reconnect with the natural world, and rediscover beauty during an era marked by uncertainty, distraction, climate anxiety, political division, and collective grief. Alexander reflects on the friendships, road trips, national parks, and wilderness experiences that gradually transformed someone who once felt disconnected from nature into someone who now finds the sacred in deserts, forests, oceans, libraries, mountain cabins, and everyday encounters. Together, you'll explore what it means to dream a more beautiful future, pay attention to "the holy ordinary," and cultivate a spirituality rooted not in certainty, but in relationship—with the earth, with one another, and with your own life. If you've been feeling overwhelmed by the noise of modern life, this episode is an invitation to return to beauty, wonder, and the quiet practice of noticing.

Already listened to The Sound of Summer? This practice is for you. Several listeners asked for a version with fewer words and more space to simply breathe, chant, and practice. So here it is. Recorded live beneath the Colorado sky, you'll hear birdsong, fresh mountain air, and the gentle sounds of summer as we move through the traditional seed sounds of the seven chakras together. There is very little guidance; just enough to help you settle before we begin. Whether you choose to make the sounds aloud or simply receive their vibration in silence, this is an invitation to slow down, return to your body, and let awareness deepen one breath at a time. The chakra seed sounds: • Root — LAM • Sacral — VAM • Solar Plexus — RAM • Heart — YAM • Throat — HAM • Third Eye — OM • Crown — Silence If this is your first experience with the practice, I recommend listening first to The Sound of Summer: A Guided Chakra Meditation, where I introduce each center and offer more detailed guidance. May these sounds become companions you can return to throughout the season. Much love, soul sibling.

What if meditation didn't begin with silence? In this gentle guided practice, we'll travel through the seven chakras using the traditional seed sounds that have accompanied contemplative practice for centuries. Beginning at the base of the spine and gradually moving upward through the body, each sound becomes an invitation—not to believe anything or achieve a particular state—but simply to notice, listen, and feel. Along the way, we'll explore grounding, creativity, courage, compassion, authentic expression, clear seeing, and finally, silence itself. Whether you choose to chant the sounds aloud or simply receive their vibrations, this practice offers a spacious place to slow down, breathe deeply, and return to yourself. Find a comfortable seat, or lie beneath your favorite summer tree. Let's practice together. LAM VAM RAM YAM HAM OM Silence

This week I'm inviting you to rethink meditation from the ground up. What if prayer wasn't something you said... What if prayer was something you breathed? Drawing inspiration from John O'Donohue's beautiful reflections on breath, spirit, and spontaneity, I explore a gentler, more sustainable way of practicing meditation—one that doesn't depend on perfection, long sessions, or getting your mind to stop thinking. Together we'll explore the ancient Hebrew word Ruach ("breath" or "spirit"), why inspiration literally means "to breathe into," and how simply returning to your breath can become a daily spiritual practice. I also share my own recent struggle with consistency, why missing a single meditation almost derailed my practice, and the lesson that helped me begin again. At the end of the episode, I invite you into a brand-new guided meditation, The Sound of Summer, where we'll explore the healing sounds of the seven chakras together. Sometimes all we need is one quiet minute.