Mindfulness Meditation Podcast - Mindfulness Meditation with Kimberly Brown

Episode Date: January 29, 2026

he Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art presents a weekly meditation for beginners and skilled meditators alike. Each episode is inspired by a different work of art from the Museum’s collection and is led by a prominent meditation teacher.The episode begins with an opening talk followed by a 20-minute meditation. In this episode, the guided meditation begins at 8:51.Teacher:  Kimberly Brown Theme: New BeginningsBuddha’s Birth, from a Set of the Twelve Deeds of the Buddha; Derge Printing House, Derge, Kham region, Eastern Tibet; ca. 1979; Xylograph, ink on paper; Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art, Gift of William Hinman; C2001.4.2Learn more about the Rubin’s work around the world at rubinmuseum.org.

Welcome to the Mindfulness Meditation Podcast, presented by the Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art, a global museum dedicated to bringing greater awareness and understanding of Himalayan art to people around the world. I'm your host, Tashi Children. Every week, we offer a meditation session that draws inspiration from an artwork from the Rubin's collection and is led by a prominent meditation teacher. You can find more information about the related artwork. in the episode description. Our Mindfulness Meditation Podcast is presented in partnership with Sharon Salzberg

and teachers from the New York Insight Meditation Center, the Interdependence Project, and supported by the Frederick P. Lenz Foundation for American Buddhism. And now, please enjoy your practice. Welcome to the Rubin Museum of Himalayan Arts Mindfulness Meditation Program. I'm Tashi-Churdun, Himalayan Programme. and Communities Ambassador, and I'm delighted to be a host today. The Rubin is a global museum dedicated to presenting Himalayan art and its insights, and we're so glad to have all of you join us for our weekly program,

where we combine art and meditation. Inspired by our collection, we will first take a deep look at the work of art we have chosen for today. We will then hear a brief talk from our teacher, Kimberly Brown, And then we will have a short sit, 15 to 20 minutes for the meditation guided by her. Let's take a look at today's theme and artwork. The theme for the month of January is new beginnings, and the artwork for today's session is Buddha's birth, from a set of 12 major deeds of the Buddha,

origin dergea printing house known as Derghe Parkang in Tibetan, in calm region eastern Tibet, dated 1979, and the medium is zylograph. ink on paper, beautiful prints and drawings. The central theme which dominates the composition is the birth of Prince Sidata. Below left, Sidata is bathed by Naga, snake spirits, and takes seven steps in each of the four cardinal directions, a lotus flower blooming under each footprint.

Raising his hand, he pronounced his coming into the world and this his last birth. This woodblock print was printed at the Dergey printing house in the calm region of southeastern Tibet. Founded in 1729, it is one of the largest and most important producers of traditional Tibetan woodblock prints. Now let's bring on our teacher for today, Kimberly Brown. Kimberly is a meditation teacher and author. She leads classes and retreats that emphasize the power of compassion and kindness meditation to reconnect us to ourselves and others. She studies in both the Tibetan and Inside Schools of Buddhism and is a certified mindfulness instructor. Her latest book, Happy Relationships, 25 Buddhist Practices to Transform Your Connection with Your Partner, Family, and Friends, was released earlier this year.

You can learn more about Kimberly on our website, Meditationwithheart.com. Kim, thank you so much for being here. And so it is January. and our theme at the Rubin for this month is New Beginnings. That's why we chose the artwork of the Buddha's birth, because in this tradition, one of the stories of the Buddha is that he made a conscious choice to be born into the world, and it would be his last time in the world

because he was going to wake up, attain enlightenment. And what he is saying here is that as his last birth, he is changing this cycle of rebirth into an opportunity for liberation. And we can think of this as in our own lives, you know, it doesn't have to be birth into this lifetime and the next lifetime. We can see it as an opportunity for us to transform our own suffering, our own patterns, from a repetition and a compulsion of creating habits into creating meaningful new beginning. and transformation.

So we often do this in January. Many of you are going to be making resolutions, perhaps trying to change your patterns and your habits. And from a Buddhist view, you know, everything is always change. And even though sometimes it feels very hard, patterns are very ingrained. But all that we are, all that we are,

all that we've learned, everything that we say and we do, these reactions we have, these habits, they've been learned and practiced over time. They are conditioned behaviors. And that's why it's possible to change them. They're not inherent in our nature. They're ingrained in us through repetition over a long time, right? And so one of the reasons that meditation is really valuable is that it helps us rewire our conditioning. That's the term the brain scientists use. They tell us that through practice, we're changing the way our reactions go, right? They're rewired. And what they've shown is meditation helps us become less critical, less self-critical, more pro-social. It shows us that it's possible to become more mindful and that there is a relationship between

mindfulness and happiness that our capacity to pay attention to what's happening in the present in ourselves and in the world, that through this, we also, we, we report that we have greater sense of well-being. Now, another reason meditation is valuable is it's a useful tool to develop new patterns over time. You know, like I said, through this rewiring. But we can also immediately during our practice, we can directly experience new beginnings. Each time that we pay attention to an object and then come back, we are experiencing a new beginning. Each time our attention wanders and we choose to come back to this moment is a new beginning. It's an experience. of letting go and starting again.

And as we practice in this way, as you have that experience of letting go and beginning again, we are using it to let go of unskilful ways that we might know to cope. Sometimes we call these bad habits. Tibetan teachers may call this your karmic tendencies, especially with loving kindness meditation, we can experience these moments where we're off, let go, start again, and reorient our minds in a way that's beneficial and wise and kind. And that really cuts through these old ingrained, maybe not so useful habits that we have.

So let's do a practice together. You can let yourself get still, not frozen, but, you know, not fidgeting, not moving around. If you'd like, you can sit. You could also lie down. Either way, close your eyes, place a hand on your heart and a hand on your belly, and in this way getting in touch with your presence, you are here for you, always, and you're getting in touch with your body and your breath, you're receiving. Your breath is always happening. You don't have to make it. You don't have to do it.

So just for 10 seconds experiencing your hands, your breaths, your presence. And I'd like you to get in touch with your motivation. for participating in this meditation today. I mean, it's your choice. You don't have to do it. But you have an intention. And that intention is beneficial. So get in touch with it.

And maybe say it to yourself a few times with appreciation, bringing your attention to your head. Experiencing your eyes, your cheeks, Maybe you feel your hair, your ears, any warmth or coolness in your head and your face. Gently exploring, bringing your attention to your throat and the back of your neck, to your shoulders and your chest, your lower back and your belly,

feeling the palms of your hands on your body, the movement of your toes, torso as you breathe. Noticing your seat, your legs, and your feet. And now I'd like you to bring all your attention, gathering it to sound. So what you're doing is you're bringing all your attention, your focus to your ears. And if you pay attention, you'll realize, well, you don't have to really do much. You don't have to go out and get sound. It comes to you. and you can receive it. So receiving sound, and we're going to keep a very tight focus here.

So each time your mind strays, gets distracted, goes to a plan or memory. The instruction is to let go. Come back to your breath and begin again. So resting in sound, receiving it, then, you know, we all have habits. You're going to start thinking about dinner or something you said last week. And you'll notice that.

Very gently let go. Come back, receive sound. So I would guess most of you have had moments where you've had to begin again. This is a moment of rebirth, letting go of the past, the future. ideas, concepts, worries, and returning right here and now to the sensations of your body. And what you're doing is

planting a seed of liberation each time you do this. Come back, begin again. Just for 30 more seconds, sticking with your breath, coming back when you need to and bringing your attention from the sound to the feeling of your hands on your heart, on your belly. And we'll plant some more seats, some intentions to guide us through our own rebirth,

toward liberation and freedom. I'd like you to connect to a person who has loved you in a very easy way. Maybe they believe in you, they've encouraged you, They feel delighted at your presence. And usually, you know, that's an old friend, a grandparent, aunt, uncle, teacher, therapist, pet. You could imagine they're here with you or sense their presence. I'd like you to hear them say. They are saying to you with a deep sincerity and care.

May you care for yourself with wisdom and compassion. May you care for yourself with wisdom and compassion. They probably say your name. May you care for yourself with wisdom and compassion. And I'd like you to repeat this, hearing this coming to you, receiving this silently, just for a couple of minutes. Maybe you're swept away.

Again, this is the moment. This is the moment where you let go, create new habits, come back, and just for 30 more seconds, connecting with this being, receiving their wishes for you, hearing them say, may you care for yourself with wisdom and compassion. May you care for yourself with wisdom and compassion. You can keep the presence of this loving being here as you imagine you're looking in the mirror, feeling your own beautiful presence, and saying to yourself, may I care for myself with wisdom and compassion. May I care for myself with wisdom and compassion. May I care for myself with wisdom and compassion.

And just for a minute or two, repeating this phrase, giving yourself this gift. May I care for myself with wisdom and compassion. I'd like you to bring in everyone you care about, friends and family and pets. May we care for ourselves with wisdom and compassion. I'd like you to bring in

your enemies, people who've hurt you, people who you disagree with or are causing harm. Bring them in two. May we all care for ourselves with wisdom and compassion. May everyone, all beings everywhere,

may we care for ourselves with wisdom and compassion. You can let go of these phrases. and any technique. Bring your attention to your feet, your breath, the light entering your eyelids. Thank yourself for practicing today

and remembering you can always let go and begin again. The meditation has ended and you can open your eyes and stretch and move. Thank you so much for that, Kim. That concludes this. this week's practice. If you enjoyed this podcast or are a weekly listener, we invite you to support this series by donating and becoming a friend of the Rubin at Rubin Museum.org slash friends. The Rubin is a non-profit that relies on the generous support of donors like

you to create meaningful experiences with Himalayan art around the world. If you are looking for more inspiring content, check out our other podcast, Awaken, which uses, is art to explore the dynamic path to enlightenment and what it means to wake up available wherever you listen to podcasts. And to learn more about the Rubin Museum's work around the world, sign up for our newsletter at Rubinmuseum.org slash newsletter. Thank you for listening. Have a mindful day.