The Art of Appreciative Attention — with Poet & Teacher John Brehm

As we approach the end of the year, Geoff and I wanted to offer something a little different—something quieter, more spacious, and genuinely nourishing. This week’s Peacemakers Podcast feels like exactly that.

Geoff opens with one of his own poems, a tender moment he rarely shares publicly, and we talk together about how poetry has shaped his way of slowing down and really seeing what’s right in front of us.

We’re joined by our friend John Brehm, poet, teacher, and longtime companion of Zen Peacemakers, who leads us into what he calls the art of appreciative attention. John invites us to lay down the old habit of treating poems like riddles to decode, and instead approach them as living presences—something we enter, savor, and let work on us from the inside out.

Through Joy Harjo, Elizabeth Bishop, Rilke, and his own new anthology The Poetry of Grief, Gratitude, and Reverence, John shows how poetry can dissolve the boundary between ourselves and the world, opening a gentler, more curious way of being.His teaching is beautifully simple:Notice what you love, and let that be enough.

As we close out the year, we’re grateful to share this unique, heartfelt episode—an offering to help us pause, reconnect, and remember the deeper threads of our practice.

Thank you for listening, for practicing with us, and for being part of this circle.

If this conversation moved you, we invite you to become a paying subscriber and support the Peacemakers Podcast. You can learn more atwww.zenpeacemakers.org

In this episode of the Peacemakers Podcast, we walk after dark with San Francisco Night Ministry, a multi-faith community offering spiritual care on the city’s streets and phone lines. No preaching, no agenda—just presence.

Our guest, Rev. Trent Thornley, shares how these night walks become both an expression and inspiration of faith—moments of deep listening, compassion, and unexpected connection. You’ll also hear about their moving annual reading of names, honoring neighbors who died while unhoused.

If this conversation moves you, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. You’ll get access to all of our content—podcasts, articles, event recordings, and more—and help sustain the work of Zen Peacemakers.Learn more at www.zenpeacemakers.org

We invite you to support this work. Become a paying subscriber to the Peacemakers Podcast or join the Zen Peacemakers community as a member.

Show Credits:

* Speaker: Rev. Trent Thornley

* Recording Date: November 17, 2021

* Hosts: Geoff Shōun O’Keeffe, Jim Hōden Fricker

* Audio & Video Editing/Engineering: Jim Hōden Fricker

* Event Coordinators: Micka (妙心) Moto-Sanchez, Geoff Shōun O’Keeffe

* Related Video: HERE

In this episode, two of Bernie’s dear friends—Jeff Bridges and Krishna Das—sit down with us for a funny, tender, deeply alive conversation about courage, friendship, and the love that keeps cooking long after the meal. We open with Krishna Das recalling how Bernie invited him to turn lines from the Gate of Sweet Nectar into a singable prayer—what became the beloved song “Hungry Hearts.”

Recorded in 2022, not long after Jeff’s recovery, the conversation turns to “instructions to the cook”—meeting life with what’s in the pantry—and how facing illness, fear, and uncertainty can become a doorway to gratitude. You’ll hear the refrain “scary, but okay,” and a spacious exploration of how courage and fear sit at the same table.

If this conversation moves you, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. You’ll get access to all of our content—podcasts, articles, event recordings, and more—and help sustain the work of Zen Peacemakers.Learn more at www.zenpeacemakers.org

We invite you to support this work. Become a paying subscriber to the Peacemakers Podcast or join the Zen Peacemakers community as a member.

Show Credits:

* Speakers: Jeff Bridges & Krishna Das

* Recording Date: January 20, 2022

* Hosts: Geoff Shōun O’Keeffe, Jim Hōden Fricker

* Audio & Video Editing/Engineering: Jim Hōden Fricker

* Event Coordinators: Micka (妙心) Moto-Sanchez, Geoff Shōun O’Keeffe

* Related Video: HERE