This morning, I sat down and watched this enlightening four-way conversation on contemplative practice and meditation that was taped last month at Washington’s National Cathedral. In it, NPR’s religion producer Lynn Neary leads psychologist and “Emotional Intelligence” author Daniel Goleman, medical professor and “Wherever You Go, There You Are” author Jon Kabat-Zinn, and centering-prayer creator Father Thomas Keating in a discussion of how meditation influences our well-being, and how the failure to meditate “perfectly” is an essential part of its learning curve.

Each one of these highly cultivated, spiritually provocative minds could be advanced as Cathedral keynoters in their own right, but what a thrill it was to see all three loving friends on the same dias. You will learn much about “living your life as if it mattered, and showing up with all your heart.” You’ll also hear what meditation is and isn’t, but–here’s the caveat–you have to watch the whole hour on your computer monitor as you would a television program (the National Cathedral doesn’t boil down its presentations into sound bites!), which takes some presence of mind in and of itself. As you watch, admire the emerging technology! Soon, any speech in the country will be able to be preserved and broadcast over the Internet. Both broadband and dial-up options are available. If you want to learn more about the work of Jon Kabat-Zinn and Father Keating, both men have recorded full audio meditation workshops for SoundsTrue.com.