Our Mindful Nature: Meditation Inspired by Nature to Soothe the Overwhelmed Mind and Ease Anxiety

Meditation can’t make you feel better about school shootings.Meditation can’t make you feel better about hate-based violence being perpetuated over and over again.Meditation can’t make you feel better about political decisions you disagree with.What meditation can do is help us acknowledge and allow how we feel, and in a way, this does make us feel a bit “better”.Meditation is an invitation to Acknowledge what you feel Stop being afraid of what you feel Release the need to fix what you feelJoin me for a mini meditation meant to help you embody and acknowledge what you are feeling in a way that is safe and supportive. These mini meditations are meant to support a daily home practice. Tune in every Monday to find your practice for the week! Full episodes are released every Thursday for a longer, deeper practice.Download my FREE OFFERING: 5 Practices for Heartbreaking Times Here: MerylArnett.comLearn more about my:*Roots: nature-based meditation app*Live, virtual meditation classes with me*Upcoming eventsAll by visiting merylarnett.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#meditatewithmeryl

Do you know what Ontological Anxiety is? Ontological Anxiety is what we feel when our state of being or our existence feels unsafe and/or threatened. Over the last several years, I’ve noticed that my meditation practice, which started out as a way to help me feel less stressed at work, has really morphed into a practice that helps me mitigate my own ontological anxiety.Every new crisis - pandemics, mass shootings, environmental, political - creates the exact same feelings in my body. Equal parts heartbreak and terror. This isn’t new or exclusive to one generation. These aren’t the only fraught times, scary or unknown times…This has been true for all of human existence. In Buddhism, the very first of the 4 Noble Truths is that suffering is an innate part of human existence. In a myriad of spiritual texts, we find commentary on the fact that the universe itself contains good and bad, positive and negative states, life and death. Suffering is not a mistake; it is simply built into the system. The tension of opposites is not an issue to remedy. It simply is the truth of existence. Meditation can’t make you feel better about school shootings.Meditation can’t make you feel better about hate-based violence being perpetuated over and over again.Meditation can’t make you feel better about political decisions you disagree with.What meditation can do is help us acknowledge and allow how we feel, and in a way, this does make us feel a bit “better”.Meditation is an invitation to Acknowledge what you feel Stop being afraid of what you feel Release the need to fix what you feelJoin me for today’s episode of The Mindful Minute as we lean into our meditation practice as a support for suffering. As always, we have a brief discussion followed by a 20-minute guided meditation. Join me!Download my FREE OFFERING: 5 Practices for Heartbreaking Times Here: https://mailchi.mp/merylarnett/5-practices-for-heartbreaking-timesIf 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-minuteLearn more about my:*Roots: nature-based meditation app*Live, virtual meditation classes with me*Upcoming eventsAll by visiting merylarnett.com.#meditatewithmeryl

I’m doing something a little bit scary this month… I am taking off the entire month of July.For the last six months or so, I’ve been wondering - how does someone who is self-employed take a sabbatical? And what I finally realized is no one else is going to give me permission. I’m the only one who can make that choice. And so {gulp} I am doing it. For the next 6 weeks, there will be no live classes, no new podcast episodes, no creating of any kind. My intention is that instead, this time will be spent savoring space, quiet, rest, and dreaming.I have so many ideas, and before I create anything new I must rest a bit. I hope you will consider joining me. Slow down this month. Linger over tea, conversations, or moments of quiet. Meditate a bit more. Rush a bit less.While the podcast is quiet, here are 2 ways you can stay connected:Sign up for my newsletter: http://eepurl.com/dBYEUL You won’t receive anything from me while I’m on break, but you will be the FIRST to hear about what is new in August.Join my free meditation community, Meditate with Meryl: https://meditate-with-meryl.mn.co/I’ll share some bonus meditation practices and the occasional Sabbatical-Update, and I will be looking for updates from you! Share how your practice is going this summer. What are you loving? What are you struggling with? Is there a topic you hope I address on the podcast? I’ll be back in August with a new meditation series.Until then, keep practicing!Love,MerylJoin my FREE meditation community here: https://meditate-with-meryl.mn.co/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-minuteLearn more about my:*Roots: nature-based meditation app*Live, virtual meditation classes with me*Upcoming eventsAll by visiting merylarnett.com.#meditatewithmeryl

Often, we are scared to fully enter time because we operate from a place of deficit. Somewhere, someway, we were sold the belief that there isn’t enough time and that we are not in control of what little time we do have…The secret truth is that time is ours to play with. The time we dedicate to eating, sleeping, making money, and caring for others - this time is sacrosanct and given priority. But prayer, meditation, study, pleasure - these are fit in only in stolen seconds. The truth is, you do have time, so join me now for today’s mini meditation. These mini meditations are meant to support a daily home practice. Tune in every Monday to find your practice for the week! Full episodes are released every Thursday for a longer, deeper practice.Join my FREE meditation community here: https://meditate-with-meryl.mn.co/Learn more about my:*Roots: nature-based meditation app*Live, virtual meditation classes with me*Upcoming eventsAll by visiting merylarnett.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#meditatewithmeryl

In this 2-part series, we are looking at meditation as the nexus of space, time, and body-soul.Last week, we explored how we might fully enter space, the heartbeat of the earth and our resonance when we fully connect in this way. This week, we tackle the concept of time. Perhaps the most frequent refrain I hear as a meditation teacher is…. “But, I don’t have time?!”.Often, we are scared to fully enter time because we operate from a place of deficit. Somewhere, someway, we were sold the belief that there isn’t enough time and that we are not in control of what little time we do have…The secret truth is that time is ours to play with. The time we dedicate to eating, sleeping, making money, and caring for others - this time is sacrosanct and given priority. But prayer, meditation, study, pleasure - these are fit in only in stolen seconds. The truth is, you do have time, you might just choose to spend it differently.This is a big, big topic with lots of nuance - let’s start the conversation now, in this episode of The Mindful Minute, along with a 20-minute guided meditation because… you do have time ;-) Join my FREE meditation community here: https://meditate-with-meryl.mn.co/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-minuteLearn more about my:*Roots: nature-based meditation app*Live, virtual meditation classes with me*Upcoming eventsAll by visiting merylarnett.com.#meditatewithmeryl

In today’s mini meditation, we investigate what it means to be fully connected to space. If meditation is the nexus of space, time and soul - how do we step into our space completely and mindfully?  In electromagnetic fields, a form of space, there is attraction, repulsion, movement, holding together, and transformation from one type of energy to another.Join me for a mini meditation inviting you to explore your relationship with space. These mini meditations are meant to support a daily home practice. Tune in every Monday to find your practice for the week! Full episodes are released every Thursday for a longer, deeper practice.Join my FREE meditation community here: https://meditate-with-meryl.mn.co/Learn more about my:*Roots: nature-based meditation app*Live, virtual meditation classes with me*Upcoming eventsAll by visiting merylarnett.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#meditatewithmeryl

Recently, I was having a discussion regarding the nexus of space, time, and soul - a meeting point I think of as the practice of meditation - when someone suggested that this exploration was a form of Spiritual Physics.If you’ve listened to this podcast for any length of time you know I often pull in theories, quotes and ideas from physicists so this term feels spot on for the work we do in meditation. The definition of physics is -Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. Physics is one of the most fundamental scientific disciplines, with its main goal being to understand how the universe behaves. My proposed definition of Spiritual Physics -  … is the psycho-spiritual science that studies the inner workings of the human experience, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy, emotion, imagination and cognition. Its main goal is to explore how the soul behaves.Join me for today’s episode of The Mindful Minute as we explore Spiritual Physics and what it means to fully enter space & time.Big thank you to today’s sponsor: Ungloo!Ungloo creates products to allow you to meditate comfortably anywhere you want to go. Check out the Ungloo Box, a portable meditation chair, at ungloo.com and be sure to use code Mindful10 to save 10% on your order!Join my FREE meditation community here: https://meditate-with-meryl.mn.co/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-minuteLearn more about my:*Roots: nature-based meditation app*Live, virtual meditation classes with me*Upcoming eventsAll by visiting merylarnett.com.#meditatewithmeryl

Today’s mini meditation is a special self-care practice. You will hear poet James Crews read his poem, Self-Care, and then I will share his invitation for reflective journaling. Grab a notebook, a pen, and a cup of tea. Settle into a comfortable seat and join us!You can find this poem and reflection {and many others!} in James’ new book, The Path to Kindness. You can find The Path to Kindness at your local, independent bookstore, and you can learn more about James at jamescrews.netBig thank you to today’s sponsor: Ungloo!Ungloo creates products to allow you to meditate comfortably anywhere you want to go. Check out the Ungloo Box, a portable meditation chair, at ungloo.com and be sure to use code Mindful10 to save 10% on your order!These mini meditations are meant to support a daily home practice. Tune in every Monday to find your practice for the week! Full episodes are released every Thursday for a longer, deeper practice.Join my FREE meditation community here: https://meditate-with-meryl.mn.co/Learn more about my:*Roots: nature-based meditation app*Live, virtual meditation classes with me*Upcoming eventsAll by visiting merylarnett.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#meditatewithmeryl

For quite awhile now, I have wanted to bring a conversation about poetry to The Mindful Minute. Over the years, I’ve found more and more a connection between reading poetry and my meditation practice, and today, I get to finally explore this connection with poet James Crews!James Crews’ work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The Sun Magazine, Ploughshares, and The New Republic, as well as on Ted Kooser’s American Life in Poetry newspaper column. He holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a PhD in Writing & Literature from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and is the author of four collections of award-winning poetry, including The Book of What Stays (Prairie Schooner Prize and Foreword Book of the Year Citation, 2011), Telling My Father (Cowles Prize, 2017), Bluebird, and Every Waking Moment. He is also the editor of several anthologies of poetry: Healing the Divide: Poems of Kindness and Connection; and How to Love the World: Poems of Gratitude and Hope. He leads Mindfulness & Writing retreats online and throughout the country, and works as a creative coach with groups and individuals. He lives with his husband, Brad Peacock, in Shaftsbury, Vermont.James and I explore the connection between poetry and meditation, the magic of the most mundane moments, poetry as a tool for connection, and a shared hatred of folding laundry! James also talks to us about journaling and how to get started if you feel stuck when it comes to writing. This conversation was a delight to record; I hope you enjoy listening to it as well!You can find James’ new book, The Path to Kindness, at your local, independent bookstore, and you can learn more about James at jamescrews.netBig thank you to today’s sponsor: Ungloo!Ungloo creates products to allow you to meditate comfortably anywhere you want to go. Check out the Ungloo Box, a portable meditation chair, at ungloo.com and be sure to use code Mindful10 to save 10% on your order!Join my FREE meditation community here: https://meditate-with-meryl.mn.co/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-minuteLearn more about my:*Roots: nature-based meditation app*Live, virtual meditation classes with me*Upcoming eventsAll by visiting merylarnett.com.#meditatewithmeryl

Dr. Andrew Newberg, a neurotheologist, shares a short practice with us of defining our innermost values and making sure that our actions support those values. You can listen to his full interview on the 5.19.22 episode - Spirituality and Meditation. These mini meditations are meant to support a daily home practice. Tune in every Monday to find your practice for the week! Full episodes are released every Thursday for a longer, deeper practice.Join my FREE meditation community here: https://meditate-with-meryl.mn.co/Learn more about my:*Roots: nature-based meditation app*Live, virtual meditation classes with me*Upcoming eventsAll by visiting merylarnett.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#meditatewithmeryl