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

This August, under the glow of the Full Sturgeon Moon, you’re invited to slow down and listen deeply—just like the ancient sturgeon who’ve glided through waters since the Jurassic era.

In this moonlit meditation, we connect to the energy of these “living fossils” and tap into the quiet power of ancestral wisdom. Set against the soundscape of a South Carolina wetland, you will hear the call of a Barred owl, the hush of insects, and the splash of feeding fish. This practice is a gentle invitation to rest in the flow of time.

Whether you're feeling overwhelmed, disconnected, or simply seeking more mental clarity, this practice offers a quiet but powerful path to mental health resilience.

In this episode, you’ll experience:

A calming, immersive full moon meditation that uses a wetlands nature soundscape, recorded by accoustic ecologist Gordon Hempton, to soothe anxiety

A guided visualization rooted in ancient wisdom to deepen your connection and resilience

Subtle breathing techniques to release tension and anchor you in the present moment

Press play now for a moment of stillness and to see what ancient knowing rises to meet you.

Sign up for my newsletter at http://eepurl.com/jjPrV2 to receive free mini meditations and soundscapes each week, along with creative musings and more.

New episodes every Monday (just the meditation) and Thursday (a full meditation class).

Learn more or contact me at https://www.merylarnett.com/.

Thank you to Gordon Hempton for today’s nature field recordings; and thank you to Brianna Nielsen for production and editing support. Find them at:

https://soundtracker.com/

https://www.instagram.com/itsbriannanielsen

This podcast explores meditation, mental health and the power of connection, offering guidance for caregivers, healers, and therapists facing compassion fatigue, burnout, and other mental health struggles through self-care, self-compassion, and resilience. With a focus on anxiety, depression, and overwhelm, each episode provides tools like meditation, mindfulness, breathwork, and grounding to cultivate clarity and reduce stress. Listeners can also experience nature-inspired guided meditations, designed to bring peace and balance in times of distress.

Do you struggle with anxiety and racing thoughts at night—just when you need rest most?

This soothing, nature-inspired meditation guides you into deep stillness using techniques that gently calm the body and mind—no pressure to perform, no spiritual overwhelm. Whether you’re new to meditation or returning after a stressful day, this practice helps you reconnect with your breath, your body, and the world around you.

You’ll walk away with:

A simple body-scan method to relieve physical tension and emotional stress

A guided eye-focused technique that slows mental chatter and eases anxiety

An ocean-waves nature soundscape recorded at Rialto Beach that promotes sleep and emotional resilience

Let this session be your nightly reset—press play and melt into true relaxation.

Sign up for my newsletter at http://eepurl.com/jjPrV2 to receive free mini meditations and soundscapes each week, along with creative musings and more.

New episodes every Monday (just the meditation) and Thursday (a full meditation class).

Learn more or contact me at https://www.merylarnett.com/.

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/itsbriannanielsen

This podcast explores meditation, mental health and the power of connection, offering guidance for caregivers, healers, and therapists facing compassion fatigue, burnout, and other mental health struggles through self-care, self-compassion, and resilience. With a focus on anxiety, depression, and overwhelm, each episode provides tools like meditation, mindfulness, breathwork, and grounding to cultivate clarity and reduce stress. Listeners can also experience nature-inspired guided meditations, designed to bring peace and balance in times of distress.

Just The Meditation!

In today's guided nature meditation, you’re invited to stop fixing and start feeling. Through a summer rainstorm-inspired meditation, we explore how to make peace with uncertainty and honor the mysterious rhythms within and around you.

If anxiety has you gripping for control, this practice will help you release the need to understand and soften into your own resilient presence.

Press play and practice now!

Sign up for my newsletter at http://eepurl.com/jjPrV2 to receive free meditations, soundscapes, creative musings and more.

New episodes every Monday (just the meditation) and Thursday (a full meditation class).

Learn more or contact me at https://www.merylarnett.com/.

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/itsbriannanielsen

This podcast explores meditation, mental health and the power of connection, offering guidance for caregivers, healers, and therapists facing compassion fatigue, burnout, and other mental health struggles through self-care, self-compassion, and resilience. With a focus on anxiety, depression, and overwhelm, each episode provides tools like meditation, mindfulness, breathwork, and grounding to cultivate clarity and reduce stress. Listeners can also experience nature-inspired guided meditations, designed to bring peace and balance in times of distress.

Do you try to meditate your way out of anxiety—only to feel more overwhelmed when clarity doesn't come?

In this final episode of the Chaos to Calm series, you’re invited to stop fixing and start feeling. Through nature-inspired meditation, we explore how to make peace with uncertainty and honor the mysterious rhythms within and around you.

If anxiety has you gripping for control, this practice will help you release the need to understand and soften into your own resilient presence.

Here’s what you’ll take away:

A new way to relate to anxiety—by listening instead of solving.

How fractal patterns in nature mirror your inner world (and how that builds calm).

A gentle practice to help you reconnect with your breath, your body, and the deep mystery of life.

Let go of control, soften your edges, and rediscover your connection to calm—press play now.

Sign up for my newsletter at http://eepurl.com/jjPrV2 to receive free mini meditations and soundscapes each week, along with creative musings and more.

New episodes every Monday (just the meditation) and Thursday (a full meditation class).

Learn more or contact me at https://www.merylarnett.com/.

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/itsbriannanielsen

This podcast explores meditation, mental health and the power of connection, offering guidance for caregivers, healers, and therapists facing compassion fatigue, burnout, and other mental health struggles through self-care, self-compassion, and resilience. With a focus on anxiety, depression, and overwhelm, each episode provides tools like meditation, mindfulness, breathwork, and grounding to cultivate clarity and reduce stress. Listeners can also experience nature-inspired guided meditations, designed to bring peace and balance in times of distress.

Ever feel like your thoughts are louder than summer thunder?

This short, New Moon nature-inspired meditation is your invitation to step into calm—even if the world around you feels chaotic.

If anxiety has you feeling disconnected, overwhelmed, or simply exhausted, this guided 5-minute practice offers a soft place to land.

Rooted in imagery, rhythm, and silence, you’ll explore how breath and awareness can bring you back to steadiness—just like a clock in a thunderstorm.

In this episode, you’ll discover:

- A gentle technique to regulate anxiety in under 5 minutes

- How breath and nature-based imagery can reconnect you to inner calm

- A subtle mindset shift to carry resilience with you throughout your day

Press play now to reclaim your sense of steadiness—no matter the storm around you.

Sign up for my newsletter at http://eepurl.com/jjPrV2 to receive free meditations, soundscapes, creative musings and more.

New episodes every Monday (just the meditation) and Thursday (a full meditation class).

Learn more or contact me at https://www.merylarnett.com/.

Thank you to Gordon Hempton for today’s nature field recordings; and thank you to Brianna Nielsen for production and editing support. Find them at:

https://soundtracker.com/

https://www.instagram.com/itsbriannanielsen

This podcast explores meditation, mental health and the power of connection, offering guidance for caregivers, healers, and therapists facing compassion fatigue, burnout, and other mental health struggles through self-care, self-compassion, and resilience. With a focus on anxiety, depression, and overwhelm, each episode provides tools like meditation, mindfulness, breathwork, and grounding to cultivate clarity and reduce stress. Listeners can also experience nature-inspired guided meditations, designed to bring peace and balance in times of distress.

Just the Meditation

Using the metaphor of spiral fractals and labyrinths found in nature, we dive deep into what it really means to “spiral inward” when our external world feels out of control.

As you meditate, you will hear the sounds of a summer thunderstorm recorded by Nick McMahan in Eastern Washington at the Ponderay Wildlife Refuge. Sounds of Aspen, thunder and crickets guides you gently inwards.

Whether you're new to meditation or returning to your practice, this episode offers permission to meet yourself exactly where you are. It’s an invitation to pause, listen, and breathe—even in the middle of it all.

Press play now!

Sign up for my newsletter at http://eepurl.com/jjPrV2 to receive free meditations, soundscapes, creative musings and more.

New episodes every Monday (just the meditation) and Thursday (a full meditation class).

Learn more or contact me at https://www.merylarnett.com/.

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/itsbriannanielsen

This podcast explores meditation, mental health and the power of connection, offering guidance for caregivers, healers, and therapists facing compassion fatigue, burnout, and other mental health struggles through self-care, self-compassion, and resilience. With a focus on anxiety, depression, and overwhelm, each episode provides tools like meditation, mindfulness, breathwork, and grounding to cultivate clarity and reduce stress. Listeners can also experience nature-inspired guided meditations, designed to bring peace and balance in times of distress.

In this episode, we explore how the practice of meditation can gently guide us through moments of anxiety and overwhelm—especially when life feels chaotic and unpredictable. Using the metaphor of spiral fractals and labyrinths found in nature, we dive deep into what it really means to “spiral inward” when our external world feels out of control.

Host Meryl shares personal insights and practical reflections on:

- How meditation builds mental health resilience

- Why patterns of anxiety often repeat—and how noticing them is the first step to healing

- Letting go of the expectation that meditation always leads to calm

- Embracing discomfort and distraction as part of the process

- A powerful mindset shift: from “this too shall pass” to “this too shall last”

- Nature-inspired ways to connect with the present moment and restore inner connection

Whether you're new to meditation or returning to your practice, this episode offers permission to meet yourself exactly where you are. It’s an invitation to pause, listen, and breathe—even in the middle of it all.

Join us for a guided 10-minute meditation at the end of the episode.

Sign up for my newsletter at http://eepurl.com/jjPrV2 to receive free meditations, soundscapes, creative musings and more.

New episodes every Monday (just the meditation) and Thursday (a full meditation class).

Learn more or contact me at https://www.merylarnett.com/.

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/itsbriannanielsen

This podcast explores meditation, mental health and the power of connection, offering guidance for caregivers, healers, and therapists facing compassion fatigue, burnout, and other mental health struggles through self-care, self-compassion, and resilience. With a focus on anxiety, depression, and overwhelm, each episode provides tools like meditation, mindfulness, breathwork, and grounding to cultivate clarity and reduce stress. Listeners can also experience nature-inspired guided meditations, designed to bring peace and balance in times of distress.

Do you ever sit down to meditate... only to feel more overwhelmed or disconnected?

If anxiety has made your usual grounding practices feel ineffective, this reflective Thunder Moon episode brings a fresh perspective. Meryl guides you through a nature-inspired Oracle card ritual that invites emotional clarity and self-compassion — perfect for listeners who are feeling mentally scattered or in need of deeper connection.

In this short, powerful episode, you’ll discover:

1. A unique meditation ritual using Oracle cards to support emotional resilience

2. How the archetype of The Lover can reveal hidden blocks in your relationships with others and yourself

3. A calming, breath-led practice to recenter your nervous system and reconnect to your body

Listen now to return to your center — and reimagine your relationship with anxiety.

Referenced in this episode:

The Witch's Shadow Work Oracle

by Clare Gogerty, illustrated by Tijana Lukovic

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-witchs-shadow-work-oracle-clare-gogerty/1144968776?ean=9781786788405

Sign up for my newsletter at http://eepurl.com/jjPrV2 to receive free meditations, soundscapes, creative musings and more.

New episodes every Monday (just the meditation) and Thursday (a full meditation class).

Learn more or contact me at https://www.merylarnett.com/.

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/itsbriannanielsen

This podcast explores meditation, mental health and the power of connection, offering guidance for caregivers, healers, and therapists facing compassion fatigue, burnout, and other mental health struggles through self-care, self-compassion, and resilience. With a focus on anxiety, depression, and overwhelm, each episode provides tools like meditation, mindfulness, breathwork, and grounding to cultivate clarity and reduce stress. Listeners can also experience nature-inspired guided meditations, designed to bring peace and balance in times of distress.

What if your next moment of clarity is already rumbling inside you—just waiting for stillness?

This episode invites you to step into the quiet magic of July’s Thunder Full Moon, a time of year when nature is alive with messages of growth, change, and emotional expansion. If anxiety has been whispering or roaring lately, this moonlit meditation is here to help you realign.

You’ll reconnect with your breath, body, and the natural world using the rhythmic wisdom of thunder, lightning, and stillness as your guide.

In this moonlit episode, you’ll discover:

- How tuning into natural cycles can calm anxious energy and sharpen inner clarity

- A meditative practice to ground yourself in presence using the senses

- A simple question to ask yourself that creates space for emotional breakthroughs

Settle in and press play to hear what your heart - and the moon - are whispering to you tonight.

Sign up for my newsletter at http://eepurl.com/jjPrV2 to receive free meditations, soundscapes, creative musings and more.

New episodes every Monday (just the meditation) and Thursday (a full meditation class).

Learn more or contact me at https://www.merylarnett.com/.

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/itsbriannanielsen

This podcast explores meditation, mental health and the power of connection, offering guidance for caregivers, healers, and therapists facing compassion fatigue, burnout, and other mental health struggles through self-care, self-compassion, and resilience. With a focus on anxiety, depression, and overwhelm, each episode provides tools like meditation, mindfulness, breathwork, and grounding to cultivate clarity and reduce stress. Listeners can also experience nature-inspired guided meditations, designed to bring peace and balance in times of distress.

Just The Meditation

A 15-minute guided Thunderstorm nature meditation moving you from total chaos to total calm.

This episode explores how seemingly small stressors create deep emotional fractals—repeating patterns of response that pull us further into anxiety. Drawing insight from both parenting chaos and nature’s geometry, Meryl guides us to use meditation not just as an escape, but as pattern recognition and real-time course correction.

You’ll discover:

1. How to use simple breath awareness to interrupt overwhelming mental loops

2. What nature’s fractals can teach us about emotional resilience and healing

3. A subtle mindset shift to bring more compassion and calm to chaotic seasons

Tune in now to transform anxiety into insight—and calm your nervous system from the inside out.

Sign up for my newsletter at http://eepurl.com/jjPrV2 to receive free meditations, soundscapes, creative musings and more.

New episodes every Monday (just the meditation) and Thursday (a full meditation class).

Learn more or contact me at https://www.merylarnett.com/.

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/itsbriannanielsen

This podcast explores meditation, mental health and the power of connection, offering guidance for caregivers, healers, and therapists facing compassion fatigue, burnout, and other mental health struggles through self-care, self-compassion, and resilience. With a focus on anxiety, depression, and overwhelm, each episode provides tools like meditation, mindfulness, breathwork, and grounding to cultivate clarity and reduce stress. Listeners can also experience nature-inspired guided meditations, designed to bring peace and balance in times of distress.