This has been a tough 18 months, hasn’t it? Somedays, even with the light of vaccines and seeing friends, I still feel unsure I can handle all that feels broken in the world.

The amount of divisiveness feels unsurmountable. Political parties, masks, vaccines, racial injustice, voter rights. It feels like everyday we hear of decisions being made, and I assume, like me, you make a snap judgment of good or completely wrong and unacceptable.

With this level of judgment and division comes a sense of deep worry and even hopelessness. It feels unimaginably huge to ask how we will repair this divide. How will we come together?

Because we belong together. We belong to each other.

As I’ve struggled with this, I’ve also noticed when I’ve seen glimmers of hope:

Bruce and Obama’s podcast
Tarana Burke and Brene Brown’s book You are your best thing
Subway Book Review

These things aren’t related. They aren’t specifically cheerful, uplifting or even meant to be uniting… it is storytelling. When listening or reading these real life stories, it seems our bonds of connection are strengthened. We remember not just that we belong together, but HOW we belong together and WHY.

And, I realized that this podcast could be another beacon of hope in a similar vein. Because our practice can not and should not be exclusively about our individual selves. Our inner realizations are only worth how we reflect them out into the world.

So today, I introduce a new series to the podcast called Meditation IRL, and it is simply stories.

Stories about how one meditates. What their practice is like. What they love and what they struggle with. How they learned and the tools they use.

It is simply stories; an inner glimpse of private meditation lives.

My hope is that we find threads of connection and ways to lean into even those that challenge us the most so that we can remember that we belong to each other.

And with that, I want to introduce the FIRST Meditation IRL guest: long-time student and friend, Dr. Ashanté M. Reese

Ashanté is a writer, a teacher and an anthropologist. She is currently an assistant professor in the African and African Diaspora Studies department at the University of Texas at Austin. She holds a PhD in Anthropology, specializing in race, gender, and social justice. She also completed her 200-hour yoga teacher certification with Octavia Raheem and myself at Sacred Chill a few years ago.

Join us for our discussion about meditation, daydreams, and belonging to one’s self. Ashanté’s meditation at the end is not to be missed!

You can learn more about Ashanté at http://www.amreese.com/

If you enjoyed today’s episode, please consider making a one-time or monthly donation to support the growth of this labor of love. Your monthly donation will aid in keeping this show sponsor-free, employing additional small businesses AND funding the ongoing creative growth I invest in.

Donate here: https://www.merylarnett.com/support-the-mindful-minute

You can learn more about my:

*Shoreline: my new meditation app

*Live, virtual meditation classes with me

*Upcoming events

All by visiting merylarnett.com.

You can also grab my FREE Meditation Starter Kit on my website merylarnett.com. It is full of my favorite tips, stories and ideas for starting and maintaining a daily meditation practice. Grab your copy today! --> http://bit.ly/meditationstarterkit ***

Connect with me on Instagram {@merylarnett} to get bonus meditation tips, mini-meditations, and the occasional baby spam: https://www.instagram.com/merylarnett/

#meditatewithmeryl

The Puzzler by AJ JACOBS - Riddles And Puzzles to Sharpen the mind