Podcasts should have WARNINGS

I am relatively new to iPod, podcasts, and the whole rigmarole. So far I have only subscribed to Wait Wait Don't Tell Me (my favorite NPR show) and one called Meditation for Sleep, Stress, and Anxiety Reduction. This title slays me. Are they actually trying to help people reduce their sleep? If so, I suggest intermittently blowing horns and blaring sirens amidst the ocean waves and droning music. That would do it.

Anyway, the other day an acquaintance suggested I subscribe to a podcast about mindful parenting. Right up my alley, right? I was really excited, thinking I would hear stimulating information about mindfulness, meditating with your kids, and other really cool exciting stuff. So as I drove to work (Is it really work if it is the last shred of your actual career that you hang onto by a thread because you LOVE it and you studied and worked so hard to do it but you pretty much ditched it as soon as you popped out a baby? 2 hours a week. With serious sliding scale pay. But I do love it, even if it is 2 hours a week.) I listened to my podcasts. And there should have been a WARNING.

These were not lively discussions, but SLEEP INDUCING hypnotic suggestions. A warm, kind, soft voice slowly told me to remember to be mindful with my children throughout the day and let myself become aware of the choice to be mindful every time I noticed myself blinking. Speaking of blinking, I was doing it rather slowly, head slumping to the side, as this gentle voice helped me drift into a relaxing meditation on mindfulness. IN TRAFFIC.

On the up side, they each only lasted 2 1/2 minutes, so I couldn't get THAT drowsy from them. But seriously, these things should have some kind of warning about not operating heavy machinery while listening. Mindfulness is not a sleepy thing, people!