Best Daniel Finneran Podcasts (2024)

1
How to Deal with DISTRACTION 16:11

10M ago16:11

16:11

“Distracted from distraction by distraction” Look around: we’re in an inescapable loop of distraction. How do we liberate ourselves from this endless cycle? Borrowing from the great poet TS Eliot, this episode offers some advice. I hope that it’s helpful! Check out my sister channel Finneran’s Wake for profound, long-form conversations. Like, subsc…

1
The “Burning Babe” Who Makes Your Heart GLOW (Christmas Episode!) | Pneuma Nuggets 4:50

10M ago4:50

4:50

“As I in hoary winter night stood shivering in the snow, Surprised was I with sudden heat which made my heart to glow; And lifting up a fearful eye to view what fire was near A Pretty Babe all burning bright did in the air appear.” Robert Southwell I hope that you enjoy this bite-sized Pneuma Nugget! Please consider sharing this episode with a frie…

1
“A man travels the WORLD in search of what he needs and returns HOME to find it” | Pneuma Nugget 3:17

11M ago3:17

3:17

“A man travels the world in search of what he needs and returns home to find it”. - George Moore I hope that you enjoy this bite-sized Pneuma Nugget! Please consider sharing this episode with a friend and subscribing to the channel for more sleep stories, meditations, and soothing content! Visit my YouTube page @pneumabydanielfinneran. Email me at …

1
Don't Live An IMAGINARY Life In The Mind of Others 21:11

11M ago21:11

21:11

“We do not content ourselves with the life we have in ourselves and in our own being; we desire to live an imaginary life in the mind of others…” Blaise Pascal, a French mathematician, inventor, and philosopher, came to this realization about humankind in the 17th century. It remains as true today as it was back then. In this episode, we discuss li…

1
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad | Fall Asleep With Me 34:56

11M ago34:56

34:56

Joseph Conrad (born Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski) was a Polish-English novelist. He was born in 1857 and died in 1924. His twenty years spent as a sailor in the British merchant navy inspired many of his literary works, among which Heart of Darkness is most highly acclaimed. In this episode of “Fall Asleep with Me”, I read this work’s opening s…

1
A Reflection on FRIENDS & Remembrance of Things PAST 26:20

12M ago26:20

26:20

The inspiration for this episode is a sonnet–a Shakespearean sonnet–with which you’re unlikely to be familiar; Sonnet 30, you see, isn’t commonly ranked among Shakespeare’s finest works. It’s neither read to romantic lovers, inscribed on elegant tombstones, nor quoted in popular films. Indeed, you’ll very seldom hear a recitation of its fourteen fo…

1
A Meditation For A RAINY Day: Tracing The “History Of A Single Raindrop” 23:03

1y ago23:03

23:03

“How interesting (it is) to trace the history of a single raindrop!” In this guided meditation, we’ll join the American outdoorsman, conservationist, and writer John Muir as we contemplate the dramatic life story of a single raindrop. Muir was a man of extraordinary depth. In this episode, we’ll accompany him to lofty poetic heights–high, in fact, …

1
Four Quartets by TS Eliot | The Great Poems Of All Time 1:03:56

1y ago1:03:56

1:03:56

Thomas Stearns Eliot (1888 - 1965) was an Anglo-American poet. A devout Christian, Eliot was an important figure in the Modernist movement that sprang to life in the first quarter of the 20th century. "Four Quartets", a uniquely sublime work by which all his other poems are eclipsed, addresses the theme of time. It's a theme on which, as you doubtl…

1
“Footfalls Echo In The Memory”: How To Think About And Deal With REGRET 27:33

1y ago27:33

27:33

Footfalls echo in the memory Down the passage which we did not take Toward the door we never opened Into the rose-garden. This is an excerpt from the first poem of TS Eliot’s masterpiece, “Four Quartets”. It is, in my opinion, the most memorable part of “Burnt Norton”. In this episode, we’re going to meditate on the theme that Eliot presents: Regre…

1
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë | Fall Asleep With Me 33:02

1y ago33:02

33:02

Charlotte Brontë (nom de plume "Currer Bell") was an English novelist. She lived between 1816 - 1855. She was the eldest (and most gifted) of an immensely talented trio of sisters, which included Emily and Anne. Her most famous work, “Jane Eyre” is also one of the finest in the English language. In this episode of “Fall Asleep With Me”, I read one …

1
How to Think About and Deal with REMORSE, The “Poison Of Life” 24:22

1y ago24:22

24:22

“Dread remorse when you are tempted to err, Miss Eyre; remorse is the poison of life.” In Charlotte Brontë’s 1847 masterpiece, “Jane Eyre”, Mr. Rochester issues this stark warning to young Jane, the novel’s titular character and heroine. In this episode, we’ll focus on remorse, contrast it with regret, and implement techniques to relieve us of its …

1
Alternate Nostril Breathing: Simple and SOOTHING (Tutorial and Practice for BEGINNERS) 22:08

1y ago22:08

22:08

Join me for an Alternate Nostril Breathing Session! This simple breathing technique, to which I commit a few minutes every single day, is deceptively powerful. Not only does it invigorate me with fresh oxygen and vital energy, but it helps to balance my body–the left side with the right. This episode is a simple tutorial to which anyone can follow …

1
Middlemarch by George Eliot | Fall Asleep With Me 50:02

1+ y ago50:02

50:02

George Eliot (the manly nom de plume behind which Mary Ann Evans cloaked her true identity) was an English novelist. She lived between 1819-1880. Her most famous work, “Middlemarch” is also one of the finest in the English language. In this episode of “Fall Asleep With Me”, I read one of my favorite scenes: that in which Will Ladislaw and Dorothea …

1
What If You Had to Relive Each Moment Of Your Life Again And Again (Forever?) 34:58

1+ y ago34:58

34:58

What if you had to live your life not only once, but innumerable times over? Would this be a blessing? A curse? Would you delight in the opportunity to live it again? Or, if you haven't lived such a good life thus far, would you bewail the prospect? In his work, "The Gay Science", Friedrich Nietzsche explores this idea. He does so through his doctr…

1
Hidden Inside Each One of Us Is An Unimaginable “I”. Where Is Yours? 21:51

1+ y ago21:51

21:51

The concept of the Unimaginable “I” is one to which, so far as I can tell, the Czech-French writer, Milan Kundera, is chiefly responsible for having given life. Kundera, twice expelled from the Czech Communist Party (of which he was, in his youth, a devout member) published a book in 1984 entitled The Unbearable Lightness of Being, about which I ta…

1
Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh | Fall ASLEEP With Me 40:01

1+ y ago40:01

40:01

zzzzZZZZzzzz 😴😴😴 Hello everyone! Welcome to this latest installment of “Fall Asleep With Me”. In this series, I read classic bedtime stories and great works of literature to which you can (and most assuredly WILL) fall asleep! Tonight’s episode is a sleepy, dream-inducing reading of “Brideshead Revisited” by Evelyn Waugh. Please subscribe to this c…

1
How To Breathe As Nature Intended: (Deeply) With Your DIAPHRAGM! 23:23

1+ y ago23:23

23:23

To breathe deeply into the abdomen with the diaphragm–that’s precisely the way in which Nature intended us to breathe! And yet… We’ve unlearned this simple technique (for which a remedial lesson is urgently needed!) Together, let’s relearn how to breathe properly. Follow along, and–within a few minutes’ time–you’ll significantly improve the quality…

1
We’ve Surpassed 50k Downloads! And It's All Thanks to YOU! 16:15

1+ y ago16:15

16:15

Since its inception in Autumn of 2022, Pneuma has accumulated 50,000 downloads (almost exclusively on Spotify)! I just want to take this opportunity to THANK everyone for supporting this channel and for helping our community grow. Behind every number is a person, a deeply complex and unique human being, to whom I extend my sincerest gratitude. It’s…

1
How To MASTER Your EMOTIONS! (It's Easier Than You Think!) 29:56

1+ y ago29:56

29:56

Are you ready? Here’s the secret: Gaining mastery over your emotions is as simple as replacing one word with another. When angry, do you say: “I am angry”? Try this: the next time that you’re visited by the emotion of anger, simply substitute the word “feel” for “am”. “I feel angry” is much different from “I am angry”. Feelings are fleeting. They a…

1
A Guided GROUNDING Meditation | My Personal Technique (ADVANCED) 32:01

1+ y ago32:01

32:01

Grounding (or mindfully connecting your bare feet to the earth) is one of the simplest, least expensive, and most powerful things that you can do for your health. And guess what? With a little guidance, it’s something at which you can become an expert in just a few minutes’ time! In this episode, I’ll help you to become a “grounding” pro! I’ll lead…

1
A SUPER SLEEPY Countdown From 100 To 0 To Help You Fall Asleep (More Effective Than Counting Sheep!) 30:01

1+ y ago30:01

30:01

The title, I think, says it all! In this video (over whose script I toiled for weeks!), I count down from 100 to 0 in a super SLEEPY tone of voice. My prediction is that you won’t make it past 75. When you wake up, be sure to comment below with the last number you remember hearing. I’m curious to know if there’s a soporific “sweet-spot” at which ev…

1
Savor the Season: Learn How To Live In The HERE And NOW! 31:02

1+ y ago31:02

31:02

Through winter-time we call on spring, And through the spring on summer call, And when abounding hedges ring Declare that winter’s best of all… –WB Yeats Is it not the case that we’re incessantly looking ahead to the future? That we very seldom stop and appreciate the season in which we’re living? That we live not in the present moment, in the sacr…

1
A DEVIL’S Response to HAMLET’S Big Question: “To Be Or Not To Be”? 40:01

1+ y ago40:01

40:01

In a previous episode, we meditated over a question than which, in my opinion, there simply is none bigger, more profound, nor more important: “TO BE, OR NOT TO BE”. (Or, in other words: to keep on living, or to give up and die). This is the famously quotable line with which Act III of Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” opens. Hamlet, the troubled Prince of De…

1
Where The Wild Things Are | Fall ASLEEP With Me 17:42

1+ y ago17:42

17:42

zzzzZZZZzzzz 😴😴😴 Hello everyone! Welcome to this episode of “Fall Asleep With Me”. In this series, I read classic bedtime stories to which you can (and most assuredly WILL) fall asleep. Tonight’s episode is a sleepy, dream-inducing reading of “Where the Wild Things Are” by Maurice Sendak. For what it’s worth… I’m not so sure the mischievous, misbeh…

1
“You Don’t Know What You’ve Got Till It’s GONE”: How Deprivation Sharpens Our Idea of Value 42:01

1+ y ago42:01

42:01

Don’t it always seem to go That you don’t know what you’ve got Till it’s gone… The legendary Joni Mitchell (to whom the Counting Crows don’t hold a candle!) said it best: “You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone”. GK Chesterton, the great English essayist, cultural critic, and Christian apologist of the early 20th-century wrote something very…

1
Goodnight Moon | A DREAM-inducing SLEEP STORY (Perfect for KIDS and ADULTS!) 10:36

1+ y ago10:36

10:36

Shhhh! Hello everyone! Welcome to this special bedtime episode of Pneuma. This is a sleepy, dream-inducing reading of “Goodnight Moon”--a book to which, so far as I can tell, the entire English-speaking world has been falling asleep since its publication way back in 1947. Can you believe that this timeless book (of which every newborn child is the …

1
Nourishment For The Body and Soul: Getting to the MARROW of Life 30:11

1+ y ago30:11

30:11

The marrow–be it of a bone or of a book–is the deepest, healthiest, most sought-after thing that we can nourish ourselves with. It is the hidden flake of gold, the buried piece of diamond for which we all dig–than which every lustrous rock and special stone is far less valuable. In this episode, we draw our inspiration from the great French Renaiss…

1
A Meditation on Life's BIGGEST Question: “To be, or not to be?” 45:01

1+ y ago45:01

45:01

“To be, or not to be, that is the question…” Verily, ‘tis a line quotable not only by every English-speaker, but most non-English-speakers who are scattered across the world. And while it deserves, and shall forever deserve, our quotation, it no less demands our contemplation. I’m convinced that this line, and the entire passage of which it’s the o…

1
20-Minute Morning Affirmations To Build Your CONFIDENCE 24:49

1+ y ago24:49

24:49

Good morning! Are you looking to boost your confidence as you prepare for the trials and tribulations of the day ahead? Are you looking to uplift your spirit and strengthen your resolve as you embark upon a new and daunting journey? I can assure you: you’ve come to the right place! Take a seat, close your eyes, attend to your breathing, and join me…

1
A Guided Meditation For Your TEA Time (As CALMING As Chamomile!) 25:08

1+ y ago25:08

25:08

A simple, soothing guided meditation for when you drink your tea. I assure you: this episode will enhance what is, on its own, without my meager contribution, one of the great human institutions of which we have the good fortune to partake: teatime. Let us take the opportunity (the opportuni-TEA?--I couldn't resist!) to employ some mindfulness whil…

1
How to Keep Calm in a Crazy World | A Gentle Guided Meditation 55:17

1+ y ago55:17

55:17

No doubt—this world in which we live is a crazy one! From political unrest, to economic uncertainty, to global pandemics, and interminable wars, you might begin to feel as if there’s no escape. Rest assured, there is. The path is simple: all you need to do is retire into yourself and find your inner peace. Join me on this soothing meditation to red…

1
Life Lessons From YouTube's SLEEP GURU | Jason Stephenson 1:37:54

1+ y ago1:37:54

1:37:54

Jason Stephenson is the founder and host of the wildly popular YouTube channel, “Jason Stephenson: Sleep Meditation Music” to which some 3 million people (and counting!) are subscribed. Since joining the platform in 2011, Jason’s videos on sleep, mindfulness, meditation, music, nature, life, and breathing have amassed over 700 million views–a numbe…

1
Sailing to Byzantium by WB Yeats | The Great Poems Of All Time 7:04

1+ y ago7:04

7:04

William Butler (WB) Yeats (1865 - 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer, and statesman. A poet to whom I was introduced at the tender age of twelve, Yeats has continued to inhabit a special place in my heart. His finest work, in my opinion, is "Sailing to Byzantium". After the collapse of Rome in the fifth century AD, the center of European cu…

1
A Celebration Of The Sun: Gratitude For Our Great Star Above 30:28

1+ y ago30:28

30:28

Thomas Traherne (1636-74) was an English poet, writer, theologian, and Anglican cleric to whom I was recently introduced. His only extant work, Centuries of Meditations, completely swept me away. It’s a short but powerful book with which you should spend an afternoon. In this episode, we’ll focus on a couple of passages from Traherne’s Meditations.…

1
A Simple 4-7-8 Breathing Exercise | On The Beach 5:32

1+ y ago5:32

5:32

The 4-7-8 breathing exercise, of which the great Dr. Andrew Weil is widely-acknowledged to be the inventor, is simple and effective. You need only do the following: inhale for 4 seconds; hold the breath for 7 seconds; and exhale for 8 seconds. That constitutes one cycle. You'll then repeat this sequence for a total of four cycles. Perform this at l…

1
If-- by Rudyard Kipling | The Great Poems Of All Time 6:51

2y ago6:51

6:51

Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) was an English poet, journalist, and author of short stories. An unbending defender of the British imperial project, his reputation has suffered in recent years. Many of his detractors today echo the judgment rendered by George Orwell, who called him, in positively venomous terms, a morally insensitive, aesthetically dis…

1
A Quick, Calming Breathing Meditation At The Beach 10:08

2y ago10:08

10:08

The title says it all! After a peaceful morning spent reading on the beach, I took a few minutes to absorb all the natural beauty, tranquility, picturesqueness, and happiness that surrounded me. Join me and interrupt your day with the gentle sound of waves rolling on the beach, wind blowing through the trees, laughter dancing in the air, music echo…

1
Treat Your Feet Right! Basic Strength, Balance, and Grounding For A Healthier Base 17:40

2y ago17:40

17:40

Encased by slippers, sneakers, and shoes all day, our poor feet are suffering from the mistreatment of modernity. For twelve, sixteen, eighteen hours, they're confined to ill-fitting shoes from which they want nothing better than to be set free. Sadly, they're prohibited, for almost the entirety of their life, from bending, bearing, feeling, and mo…

1
Momotaro (The Peach Boy) | Fall Asleep With Me 42:10

2y ago42:10

42:10

The story of Momotaro (the "Peach Boy") is one of the most famous and beloved in Japanese folklore. Born of a giant peach that was floating down the river, Momotaro was adopted by an elderly couple that was incapable of having a child of its own. Nurtured by his parents' unremitting love and care, Momotaro grew to be a big, virtuous, strong young m…

1
A Meditation on Human Nature with Machiavelli and The Buddha 24:04

2y ago24:04

24:04

I'll bet that you weren't expecting to see those two names joined together! Such are the promiscuous and varied sources from whom we here on Pneuma draw our inspiration. We look at once to the courtly Florentine political philosopher (by whom the murderous Medici were, for better or worse, advised), and to the ascetic Indian sage who, in the sixth …

1
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens | Fall Asleep With Me 36:00

2y ago36:00

36:00

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..." Is there, in all literature, an opening line with which more minds are stamped? A passage more famous and quotable than that with which Dickens' timeless classic begins? I think not! Set in those two great centers of learning and culture, London and Paris, before and during the French Revolut…

1
Guided Meditation For When You're On An Airplane 29:11

2y ago29:11

29:11

Not even the most experienced traveler (to whom thousands of valuable “miles” and precious points have accrued!) is totally immune to the uneasiness and discomfort associated with flight. These feelings, sadly, are an inescapable part of our airborne journeys. In this episode, we’ll go through a mediation by which our stresses will be quieted, our …

1
How To Lose Weight Like a Stoic 27:06

2y ago27:06

27:06

"To live in accordance with nature". That, in its simplest form, is the central principle around which the entire philosophy of Stoicism revolves. To live in accordance with nature is to practice the four virtues (temperance, prudence, justice, and courage) for which we all have an inborn aptitude and reverence. It’s to elevate temperance, the virt…

1
Is Happiness Attainable in THIS Life? 29:13

2y ago29:13

29:13

Can you be happy in this life? Can anyone, for that matter, be happy (I mean truly happy) in this life? Join me, Aristotle, and St. Thomas Aquinas as we address this difficult question. Be sure to subscribe to and follow this channel. Leave a Five-star rating on it and share it with friends! Finneran’s Wake Listen to some fascinating conversations …

1
Confessions of an English Opium Eater by Thomas De Quincey | Fall Asleep With Me 30:58

2y ago30:58

30:58

#sleep #bedtimestories #bedtime #relaxing #calming #soothing Get comfortable! Here's an excerpt from Thomas De Quincey's intoxicating work, "Confessions of an English Opium Eater". The title, I think, says it all. De Quincey's confessional joins a timeless genre to which such luminary names as St. Augustine and Jean-Jacques Rousseau contributed. In…

1
How To Think About The Sublime And Beautiful: A Lesson In Aesthetics For Everyone 41:36

2y ago41:36

41:36

Refine your aesthetic sense, heighten your appreciation for nature's splendor, learn what it means to experience the sublime and the beautiful. This episode, at whose center the great Irish philosopher Edmund Burke stands, is something of a didactic meditation. In it, you'll learn how to think about the sublime and the beautiful, and how to talk ab…

1
Gentle Stretches for the Relief of Neck Pain and Tension (Delivered to You by a Buttery-Smooth Voice!) 23:04

2y ago23:04

23:04

That bothersome, inescapable tension in which your sore neck is all "knotted up"... Well, it's about to be unravelled. If these simple stretches don't put your neck at ease, the buttery-smooth cooing of my voice just might. Check out my new YouTube channel, "Pneuma by Daniel Finneran", on which I'll post an accompanying video. And visit my sister c…

1
Food, Shelter, Clothing - How Our Most Basic Needs Become Our Undoing 14:21

2y ago14:21

14:21

Food, shelter, and clothing--these are the fundamental needs without which we can't long live, the biologic claims on us to which we can't be inattentive (lest we cease to exist!) We all know this to be true, but these things quickly become, once we detach ourselves from the modest demands of nature, ostentatious treasures, immoderate indulgences t…

1
Learn to Love and Celebrate the Morning! It's the Most Memorable Season of the Day 25:33

2y ago25:33

25:33

Are you most decidedly NOT a morning "person"? Listen to this episode, inspired by the wisdom of Henry David Thoreau, and your affirmed dislike of the dawn might just change! “All memorable events transpire in morning time and in a morning atmosphere. The Vedas say, ‘All intelligences awake with the morning’. Poetry and art, and the fairest and mos…

1
Walden by Henry David Thoreau | Fall Asleep With Me 31:12

2y ago31:12

31:12

An excerpt from Henry David Thoreau's enduring contribution to the great American canon: Walden. Picture yourself nestled in bed, encased in blankets, warmed by the embers of a fading fire. You're in a tiny cottage on the northern banks of Walden Pond, a cool, limpid body of water off whose pristine surface, a chilly breeze is now blowing. The chim…

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