This is a Beginner’s Mind interview, a series that explores the intersection of creative practice and mindfulness. Zen master Shunryū Suzuki Roshi said, “In the beginner’s mind, there are many possibilities; in the expert’s mind, there are few.” This series shines a light on the practices that sustain people in their daily lives and open the door to new possibilities. Subscribe for free below to make sure you don’t miss any future interviews. ✨
Today, I’m excited to share an interview with poet, editor, and yoga philosophy teacher, Catherine Esposito Prescott, the author of Superbloom (Gunpowder Press, 2025). In September 2022, Prescott’s son, Austen, was diagnosed with a rare and inoperable brain cancer. He left the body on August 3, 2023 at the age of 18.
Superbloom is grounded in grief; yet, in the same breath, it sings of the delight and rawness of loving our children no matter their plane of existence. These poems crack open a door into the vastness and mystery of this world we think we know, meditating on impermanence with lyricism, humor, and fierce love.
In this interview, Catherine shares her advice to “go deep into the authorship of your favorite writers,” to do the work, but try not to identify with it, and to make your practice a daily habit. She also shares a prompt to help you notice the world around you in more depth and specificity. Read on, friends. 🌺
What’s your biggest struggle and/or triumph with your writing/creative practices these days?
The most difficult struggle for me is the one I’ve always had: sitting down for a period of time to work and write. Being still is my greatest challenge. I like to move and to do. I walk, ride my bike ridiculous distances, practice yoga, exercise, and hike. I plan yoga retreats, I teach, and so on and so forth; I’m a doing machine. I love to move my body and to make things–whether I’m baking a cake or writing a poem. Stilling my body/mind is my biggest challenge. My biggest triumph is my latest book of poems, Superbloom. I cannot believe I found the time and presence of mind to write it.
What are the most important mindfulness/spiritual practices in your life?
Just about every morning, I meditate just after waking. If I’m not meditating, then I’m cycling. Both of these practices calm my mind and connect me to my spirit/soul/the universe/something greater. I’m not a perfect meditator by any means (and not an advanced cyclist either, lol), but even if I sit and talk to the ether for awhile, badger the gods, so to speak, then still my mind for a few minutes, that’s a win.
I also practice asana, take long walks, chant mantras, and sing kirtan. All of it works. There’s no one practice that works for me, rather I have a wheel of practices that alternate based on the external (and internal) weather.
Do you have a mantra or motto related to your creative/mindfulness practices/life?
I have a few, but this simple one manages to reign in my focus.
Above my desk, I taped a woodblock print of the word: “SING” (in bright blue letters) from Bread & Puppet. Underneath the word is an image of a bright blue dove in mid flight. This word/image feels like a prescription of sorts. “SING” seems like a command, even without the punctuation to identify it as such.
Poetry can feel like singing sometimes, singing words onto the page. And for some reason, it’s easier for me to write when I see the word “SING,” which has a sense of playfulness.
If I taped the word “WRITE” to the wall above my desk, I may feel like I’m back in school, when writing was more of a technical chore than an art form. Funny how the mind works.
Do you see your creative and mindfulness practices as connected? In what ways?
Yes. It’s not straightforward, but a line runs like an artery from one to the other. These two practices have lived in separate compartments in my life, but they both sustain me. Spiritual practices ease my nervous system and create a kind of stillness I need in order to make everyday life easier and to access the deeper truths that (sometimes) arrive through writing and poetry. Very recently, I’ve begun integrating these two practices in workshops I’ve led, which became compressed versions of my daily life.
Are there any books / writers / teachers that have been transformative for you that you would recommend to readers?
So many. I’d say, read more than you write. Read 100 poems for every one you write. Return to the authors you love and reread them. Whenever I read or reread great poems, their influence works through me. Whenever I’m stuck, I read. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve poured over Rumi, Lalla, Rilke, Dickinson, Oliver… the list goes on and on and rotates from one century to the next. (My copy of Mary Oliver’s Dreamwork lost its binding years ago.)
If you read a book that speaks to you and lights a desire to write, that’s a good thing. Read those authors on repeat. We tend to go wide as readers now, wanting to interact with as many voices as possible, which is wonderful in a way… but few of us will dare to go deep into the authorship of our favorite writers. In this case, I think it’s ok to play favorites. When work is well-crafted and you love it, you will discover new facets to it–and within yourself–with every read.
What advice would you give someone who is trying to start or restart a creative or mindfulness/spiritual practice?
Whatever you do, make a habit out of it. How do you do that? Engage in the practice(s) on a daily basis at first. I know it sounds boring, but it works. When I began meditating, I set my alarm for the earliest possible time I could wake up and still function. I wouldn’t miss a day. Even years later, some days I have to drag myself out of bed and sit in half sleep before my meditation kicks in. The sacrifice is worth it. Daily practice builds up the muscle, so to speak, so when life gets in the way (as it will, spoiler alert), you’ll be able to return to your practice when life calms down.
Also, I encourage students to do the work the practice demands, to put in some effort, but try not to identify with it. This is one of the greatest spiritual teachings in yoga philosophy, discussed at length in the Bhagavad Gita. Do your work–in this case, your spiritual and creative practices–but resist the urge to define yourself in relationship to those practices. This helps you cut yourself slack for days when your practice feels lackluster–and, also, you are so much more than your practices.
A Prompt from Catherine 🌺
If you’re having a day when sitting to write feels like a chore, try this: go for a walk with your phone. Using the dictation feature of your choice (I like to talk into the Notes app), stop every five minutes or so and describe what you see. There’s no pressure to sew any thoughts together. No pressure to find figurative language. Just stop, notice, and record.
We did this exercise on a retreat in Sedona a few years ago, and people found it an effective way to see the world around them in more detail. As a bonus, this exercise slowed their perception of time.
Catherine Esposito Prescott is a poet, an editor, and a yoga philosophy teacher. Co-founder of the nonprofit SWWIM and editor-in-chief of the daily online literary journal SWWIM Every Day, she is the author of two full-length poetry collections, Superbloom (Gunpowder Press, 2026) and Accidental Garden (Gunpowder Press, 2023), winner of the Barry Spacks Poetry Prize, and two chapbooks. Recent poetry appears in The American Poetry Review, Colorado Review, Painted Bride Quarterly, and Tahoma Literary Review.
For more from Catherine 🌺
Order your copy of Catherine’s book, Superbloom, from Gunpowder Press!
Learn more at Catherine’s website!
Follow Catherine on Instagram: @catprescott and Facebook: @ceprescott
Follow SWWIM (Supporting Women Writers in Miami) and learn more about their work and opportunities for women writers!
Read SWWIM Every Day & consider submitting your work!
Listen to Catherine’s poem, “Wabi-Sabi,” featured by Maggie Smith on The Slowdown Show
Your turn: Do you have any other questions or thoughts to share with Catherine?
In Case You Missed It ✨
Before you go, will you take a moment to hit the heart button or leave a quick comment about what strikes you here? Or, send it to a friend that you think would love what Catherine shared! ✨
✨Be Where You Are is a newsletter for anyone who hears the humming underneath it all and wants to create spacious time on this planet right now.✨ To reply to this newsletter, just hit reply. I’d love to hear from you! You can also find me on Instagram/Facebook/Bluesky or find more info at my website.