"I Don't Have Time to Meditate" Toolkit (Vol. 2)

Three 5-minute practices: Care in the Hands, Part the Landscape, and Mutuality

Summer’s in full swing over here. Our family is back in Toronto for July and August. The boys (and Sarah and I) could not be happier. We watched the 2SLGBTQ+ Pride parade on Sunday, then walked to Kensington Market for Pedestrian Sunday, all while navigating World Cup watch parties spilling onto the sidewalk from half the bars and restaurants in town.

Image Credit: Rosemary Ketchum

Toronto is wildly multicultural: Portuguese, Koreans, Italians, Iranians, Senegalese and Mexicans (among others) all cheering both for their home countries, and for Team Canada itself, who’ve played phenomenally well. My eldest son in particular was electrified by the fabulous costumes and the honking cars and the general vitality of the street life. So much joy.

Also: so much intensity!

While getting the kids takeout karaage chicken, I took a time-out in the corner of the restaurant. I sat, closed my eyes. Checked in. Noticed a low-level headache, some tiredness from the jet lag and the heat. Just becoming aware of that made me more relaxed, freed up energy I hadn’t realized I was spending managing all of it. I put my hand on my belly. The cool breeze from the air conditioner. Buzz of happy voices. My karaage oasis.

Ten minutes later I felt genuinely refreshed. Sometimes I can’t believe how lucky I am to have a meditation practice. While I was gone, the kids got free hotdogs from Pride’s family zone, so I spent the rest of the day walking around with fragrant fried chicken steaming in my knapsack.

In the spirit of quick resets, here are three 5-minute meditations to add to our quick-hit library. They form a loose sequence: first finding care in the hands and resting the body, then being part of the landscape, and finally cultivating some appreciation for ourselves and the people – and world – all around us.

Here you go:

– Care in Your Hands

Read the full post - and listen to the longer version - here

– Part of the Landscape

Read the full post - and listen to the longer version - here

– Mutuality

Read the full post - and listen to the longer version - here

Enjoy these long summer days, friends (and short winter ones, for my antipodean community). I’ll share a longer practice next week.

Much love,
Jeff

A few quick notes—

• The next Do Nothing Project (DNP) live meditation is Sunday, July 5 at 8pm EDT. Link here. The DNP is for paid subscribers three times a month, and free for everyone the first Sunday of the month. If the cost of a subscription is not accessible to you, full scholarships are available at info@jeffwarren.org. Replays are archived on Monday morning.

• New to Home Base? We have over 75 free guided meditations in our audio library, over 60 extended meditations, over 365 meditations on YouTube, and a growing number of community practice videos. New writing, new audio meditations, and new live community gatherings happen every week.

• Home Base is best experienced on a web browser (laptop or mobile), NOT the Substack app. The app is great for finding new authors who have much to say, and, like any social media platform, it will suck out your eyeballs and, eventually, your brain. To manage Substack emails and notifications, read this.

• Did you find me on Calm or Happier? While the meditations I made for the apps live on in perpetuity, I no longer record new meditations for them. My latest work happens here; becoming a paid subscriber is the best way to support that work. If you found this meditation and post helpful, but becoming a paid subscriber isn’t an option, you can also …

Many thanks!

New York Insight - Two Upcoming Events

31 Days of Practice (online): Starts August 1, 2026
and … Where Meditation Leads (in-person): August 13, 2026

I have two events coming up with New York Insight. The first – 31 Days of Practice – is a virtual benefit; sign up, and every day in August receive a guided meditation from a different teacher. It’s a great way to sample different styles of teaching, connect to the large New York meditator diaspora, and of course build-up momentum in your practice.

The second is an evening event at their West 29th Street location called “Where Meditation Leads.” We drop down from the turbulent surface layer of mind into the deeper stream of life just happening. The kind of awareness that lives here is both ordinary and sacred, and available to anyone at any time. Expect guided meditations and discussion. More details below: