Our Mindful Nature {Formerly The Mindful Minute}

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Just The Meditation: Grounding Techniques from the Forest {Green Witch} Oct 24, 2024

A meditation for your daily practice - no chat beforehand, no distractions. Just you, the forest, and your breath.

Join me for this Green Witch-inspired meditation.

Sign up for my newsletter at https://merylarnett.substack.com/ to receive free mini meditations each week, creative musings, and more.

Thank you to Nick McMahan for today’s nature field recordings, sound design, and editing; and thank you to Brianna Nielsen for production and editing support.

Find them at:

Watch on YouTube, Make a donation, or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visiting

merylarnett.com

Moon Cycles and Ocean Waves: A Water Witch's Guide to Natural Rhythms Oct 17, 2024

In this episode, we continue our exploration of personal power through the archetypes of the witch. Together, we will journey through the Water Witch and the Swamp Witch archetypes, uncovering their unique connections to water, the moon, and the balance between conformity and wildness.

The Water Witch draws rituals from aquatic environments, emphasizing adaptability, while the Swamp Witch thrives in the liminal spaces, representing untamed freedom.

Being fluid in change is the superpower of both of these witchy archetypes.

At the end, there is a 20-minute guided meditation devoted to the Water Witch, inviting all of us to sync with the rhythm of our breath and metaphorical ocean waves, fostering inner peace and presence.

Grounding Techniques from the Forest: A Green Witch's Approach to Stress Relief Oct 10, 2024

“You are the sister to the wolf and friend to the hawk. You know in your heart the language of the plants and the songs of the wind. You have an innate connection to the wild edges. You know the beauty of the bee in flight, and hear the call of freedom on the horizon. And yet, as you go through your day today, it may be easy to miss the drum call of the Earth.”

– Wild Woman

The Green Witch is one who sources her sense of power and nourishment from the Earth itself. She is one who might feel deeply connected to plants and animals and finds balance with time outside.

The Green Witch likely spends more time than most contemplating the understanding that we are nature.

In our exploration of the earth and forest archetype, we look at reciprocal relationships with the earth as a source of power and grounding.

Join me for today’s talk and Green Witch-inspired meditation.

Sign upfor my newsletter athttps://merylarnett.substack.com/to receive free mini meditations each week, creative musings, and more.

Thank you to Nick McMahan for today’s custom-crafted soundscape, sound design, and editing; and thank you to Brianna Nielsen for production and editing support. Find them at:

Watch on YouTube, Make a donation, or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visiting

Brewing Inner Strength: Exploring the Kitchen Witch Archetype Through Meditation Oct 03, 2024

Welcome, Witches.

This all new meditation series is devoted to the archetype of the witch. Why, you ask? Well for starters, it is spooky season, but perhaps more importantly, because the witch archetype is especially potent for those of us grappling with reclaiming our personal power.

There are so many ‘types’ of witches: the kitchen witch, the green witch, the water witch, etc. And,all of these sub-types refer to the place or activity where we source the majority of our power.

Today’s episode is devoted to the Kitchen Witch:

In ancient Greece the word for “cook”, “butcher” and “priest” was the same -‘mageiros’- and the word shares an etymological root with the word magic.

– Michael Pollan

The Kitchen Witch is one who finds her power in the kitchen.

She is deeply committed to nourishment - with a cauldron bubbling and tea brewing
She is drawn to family recipes connecting her to ancestors
Her ingredients connect her to the earth element
And perhaps most importantly, cooking on stove or hearth-fire, connects her to the alchemical power of fire.

Fire resides in the belly. It is the heat of action, of purpose, intention and passion. It is also the fire that burns the ghosts that haunt us.

This fire is directly tied to the heart space, the home of air/breath/spirit, this is where our caring, compassion and love originate. For the kitchen witch, these two domains are intimately linked - our fire transforming our love - making love manifest.

Join me for today’s episode devoted to the alchemy of the kitchen witch complete with a 20-minute guided kitchen witch meditation and a custom-made kitchen witch soundscape from Nick McMahan. Enjoy!

Sign upfor my newsletter athttps://merylarnett.substack.com/to receive free mini meditations each week, creative musings, and more.

Thank you to Nick McMahan for today’s custom-crafted soundscape, sound design, and editing; and thank you to Brianna Nielsen for production and editing support. Find them at:

Watch on YouTube, Make a donation, or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visiting

Beyond Mindfulness: Andrew Holecek on Advancing Your Meditation Practice Sep 26, 2024

More often than I can count, I have conversations with students asking me what’s next in their meditation practice, how to go deeper, or how to feel better in the toughest of times… and today, I am delighted to share a powerful conversation offering a few answers to these tough questions.

Andrew Holecek is a returning guest to the podcast, as well as a renowned author and humanitarian who teaches internationally on spirituality, meditation, lucid dreaming, and the art of dying. His many books include Reverse Meditation and Dream Yoga. And now, he has a new book out -

I’m Mindful, Now What? Moving Beyond Mindfulness to Meet the Modern World.

This book, and our discussion today, reveals how the form of mindfulness many of us know is merely one thread in a much older, greater tapestry of contemplative practice. For anyone who has sensed the potential for something much deeper and more profound - this conversation is for YOU.

Andrew and I talk about:

Brining meditation off the cushion and into our day-to-day experiences
Practices that move beyond simply “calming down”
The near enemies of practice, which include spiritual bypassing, spiritual materialism and the tricky distinction between tranquility and liberation.
Waking up vs. growing up
Five nocturnal meditation practices, the value of the dream state, and the magic of liminality.
Lastly and most importantly, we talk about why these practices matter when the world is on fire.

At the end, Andrew shares a guided meditation that he does every morning to start off his day. Join me for this inspiring conversation and practice. And listeners, I need to know - should I have Andrew come back to tell us more about these dream practices?!?

There is so much richness in this practice, here is a breakout of some of the key moments:

01:32 The Five-Year Retreat Experience

04:42 Beyond Mindfulness: Deeper Practices

06:54 Shamatha and Vipashyana Explained

12:18 The Importance of Waking Down

15:48 Therapeutic and Somatic Support

18:32 Traps on the Meditative Path

24:16 Waking Up vs. Growing Up

26:48 Nocturnal Meditations

27:16 The Importance of Dreams

27:34 Polyphasic vs. Monophasic Cultures

28:16 Ego and Altered States of Consciousness

29:06 The Three-Dimensional View of Reality

31:00 The Five Nocturnal Practices

32:51 Exploring Liminal Dreaming

34:14 The Science Behind Liminal Dreaming

35:23 Observational Intent and Thought Image Amalgamation

36:37 Deconstructing the Sense of Self

42:56 The Collective Mind and Quantum Entanglement

48:44 Guided Meditation Practice

Learn more about Andrew Holecek and find his new book here: https://www.andrewholecek.com/

Sign upfor my newsletter athttps://merylarnett.substack.com/to receive free mini meditations each week, creative musings, and more.

Thank you to Brianna Nielsen for production and editing support. Find her at:

Watch on YouTube, Make a donation, or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visiting

Beyond the Noise: Finding Mindfulness in Oregon's Quietest Ecosystem Sep 19, 2024

Today’s episode is an invitation to settle into the deepest listening and to celebrate what we find when we move beyond the noise of humans. Today, we embark on a meditative listening experience crafted by nature field recordist Nick McMahan.

Earlier this year, Nick spent several days seeking out the quietest spot in Oregon. Exploring nature’s whispers and finding serenity in the sagebrush are what inspired today’s guided audio experience - a recording of Nick’s exploration.

Together, we will listen to the symphony that arises within Oregon’s quietest ecosystem.

What does it mean to listen to such quiet? What can we learn in the absence of human-made noise?

Grab your headphones, close your eyes, and join Nick on a journey through the Basque Hills of Oregon:

High and dry. There is hardly anything here. No water, no trees, just a small two-track (dirt road where people have driven enough times to form a road, but the ground has never been graded), and a distant horizon. The terrain appears endlessly flat, but after some time walking, I cannot see my car anymore. No towns, people, highways, or aircraft. A strange silence seems to be suspended in the still air. I sit down in the sagebrush and the wind calms. Looking closer I see various small wildflowers growing in clumps, thoughtfully placed near roots and sage. I lay down. It doesn’t feel dirty here. The dusty soil is cool, almost soothing. Eyes close, it is not long before a whir of wings pass not far overhead. Quickly followed by another and a hushed chirp. Something imperceptible has shifted. There is another soft chirp. Another whir, over to the left. Then a trill. Gradually building, a mesmerizing chorus of Brewer’s sparrows and a steady drumbeat of a common poorwill in the distance weave the song of this quiet sage land.

These sounds were recorded on the ancestral land of the Northern Paiute people.

Today’s episode was written, recorded and edited by Nick McMahan. Nick is a nature sound recordist and photographer, seeking projects to promote a more conscious world. Learn more and check out his sound libraries by visiting: nickmcmahan.com

Sign upfor my newsletter athttps://merylarnett.substack.com/to receive free mini meditations each week, creative musings, and more.

Thank you to Brianna Nielsen for production, editing and social media support: instagram.com/brianna_podcastpro

Watch on YouTube, Make a donation, or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visiting

https://soundtracker.com/

The Art of Listening: Unraveling Nature's Voice at Canaveral National Seashore Sep 12, 2024

Soundscape Alchemy.

Friends, what an episode I have for you today! Months ago, I took an impromptu trip to Canaveral National Seashore to visit acoustic artists Perri Lynch Howard and Gordon Hempton.

Frequent collaborators on the podcast, I was ecstatic to spend a weekend practicing the art of listening with them both. We walked mangroves, explored shorelines, and discussed the interplay of human voice, aerospace traffic, and birdsong.

The creative collaboration of Gordon and Perri resulted in a stunning piece of environmental art titled, “Hear Me Out.”

Join me today for a discussion of what it means to listen with honesty, to weave ourselves into the natural world we inhabit, and to move “in close proximity to lifelong love.”

In this episode, Perri and Gordon delve into their experiences during their artist residency at Canaveral National Seashore through the Soundscape Field Station Artist Residency Program. The conversation highlights their collaborative project 'Hear Me Out', which investigates the changing soundscapes and their artistic interpretations influenced by the environment. They share their journey of recording, the emotional challenges faced, and how Doris Leeper's legacy inspired their work. The discussion also touches on the significance of natural sound preservation and future projects related to soundscapes and environmental art.

At the end, pop in your headphones, close your eyes, and listen to “Hear Me Out.”

Gordon Hempton

Acoustic ecologist Gordon Hempton has circled the globe three times in pursuit of the Earth’s rarest sounds. His sound portraits which record quickly vanishing natural soundscapes have been featured in People magazine and a national PBS television documentary, Vanishing Dawn Chorus, which earned him an Emmy. Hempton provides professional audio services to media

producers, including Microsoft, Smithsonian, National Geographic and Discovery Channel. Recipient of awards from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Rolex Awards for Enterprise he is co-author of One Square Inch of Silence: One Man’s Quest to Preserve Quiet (Free Press/Simon & Schuster, 2010) and Founding Partner of Quiet Parks International.

Perri Lynch Howard

Perri Lynch Howard is a multi-disciplinary artist working in painting, drawing, installation, and sound. Her visual work and sound installations convey the passage of light, sound, and signal through landscapes on the front lines of climate change - a phenomenology of place. Howard received her BA from The Evergreen State College, BFA from the University of Washington, and MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art. Her art has a global reach through projects completed in Italy, Portugal, Brazil, Canada, the Arctic Circle, and in South India as a Fulbright Senior Research Scholar.

https://www.perrilynchhoward.com/

Thank you to Nick McMahan for today’s sound design and editing; and thank you to Brianna Nielsen for production and editing support. Find them at:

nickmcmahan.com

instagram.com/brianna_podcastpro

Lastly, thank you to Atlantic Center for the Arts and the ACA Soundscape Field Station for making this collaboration possible.

https://atlanticcenterforthearts.org/home/soundscape-field-station/

Watch on YouTube, Make a donation, or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visiting

youtube.com/@ourmindfulnature

Hearing the Unheard: Mindful Listening in the Noisy World Sep 05, 2024

In this Monday night meditation class, we delve into the concept of listening and silence amidst the constant noise of modern life, especially during the election season. Today’s discussion touches on the various sources of human-made noise and their impact on inner peace, the varied definitions of silence, and the key to mindful listening.

David G. Haskell wrote, “listening opens us to what is hidden or unappreciated,” and together we will explore this hidden, unappreciated terrain.

Today’s guided meditation, featuring natural sounds from the quietest place in Oregon as recorded by Nick McMahan, encourages listeners to practice deep listening, find tranquility within themselves, and hear what was previously unheard.

Let’s practice!

The nature sounds you hear in today’s episode are from the ancestral lands of the Northern Paiute people. Now considered the edge of the Great Basin or the Basque Hills area of southeastern Oregon.

Thank you to Nick McMahan for today’s nature field recordings, sound design, and editing; and thank you to Brianna Nielsen for production and editing support. Find them at:

nickmcmahan.com

Sign upfor my newsletter athttps://merylarnett.substack.com/to receive free mini meditations each week, creative musings, and more.

Watch on YouTube, Make a donation, or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visiting

youtube.com/@o urmindfulnature

Eco-Poetry and Climate Hope: U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón's 'You Are Here' Project Aug 29, 2024

U.S. Poet Laureate and fellow meditator Ada Limón joins me today on Our Mindful Nature to chat about her Signature Project, 'You Are Here, Poetry in Parks.'

Y’all this was a dream conversation for me - full of presence, hope and truth. Full of poetry and beauty even as we discuss climate crisis and environmental activism.

Together, we delve into the origins of ‘You Are Here: Poetry in Parks’, its deep connections between nature and poetry, and its aim to foster mindfulness and presence. Ada shares thoughts on the power of small actions amid climate crises, the inclusivity of the project's installations in national parks, and the importance of everyday nature. We also talk about the power of realizing that You. Are. Here.

“'You Are Here: Poetry in the Parks' aims to deepen our connection to nature through poetry,” said Limón. “I believe the way we respond to this crucial moment on our planet could define humanity forever. In conceiving of my signature project, I wanted something that could both praise our sacred and natural wonders and also speak the complex truths of this urgent time. Above all, this project is about rising to this moment with hope, the kind of hope that will echo outwards for years to come.”

At the end, as a mini practice, Ada reads her stunning poem Sanctuary.

Ada Limón is the twenty-fourth US Poet Laureate and the author of The Hurting Kind, as well as five other collections of poems. These include The Carrying, which won the National Book Critics Circle Award and was named a finalist for the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award, and Bright Dead Things, which was named a finalist for the National Book Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award, and the Kingsley Tufts Award. Limón is a recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, and her work has appeared in the New Yorker, the New York Times, and American Poetry Review, among others. Born and raised in California, she now lives in Lexington, Kentucky.

Learn more about You Are Here: Poetry in Parks: https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1207/3-6-24-poetry-in-parks.htm

Find Ada’s book You Are Here; Poetry in the Natural World here: https://milkweed.org/book/you-are-here

The Methow people were the first people to hear the sounds of Methow Valley, Washington that are included in today’s episode.

Thank you to Nick McMahan for today’s nature field recordings, sound design, and editing; and thank you to Brianna Nielsen for production and editing support. Find them at:

Sign upfor my newsletter athttps://merylarnett.substack.com/to receive free mini meditations each week, creative musings, and more.

Watch on YouTube, Make a donation, or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visiting

youtube.com/@o urmindfulnature

Mini Meditation: Elemental Balancing Aug 22, 2024

In this guided meditation, we explore an elemental balancing practice for anxiety management and nervous system regulation. Reflecting on personal experiences with balancing extreme temperatures and anxiety, I share a visualization and sound meditation that has been deeply supportive in my own practice. I hope it will be useful in your own practice as well!

No discussion, no distraction - just the meditation for your daily practice.

Enjoy!

Sign up for my newsletter at https://merylarnett.substack.com/ to receive free mini meditations each week, creative musings, and more.

Thank you to Gordon Hempton for today’s nature field recordings, to Nick McMahan for sound design, and editing, and to Brianna Nielsen for production and editing support. Find them at:

soundtracker.com

Watch on YouTube, Make a donation, or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visiting

merylarnett.com

Nervous System Reset: An Elemental Chakra Meditation for Hot Summer Days Aug 15, 2024

In this guided meditation, we explore an elemental balancing practice for anxiety management and nervous system regulation. Reflecting on personal experiences with balancing extreme temperatures and anxiety, I share a visualization and sound meditation that has been deeply supportive in my own practice. I hope it will be useful in your own practice as well!

Together, we will guide our energy to move from the root chakra to the third eye, integrated with breath work and visualizations to promote balance and cooling.

The supportive soundscape in today’s episode is a recording of a summer night in Olympic National Park from acoustic ecologist Gordon Hempton. You will hear a summer breeze swirl through tall grasses while chattering birds and a distant coyote settle down for the night.

In this episode:

00:00 Welcome and Introduction

00:46 Balancing in Extreme Temperatures

01:25 Dealing with Anxiety and Imbalance

03:05 Elemental Balancing Practice

04:32 Combining Practices: Elemental Balancing and Still Lake of the Mind

07:58 Guided Meditation: Journey Through the Elements

27:56 Closing and Returning to the Present

The sounds in today’s episode were recorded on the ancestral lands of eight tribes: Hoh, Jamestown S'Klallam, Lower Elwha Klallam, Makah, Port Gamble S'Klallam, Quileute, Quinault and Skokomish.

Thank you to Gordon Hempton for today’s nature field recordings, to Nick McMahan for sound design, and editing, and to Brianna Nielsen for production and editing support. Find them at:

soundtracker.com

nickmcmahan.com

instagram.com/brianna_podcastpro

Sign up for my newsletter at https://merylarnett.substack.com/ to receive free mini meditations each week, creative musings, and more.

merylarnett.com

instagram.com/merylarnett

youtube.com/@ourmindfulnature

Wild Geese Getaway: A Nature-Inspired Mindfulness Meditation Aug 08, 2024

7 a.m.

It’s a cool, blue morning, and we are seated alongside the Coosa River in Alabama. Our guided meditation practice begins with mindful breathing and sensory awareness. This is an opportunity for cosmic connection and deep relaxation.

It is silent except for the birds’ morning chorus and a whisper of wind through the river grasses.

Gradually, a family of geese make themselves known, and we are instantly reminded of Mary Oliver’s poem Wild Geese, which ends with the line -

{...} the world offers itself to your imagination, calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting — over and over announcing your place in the family of things.

Today’s poetic meditation is inspired by this invitation to remember our place in the family of things, to maintain a mindful awareness of our relationship with nature, to re-weave ourselves into the animate earth around us. Join me for this 6-minute, nature-inspired meditation.

Creek Native Americans were the first people to hear the sounds of the Coosa River that are played in this meditation.

Thank you to Brianna Nielsen for production and editing support. Find her at:

If you enjoyed today’s episode, please Sign upfor my newsletter athttps://merylarnett.substack.com/to receive free mini meditations each week.

Want to support this podcast? Consider sending this episode to a friend or leaving a review. It is free and it really helps this show to grow!

youtube.com/@o urmindfulnature

Mini Meditation: Midsummer at the Inn Jul 25, 2024

Today’s episode is the meditation offered at this year's Summer Solstice inspired by the poem An Inn for the Coven by Gabrielle Calvocoressi.

No discussion, no distraction - just the meditation for your daily practice.

Enjoy!

Sign up for my newsletter at https://merylarnett.substack.com/ to receive free mini meditations each week, creative musings, and more.

Thank you to Nick McMahan for today’s nature field recordings, sound design, and editing; and thank you to Brianna Nielsen for production and editing support. Find them at

https://www.nickcmcmahan.com/

https://www.instagram.com/brianna_podcastpro/

Watch on YouTube, Make a donation, or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visiting

merylarnett.com

https://www.nickcmcmahan.com/

Midsummer Meditation Jul 18, 2024

Today’s meditation is a live recording from this year’s Summer Solstice Meditation Retreat.

Midsummer and the temps are hot… literally and figuratively. As a way to explore the feelings that come with rising temperatures, in today’s class I share two powerful poems:

An Inn for the Coven by Gabrielle Calvocoressi

The Guest House by Rumi

These poems speak of a place where we are safe.

The Inn feels lush, abundant, filled with love and the possibility of beauty.

The Guest House feels sturdy, spacious enough for all our feelings to reside without conflict.

We hear of our loves, our hurts, and our divinity in these poems; all different and all the same and all inside.

And so, this midsummer meditation is an invitation to explore the inn.

To travel the grounds finding all the hidden trails.

To open all the doors.

It is an invitation to create or discover an internal experience of deep, nourishing safety, a place to nurture our love and hope. A place to rest well and to feel fully.

Join me for today’s discussion and guided meditation.

Sign up for my newsletter at https://merylarnett.substack.com/ to receive free mini meditations each week, creative musings, and more.

Thank you to Nick McMahan for today’s nature field recordings, sound design, and editing; and thank you to Brianna Nielsen for production and editing support. Find them at

https://www.instagram.com/brianna_podcastpro/

Watch on YouTube, Make a donation, or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visiting

merylarnett.com

Edges, Boxes & Doorways: Poetry and Mindfulness as a Path to Generative Action with Nadia Colburn Jun 27, 2024

Today, as the final installment in our Edges series, I am joined by writer, poet, memoirist, teacher, yogi, activist, and mother - Nadia Colburn.

Nadia has recently released her newest book of poetry, I Say the Sky - and y’all know how much I love exploring the intersection of poetry and mindfulness.

As a start, I want to share one of the review blurbs about Nadia’s newest book because I feel that it so perfectly sums up her work:

"From the opening poem and on through this glorious book, Nadia Colburn strikes the difficult balance between celebrating the splendor of the world we inhabit and acknowledging the grief and devastation that none of us can escape. As much a book of love songs as a book of elegies, I Say the Sky is a heart opening and mind sharpening collection." ~Camille T. Dungy

I couldn’t agree more.

In our conversation today, Nadia,who feels like an old friend, and I discuss:

Writing from the body
Agency in times of distress
Meeting edge places in a state of opening rather than contraction

We talk of generative, supportive action and of course we explore mindful writing practices to support ourselves in times of change. Grab your journal and join us!

Learn more about Nadia Colburn here: https://nadiacolburn.com/

Check out Nadia's FREE 5-day Meditation & Writing Challenge here: https://nadiacolburn.com/free-mindful-writing-challenge/

Learn more about Project Regeneration here: https://regeneration.org/

Thank you to Brianna Nielsen for production support of this episode. https://www.instagram.com/brianna_podcastpro/

Please sign up for my newsletter at merylarnett.substack.com to access these meditations as stand-alone audio files for your daily practice.

Make a donation or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visiting merylarnett.com

Tension at the Edges: Growth & Expansion with Artist Perri Lynch Howard Jun 20, 2024

As you have likely noticed in this month’s episodes, we have moved from the stars to the soil. We will spend the next several episodes exploring edges and ecotones - spaces rife with the very best type of tension. The tension that inspires growth, expansion and action.

Today, I am talking with artist, edge-walker, and dear friend Perri Lynch Howard about her experiences in a variety of ecotonal landscapes.

Perri is an artist dedicated to forging new narratives from the front lines of climate change. Working in the context of extreme environments is an essential aspect of Howard’s practice, driving her curiosity to seek a deeper sense of place, beyond the dichotomy of near and far. Her artwork resides within the emerging genre of New Polar Aesthetics, expressed through painting, drawing, sculpture and sound.

In this episode, Perri shares three of her unique, ecotonal field recordings with us as a way to explore the edges both within and without.

We will hear the sounds of Vashon Island, the Great Basin Desert, and Svalbard and throughout we discuss:

Non-judgement
Listening for the truth of the moment
The relational words we use when discussing the land and ourselves
Reciprocal relationship in the time of climate crisis
The first rule of field recording AND meditating (!!)

At the end, there is a guided meditation experience of the Vashon Island soundscape as an opportunity for you to explore your own relationship with edges.

Thank you to the residencies and agencies that provided the time, space, and resources for Perri to record these incredible landscapes - The Arctic Circle Residency, PLAYA Artist Residency, Vashon Artist Residency, The Puffin Foundation, Artist Trust, and Quiet Parks International.

Finally, deep gratitude to Nick McMahan for editing and the sound design of this episode, and to Brianna Nielsen for production support.

Learn more about:

Perri Lynch Howard: https://www.perrilynchhoward.com/

Nick McMahan: https://www.nickcmcmahan.com/

Brianna Nielsen: https://www.instagram.com/brianna_podcastpro/

Please sign up for my newsletter at merylarnett.substack.com to access these meditations as stand-alone audio files for your daily practice.

Make a donation or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visiting merylarnett.com

Edges & Intersections: Meditation, Community Care & Social Justice with Marisela B. Gomez Jun 13, 2024

Last week, we began a new meditation series devoted to exploring the edges - both in the natural world as well as our internal landscape - and today’s interview and meditation practice do exactly that.

Marisela B. Gomez is a community activist, public health professional, and physician-scientist. She is a co-founder of Village of Love and Resistance in Baltimore Maryland, organizing for power, healing and the reclamation of land. And,she is a meditation and Buddhist teacher, and a student of the late Zen Master Thich Nhat Han.

She recently co-authored a new book, Healing Our Way Home: Black Buddhist Teachings on Ancestors, Joy & Liberation.

In today’s episode, Marisela and I talk about the edges and the intersections of contemplative practices, community care and social justice.

We talk about

the role of love in practice and action
the misconceptions of self-care
how and why spiritual or contemplative practice is vital for the healing of the planet and all beings.

At the end, Marisela guides a beautiful meditation inviting us to explore and soften around our internal edges.

Join me!

Learn more about Marisela and find her new book here: https://www.mariselabgomez.com/

Sign up for my newsletter at https://merylarnett.substack.com/ to receive free mini meditations each week, creative musings, and more.

Make a donation or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visiting merylarnett.com

instagram.com/merylarnett

youtube.com/@themindfulminutepodcast

Thank you to Brianna Nielsen for production and editing support. Find her at https://www.instagram.com/brianna_podcastpro/

#meditatewithmeryl

Living on the Edge Jun 06, 2024

Have you heard of an ecotone before?

An ecotone is a transition area between two adjacent and different patches of landscape, such as forest and grassland.

Ecotones do not simply represent a boundary or an edge; the concept of an ecotone assumes the existence of active interaction between two or more ecosystems with properties that do not exist in either of the adjacent ecosystems.

An ecotone is a meeting place that creates something entirely distinct from either side of the boundary.

In essence, 1 + 1 = 3.

And this third space is what I want us to explore in this month’s meditation series.

Edges, ecotones and third spaces are places of life, energy & growth; they are places of speciation - of creation and evolution.

Third spaces are invitations into expansion - into knowing ourselves, our lands, and our actions in a way that wouldn’t be possible if we only resided on one side of the edge.

Join me for today’s discussion of ecotones both within ourselves and in the outside world. Thank you to Gordon Hempton for the use of the incredible soundscape in today’s guided meditation. Recorded in North Carolina at Joyce Kilmer National Forest, the Cherokee were some of the first people to hear the sounds of this hardwood forest.

Sign up for my newsletter at https://merylarnett.substack.com/ to receive free mini meditations each week, creative musings, and more.

Make a donation or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visiting merylarnett.com

Thank you to Brianna Nielsen for production and editing support. Find her at https://www.instagram.com/brianna_podcastpro/

#meditatewithmeryl

Wildly, Improbably Successful {part 3} May 23, 2024

*Today's episode is a replay of a fan-favorite episode, The Stagnation Layer part 3, from September 2022*

We started this meditation series, Are You Stuck, with the connective idea that the human body is a microcosm of the universe; that we can view the universe as a mirror image of what goes on inside.

And, we looked to the Voyager space expedition, in particular the experience of Voyager 1 in the Stagnation Layer of the cosmos, as a metaphor for how we might engage with moments of ‘stuckness’ or stagnation.

Today, 45 years after its launch and 14.6 billion miles from Earth, Voyager 1 and 2 have now spent 10 years in interstellar space. Interestingly, Voyager 1 went through the Stagnation Layer, and Voyager 2 did not.

Yet, 10 years later, these two spacecraft are in the same place, both doing exactly what they are supposed to be doing, and both wildly, improbably successful. I think there are 3 vital lessons for us within this statement -

- Community is vitally important for our movement through Stagnation.

- It is our engagement that makes these moments magical and rich rather than scary and confusing.

- We don’t need to worry about what anyone else is doing or experiencing within their meditation practice.

Join me for today’s episode of Our Mindful Nature as we explore these three lessons and how they enrich both our meditation practice and our lived experience.

Be sure to sign up for my newsletter at https://merylarnett.substack.com/ to receive free mini meditations each week, creative musings, and more.

Make a donation or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visiting merylarnett.com

Thank you to Brianna Nielsen for production and editing support. Find her at https://www.instagram.com/brianna_podcastpro/

#meditatewithmeryl

Anxious & Frozen {part 2} May 16, 2024

*Today's episode is a replay of a fan-favorite episode, The Stagnation Layer {part 2}, from September 2022*

Part 1 of this meditation series introduced The Stagnation Layer of the cosmos and the periods of stagnation we experience both as individuals and as naturally occurring phenomena. Part of the description NASA shares for the Stagnation Layer says -

There is a doubling in the intensity of the magnetic field in the stagnation region. Like cars piling up at a clogged freeway off-ramp, the increased intensity of the magnetic field shows that inward pressure from interstellar space is compacting it.

Higher-energy particles from inside our solar system appear to be leaking out into interstellar space.

As a personal experience, when we stagnate we likely feel an increased pressure to DO something, to figure it out, or to move. And, all our creative mojo feels like it is draining away.

We find ourselves both anxious to move and possibly frozen in place. This is a tricky combination.

Luckily, in these moments, there are ancient and wise teachings that can be so helpful. Even if we know or think we know, it is helpful to hear of the wisdom that has come before.

Of course, what isn’t helpful is buying ALL the books. Or listening to ALL the teachers. This is overwhelming, and very likely frustrating.

Instead, I encourage you to look for what I call ‘Threads of Truth’ - I came up with this term to describe the overarching themes within meditation that continue to appear across time, lineage, and geography.

The words might differ, but the underlying wisdom is clearly the same. And, it is these threads of truth that serve as a compass when we are lost in the Stagnation Layer.

Join me for today’s episode of Our Mindful Nature as we unravel the Threads of Truth and share in a 20-minute guided meditation practice.

Be sure to sign up for my newsletter at https://merylarnett.substack.com/ to receive free mini meditations each week, creative musings, and more.

Make a donation or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visiting merylarnett.com

Thank you to Brianna Nielsen for production and editing support. Find her at https://www.instagram.com/brianna_podcastpro/

#meditatewithmeryl

Are You Stuck? {part 1} May 09, 2024

*Today's episode is a replay of a fan-favorite episode, The Stagnation Layer part 1, from September 2022*

When you read poetry of the mystics, when you study ancient tantric & buddhist texts, not to mention so many indigenous cultures across the world, we learn of the universe as a metaphor for the internal experiences of consciousness.

The macrocosm and the microcosm… As goes the outside, so goes the inside…

And the more time I spend connecting my meditation practice with the natural world, the more I experience the wisdom of this truth, perhaps never more so than as I reflect on The Stagnation Layer.

Devoted listeners won’t be surprised to hear me bring up the Voyager space expedition yet again - it is one of my favorite stories and something that continues to capture my fascination -

In 1977 two spacecrafts were launched with the mission of leaving our solar system and exploring interstellar space. In 2012, Voyager 1 achieved this goal, but not before spending a year in the transitional realm of space deemed by scientists as “The Stagnation Layer”.

Scientists write:

“Data obtained from Voyager over the last year reveal this new region to be a kind of cosmic purgatory. In it, the wind of charged particles streaming out from our sun has calmed, our solar system's magnetic field is piled up, and higher-energy particles from inside our solar system appear to be leaking out into interstellar space.”

A cosmic purgatory?

Have you ever felt you were stuck in a cosmic purgatory? Are you in one right now?

Sometimes I think this feels like a dark void, like you are stuck in a doorway and can’t step through, or perhaps like a dense fog that you are lost inside.

Lucky for us, the universe itself is providing the answer for what we do in stagnation, if we only remember to listen.

Join me for today’s episode of Our Mindful Nature as we discover the Stagnation Layer and explore how we might move through. As always, there is a brief talk followed by a 20-minute guided meditation.

Be sure to sign up for my newsletter at https://merylarnett.substack.com/ to receive free mini meditations each week, creative musings, and more.

Make a donation or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visiting merylarnett.com

https://nickmcmahan.com/

Thank you to Brianna Nielsen for production and editing support. Find her at https://www.instagram.com/brianna_podcastpro/

#meditatewithmeryl

Mini Meditation: We Are Made of Star Stuff May 02, 2024

Last week’s episode (We Are Made of Star Stuff; An Interview with Dr. Kimberly Arcand) is a personal favorite of mine, and this week, I’m highlighting the meditation from that episode to make sure you have a chance to listen.

The sonification of stars, black holes, galaxies and more invite a new way of knowing the cosmos. It is one thing to see a static image of the night sky and an entirely different experience when we hear that same data in an embodied way.

Meditation is exactly the same - we think we know ourselves, but then we get still and quiet and learn to listen, and suddenly a whole new field of insight and awareness is made available to us.

This meditation is an experience of mapping the cosmos of the body alongside 3 sonifications from NASA’s Chandra Xray Observatory - Perseus Black Hole, Milky Way Galactic Center, and Chandra Deep Field South. You will also hear a thread of ocean waves throughout to keep us grounded and centered, even as we journey through the cosmos.

Thank you to NASA for the sounds and images in today’s episode, to Nick McMahan for the ocean wave field recording as well as the sound design and production of today’s episode, and to Brianna Nielsen for production support.

Find them here:

https://www.instagram.com/brianna_podcastpro/

Learn more about Dr. Arcand and NASA’s sonification project here:

https://chandra.si.edu/sound/

https://plus.nasa.gov/video/listen-to-the-universe/

https://www.kimarcand.com

Lastly, be sure to Sign upfor my newsletter athttps://merylarnett.substack.com/to access these meditations as stand-alone audio files for your daily practice.

Make a donation or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visiting merylarnett.com

https://chandra.si.edu/sound/

We Are Made of Star Stuff: An Interview with NASA’s Dr. Kimberly Arcand Apr 25, 2024

In 2020, experts at NASA’s Chandra X-ray Center began the first ongoing, sustained program to “sonify” astronomical data. The sonification project is led by my guest today, Dr. Kimberly Arcand (Chandra Visualization Scientist) along with her colleagues Dr. Matt Russo (astrophysicist/musician) and Andrew Santaguida (musician/sound engineer) at System Sounds.

The sonification of stars, black holes, galaxies and more invite a new way of knowing the cosmos. It is one thing to see a static image of the night sky and an entirely different experience when we hear that same data in an embodied way.

As we talk about the sonification of the cosmos, you will see that this is really another way of knowing or connecting to something that we think we know. Meditation is exactly the same - we think we know ourselves, but then we get still and quiet and learn to listen, and suddenly a whole new field of insight and awareness is made available to us.

This interview was such a bucket list interview for me. Dr. Arcand - a fellow meditator - helps us to more fully grasp the words of Carl Sagan when he told us we were made of star stuff and the words of Kabir when he wrote that inside the body there are hundreds of millions of stars.

Dr. Kimberly Arcand is the Visualization scientist & Emerging tech lead for NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory. Arcand is an award-winning producer and director. She is a leading expert in studying the perception and comprehension of high-energy data visualization across the novice-expert spectrum. As a science data storyteller she combines her background in molecular biology and computer science with her current work in the fields of astronomy and physics.

In this episode, Kim and I chat about:

What a Science Data Storyteller does and how this relates to our work as meditators
The origin of the sonification project at NASA
How data is translated into embodied knowing
Black Holes as cosmic recycling centers
What happens when a star explodes (hint: the same thing happens to us when we ‘explode’!!)
Learning to hear what is unhearable

After our conversation, I guide a really unique meditation that uses 3 sonifications from Kim and her team to help us map the cosmos inside our bodies.

Join me for an exploration of the cosmos - both within and without.

Learn more about Dr. Arcand and NASA’s sonification project here:

https://plus.nasa.gov/video/listen-to-the-universe/

https://www.kimarcand.com

Thank you to NASA for the sounds and images in today’s episode, to Nick McMahan for the ocean wave field recording as well as the sound design and production of today’s episode, and to Brianna Nielsen for production support.

Find them here:

https://nickmcmahan.com/

https://www.instagram.com/brianna_podcastpro/

Lastly, be sure to Sign upfor my newsletter athttps://merylarnett.substack.com/to access these meditations as stand-alone audio files for your daily practice.

Make a donation or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visiting merylarnett.com

Mini Meditation: Astronomical Mindfulness Apr 18, 2024

Sometimes the simplest practices are the most helpful. When lost, overwhelmed, sad or scared, I often find myself simply walking outside, lying down, and staring up at the sky. There's nothing specific to do, nothing specific to feel. It's simply a moment to watch the movement of the clouds or stars, and to remember that the earth is nothing more than a pale blue dot rotating in a vast galaxy of stars, planets, moons, and more. This practice connects us to something larger than ourselves and this one moment in time. What we experience through the cosmos surrounding us tells us about ourselves.

A little perspective is always a good thing. Join me for today’s 10-minute meditation; it is perfect for a reset, a brain break, or a moment of calm on a hectic day.

Sign up for my newsletter atto receive free mini meditations each week, creative musings, and more.

Make a donation or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visiting merylarnett.com

Thank you to Brianna Nielsen for production and editing support. Find her at https://www.instagram.com/brianna_podcastpro/

Astronomical Mindfulness with Sarah Scoles {REPLAY} Apr 11, 2024

The Mindful Minute has a NEW NAME and NEW LOOK! After 8 years, I have updated the name to more accurately reflect the content offered here. Welcome to Our Mindful Nature!

“Back when humans lived in communal caves and tribal encampments, we told stories about the stars. When we started sailing, we used these same pinpricks of light to estimate our own location. When we began planting, we relied on the constellations and the Sun to plant and sustain crops. Yet today, most modern humans have lost this deep connection to the cosmos that was once central to our daily lives.” ~Sarah Scoles

Today’s episode is a replay of a 2022 interview that is still one of my favorites and is a perfect fit for our astronomical focus this month. Enjoy it!

I have devoted more episodes to the night sky and the cosmos surrounding us than any other singular topic, and today’s interview with science journalist and author Sarah Scoles perhaps best sums up why the skies above serve as such a powerful connection to our meditation practice and our deepest selves.

Sarah, along with astronomy professor Chris De Pree, wrote a unique guidebook (and a perpetual guest on my nightstand) titled Astronomical Mindfulness.

In today’s episode of Our Mindful Nature, Sarah and I talk about the power of the sun, moon, stars, and planets to offer engaging exercises that deepen your knowledge of the solar system, help you take necessary pauses every day, and foster a renewed sense of presence in the universe. The focus is on short, simple practices that immediately create a sense of connection and provide context for the hectic moments of our day-to-day lives.

Whether you look up at the night sky or not, the skies above us are perhaps the most central, ubiquitous element of human storytelling and identity. Humanity has looked up for as long as we have ever found a record of. The earliest cave drawings and the earliest indentations carved into the earth were made in reference to the sky above.

What we experience through the cosmos surrounding us tells us about ourselves.

Join me for this exploration of the cosmos, mindfulness, and some new practices you can try tonight. At the end, I offer a 10-minute guided meditation inspired by this conversation.

Sarah Scoles is a freelance journalist and contributing editor at WIRED. She is the author of Making Contact: Jill Tarter and the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence and They Are Already Here: UFO Culture and Why We See Saucers. Learn more about Sarah at: https://www.sarahscoles.com/

Sign up for my newsletter athttps://merylarnett.substack.com/ to receive free mini meditations each week, creative musings, and more.

Make a donation or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visiting merylarnett.com

Thank you to Brianna Nielsen for production and editing support. Find her at https://www.instagram.com/brianna_podcastpro/

Total Eclipse of the Heart Apr 04, 2024

The Mindful Minute has a NEW NAME and NEW LOOK! After 8 years, I have updated the name to more accurately reflect the content offered here. Welcome to Our Mindful Nature!

Today, we are kicking off a month of astronomical-inspired meditations and interviews in honor of next week’s total solar eclipse.

A solar eclipse happens when, at just the right moment, the moon passes between the sun and Earth blocking the sun’s light. On April 8, 2024, 13 states will experience a total solar eclipse, for many others we will witness a partial solar eclipse.

In honor of this, I am sharing a meditation I recorded a few years ago titled ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’ (hehehe). While this meditation references a total lunar eclipse, the energy behind this meditation remains the same whether it is the sun or the moon having its light blocked.

Do you feel this in your life sometimes? That something comes up creating a block in your energy, your attention or your ability to move forward? I think these might be the moments I am MOST grateful for my meditation practice.

When we meditate, we develop an awareness of our habitual reactions to life and create the space for movement. We learn to pause just long enough to acknowledge what is blocking us, to let it move out of the way, and to once again feel illuminated.

In this meditation, we listen to Rialto Beach at midnight. There are full, dynamic waves, and with each wave we feel the drifting pull of the ocean. The invitation to pause and then allow movement is clear here between the quiet of a wave landing on the beach and the crescendo of the wave retraction.

Big thank you to sound artist and acoustic ecologist Gordon Hempton for the use of today’s soundscape. I highly recommend headphones, if you have them available.

The Quileute were some of the first people to hear the sounds of land shared in today’s meditation.

Sign upfor my newsletter athttps://merylarnett.substack.com/to receive free mini meditations each week, creative musings, and more.

Make a donation or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visiting merylarnett.com

Thank you to Brianna Nielsen for production and editing support. Find her at https://www.instagram.com/brianna_podcastpro/

Thank you to Gordon Hempton for the use of today’s soundscape. Learn more about Gordon here: https://soundtracker.com/

https://www.nickcmcmahan.com

Birdsong: Somatic Oracle & Meditation with Dr. Chanti Tacoronte-Perez Mar 28, 2024

The Mindful Minute has a NEW NAME and NEW LOOK! After 8 years, I have updated the name to more accurately reflect the content offered here. Welcome to Our Mindful Nature!

How many episodes can I devote to birds, you ask? Well, I haven’t found a limit yet…!

Today on Our Mindful Nature, we are talking about two of my favorite things - Oracle cards and Birds!

Dr. Chanti Tacoronte-Perez is joining us to introduce a new somatic oracle deck titled Birdsong.

Dr. Chanti is a Cuban-American artist-author, ritualist, and non-clinical depth psychologist. She believes that images speak a profound language; her life’s work is a translator of the unseen and an advocate for the imaginal. She holds two master's degrees in Engaged Humanities and Depth Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute. In 2023 she completed her doctoral dissertation Navegando Liminal: Rituals to Translate the Image of the Wound. Her work and teaching follows and welcomes imagination, creativity, dreaming, and deep rest.

Within our conversation today, we explore:

‣ Divination⁠

‣ Somatic wisdom⁠

‣ What happens when we tune into the body rather than the guide books⁠

‣ Trusting the wisdom of our bodies⁠

‣ Translating the wisdom of the natural world⁠

‣ Dreams & the creative process⁠

‣ Migration, landlessness, and the meaning of home⁠⁠

At the end of today’s interview, Dr. Chanti guides a beautiful bird-meditation. So take a seat outside, make sure you have a bit of room to move, grab your journal, and join us!

You can learn more about Birdsong & Dr. Chanti here: https://www.yantrawisdom.com/birdsong-2024

And, you can listen to the first interview I did with Dr. Chanti on Dreams here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/26Jtx6aGnHoCmWYkLOE87T?si=7ORpTHYiRFeNhihI6oXM3A

Sign up for my newsletter at https://merylarnett.substack.com/ to receive free mini meditations each week, creative musings, and more.

Make a donation or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visiting merylarnett.com

instagram.com/merylarnett

youtube.com/@themindfulminutepodcast

Thank you to Brianna Nielsen for production and editing support.

#meditatewithmeryl

BONUS EPISODE: The Sounds of Spring Mar 25, 2024

The Mindful Minute has a NEW NAME and NEW LOOK! After 8 years, I have updated the name to more accurately reflect the content offered here. Welcome to Our Mindful Nature!

This is a special bonus episode of Our Mindful Nature. Last week, we kicked off the spring season with an exploration of migration, and the episode along with the guided meditation were filled with the sounds and images of migration as recorded by nature field recordist Nick McMahan.

Today, I’m joined by Nick to give you a bit of our behind-the-scenes planning and brainstorming about the sounds of spring. Nick shares more about where each sound was recorded, why he selected these particular sounds, and what we hope you experience in this journey.

At the end, we share an unguided listening experience devoted to the sounds of spring.

Enjoy!

Nick is a nature field recordist from Washington State. He has worked closely with acclaimed acoustic ecologist Gordon Hempton, Offspring Film, Audible Sleep Sound, and numerous independent collaborations. The Director of Quiet Trails for Quiet Parks International (QPI), Nick’s recording experience ranges internationally from extreme cold, tropical rainforests, mountains to deserts. Specializing in soundscape, ambiance, and unusual sound, leads Nick to become a better listener and observer of the world.

Learn more about Nick here:

https://www.instagram.com/nickcmcmahan

https://www.youtube.com/@nickmcmahan

Sign upfor my newsletter athttps://merylarnett.substack.com/to receive free mini meditations each week, creative musings, and more.

Make a donation or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visiting merylarnett.com

Migration: A Spring Meditative Experience Mar 21, 2024

The Mindful Minute has a NEW NAME and NEW LOOK! After 8 years, I have updated the name to more accurately reflect the content offered here. Welcome to Our Mindful Nature!

One of the markers of spring is the migratory movement of so many species towards their breeding grounds - salmon, Monarch butterflies, and so many different species of birds.

In this special Spring Equinox episode, I want to delve into 3 specific migrations as reflection points for our own contemplative journey this spring.

Within these 3 examples of migration, we will explore:

Time

In daily, seasonal and generational movement

Space

From surface to depth, from under water to the high reaches of sky

Awareness

From inner to outer awareness, from individual to collective, from present moment understanding to ancestral knowing

And what else? What are YOU experiencing in this migratory season? As spring awakens, as seeds are planted in the earth and in the heart, what journey or journeys are you aware of? What is stirring in your blood and calling you forward?

Join me for today’s episode of Our Mindful Nature. You can expect a brief talk followed by a 10 minute guided meditation.

Thank you to Nick McMahan for the incredible soundscapes and sound design in this episode, as well as the photography used in the YouTube version of this podcast. Learn more about Nick and his work at https://www.nickcmcmahan.com.

Sign upfor my newsletter athttps://merylarnett.substack.com/to receive free mini meditations each week, creative musings, and more.

Make a donation or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visiting merylarnett.com

https://www.yantrawisdom.com/

BIG NEWS: OUR MINDFUL NATURE Mar 14, 2024

Friends, you might have noticed something BIG today as you clicked ‘play’ on this episode…

The Mindful Minute has a NEW name!!!

After 8 years of sharing recordings of Monday night meditation class on this podcast; I felt it was time to shift, to level up, to adjust in response to the times we find ourselves in…

As a meditation teacher, when I share what I do, I very often hear 1 of 2 comments:

I want to meditate but I just don’t have enough time
I tried meditation once but I think too much

And so, this podcast was originally built on the premise of responding to those two statements. My goal was (and is) to offer accessible, enjoyable meditation practices with the reminder that you can meditate in 5 or 10 minutes just as effectively as you can in 20 - 30 minutes.

But then, I started noticing a steady uptick in another response when I mention that I am a meditation teacher… This response goes something like -

I DO meditate. I do my 10 minutes, and I am still struggling. I’m still anxious. Overwhelmed. Scared. Despairing.

And, the truth is, my friends, me too. We are in times of massive change and upheaval, and that is going to require more than a 10-minute nervous system reset.

It asks us to wake up. To be less afraid of the dark. To be more tender with ourselves and all beings in this universe.

The work I hope to explore with you on this podcast moving forward is HOW? How do we do this? What makes us feel steady & well? What makes me feel resourced?

I know without a shadow of doubt, from my own meditative experiences as well as through the teachings of many ancient wisdom holders, that embodying our connection to the natural world is perhaps the most important thing we can do for the wellbeing of humans, the planet and the more-than human that live here with us.

Hence the new name of this podcast - Our Mindful Nature.

It is a bit of a double entendre. Our Mindful Nature as in our inner nature, our own mindfulness, but also it references the wisdom of the natural world that surrounds and supports us.

And so, most of our meditation practices moving forward will be nature-based. And, we will be curious about other mindful practices that support this sense of well-being.

In the words of Shefa Gold -

Can I open to trust the wilderness,

the unknown, the Mystery that rises

in response to my loving, curious longing?

Join me for today’s talk and 10-minute guided meditation practice.

Special thank you to Dr. Chanti Tacoronte-Perez for the wisdom and insight regarding the vast spectrum of practices that make up our well-being. You can learn more about Dr. Chanti and her work here:

https://drchanti.substack.com/

Sign upfor my newsletter athttps://merylarnett.substack.com/to receive free mini meditations each week, creative musings, and more.

Make a donation or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visiting merylarnett.com

Mindfulness in the Kitchen: An Interview with Cookbook Author Deborah Johnson Mar 07, 2024

Why is a meditation podcast chatting with a cookbook author, you ask? It’s a great question. I have been paying a lot of attention to the practices in my day that support my well-being the most because I continue to hear from listeners (and experience myself) that we are doing our meditation practices and yet, we are still struggling. We still feel stress, anxiety or fear.

And so, while this podcast will always honor meditation first and foremost, I want to also honor the other pieces that support our well-being. I was reminded recently that every culture:

Eats

Sings

Dances

Creates art

Tells stories about the stars

It is reconnecting with these inherent, innate pieces of us that create a sense of connection, belonging and well-being.

So, we will start in the kitchen.

Deborah Johnson is a home cook and author of the new cookbook, On Rising: Recipes and Rituals for Joyful Mornings. This gorgeous cookbook is an ode to mindful, joyful moments in the kitchen. It is an invitation to turn our daily meals into an opportunity to celebrate the beauty of the everyday and to reconnect with the sacred.

In this conversation, we talk about:

05:02 The Role of Cooking in Mindfulness and Wellbeing

08:19 The Art of Presence in the Kitchen

08:38 Deborah's Journey to Cookbook Authorship

10:42 The Power of Presence and Connection in Cooking

16:06 Reimagining the Kitchen as a Place of Joy

29:51 The Healing Power of Storytelling Through Cooking

54:25 A Mindful Eating Meditation

And at the end, Deborah guides a mindful eating practice - so grab a snack, a cup of tea and join us at the table for today’s episode of The Mindful Minute.

You can learn more about Deborah and check out her cookbook here:

Website: www.deborahesjohnson.com

Instagram: @deborahesjohnson

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgHXyshzEKdTroNShdTwDKw

And, for my Georgia listeners, I promised to share a link to the CSA I reference in today’s episode. You can find it here: https://freshharvest.com/

Thank you to Ashleigh Amoroso for the use of her gorgeous photos from Deborah’s cookbook.

Sign upfor my newsletter athttps://merylarnett.substack.com/to receive free mini meditations each week, creative musings, and more.

Make a donation or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visiting merylarnett.com

Mini Meditation: Melting Snow; Melting Tension Feb 29, 2024

In today’s meditation practice, we listen to the sounds of melting snow.

Now, I don’t know about you, but it never really occurred to me that melting snow makes a sound. It does. It produces a smooth, slow gurgle. No drips, just a near constant murmur that reminds us that change is happening in every moment. The daffodils are pushing up, the hyacinth will bloom soon. The literal and metaphorical arrival of spring is imminent. It is time to think about what will plant during this ripe time.

Huge thank you to Gordon Hempton, sound artist and acoustic ecologist, for the use of this soundscapes. You can learn more about Gordon and his work at https://soundtracker.com/.

This meditation was originally written and recorded for Roots meditation app. While not currently available, we are working to make this app available again in the near future.

Sign upfor my newsletter athttps://merylarnett.substack.com/to receive free mini meditations each week, creative musings, and more.

Make a donation or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visiting merylarnett.com

https://www.candaceroserardon.com/

Bloom in Winter: Meditation & Creativity with Candace Rardon Feb 22, 2024

This month, we have explored the season of winter as a way into our meditation practice. We have looked at winter in our external landscapes, as well as our internal landscapes. We've listened to the sounds of winter, we've talked about wolves and our animal nature, and today, we're going to dive a little bit more into the creativity of winter.

I was deeply inspired by a recent essay written and illustrated by Candace Rardon titled, ‘Like A Garden in Winter’. Candace is an author, illustrator, visual storyteller, and creator of Dandelion Seeds (one of my favorite publications on Substack). She is also the creator of many of the sleep stories you might have listened to on Calm.

Together, Candace and I chat about what it means to bloom in winter, the season of hibernation. We talk about finding inspiration and meditative moments in the world around us; the art of visual storytelling, what makes a good sleep story and so much more.

This conversation was such a joy to record; I hope you find as much inspiration in it as I have.

At the end of today’s interview, Candace offers us a mindful reflection and journaling prompt born of the beauty of Snowdrops. So grab your notebook, a cozy seat, and join us!

In this episode:

01:10 Exploring the Creativity of Winter

03:12 The Art of Visual Storytelling

03:49 The Journey of Moving Continents

05:28 The Power of Collaboration in Creativity

14:44 The Evolution of 'Like a Garden in Winter'

23:42 Finding Strength in Winter: A Metaphor for Life

24:35 Journey into Mindfulness through Travel and Art

27:09 The Role of Creativity in Mindfulness

30:35 The Magic of Sleep Stories

41:05 Lessons from Winter Blooms

44:26 The Joy of Spring: A New Chapter

Learn more about Candace Rardon and her work here:

https://dandelionseeds.substack.com/

Sign up for my newsletter at https://merylarnett.substack.com/ to receive free mini meditations each week, creative musings, and more.

Make a donation or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visiting merylarnett.com

#meditatewithmeryl

Wolves & The Wild Self Feb 15, 2024

Today’s meditation practice is one that evokes the emotions of winter, wolves, and a deep connection to our wild selves. It is called Call of the Wolf… and it isn’t for the faint of heart.

This practice is an invitation. It is an unearthing of your wild, instinctive nature. Not wild as in exuberant or loud; but wild as in the self that is born of and inextricably connected to the natural world . It is allowing us to fine-tune our inner listening and our relationship to our own wise intuition.

Wolves are known for their keen senses, their playful spirits and their deep devotion and loyalty to their packs and their mates. When our own wildness, our natural state, is healthy, we too are relational creatures with a wise intuition, playful hearts and deep devotion to the health and wellness of our communities.

As we settle into our practice, you will hear a pack of wolves howling at the moon, and in this episode, we talk about the importance of howling, of being in touch with our emotional selves, and freeing up what we so-often lock down.

Huge thank you to Gordon Hempton, sound artist and acoustic ecologist, for the use of these soundscapes. The wolves were recorded at Wolf Haven in Washington. You can learn more about Gordon and his work at https://soundtracker.com/.

This meditation was originally written and recorded for Roots meditation app. While not currently available, we are working to make this app available again in the near future.

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https://www.nickcmcmahan.com

Mini Meditation: Walking in the Winter Woods Feb 08, 2024

Today’s episode is a special meditation-only episode, just for your practice!

In this 10-minute meditation, we go on a journey through the winter woods. First, through a snowy pine forest with the wind washing over us, clearing away any lingering tension or worry. Then, we find ourselves atop a frozen lake. Don’t worry - it is steady and safe; so we sit in the middle of this frozen lake and we listen as it expands. Then the scene changes, dream-like, and we find ourselves settled in front of a campfire. The wind is faint; the campfire is warm, and again, we listen to the sounds of transformation and expansion. Perhaps you even ask yourself, “how am I transforming this season?”

These soundscapes and images (if you are watching on YouTube) are from Nick McMahan. Nick is a nature field recordist from Washington State. He has worked closely with acclaimed acoustic ecologist Gordon Hempton, Offspring Film, Audible Sleep Sound, and numerous independent collaborations. The Director of Quiet Trails for Quiet Parks International (QPI), Nick’s recording experience ranges internationally from extreme cold, tropical rainforests, mountains to deserts. Specializing in soundscape, ambiance, and unusual sound, leads Nick to become a better listener and observer of the world.

You can find Nick and his work here:

https://www.instagram.com/nickcmcmahan

https://www.youtube.com/@nickmcmahan

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https://www.nickcmcmahan.com

The Winter Woods with Nick McMahan Feb 01, 2024

Walking through the woods is perhaps my favorite activity of all, and there is no better experience (in my opinion) than walking through the woods in winter.

The space. The silence. The biting cold. All of it crackles with a kind of energy, a nudge towards contemplation and reflection.

Yet, in a recent conversation, I was reminded that winter can be very, very different depending on where you live. So, today, in the first of what I hope is many collaborative episodes, I am sharing a conversation with nature field recordist Nick McMahan about the varied experiences of winter.

Nick is a nature field recordist from Washington State. He has worked closely with acclaimed acoustic ecologist Gordon Hempton, Offspring Film, Audible Sleep Sound, and numerous independent collaborations. The Director of Quiet Trails for Quiet Parks International (QPI), Nick’s recording experience ranges internationally from extreme cold, tropical rainforests, mountains to deserts. Specializing in soundscape, ambiance, and unusual sound, leads Nick to become a better listener and observer of the world.

Together, we walk through the winter woods discussing

The transformative effects of wind
Lying on a frozen lake at night listening to owls hoot in the background
Cozying up to a campfire under the winter night sky
Expansion, contraction, fracturing, and growing
The power of taking in the whole rather than breaking everything up into pieces

At the end, we listen to a full journey through the woods inviting you to reflect on your own experience of winter and how that is reflected within your internal landscape.

Learn more about Nick and listen to his recordings here:

https://www.instagram.com/nickcmcmahan

https://www.youtube.com/@nickmcmahan

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Make a donation or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visiting merylarnett.com.

Winter, Creativity & Contemplation with Jacqueline Suskin Jan 25, 2024

While on my winter sabbatical at the end of 2023, I had the profound privilege of reading Jacqueline Suskin’s newest book, A Year in Practice; Seasonal Rituals & Prompts to Awaken Cycles of Creative Expression, and subsequently chatting with her. I’m delighted to share this conversation with you today as a spark of inspiration, a nudge to burrow in, and an invitation to connect fully with the season of winter.

My favorite area of exploration is the intersection of contemplative practices, nature and creativity. Jacqueline explores this intersection in depth as a poet and educator who has been teaching workshops, writing books, hosting retreats, and creating spontaneous poetry around the world since 2009.

In this conversation, we chat about

06:12 The Impact of Seasons on Practice

10:56 The Cycle of Forgetfulness

13:33 The Influence of Seasons on Creative Expression

19:26 The Practice of Rest in Winter

28:20 Creating a Retreat at Home

33:33 The Role of Dreams in Creativity

39:32 The Power of Journal Review

50:32 Winter Reflections and Practices

Listeners, that journal review process was a revelation (imagine a mind blown emoji here!) and I plan on embarking on this process immediately!

At the end of the conversation, Jacqueline shares a winter prompt inspired by the lesson of nature and how it might serve as a mirror for us. Don’t miss it.

You can learn more about Jacqueline and order her new book via her website: jacquelinesuskin.com.

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#meditatewithmeryl

The Power of Awe {part 2}: A Discussion with Jake Eagle Jan 18, 2024

Today’s episode of The Mindful Minute is the second installment of a 2-part series dedicated to the emotion of awe.

In this conversation, Jake Eagle, co-author of 'The Power of Awe', and I discuss the concept of 'awe' and its significance in handling existential anxiety and conquering stress. What I love about listening to these two discussions on awe is that you hear from someone who loves meditation and is ‘good’ at it {Dr. Michael Amster} and you hear from someone who loves meditation but struggles with it {Jake Eagle}. Together, I think we get a well-rounded look at the benefits in incorporating the A.W.E micro-mindfulness practice regardless of whether you also do a full sit-down meditation or not.

Jake details the A.W.E. practice and he also guides a powerful meditation he developed to shift through different levels of consciousness (Safety, Heart, and Spacious consciousness). He explains how making these shifts several times a day can reset our nervous system, creating significant positive impacts.

Jake was a licensed mental health counselor for the past twenty-seven years, and now practices as a meta-therapist, exploring what comes after therapy. Although Jake recognizes the value of therapy, he also recognizes the limitations, and has developed a method that accelerates and simplifies the process of personal growth. Individuals and couples can experience his work in live sessions or via a digital-platform.

Jake is the author of Get Weird, Make the Most of Your Life, and co-founder of liveconscious.com, a community of people practicing skills for living and loving more consciously.

In this episode, you can expect:

00:05 Introduction and Welcome

01:08 The Power of Awe: A Discussion with Jake Eagle

01:55 Understanding the Emotion of Awe and Its Impact

02:50 The Practice of Awe: A Guided Meditation

07:19 The Concept of Micro-Dosing Mindfulness

16:09 Different Types of Awe

29:58 Understanding Consciousness and its Appropriate Use

33:05 The Power of Meditation and Consciousness

35:38 Existential Anxiety and its Connection to Consciousness

42:01 Guided Meditation: the Practice of Shifting Levels of Consciousness

Learn more about Jake Eagle here: https://liveconscious.com/ and https://thepowerofawe.com/

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#meditatewithmeryl

The Power of Awe: A Micro-Mindfulness Practice with Dr. Michael Amster Jan 11, 2024

Today, we are beginning a two part series with the co-authors of a powerful new book that I am so excited to share with you guys today.

In this episode of The Mindful Minute, I talk with Dr. Michael Amster about the power of awe and an incredible micro mindfulness practice that you can do in 30 seconds.

I'm not kidding. 30 seconds.

And speaking from my own experience with this practice, it will absolutely invigorate your meditation practice and benefit your days.

Michael is a San Francisco Bay Area-based physician and faculty member at Touro School of Medicine. As a pain management specialist, Michael is keenly aware of the integration of mind, body, and spirit and the effects of physical and psychospiritual pain on health and well-being.

Michael is a student of meditation for over 30 years, as well as a certified yoga teacher and meditation teacher trained at Spirit Rock Meditation Center.

Here is what you can expect in today’s episode:

00:05 Introduction and Welcome

07:59 Interview with Dr. Michael Amster

09:29 The Power of Awe: A New Approach to Mindfulness

13:22 The AWE Method Explained

18:42 The Impact of Awe on Emotional State

21:22 Practical Application of the AWE Method

25:47 Introduction to the Concept of Attention

26:43 Sharing Personal Experiences with the Practice

29:53 The Power of Sharing Awe with Others

30:18 Incorporating Awe into Daily Life

31:09 The Conceptual Aspect of Awe

32:24 Incorporating the Awe Practice into Daily Routine

35:10 The Benefits of the Awe Practice

41:45 The Power of Awe: Book and Other Resources

43:24 Closing Thoughts and Reflections

You can learn more about Dr. Amster and his new book, The Power of Awe here: https://thepowerofawe.com/

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New Year's Meditation: Harvesting the Fire Jan 01, 2024

Hello Dear Listeners! How I have missed you over the last several weeks; I am so excited to share in another year of meditative exploration with you. There are lots of updates and exciting stories to share with you, but, for today, let us linger in the New Year transition.

In this mini episode of The Mindful Minute, I talk about the shift into the new year and the idea of having expectations in January. Despite my own excitement for the upcoming year and new projects I plan to share on the podcast, I want to encourage us all to embrace winter as a season of rest, nurturance, and reflection. Let’s explore harvesting your internal fire or energy during winter, allowing it to nourish ideas and projects for the months to come.

In this episode, you can expect:

01:03 Introduction and New Year Reflections

02:28 Understanding the Winter Season

04:32 The Concept of Harvesting the Fire

06:13 The Symbolism of Fire in Jewish Lore

08:50 Invitation to Meditate

10:49 Guided Meditation: Connecting with the Internal Flame

18:34 Concluding Remarks and Farewell

This episode is written and recorded without the use of AI content creation. If you catch a mistake, I hope it makes you smile knowing a real person is behind each of these stories, ideas and guided meditations.

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For the Love of Nature {Final Episode of 2023} Nov 09, 2023

**This class will be the last podcast episode of 2023 for The Mindful Minute. I’ll be taking a break over the winter months to rest, to practice, to study, and feel through what 2024 will ask of all of us as meditation practitioners. I’ll be back in early 2024 with a new year of meditation classes tied to the natural world and centered on well-being for the Earth, humans, and the more-than-humans that make up this universe. I look forward to practicing with you again soon.

I have been teaching Monday Night Meditation for 8 years, and airing it on The Mindful Minute podcast for 7 years. It has been my greatest joy to share my own meditative journey and to witness yours as we have practiced together.

My own practice has evolved profoundly in the 13 years I have been sitting on a meditation cushion. I began as a Tantric practitioner, settled into Mindfulness for years, and returned to Tantric traditions as my own awareness continues to awaken. For the last several years, I have been deeply devoted to exploring our connection to the natural world, as taught in Tantric traditions, as a connection to our deepest Selves.

There is something that happens when we fully embrace our connections to the land that we live, walk, and breathe upon - it allows us to tap into our own inner indigeneity. That rootedness that was here before all else.

And, I feel called to further my exploration and deepen my teaching on nature-based meditation - as a response to climate crisis, eco-grief and eco-anxiety certainly. But even more so, as a response to the call to be more ourselves, to be more awake, engaged, and purposeful in how we live and move through the world today.

Ancient wisdom traditions teach us that the body is a universe.

Carl Sagan once told us that we are “made of star-stuff”.

Modern science proves that mindfully connecting to nature has a huge impact on our well-being - boosting immunity, reducing anxiety & enhancing creativity. Yet, weaving together our contemplative practices with the natural world offers us so much more than a quick health fix.

Nature-based meditation anchors us in a larger, more ancient story. It invites us to understand ourselves on a deeper level, and offers a tantalizing invitation into the spiritual side of a meditation practice. Nature serves as mirror, storyteller, and space holder.

This class will be the last podcast episode of 2023 for The Mindful Minute. I’ll be taking a break over the winter months to rest, to practice, to study, and feel through what 2024 will ask of all of us as meditation practitioners. I’ll be back in early 2024 with a new year of meditation classes tied to the natural world and centered on well-being for the Earth, humans, and the more-than-humans that make up this universe. I look forward to practicing with you again soon.

If you have questions or comments, don’t forget you can always reach out via merylarnett.com.

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Make a donation or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visiting merylarnett.com.

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Witchy Meditation with Jamie Della Nov 02, 2023

What does witchcraft have to do with meditation? SO much more than you might have originally thought, dear listeners. Which is why I am so excited to share a conversation with Jamie Della today.

Jamie Della is a witch, an ordained Priestess, and the author of ten books, including her newest book, A Box of Magick, as well as The Book of Spells: The Magick of Witchcraft and The Wicca Cookbook. She has a writer’s spirit and a faery soul, and she loves to teach, create, throw pottery, and get out in nature.

Jamie shares that her new book A Box of Magick is an invitation to a magickal life with herbs, rituals, and spells--through the guidance of two priestesses, one here on Earth and one from beyond the veil…

Jamie and I talk about the origin story of this book, and we spend a lot of time unpacking the witch archetype in this episode. We also talk about:

Elemental magic
Divination and synchronicities
Ancestors
Earth-based spirituality

…and so much more. I share a bit about my own resonance with the title witch, and I’ll be curious to hear - do you feel a correspondence between your meditation practice and witchcraft after listening to this episode?

Jamie’s new book A Box of Magick is out now and it is a perfect read for the season! Learn more about Jamie here: https://jamiedella.com/

PS. Listeners, we recorded this interview right in the middle of mercury retrograde and we have some technical difficulties at the end. If it sounds a little glitchy, well it's the universe’s fault ;-)

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Grief & Anxiety {Part 4} Oct 26, 2023

To allow an emotion to be simply means to let the feelings come and go without needing to DO anything about them.

Simple to understand; much much more difficult to put into practice.

In today’s episode of The Mindful Minute, we use myth as a pathway to understanding the practice of allowance. Rather than trapping an emotion - giving it a label, a meaning, and box to live in - what if we track the experience?

What happens if we stay open to sensation and story? To image and insight?

In the last installment of our Big Emotions series, we put together the practice of Soften, Soothe, Allow so that we are able to rest into the experience of attending & befriending our emotions.

Join me for a short talk and 20-minute guided meditation.

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Peace & Renewal with James Crews Oct 24, 2023

Oh friends,

I am sure, like mine, your heart is broken over the horrors we are witnessing between Israel and Palestine, as well as the hate crimes we are seeing in response to this crisis.

In a moment of pure serendipity, I had an interview that was scheduled months ago with poet James Crews to chat about his new book, The Wonder of Small Things; Poems of Peace & Renewal. I originally planned to air this conversation as a Winter Solstice offering, but his book feels like the perfect balm for the pain of this moment.

So, I am releasing this episode as quickly as possible in hopes that it offers you a tiny salve for your heart, a spark of okay-ness, as you continue to engage and bear witness to what is happening in the world.

James Crews is the editor of several bestselling anthologies, including The Path to Kindness: Poems of Connection and Joy and How to Love the World: Poems of Gratitude and Hope, which has over 100,000 copies in print. He is the author of four prize-winning books of poetry—The Book of What Stays, Telling My Father, Bluebird, and Every Waking Moment—and a book of short essays, Kindness Will Save the World: Stories of Compassion and Connection. James also speaks and leads workshops on kindness, mindfulness, and writing for self-compassion. He lives with his husband on forty rocky acres in the woods of Southern Vermont.

You can hear more about James and the connection between poetry and meditation in our first interview which aired in 2022. Listen Here: https://www.merylarnett.com/podcast/path-to-kindness?rq=Crews

You can learn more about James, buy his new book {highly recommend!}, and subscribe to his Weekly Pause newsletter here: https://www.jamescrews.net/

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Grief & Anxiety {Part 3} Oct 19, 2023

*While this series was recorded several months ago, it continues to feel incredibly timely as we bear witness to the horrors unfolding in Israel and Palestine, as well as the hate crimes happening in response to this crisis.

May we stay steady, may we stay awake, may we soothe our hearts so that we can continue to engage.

A Lifeboat in Turbulent Times:

When emotion overwhelms our system, it is called 'flooding', and in today’s episode, we are going to learn to build our lifeboat. We will explore soothing techniques to support the overwhelming emotions of the moment.

Last week, we talked about softening the body - this is a form of physical compassion. ⁠

⁠

Today, we explore soothing, an emotional compassion, which allows us to tolerate big emotions and perhaps move towards allowance.

Join me for today’s talk and 20-minute guided meditation practice - an experience of soothing.

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Grief & Anxiety {part 2} Oct 12, 2023

I recently had the pleasure of chatting with emotion and empathy expert, Karla McLaren, about her new book, The Language of Emotions. In it, she shares a powerful definition of emotion from sociologist Dr. Arlie Hochschild

“Emotion, I suggest, is a biologically given sense, and our most important one. Like other senses - hearing, touch, and smell - it is a means by which we know our relation to the world, and is therefore crucial to the survival of human beings in group life. Emotion is unique among the senses, however, because it is related not only to an orientation toward action, but also to an orientation toward cognition.”

What changes when you think of your emotions as a ‘sense’ rather than as a problem to be fixed? In the same way that we use our eyes, ears and fingers to take in information, we use our emotions to do the same.

In order to fully access this sense, this tool of cognition, we must learn to soften in the presence of big emotion. For most of us, our innate response is to contract; to pull away from any emotion that feels too big, too loud, painful, messy or ugly - but the wisdom lies in softening.

In this episode of The Mindful Minute, we talk about

Big emotions and the feeling of trying to contain it rather than let it flow
Emotions and the element of water
Softening the edges of the body
Otter dreams and walking through the gift shop with kids ;-)

At the end, we practice softening the edges with a 20-minute guided meditation. Join me!

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Grief & Anxiety {part 1} Oct 05, 2023

I have noticed the prevalence of two difficult emotions both in my own life as well as in my conversations with others - grief & anxiety. Difficult emotions to be sure. Over the next four episodes, I want to explore working with difficult emotions in our meditation practice.

It can appear, at least on the surface, that there is no place for big emotion within our meditation practice - as if, somehow, meditation precludes us from experiencing heartbreak, fear or anger. This couldn’t be further from the truth. What meditation offers us isn’t exemption from emotion but rather comfort and trust in the wisdom of our emotions.

Almost always amidst big emotion we are having a dual experience. We are

Experiencing our feelings in the moment.

Experiencing the thoughts, stories and beliefs we are having about our feelings.

One is real; the other is very often untrue. Can you guess which?

Join me for today’s episode of The Mindful Minute as we talk about

What is real and what is untrue

The forethought of grief

Why there is always a place for your emotions, no matter how big, in meditation

At the end, as always, we will share in a 20-minute guided meditation.

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The Luminous Self with Tracee Stanley Sep 28, 2023

"What if your discomfort was a portal to a rebirth, a remembering, an attunement to your true Self?" - Tracee Stanley

Tracee Stanley is the founder of Empowered Life Circle, a sacred community and portal of practices, rituals, and Tantric teachings inspired by more than 20 years of study in Sri Vidya Tantra and the teachings of the Himalayan Masters. As a post-lineage teacher, Tracee is devoted to sharing the wisdom of yoga nidra, rest, meditation, self-inquiry, nature as a teacher, and ancestor reverence. Tracee is gifted in illuminating the magic and power found in liminal space and weaving devotion and practice into daily life.

Today, Tracee joins The Mindful Minute to talk about her new book, The Luminous Self, and share some of the profound practices included within.

The Luminous Self is a book that answers the questions on how to inquire into our suffering and past conditioning, empowering ourselves to turn towards truth and power. It begins with the essential question : Who am I?

This new book offers practices, rituals, yoga nidra, and self-inquiry to reveal inner wisdom, and inspire us to rest in a place of remembered wholeness and wellness. Tracee shares the practices that have been most potent and transformative in her life, and gives suggestions for how to offer these practices in community.

In this conversation, we talk about so many incredible practices, ideas and insights. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

You can save 30% on all pre-orders of The Luminous Self when you preorder at Shambhala.com with the code LUM30

Learn more about Tracee by visiting traceestanley.com

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Birds, Books & Awe {part 3} Sep 21, 2023

In this series, I named three things that regularly inspire awe for me -

Birds

Books

Meditation

All 3 regularly stop me in my tracks, and they make my jaw drop. They make me smile, wonder, and listen. They weave their way into my conversations and my dreams. In short, they inspire awe within me.

“Awe experiences are what psychologists call self-transcendent: they shift our attention away from ourselves, make us feel like we are part of something greater than ourselves, change our perception of time, and even make us more generous toward others.” - templeton.org

Dacher Keltner - one of the foremost awe researchers - has written about taking ‘awe-walks’. Nature is an easy place to find awe, and he encourages us to go out with the intention of seeking awe. I’ve found that the more I do this, the more easily I experience it.

We can also do this in our meditation practice. We can go on an awe-walk through our minds and our hearts. We sit with the intention of being awed by our own minds, or our own internal knowing.

We sit with the intention of meandering through the caverns of our mind and the lake of our heart. We don’t rush, we don’t brush things off, or ignore them.

We taste. We savor. We experience.

There is a reason that all the Sages spoke of our inner being as a universe - one with mountains and lakes, rivers and valleys - it is because they could see that the awe we experience out in the world is the SAME experience we can have within ourselves.

Now it is our turn.

Join me for today’s talk and guided meditation practice.

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Birds, Books, & Awe {part 2: Books} Sep 14, 2023

I adore a good book, and I’ve noticed that often I feel a sense of energy or connection between what I’m reading and my meditation practice. Sometimes it inspires a question, a curiosity or even just a feeling.

It isn’t something that can easily be named or explained, which is exactly what this series is about… The unknown, the mystery, the awe of an experience.

In meditation, often we want to discuss what happens. We try to explain. But so often it feels incomplete, doesn’t it? You can’t capture the depth, the richness, the aliveness through a word that is in itself limiting.

Our practice, like ourselves, is boundless. Limits are useless here. And often so is language.

Books have their place. They point us to something.

But experience is the only path forward… The only knowing.

In this class, we explore books, language, signs and symbols as a way to relate to our practice and to accept its ambiguity. Join me for a brief discussion and 20-minute guided meditation.

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Birds, Books & Awe {part 1: Birds} Sep 07, 2023

This year, I have fallen in love with birds. I know, I know - it's an odd entry to a meditation class, but stay with me -

We added a few bird feeders and a bird bath to our backyard garden at the start of the year, and the bird population has absolutely exploded. And, since I sit outside to meditate everyday, I have a front row seat to the show.

At first, I found the constant birdsong a distraction to my practice, but I QUICKLY found that it became a soundtrack of upliftment and positive feelings. It is only natural then that I began to ask.. Why?

Here is where it gets interesting - much like with any aspect of nature, while science can show that it DOES have a positive impact on physical and emotional health, it struggles to show WHY…

And so I started to ask myself, could the feeling alone be enough?

Could my own internal experience be enough?

This appreciation of birds - would it change if I could identify every bird I see?

Do I need to know in order to appreciate it?

We are so cultured by technology to pull out a phone and identify, to Google, to search, to name the thing.

When in fact, I believe our meditation practice is inviting us to step away from that pressing need to know and master everything we encounter.

We aren’t here to know nature.

We are nature. We are here to experience it.

Join me for today’s short talk and guided meditation practice dedicated to the unknown, the ambiguous, and the uncertain.

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The Language of Emotions with Karla McLaren Aug 31, 2023

What if emotions weren't a problem? What if you didn’t need to fix or change your emotions? What if they were actually not only helpful but vital to our survival?

Today, I am delighted to share a conversation with author and researcher Karla McLaren. M.Ed.

Karla is an emotions and empathy expert, and she's recently revised and updated one of her books, The Language of Emotions. In this conversation, Karla and I talk about

Emotions as a sense rather than a problem
Anxiety, panic and how to work with them
Boundaries
The danger of spiritual bypassing in yoga & meditation communities
Why judgment isn’t a bad thing
Children and big emotions
4 keys to emotional genius

This conversation is rich with helpful tools for embodying and embracing our emotional life. Be sure to listen all the way to the end - Karla shares a practice that is simple and powerfully effective for identifying and establishing boundaries and space.

You can learn more about Karla at https://karlamclaren.com/ and https://empathyacademy.org/

And here is the free emotion chart for kids that Karla mentions: https://karlamclaren.com/free-emotions-charts-for-kids/

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Resilience & Reciprocity for Self Aug 24, 2023

It is an unbelievably beautiful gift to be alive and awake. The world will break our hearts both through its cruelty and its beauty. Our job is not to fix that paradox, but to learn how to live within it with resiliency and reciprocity.

We grieve, we give thanks, and we act in some personal way in response to the gift of being alive.

This last class in the Resilience & Reciprocity series will ask us to shift from an independent to an intra-dependent point of view of ourselves, others, and the natural world. All 3 ask for our grief, our gratitude and our reciprocal action. And, all 3 are uplifted and clarified through our meditation practice.

Emergence Labs writes of intra-dependency -

Intra-dependency on the other hand signifies how something is the outcome of another thing. One thing is “of” another. {...} The ‘whole’ is making us (even as we can identify ourselves as separate).

The whole is making us. We cannot meditate solely for our own betterment. We cannot meditate solely for others. Or for the natural world. Because, as much as we view these as separate realms, they are threads of a whole.

So, our meditation practice isn’t only for sacred halls and silent incense-filled air. It is also for dogs barking and children crying and the many experiences that make up a life. In short, meditation practice is for you.

Join me for today’s discussion on the Self, intra-dependency, and a 20-minute guided meditation.

Sign upfor my newsletter athttp://eepurl.com/dBYEULto receive free mini meditations each month, creative musings, and more.

Make a donation or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visiting merylarnett.com.

IG: @merylarnett

Resilience & Reciprocity for Others Aug 17, 2023

Do you know the refrain in Amazing Grace?

Amazing grace how sweet the sound

That saved a wretch like me

I once was lost, but now I'm found

Was blind but now I see

This refrain has been running through my head as I created this month’s meditation series - “but now I see.”

Last week, we talked about really ‘seeing’ the earth, and today, we will talk about really ‘seeing’ others, people that are different from ourselves in some way. One of the premises in this series is that comfort equals loneliness.

If everyone around me looks like me and thinks like me, well that might feel pretty easy at first. I don’t have to stretch too hard to make anyone feel included. I don’t have to worry that my needs will be overlooked. I don’t have to risk discomfort in conversation, in activity, in food, in anything… But, the more I close off to anyone different, the scarier it is “out there”; the smaller my world becomes “in here”; and suddenly, I am very, very alone.

So, let’s remove the blinders as a pathway to healing and wholeness. Let’s explore how meditation strengthens our capacity to see others, to see ourselves, and to see a path forward that is rich in connection and reciprocity.

Join me.

Sign upfor my newsletter athttp://eepurl.com/dBYEULto receive free mini meditations each month, creative musings, and more.

Make a donation or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visiting merylarnett.com.

IG: @merylarnett

Resilience & Reciprocity for the Earth Aug 10, 2023

In this mindfulness series, we are exploring resilience & reciprocity as skills we build when we bring mindfulness to our relationships with the earth, with others, and with ourselves. In today’s class, we bring the lens of mindfulness to our fractured relationship with nature.

Diagnosis like plant blindness and nature deficit disorder, not to mention climate crisis, highlight how removed we are from nature. At the same time, there are writers, poets, artists, and scientists all screaming for us to go outside, to remember ourselves in nature. Yet, for the most part, we don’t.

We don’t go outside because we are busy, because we don’t know where to go, or because we don’t like being hot, or cold, or the bugs. We don’t go outside because our culture has taught us to value comfort over all else. We don’t go outside because we might be uncomfortable.

In the Apache language, the root of the word for land is the same root as the word for mind… an interesting parallel, isn’t it?

We don’t like to be uncomfortable - with our thoughts or with the weather.

However, what we see over and over again through lived experience is that discomfort allows us to tap into and appreciate joy so much more than staying sheltered, closed off, and “comfortable”.

Join me for today’s episode of The Mindful Minute as we revive our connection to nature through resilience and reciprocity.

Sign upfor my newsletter at http://eepurl.com/dBYEUL to receive free mini meditations each month, creative musings, and more.

Make a donation or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visitingmerylarnett.com.

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Resilience, Reciprocity & Removing the Blinders Aug 03, 2023

Hello dear ones.

Today, we step into a new series that stems from some of my recent reading. Every spring, I re-read "Braiding Sweetgrass" by Robin Wall Kimmerer, and I also just read a new book from the Foxfire organization titled "The Foxfire Book of Appalachian Women".

While these books are about different peoples, different times, and different landscapes, I see so many threads of similarity carried between the narratives -

Threads of hardship, hard work & happiness.

Threads of lack and abundance.

Threads of fear and grief for a changing landscape.

In this new meditation series, I want to follow a few of these threads through our lived experiences, and the ways they show up and can be worked with on the meditation cushion.

If I had to choose one word synopses for these two books, I would choose:

Resilience & Reciprocity

So, we will begin our series here. Join me as we journey through the plant world, the peopled world, and the inner world of the Self. We will talk, we will meditate, and we will connect. Don’t miss it!

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Make a donation or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visitingmerylarnett.com.

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Sacred Female Archetypes: A Conversation with Mara Branscombe Jul 27, 2023

Are you a Sage? A Huntress? A Lover? A Queen?

The answer is yes to all of the above, and author Mara Branscombe joins us in today’s episode to explain why with her new book: Sage, Huntress, Lover, Queen.

Mara Branscombe is a mother, writer, yogi, artist, teacher, mindfulness leader, ceremonialist and spiritual coach. Mara is passionate about weaving the art of mindfulness, self-care, creativity, mind–body practices, and earth-based rituals into her life and work, and she has been leading community ceremony since 2000.

This is her second visit to The Mindful Minute, and this conversation does not disappoint! Mara and I chat about:

Archetypes: what they are and why they matter
The light and the shadow of our inner experience
The creative process and the wisdom hidden in creative acts
Simple sacred practices to embody each of these archetypes
The archetypes we are resonating with most right now

And, Mara shares a short visioning practice to embody our inner Huntress, embracing authenticity and activating creativity.

You can learn more about Mara and buy her new book here: https://www.femininearchetypesbook.com/

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Make a donation or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visiting merylarnett.com.

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Meditation As A Band-Aid Jul 20, 2023

This meditation class was recorded in the aftermath of a mass shooting in my hometown of Atlanta, GA and after a day of supporting a friend through a mental health crisis.

I like to think of meditation as a lifestyle; when we treat this practice as a rich and full aspect of daily lives it quickly begins to offer the benefits that are so lauded when one reads about the practice of meditation. However, there are also times when meditation can serve as a band-aid. It can be an SOS practice that immediately helps to calm your nervous system and to settle you back into your body after a stressful situation.

In this class, we explore three quick and simple practices that you can do when you are feeling high levels of stress, fear and anxiety. Each of these practices can be done on their own in less than 30-seconds, and each practice has measurable, positive impacts on your nervous system.

Join me for today’s talk and 15-minute guided meditation practice on The Mindful Minute podcast.

As always, this class assumes that you are currently safe and have all your basic needs met. If you are experiencing extended periods of duress, please consult a mental health professional to support your wellness.

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Make a donation or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visitingmerylarnett.com.

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Magic, Manifestation & Contradiction with Sara Rae Hoaglund Jul 13, 2023

Let me tell you a little secret… I dislike the word manifestation so much. It isn’t because I don’t believe that manifestation is possible, but it is because I find far too often it is over simplified and used as an easy excuse to side-step doing deep work.

So, when I met Sara Rae Hoaglund and heard her talk about the contradictions, the work and the mindfulness that is required for manifestation, I knew she was the person to bring this discussion to The Mindful Minute.

In this episode, Sara Rae and I chat about:

What manifestation is and is not
Working with your energetic blueprint
Shadow work
The law of attraction, the law of detachment, and the hidden contradiction therein
How mindfulness and manifestation support each other
The difference between goal-setting and manifestation
What happens when you work with a manifestation coach

At the end, Sara Rae guides a short cleansing ritual that you can use as often as you need while setting your own manifestation intentions.

Learn more about Sara Rae, her work and her podcast by visiting: https://www.spirituallyinspired.co/

Sign upfor my newsletter at http://eepurl.com/dBYEULto receive free mini meditations each month, creative musings, and more.

Make a donation or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visiting merylarnett.com.

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Reverse Meditation with Andrew Holecek Jul 06, 2023

Whew y’all. Are you ready to go deep today? Like really deep? Because today, we are jumping into the deep end with Buddhist meditation teacher Andrew Holecek.

Andrew is a teacher and author on meditation, lucid dreaming, non-dualism, and preparing

to die from a buddhist perspective. And today we are talking about his new book, Reverse Meditation, how to use your pain and most difficult emotions as the doorway to inner freedom.

This is a rich conversation, particularly for those of you wanting to go deeper in your meditation practice. Andrew talks us through 3 stages of meditation practice and expounds on the how and the why of working with our discomfort, uncertainty, and pain.

Andrew also answers a profound question that comes up so often: Meditation practitioners frequently comment that they feel MORE. They feel their own feelings and the feelings of the world so much more. And the inevitable next question is, “but what do I do with all these feelings?! How do I handle feeling so much more?”

Well, friends, Andrew is about to answer that question for us. So, without further ado, let’s jump into today’s conversation on The Mindful Minute podcast.

Sign upfor my newsletter at http://eepurl.com/dBYEULto receive free meditations each month, creative musings, and more.

Make a donation or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visiting merylarnett.com.

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Mindful Style: A Conversation with Lillian Charles Jun 29, 2023

I have wanted to bring this conversation to The Mindful Minute podcast for a long time now, and today I am delighted to share a conversation with Lillian Charles about our clothes, our bodies, and our mindfulness practice.

Lillian created STYLE THERAPY in 2011 as a way to help women remove mental, emotional and physical barriers to living fully expressed lives. She combines traditional Personal Styling with Energy Healing, Intuitive Consulting and scientifically backed Life Coaching methods such as EFT, TIME techniques and neurolinguistic programming to achieve optimal results with each client.

Lillian has served as a three term lululemon ambassador, has been named one of Atlanta's top wellness influencers and thought leaders by the City of Atlanta, was dubbed one of Atlanta's 2021 Wonder Women by Best Self Magazine and the number one wardrobe specialist by Atlanta Magazine two years in a row. She works virtually with women around the globe and celebrated the ten year anniversary of Style Therapy in 2021. You can find her on 15+ podcast interviews on Spotify.

One of the original teachings of mindful living is in regards to the clothes you wear. It isn’t about the type of clothes, the cost or the level of ‘cool’ - it is about how you FEEL. Lillian, a graduate of my meditation teacher training, talks to us about:

The energetics of style
How she weaves mindfulness into her clothes and her relationship with her clients
Vision boarding
Prepping for date night
Why she choose meditation teacher training even though she didn’t plan to teach meditation

And so much more!

You can learn more about Lillian by visiting lilliancharles.com

instagram: @lilliangraycharles

And, you can learn more about this year’s meditation teacher training at: https://www.merylarnett.com/awakened-heart-meditation-teacher-training

We begin August 16, 2023!

Sign upfor my newsletter athttp://eepurl.com/dBYEULto receive free mini meditations each month, creative musings, and more.

Make a donation or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visiting merylarnett.com.

IG: @merylarnett

Mindfulness & Therapy: An Interview with Robyn Minefee Jun 22, 2023

Combining meditation and the work you do with a therapist can significantly improve your mental health. Today, I am sharing a conversation with one of my meditation teacher training graduates, Robyn Minefee, who combines meditation teaching and her work as a licensed counselor.

Robyn Minefee is a licensed professional counselor and yoga instructor in the state of Georgia. In her virtual private practice she considers herself a holistic practitioner meaning she utilizes movement as a big part of therapy - which can include physical movement or moving energy in your body with breath work. She is a registered yoga instructor, certified in EMDR, and Hypnotherapy, as well as a Reiki practitioner. Robyn identifies her greatest achievements as her two adult children, being a grandmother (soon to be of two), and her four legged fur baby named Zen.

Together we talk about:

Meditation and Therapy: How Robyn brings meditation to her private clients
Robyn’s biggest hesitation when signing up for meditation teacher training
Nature! Why we love it, how it impacts our mental health, and how to do a walking meditation
How to stock your mental health cabinet

You can learn more about Robyn’s work as a counselor and a coach by visiting: https://www.mindandbodytherapyga.com

IG: @mindandbodytherapyga

TikTok: @mindandbodytherapyga

And, you can learn more about this year’s meditation teacher training at: https://www.merylarnett.com/awakened-heart-meditation-teacher-training

We begin August 16, 2023!

Sign upfor my newsletter athttp://eepurl.com/dBYEULto receive free mini meditations each month, creative musings, and more.

Make a donation or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visiting merylarnett.com.

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Behind the Scenes: Meditation Teacher Training with Johanna Olivas Jun 15, 2023

I have been leading meditation teacher trainings since 2017, and as I launch my 2023 training, I thought it would be fun to share a few conversations with graduates about their experiences in MTT.

Today, I am delighted to share a behind the scenes chat with a former student, Johanna Olivas. Johanna is a registered yoga teacher, Reiki master, sound healing practitioner, and since 2022, a certified meditation teacher.

In this episode, we talk about:

Confidence and connection: teaching that first meditation
Expanding creative skills
Discovering authenticity in voice and in space holding
The secret sauce of journaling

Tune into The Mindful Minute today to hear about Johanna’s experience with meditation teacher training, and how she is using this knowledge in her business today.

To learn more about my 2023 Awakened Heart Meditation Teacher Training, please visit: https://www.merylarnett.com/awakened-heart-meditation-teacher-training

We begin August 16!

To learn more about Johanna, please visit https://www.lunaserenity.com/

Sign upfor my newsletter athttp://eepurl.com/dBYEULto receive free mini meditations each month, creative musings, and more.

Make a donation or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visiting merylarnett.com.

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Meet Meryl {Spiritually Inspired Interview} Jun 08, 2023

I have something a bit different for you today! I was recently interviewed by Sara Rae Hoaglund for her podcast, Spiritually Inspired.

I thought you guys might enjoy hearing a bit about my early experiences with meditation, how I defined meditation, and how to deepen your meditation practice when you are ready for more than just 10-minutes a day!

This conversation was such a blast. Be sure to check out Sara Rae’s other interviews on Spiritually Inspired and be on the lookout for her interview on The Mindful Minute next month when we talk all about… MANIFESTING.

You can find this interview and so much more on Sara Rae’s website: https://www.spirituallyinspired.co/

Sign upfor my newsletter athttp://eepurl.com/dBYEULto receive free mini meditations each month, creative musings, and more.

Make a donation or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visiting merylarnett.com.

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Mindful Parenting with Sarah Ezrin Jun 01, 2023

“I have been meditating for nearly thirty years and practicing asana, the physical practice, for over twenty and I can say without a doubt that the most advanced yoga I have ever done is raising children.” - Sarah Ezrin

When I read this quote from author, yoga teacher, and mama Sarah Ezrin, I knew we would be fast friends because this has absolutely been the truth of my experience as well!

In today’s episode of The Mindful Minute, we wrap up our ‘Stress Free Summer’ series with an interview with Sarah Ezrin. Sarah has written a new book, “The Yoga of Parenting” and in it Sarah offers 34 practices to find more presence, patience and acceptance - with your child and with yourself.

Together, we share

our experiences of being yogis and meditators before children and after
What a typical practice looks like during the school year and when the kids are out for summer
Yoga poses that support our parenting
Why patience and presence feature so strongly in what we as parents need for ourselves and our kids.

There is a lot of laughter and joy in this conversation; there is a lot of recognition in each other’s stories, and I hope a lot of good takeaways to help you move through your summer with ease, with patience, and with presence.

You can learn more about Sarah at https://sarahezrinyoga.com/

And if you order Sarah’s new book, “The Yoga of Parenting” at https://www.shambhala.com/the-yoga-of-parenting.html and use code YP30 you can save 30%!

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Make a donation or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visitingmerylarnett.com.

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A Recipe for Greeting & Gratitude May 25, 2023

This meditation is both an expression of greeting and of gratitude, and it is a beautiful way to start your day.

As we share this practice, remember that the universe outside also exists inside. In so many wisdom traditions, we find writings and teachings that connect the natural world inside of us. When we greet and celebrate the components of the cosmos, we greet and celebrate the components of ourselves.

Take a seat outside or near a window if you can. Have one headphone in your ear to hear the recording and one headphone out of your ear so that you can hear the sounds of the natural world surrounding you.

Let’s begin.

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Stress-Free Summer: A Recipe for Timelessness May 18, 2023

Here in Georgia, we are stepping into the summer season. The kids will be out of school shortly, and I’m struck with the oh-so-familiar feeling (for me at least) of partial excitement -

Yay! It’s summer. No schedule. Going to the pool! Going camping! Fun

And -

Ohhhhhh it’s summer. No schedule. No routine or rhythm to anchor our days. Yikes.

I thrive on routine and while I appreciate short breaks, I am also well aware that all too quickly that freedom turns into a source of stress for me.

And so, I thought it would be valuable and fun to share a bit of a creative project I’ve been playing with this year.

As you know, I almost exclusively meditate outside. My connection to nature deepens my connection to self and stimulates my creativity. It provides a larger rhythm to my days based on when the hyacinth blooms, the hummingbirds return, and the bees swarm that one particular bush that I can never remember the name of…

In the next few podcast episodes, I am going to share a few recipes with you - recipes for connecting with nature, with time, and with self. I encourage you to go sit outside if at all possible - on a stoop, porch, park, backyard or even a parking lot staring up at the sky.

Have one headphone in and one headphone out so you can hear the sounds of the world around you. Close your eyes and together let’s tap into the rhythms of the natural world as a way to anchor, especially when our daily rhythms aren’t as steady as we would like it to be.

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Mindful Living: Trustful Surrender May 11, 2023

“We are all continually asked to learn how to ask for what we need, only to practice accepting what we’re given.” - Mark Nepo

Oh, surrender, what a complex equation you are.

So many of us understand surrender to be a passive state or an act of giving up. After all, the very definition of surrender is “to stop resisting”.

Yet, with each of these teachings that we have explored in the Mindful Living series comes a deep paradox that we are asked to embrace. Surrender is both strength and softness.

Surrender is fully letting go of the fight we constantly wage with our lives, and it is taking full responsibility for the vision we have for ourselves.

Within today’s class, we will

Tease apart the difference between letting go and giving up
Look at examples of the action of surrender
Engage with the “trustful” aspect of surrender
Discuss how the weaving together of discipline, self-study and surrender elevate the practice of meditation from a simple concentration exercise to an opportunity for spiritual awakening.

I hope you’ll join me for today’s discussion and 20-minute guided meditation.

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Mindful Living: Self-Study May 04, 2023

Recently, my four-year-old daughter asked me, “who were you before you were a mom?”

After a little conversation, I realized she was asking me - ‘what was your job before you were a mom’...

At four, she already identifies a job as who you are.

This week’s mindful living tenet is Self-Study, and this teaching also asks us “who are you?”

Who are you without a job?

Without a plan?

Without a diagnosis?

Without a gender?

Without any of your conditioning?

In this week’s episode of The Mindful Minute podcast, we talk through the practice of self-study and engaging our curiosity muscle. We explore both how this tenet was taught originally and several ways we can incorporate it into our daily lives. And, most importantly, we talk about why this is not ‘fixing’ yourself. Join me for today’s talk and guided meditation practice.

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Mindful Living: Self-Discipline Apr 27, 2023

Today’s Mindful Living tenet is self-discipline, or more literally, the fire of transformation. This teaching reminds us that meditation and mindful living is not meant to be synonymous with sunshine and rainbows or with joy 100% of the time.

Mindfulness grows from burning away non-supportive habits in order to actualize who we really are.

Self-discipline is the teaching that focuses attention so that attention becomes intention.

We can see a direct example of self-discipline in cultivating a daily meditation practice.

I’m sure you can think of a thousand other things that you could do with this time, but as meditation practitioners, we forsake some momentary pleasurable distraction because we’ve named what we are practicing for - some insight, comfort, transformation or knowing… We show up and we do the work because we know why we are practicing.

How we show up for the work also matters.

We can be half-hearted - calling it meditation but really we are taking a bath with a glass of wine.

We can be ego driven - focused on the fruits of our labor, the outcome, or the goal.

We can be balanced by bringing a sense of faith to the practice.

Faith is actually a primary ingredient in self-discipline. Faith that the work is enough. That the choices you make, the sacrifices you willingly agree to, the flames that might burn a bit as you walk through them, all of it is the path you are meant to be on. The work is enough.

It is in this way that we practice.

So that our stories and the weight of discarded emotions, thoughts and beliefs that have fallen to our forest floors don’t burn uncontrolled.

Fire at first glance can seem like a fearsome, raging inferno, when in actuality, it is lighting our path and nurturing our rejuvenation.

So let’s burn; let’s do the work.

Special thanks to today’s sponsor: Baronfig. Baronfig’s line of “Tools for Thinkers” includes guided journals, notebooks, writing instruments, bags, accessories, and so much more. As an avid journaler, I use and love their guided meditation journal, dream journal and their basic Confidant notebooks! Use code MindfulMinute through 4/27/23 to save 10% on your own order at baronfig.com.

Sign upfor my newsletter at http://eepurl.com/dBYEUL to receive free mini meditations each month, creative musings, and more.

Make a donation or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visitingmerylarnett.com.

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Mindful Living: Contentment Apr 20, 2023

“Of course we can always imagine more perfect conditions, how it should be ideally, how everyone else should behave. But it’s not our task to create an ideal. It’s our task to see how it is, and to learn from the world as it is. For the awakening of the heart, conditions are always good enough.” ~Ajahn Sumedo

“One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming about some magical rose garden over the horizon instead of enjoying the roses blooming under our window.” - Dale Carnegie

The Moment is Complete

There is no where to go and nothing get

The way isn’t difficult for those who are unattached to their preferences

Each of these quotes point towards a fundamental teaching - maybe the most taught about tenet in mindfulness and yet the hardest to grasp - Contentment.

I think of contentment as developing a profound ok-ness with my life, and yet in order to find and experience this sense of well-being, we must be willing to embrace profound paradoxes.

Contentment is not about ignoring or avoiding pain, it isn’t about glossing over or using the dread phrase, “it is what it is”... I would venture to say that contentment isn’t even about happiness.

Recently, I learned that you can almost always find the antidote to a troublesome plant growing near said troublesome plant. For example, you can almost always find jewelweed growing near poison ivy. Poison ivy will make you itch, and jewelweed sap is anti-inflammatory and anti-itch.

Contentment doesn’t mean you will never be uncomfortable; contentment is knowing the antidote is right here, in this very moment. The moment is complete.

Join me for today’s episode of The Mindful Minute as we tease apart the paradoxes within contentment and share in a 20-minute guided meditation.

Special thanks to today’s sponsor: Baronfig. Baronfig’s line of “Tools for Thinkers” includes guided journals, notebooks, writing instruments, bags, accessories, and so much more. As an avid journaler, I use and love their guided meditation journal, dream journal and their basic Confidant notebooks! Use code MindfulMinute through 4/27/23 to save 10% on your own order at baronfig.com.

Sign upfor my newsletter at http://eepurl.com/dBYEUL to receive free mini meditations each month, creative musings, and more.

Make a donation or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visitingmerylarnett.com.

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Mindful Living: Declutter Yourself Apr 13, 2023

In the last five episodes, I’ve shared the ethical teachings of meditation. Traditionally, after learning these ethical teachings, often taught as ‘restraints’, we would then learn five more teachings known as ‘observances’.

These next five teachings, known in Sanskrit as Niyamas, are principles that we observe within ourselves to develop a mindful way of moving through the world. These are in essence the guidance to Mindful Living.

We start with one that feels very tricky to me… it is most often translated as purity.

Personally, I have a very strong aversion to the word purity. I feel like all manner of dangerous judgments, othering, and oppression happens under the guise of purity. I also believe that it is far too easy to become extreme in our quest to become ‘pure’ (especially in the spiritual world) which hinders rather than helps us.

However, when we dive into the teachings of this tenet, what we learn is that this teaching is about connecting to and enlivening our energy levels, and we do this by decluttering our minds, bodies, and physical spaces.

So, let’s tap into our inner Marie Kondo and explore joy, energy and the mindfulness of decluttering. Ready?

Special thanks to today’s sponsor: Baronfig. Baronfig’s line of “Tools for Thinkers” includes guided journals, notebooks, writing instruments, bags, accessories, and so much more. As an avid journaler, I use and love their guided meditation journal, dream journal and their basic Confidant notebooks! Use code MindfulMinute through 4/27/23 to save 10% on your own order at baronfig.com.

Sign upfor my newsletter at http://eepurl.com/dBYEUL to receive free mini meditations each month, creative musings, and more.

Make a donation or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visitingmerylarnett.com.

IG: @merylarnett

#meditatewithmeryl

Nature, Culture & The Sacred: An Interview with Nina Simons Apr 06, 2023

When someone says to me, “would you like to have a conversation about nature, culture and the sacred?” - the answer is always YES, which is how this interview came to be.

Today, I get to share a conversation with the dynamic author, leader and organizer, Nina Simons.

Nina is the Co-founder and Chief Relationship Officer at Bioneers. Throughout her career spanning the nonprofit, social entrepreneurship, corporate, and philanthropic sectors, Nina has worked with nearly a thousand diverse women leaders across disciplines, race, class, age and orientation to create conditions for mutual learning, trust and leadership development.

She authored Nature, Culture, and the Sacred: A Woman Listens for Leadership—which was released as a second edition in June 2022 with an accompanying discussion guide and embodied practices. The first edition won Gold Nautilus awards in the categories of women, intersectionality and social justice. Both books are being used to inspire and ignite learning in individuals, circles and classrooms.

In this conversation, we talk about

Meditation as the subtlest form of self-love
Archetypal feminine vs gendered feminine and why this is what is missing from our world
The intertwining of the sacred and activism
Generational trauma
The overlapping crisis of our time - indigenous issues, racial equity, gender balance and the environmental crisis

Nina also references a documentary, The Burning Times, that changed the trajectory of her life. You can watch The Burning Times here: https://youtu.be/34ow_kNnoro

Learn more about Nina and her work here: https://www.ninasimons.com/

Learn more about Bioneers here:https://bioneers.org/

Special thanks to today’s sponsor: Baronfig - Baronfig’s line of “Tools for Thinkers” includes guided journals, notebooks, writing instruments, bags, accessories, and so much more. As an avid journaler, I am obsessed with their guided meditation journal, dream journal and their basic Confidant notebooks! Get one for yourself at baronfig.com and use code MindfulMinute to save 10% on your order by April 27. Trust me, it’s worth it!

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Make a donation or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visitingmerylarnett.com.

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The Ethics of Meditation: Non-Possessiveness Mar 30, 2023

“Behind violence, dishonesty, stealing & indulgence lies one clear objective: gaining greater control over the objects of our desire and eliminating those with the potential to stand in our way. This phenomenon can be described in one word: possessiveness. We want to have enough to fulfill our desires and our desire knows no limit.” - Pandit Rajmani Tigunait

The final teaching in our ethics series is the tenet of non-possessiveness - also referred to as non-attachment or non-clinging in many teachings. This tenet is all about uncovering our desires so that our desires don’t become obsessions and our obsessions don’t possess us.

Desires usually fall into one of 3 categories:

Family
Material wealth
Power & fame

Left unchecked, our desires keep us stuck. We can’t see other options, we can’t try something new, and we can’t enjoy life because we are too busy obsessing over what we can’t have or didn’t get. And these obsessions lead us to violate the previous ethical teachings of violence, truthfulness, non-stealing and non-excess.

Within our meditation practice, we can see our obsessive thoughts and desires, and we learn to cultivate the opposite thoughts. We name what we already have, what we love or enjoy. We say thank you. In short, the antidote to possessiveness is gratitude.

Join me for today’s final installment of the Ethics of Meditation - we will discuss non-possessiveness and share in a 20-minute guided meditation.

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The Ethics of Meditation: Non-Excess Mar 23, 2023

This is a big one, y’all. Non-excess is likely the ethical tenet that I teach most often {even if I don’t specifically say ‘non-excess’}...

Often this teaching gets translated as abstinence or celibacy, and in certain monastic orders, it is indeed practiced in this way. Yet, when we look at the original teachings of this tenet, we discover non-excess is about establishing vitality and balancing the mind, body and energy.

Author Deborah Adele translates the teachings of non-excess as meaning ‘to walk with god’ - to experience the sacred in the everyday. And, we quickly see that we cannot experience sanctity or vitality if we are overwhelmed in excess.

Excess can show up in our food, our work, our entertainment, our possessions, even our spirituality.

We are a people of excess. For many of us, we can get almost anything, usually delivered to our door the next day. And in many countries, we can throw it in a trash can and pay to have it picked up and dumped somewhere we are likely never to see or acknowledge because if we did, we would be horrified.

The teaching of non-excess asks us to move slowly and employ restraint.

Admire the sunrise, the sunset, the stars, the moon, the clouds and the birds.

Take the time to eat food that is beautiful and nourishing, and to stop when you are just full enough.

Put your phone down. Step away from technology. Go to bed early and get up early too.

The deeper we go, the more we begin to understand non-excess as the ultimate pleasure principle. Being alive is not a mistake. We are alive, and we are meant to be awake for it, to enjoy it, and celebrate it.

The key is that it isn't a bacchanalian free for all. Vitality and sanctity are brought forth through restraint, through limiting our excessive ways.

Join me for today’s episode of The Mindful Minute as we tease out the nuances of non-excess and share in a 20-minute guided meditation.

Thank you to our sponsor, Bioneers. Be sure to check them out at conference.bioneers.org and use code NCS20 to save 20% on tickets to their upcoming 34th annual conference.

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The Ethics of Meditation: Non-Stealing Mar 16, 2023

The ethical tenet of non-stealing goes so much further than simply avoiding the physical act of theft. It prompts us to move fully into living a life of integrity and reciprocity.

In this episode of The Mindful Minute, we delve into the myriad of ways we have absorbed the habit of stealing. We will reflect on how we steal from

Others
The Earth
The Future
Ourselves

The primary invitation of non-stealing is to shift our focus from others to ourselves. What an odd sentence to write... no, I didn't make a mistake. I really mean this - the invitation is to turn our attention towards ourselves and our actions. I love this focus because it is so counterintuitive to what we are taught to believe at a young age.

We are taught to put others first {but be the best}; stop focusing on yourself {but make sure you fit in}; don’t be selfish {but you can and should have it all}…

As we explore the teachings of non-stealing, we see how these early implicit teachings trap us in a cycle of never enough; always chasing after what others have, and living in fear of what we don’t have and can’t get.

Fear begets violence, and spoiler alert, we find ourselves lost in a world being destroyed by violence - to ourselves, to each other and to the earth.

When we remember to honor ourselves within these ethical teachings, we live full, rich lives with integrity and reciprocity.

Join me for today’s class as we explore the tenet of non-stealing and share in a 20-minute guided meditation.

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The Ethics of Meditation: Truthfulness Mar 09, 2023

Carl Jung once wrote -

“A lie would make no sense unless the truth was felt to be dangerous.”

Within the traditions of meditation, there are five ethical teachings taught to all initiates as they begin their contemplative path. The first teaching {see the previous episode} is the tenet of non-violence, and we learned that violence is always accompanied by fear.

The second tenet is truthfulness, and as Jung reminds us, the truth is often felt to be very scary. So the practice of truthfulness must be accompanied by the practice of non-violence.

In today’s episode, we explore truthfulness by looking at:

The little white lies that feel “nice” rather than real.
How a sense of “should” and “should not” impacts our self-expression
What happens when we grow past the inherent boundaries of our groups

In many ways, I find that meditation is an exercise in learning to tolerate the truth of ourselves.

This is why for many, meditation can be DEEPLY uncomfortable at first. We get still and quiet; we hear our actual thoughts; and we feel the truth of our feelings. Insights we might work quite hard to ignore most of the time are now loud and insistent.

The truth is not easy, and yet, it is wildly and vibrantly good for how you feel and engage with your day-to-day life.

Join me for today’s episode of The Mindful Minute as we embark on a discussion of truth and share in a guided, 20-minute meditation.

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The Ethics of Meditation: Non-Violence Mar 02, 2023

With this episode, we begin a new journey together. We will spend the next 5 weeks exploring the Ethics of Meditation.

I find it profoundly poignant that the ethical foundation of meditation is always taught first in Eastern practices and yet is so often saved for 'later' in Western teachings. I confess that I usually assume the ethical teachings are inherent within the practice and have not explicitly taught them in a class setting. Until now.

This is a mistake on my part, and one I look forward to rectifying immediately! My hope is that this will be an insightful series that prompts reflection and curiosity about how these ethical teachings play out in your own life.

The very first ethical foundation is non-violence.

I believe there is no more immediate crisis in our lives than the crisis of violence. It is one that requires our unwavering attention and intention.

As author Deborah Adele writes, “Non-violence asks us to step lightly, do no harm, and honor the relationship we have with the earth, with each other, and with ourselves.”

The teachings of non-violence might seem easily understood on the surface but the subtle implications only continue to deepen as your meditation practice progresses.

Join me for today’s episode of The Mindful Minute as we explore the tenet of non-violence and share in a 20-minute guided meditation.

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Working with Dreams; An Interview with Chanti Tacoronte Perez Feb 23, 2023

Over the last several years, Chanti Tacoronte Perez has taught me so much about exploring and relating to my dreams, and today, I get to share a conversation with Chanti all about dreams, the dark and the wisdom waiting for us there.

Chanti is a Cuban-American creatrix, ritualist, and author; and she believes that images speak a profound language. Her life’s work is as a translator of the unseen and advocate for the imaginal. She holds a Masters in Engaged Humanities, a Masters in Depth Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute, and Chanti is currently working on her doctoral dissertation in Jungian Depth Psychology and Archetypal Studies program at the same institution. Her passion is to inspire you to rediscover your creative self by weaving the blessings with the wounds while honoring the land and the ancestors.

In this episode, Chanti and I talk about:

The difference between a symbol & a sign
What it means to dream journal
What to do if you don’t remember your dreams
How to work with your dreams
And, why you should throw out your dream interpretation books!

This conversation is nowhere near comprehensive, but my hope is that it sparks a bit of curiosity and a willingness to start exploring your own dreams. Then you can join one of Chanti’s dream retreats; you’ll probably see me there!

Download Chanti’s guide to dream journaling here: http://bit.ly/3IoXRt4

Learn more about Chanti & her offerings here: https://www.yantrawisdom.com/

Be sure to check out my newest offering: Elemental Awakening Retreat Series. Registration for this intimate, online gathering is now open and registration is limited to 20 students. Learn more here: https://www.merylarnett.com/elemental-awakening

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The Dark Side of Meditation {part 3} Feb 16, 2023

To go in the dark with a light is to know the light.

To know the dark, go dark. Go without sight,

and find that the dark, too, blooms and sings,

and is traveled by dark feet and dark wings.

~Wendell Berry

I have a question for you -

Do you equate peace with effort? Does it feel as though you must work to attain peacefulness?

I think for many of us, it does feel this way - as though we are trying to get somewhere or attain something within this practice.

The idea of enlightenment can easily feel as ‘trying to attain’ if we aren’t mindful. Let’s look at the story of the Buddha as an example - he tried EVERYTHING… All the practices, the harshest asceticism, but ultimately, what is it that worked?

He sat all night under the Bodhi tree - open and receptive to all that Mara, the personification of temptation and distraction, threw at him.

He didn’t attain anything; he remembered.

I wonder what this does for you when you think about your practice being as simple as remembering who you really are and what you really already know.

Does it invite you to lie back? To soften some? To simply linger, waiting, watching?

In the last 3 episodes, we have been exploring endarkenment - the opposite, necessary component of meditative practice to balance enlightenment. The qualities we’ve explored to know the dark are:

Embodiment
Fierce compassion {as bravery, empowerment, clarity, authenticity, balance, fulfillment, wisdom or vision}
And lastly: Receptivity

We wait. We listen. We receive.

Don’t chase the light. Remember you ARE the light.

Join me for this final episode in our Endarkenment series as we discuss receptivity and share a 20-minute guided meditation practice.

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The Dark Side of Meditation {part 2} Feb 09, 2023

In this meditation series, we are exploring the Dark. Winter is, by its very nature, the darkest time of the year, and our meditation practice, so often taught as an opportunity to chase enlightenment, can also be an invitation to linger in and celebrate endarkenment (as Deborah Eden Tull has phrased it).

The dark so often is associated with something scary, and yet it is really simply something quiet.

The quiet is only scary when you think you might hear something you don’t want to hear.

Stillness is uncomfortable because you might have to feel something you’ve been trying to ignore.

I’ve come to think that meditation is only perceived as difficult because we are so hellbent on chasing the light. The moment we let go of that control, the moment we open up to the mysterious darkness is the moment our practice becomes easeful.

The dark is not logical, linear or binary. It is all things messy, chaotic and unknown. The dark says courage, dear one. Trust your senses. Listen. Feel. And as we decide to linger in the darkness without rushing to turn on a light, we must be fiercely compassionate.

This is not easy. There is a reason the winter months are difficult for many of us. A reason that SAD exists. Light is much needed for our survival, AND, we all know there can be too much of a good thing.

Join me for today’s episode of The Mindful Minute as we explore how chasing the light shows up in our meditation practice {and in life!}, and what it means to be fiercely compassionate in the dark.

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The Dark Side of Meditation {part 1} Feb 02, 2023

I love the winter. I find a surprising sense of energy and creative spark that comes with the darkest, coldest months. The cold makes me feel alive; soups and stews, fires in the fireplace, and rich oils for skin make me feel nourished and cared for; and the dark… well, the dark is where I feel most awake.

I don’t mean that I'm a night owl… quite the opposite actually. I'm an in-bed-at-9-and-up-at-5 kinda gal. But those quiet, dark hours - when I’m in the liminal space of physical wakefulness and subconscious wakefulness… Those hours are my most insightful.

This meditation series, The Dark Side of Meditation, is a nod to meditation teacher Deborah Eden Tull and her book, Luminous Darkness. Her teachings and my own experience have guided me to pay deeper attention to the dark; and so, we will use some of our winter months to stop chasing the light and learn how to savor the dark.

Did you know that humans lived on earth for more than 600,000 years BEFORE learning how to kindle a fire? That is 600,000 of living in the rhythm of daylight and darkness; of living in rhythm with the seasonal changes in light. Living in rhythm is a practice of being embodied.

When we think about sinking into the rhythm of the seasons and this darker time of year, it is about inviting ourselves deeper into our own bodies.

And, meditation my friends, meditation is a practice of embodiment.

Darkness has been a crucial teaching in so many spiritual and awakening traditions - Taoism, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Aboriginal and Indigenous traditions - and yet, culture today places so much emphasis on light, on progress, on achievement, and on growth. It is all about ‘enlightenment’.

On the flip side, darkness is associated with scariness, with the unknown, with spiderwebs and skeletons. Don’t go into that dark closet without a flashlight! Turn on the lights so you can look under the bed, but the problem is if you keep turning on a light, your eyes never adjust to the dark.

This time of year asks us to be patient enough, brave enough, to linger in the dark. Join me for today’s episode of The Mindful Minute podcast as we explore endarkenment rather than enlightenment.

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Fully Present with Diana Winston Jan 20, 2023

Friends, today I get to share a conversation with one of my personal favorite meditation teachers, Diana Winston! Diana is the Director of Mindfulness Education at UCLA, the author of several incredible books about meditation and a former Buddhist nun.

Together, we talk about the second edition release of her book, Fully Present, as well as my personal favorite book, The Little Book of Being.

Diana shares some insights on how the field of mindfulness meditation has evolved over the last ten years. In this episode, we talk about

The ethics missing from most meditation teachings
The science of kindness {hint: meditators are kinder than non-meditators!}
How the practice is evolving from me-centric to community-centric
Mindful parenting
Natural awareness and the pleasure to glimpse practices

Grab a cup of tea, pop-in your headphones and join Diana and me for this conversation and a short guided practice from Diana at the end.

For more information about Diana, her books and the apps she teaches on, visit https://dianawinston.com/ and https://www.uclahealth.org/programs/marc

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Who is Your Practice Really For? Meditation For the Love of it; part 3 Jan 19, 2023

How to make your practice so lovely, so vital that you won’t skip a day:

Make your practice beautiful. Don’t cram it in; savor it.

Ask for what you most need. Name your intention, your purpose, your hope for this practice.

Dedicate the merit.

Our practice is never just about ourselves.

Friend, fellow teacher and former Mindful Minute guest Caverly Morgan in The Heart of Who We Are:

“The longer we cling to the notion that there’s a separate self who awakens, the more arduous our path will be. We realize freedom together.”

Patience, Presence, Kindness is my intention. It is for my interactions and sense of wakefulness in the world, and it is for the collective. We could all use more of these qualities, couldn’t we?

Meditation is a practice of collective empowerment. It is for us, not me alone. So, at the end of the practice, let us offer up the merit.

May this practice benefit all. May this practice be for the good of humanity. May patience, presence and kindness spread across the planet.

Remember where attention goes, energy flows.

Join me for today’s talk and guided meditation practice, and consider following this class up with my interview with Caverly Morgan. You can find that episode anywhere you get your podcasts.

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BIG NEWS: The Mindful Minute is now on YouTube! If you’d like to watch these classes visit youtube.com/@themindfulminutepodcast

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Meditation For the Love of It {part 2} Jan 12, 2023

This month’s meditation series is a foundational challenge to help you build up to a 20-minute/day nourishing meditation practice. I want to get away from the ‘check-it-off-the-to-do-list’ mentality and instead build a practice that feels so vital and lovely that you wouldn’t skip a day no matter what happens.

A piece of this nourishing practice comes when we specifically name what we most want or need from the meditation practice. Some of you will resonate with naming an intention; some of you might resonate with requesting a blessing; or naming a desire; or a goal…

My personal practice has been built with the intention of cultivating patience, presence and kindness. When we name for ourselves why we are practicing, there is more encouragement to show up to the cushion each day, and there is more mindful energy carried throughout our day. Because we aren’t really practicing for those 10-minutes on the meditation cushion; we are practicing for the other 23 hours and 50 minutes of our day.

Join me for today’s talk and guided meditation practice as we build our meditation practice to 15-minutes/day this week!

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Meditation For the Love of It; A 2023 Meditation Challenge {part 1} Jan 05, 2023

Happy New Year! Every January, I see an influx of people who are ready to try a meditation practice, and every February, I see most of those people fall away once again. And so this year, I thought - “what can I do to help people immediately reap the benefits of meditation?”

Normally, in January, I do an introductory series that lays out the foundations of a practice, and I stress that starting with even 5 minutes/day is enough. But I wonder if it is really enough to keep you practicing. Because, at least for me, if I try to cram a 5-minute rushed practice between my last meeting and carpool, well… I’m still pretty stressed. It doesn’t feel great, and I’m very likely to forget to do it again the next day.

So this year, I’m offering something different. I’m offering an introductory series into the depth and beauty of the practice. In the next 3 weeks, you will go from meditating 10 minutes/day to 20 minutes/day, and my hope is that you’ll discover the beauty within this practice and within yourself as we go.

This series is both a beginner series and a series for those that have lost the magic in their practice. This is a series to remember our loveliness and that of the practice.

Let’s begin!

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The Steadiness of Stones, Our Relationship to Time {part 3} Dec 29, 2022

This meditation series has been an exploration of time. For most of us, time appears to be as steady as a stone - something that is always here, guiding us along - reminding us where we are supposed to be by what time it is.

But, things aren’t quite as they appear when it comes to time or to stones.

Time is both flexible and relative. It moves at different speeds depending on where you are and if you are moving or not.

The phrase ‘now’ has no meaning outside of your direct personal experience. Now is only now for you right now. It is an ever-expanding edge rather than a static point.

And, that ever-moving edge reminds us that the universe is made up of events not things. Even things we think of as things, like stones, are actually just long events.

So, over the course of the first two classes in this series, rather than time being like the steadiness of stones, we’ve really discovered time is more like the unsteadiness of stones.

I’ve shared this mostly through physics and the brilliant minds of people like Newton, Einstein and Carlo Rovelli. However, we don’t have to be brilliant scientists to understand the wildly mysterious ways of time. We simply have to meditate.

My guess is you already know time is relative and flexible because you have experienced it within your meditation practice.

You’ve meditated on a tough day where 3 minutes felt like interminable hours.

On other days, you’ve meditated and fallen into the realm of timelessness. Where a minute lasts a day, and it feels like you can’t even remember when you took your last breath and it doesn’t really matter because you might never need to breathe again.

When we meditate, time becomes circular, all encompassing and all knowing, rather than a step by step progression. There is no where you need to be because you are already exactly where you are.

Join me for this final installment in our exploration of time and guided meditation practice inviting you into the timeless realm of your deepest knowing.

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The Steadiness of Stones; Our Relationship to Time {part 2} Dec 22, 2022

Let’s start with two scientific facts:

When we are in motion, time contracts.
The universe is made up of events, not things.

In my exploration of time, I came across a sentence from physicist Carlo Rovelli that stopped me in my tracks. He wrote - “Now means nothing.”

Now means nothing. Nothing?! What have I been teaching for the last decade if the truth of the present moment has been disproven by science? What are we meditating for, and what are we experiencing?

The more I reflect on scientific facts above and the dissolution of the present moment, the more I find an invitation to stop thinking of ourselves as something to fix and our meditation practice as something to get right. This isn’t a static moment in time and we are not a thing to improve upon. We are an event, a becoming, and when we sit still time expands. We are shifting from contraction to expansion and witnessing the ever-changing dynamism of our internal experiences as a direct experience of the universe.

Join me for today’s talk and guided meditation practice as we explore the expansion of ‘now’.

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