Mettle Brain

In this episode I discuss a little about life with three different animals: rabbits, a bird, and our miniature golden doodle Little Ann. I also share a piece I've written called the cala lilly paradox about unrecognized growth. 

This episode is a Monday Morning Musing on some interesting ideas from poet and author Robert Bly and Jungian analyst Marion Woodman. The poet  Antonio Machado wrote, “All things die, and all things live forever; but our task is to die, to die making roads. Roads over the sea.” Woodman and Bly use this poem throughout their work to reference what it's like working with the unconscious, it's like building a road onto the sea. 

The unconscious is exactly that-completely unconscious. Woodman and Bly use the power of myth and story because it’s flexible, and not literal. Woodman and Bly do workshops together and have written books and even made a film together. Woodman recommends writing and reflecting on your dreams.  In the book, The Maiden King by Marion Woodman co-wrote with Robert Bly the reader is taken through a journey to  reunite the masculine and feminine. In this episode I share a few ideas that Woodman and Bly lay out in the chapter, The Inner Marriage  from "The Maiden King."

This episode is a short 10-minute Monday morning musing with me, Heather Miller. I read a poem by Antonio Machado called, "The Wind, One Beautiful Day." It goes like this. 

The wind, one brilliant day, called 
to my soul with an odor of jasmine. 

'In return for the odor of my jasmine, 
I'd like all the odor of your roses.' 

'I have no roses; all the flowers 
in my garden are dead.' 

'Well then, I'll take the withered petals 
and the yellow leaves and the waters of the fountain.' 

The wind left and I wept. And I said to myself: 
'What have you done with the garden that was entrusted to you?' 

In the last half of this episode I share my thoughts on the pandemic and loss, a few metaphors on growth, and give a recommendation for Jungian analyst Marion Woodman and Robert Bly’s work. It’s vast. Finally, I share a thought on interdependence and what can happen when we come together. 

This is a short 10 minute 'Monday Morning Musing' on three key grounding ideas to keep in the front of your mind as you pivot in new directions this 2021 year. First, find peace amidst the continual battle with the entropy of life. I share my own struggle with accepting the reality that yes, the second law of thermodynamics is real, the kitchen unfortunately will not stay clean. Money will be made; money will be spent. I discuss finding peace alongside the never-ending process of the doing and undoing that is this ephemeral life. Secondly, the power focusing on our dreams has in our lives  to bring us back to life and how we create the value to those dreams. I share a stanza from the iconic Dave Matthews song Grey street and the question how do we keep our lives rich with color when we feel grey? The third and final idea comes in a form of a question: can you believe in happy endings? How do you perceive your life? What stories do you tell yourself about it? Is it working? Is it not working? Do you ever say to yourself, "I have the most amazing life!" Don't drink the Kool-Aid of false narratives. 

Today's morning musing is a re-release of one of my personal favorite Monday morning musings that I love revisiting from time to time. I discuss the idea of collecting and connecting to yourself. What does your internal morning sweep look like? Where is your awareness? Are you plugging into yourself or do you have displaced emotion landing on others. Today's short 12 minute musing is about owning yourself fully and how to do that. This episode promotes finding our individual infinite "okayness" and then loving others from that place. 

This is a short ten minute musing on the wonders of the gingko tree. You may see gingko trees often lining your streets, but did you know that the gingko tree is actually one of the oldest species of tree or plant on earth? The gingko is sometimes referred to as a living fossil as its species is prehistoric.  In this episode I share a few details on what makes the gingko tree so remarkable from a scientific and symbolic perspective.  In Japanese culture the gingko is revered after surviving the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.  The 170 gingko trees were among the few living things to survive the blast and each are named and dedicated with their own plaque. The gingko tree is not only a physical relic from the dinosaurs but a living symbol not too different from the legend of the Phoenix. Its rise from ash however is not myth but truth,  everyone mistook the trees for dead until Spring for until then the exterior of the trees were completely dead. Gingkos have a highly structured cell system at their core called cambium which saved just enough energy for new growth . Check out Peter Crane's beautifully illustrated book, Gingko: The Tree That Time Forgot. I share a poem Crane includes in his book by Johann Goethe about the gingko. This musing is dedicated to my dad who deeply loves the Japanese people and their culture. 

This episode is a short speech intended for anyone who has ever felt up a creek without a paddle. Today in this morning musing I share my belief that if you love what you have and use it-- with that mindset it will be enough. I share an experience I had fishing with my boys: my fellow fishermen on the dock said, "I didn't have enough line to catch fish"- in fairness the line I did have wasn't very long-with little to spare but we kept at it and ended up catching a lot of fish. Despite multiple recommendations to quit we didn't, someone lent us some slightly better bait and voila, success! Remembering this day brings me a lot of optimism when I feel flooded and doubting, "is what I have enough?" I find it very easy to defer to the authority of others and let someone else determine, "is this enough, can I enter the arena?" I love the thought enough is as good as a feast, and as Julie Andrews poignantly observed in an interview with her daughter "if we can be grateful in our life for what is working amidst trying to tackle what isn't life feels a lot more bearable." I've started thinking now, "if you feel up a creek without a paddle- use what you got and maybe see if you can borrow someone's chair!" Don't let anyone say you can't try! Nobody puts baby in a corner and if you ask me, I say you have it! Believe it!

This episode is a short fifteen-minute grab bag of ideas: a book and recipe recommendation, what I've been reflecting on these last two weeks, and the wonders of a handheld massager. Yes, you read that correct, where have you been all my life handheld massager? Does everyone but me know how grounding that is? I discuss briefly Atul Gawande's book, Being Mortal and the blog piece on Dylan Thomas from Maria Popova. I've read it three times this week. Check it out! The last two elements go hand in hand and facilitates a critical head space that isn't always natural to be in. I arrived here serendipitously and wanted to pass it along. Enjoy!  

Today's episode is a morning musing on my recent move to the Central Coast of California and a few ideas that I have been reflecting on over the last month, i.e., "we all need to be carried sometimes". I share a thought from a new friend in passing that "there is a seat at the table for everyone." I recall a quote from a previous interview, "I love my mistakes" and one of my favorite treasures the idea "mistakes are allowed." I reflect on my longing for the feeling of community after weeks of missing those seemingly meaningless but meaningful moments with people you think you don't know yet gleam so much connection from. 

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This episode is a Monday Morning Musing (recorded on a Friday for some extra enthusiasm). I have two beautiful thoughts to share with you to give you a boost in your week. The first is a recommendation from a podcast series that I am loving called, "this movie changed my life" which is a mini-series from On Being Studios. The episodes are short, and the content is fantastic. I really enjoyed the 'Toy Story' episode. The next is my own movie recommendation about a movie that has changed my life, the 1964 classic Mary Poppins. Have you seen it recently? I share my awe for this film and what I have come to notice that makes this film go from a diamond, to a diamond mine. It's all too easy for all of us to lose our way on occasion. Revisit it!