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

Oh, loves. It has been a year thus far, hasn’t it?! Murder hornets, pandemics, and long-overdue demands for social justice have asked much of our emotional resiliency. As I’ve worked with students to navigate these times, I’ve realized that I’m relying on much of my experience in teaching mindfulness for PTSD {Post Traumatic Stress Disorder}.

For several years, I was lucky enough to work alongside brilliant psychotherapists and social workers as we offered tools to those working through PTSD and substance abuse. While we won’t all receive a formal diagnosis of PTSD, most of us are working through the experiences of trauma in our daily lives.

All of us can apply specific mindfulness techniques to help us navigate these tricky times with as much emotional resiliency as possible. 

The goal is not to avoid hard times, but to know without doubt that you can survive these times.

When we are feeling the impact of traumatic stress one of the primary feelings is of powerlessness. Therefore, the antidote is to begin to regain a sense of power during our days. This meditation series will look at some of the key steps towards regaining that sense of power and learning to be more comfortable with the acknowledgement that there is very little we can actually control. Let’s start with presence. Get here, in this moment, now.

Join me for today’s episode of The Mindful Minute as we explore what it takes to build emotional resilience through meditation. 

You can practice with me live each Monday as I record this podcast. My virtual meditation class includes time for Q&A and a chance to connect with me personally! https://www.union.fit/orgs/meryl-arnett

**Use code: Mindful5 to get your first class for $5!**

Even better, if you enjoyed today’s episode, leave me a review wherever you get your podcasts, screenshot it and send it to [email protected] to get your first live class with me FOR FREE!

Many thanks to our sponsor, Go Zafu - the portable meditation cushion designed for outdoor use. The Go Zafu combination meditation pad & cushion removes the logistical and comfort barriers that stand between you and peaceful meditation in nature.

Use code: Mindful10 to save 10% on https://gozafu.com/

***Did you know I have a 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

While mantra practice is a departure from how I normally teach meditation, it is quite often a part of my personal meditation practice. One of the most significant moments of my life was sitting on the banks of the Ganges river and chanting the Gayatri mantra as the sun rose. 

Chants and mantras can be found across continents, cultures, time and religions.

With the double bonus of giving your mind a tool to assist in concentration AND offering subtle intentions to the deepest part of your consciousness, it is a powerful practice and one that is very accessible to beginners. Join me in today’s episode of The Mindful Minute as we explore mantra meditation through a secular lens.

We will be practicing with one of the first mantras taught in meditation: So Hum.

So Hum is sanskrit in language and it is often defined as meaning “I am That” or “I am what I am”. It is also believed to be the sound of the breath, which makes it a fabulous anchor for meditation practice. Join me and let’s try it together!

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.

Practice with me live each Monday as I record this podcast. My virtual meditation class includes time for Q&A and to connect with me personally! https://www.union.fit/orgs/meryl-arnett

Many thanks to our sponsor, Go Zafu. Portable meditation cushions perfect for the outdoors and the office! Save 10% with code ‘Mindful10’ https://gozafu.com/

Connect with me on Instagram {@merylarnett} to get bonus meditation tips, mini-meditations, and the occasional baby spam: https://www.instagram.com/merylarnett/ and if you enjoyed today’s episode, please consider leaving me a review wherever you get your podcasts. Reviews help others to find this podcast!

***Did you know I have a 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 ***

#meditatewithmeryl

First, a short announcement from me about my studio, Sacred Chill {West} and the future of live, virtual classes with me, and then…

The Dalai Lama is releasing a new album, Inner World, on July 6 in conjunction with his 85 birthday. This album is His Holiness’ teachings and mantras set to music, and it is fairly significant because this is the first time he has ever released mantras to music as a practice.

As I was reflecting on this new offering, I thought it might be interesting to talk to y'all about the different styles of meditation out there. I often get questions about varying types of meditation, and today, I will break down the major differences between some of these well-known styles of meditation. At the end of class, we will do a 20-minute guided meditation using a mantra practice {don’t worry, you don’t have to say anything out loud!}.

While mantra practice is a departure from how I normally teach meditation, it is quite often a part of my personal meditation practice. With the double bonus of giving your mind a tool to assist in concentration AND offering subtle intentions to the deepest part of your consciousness, it is a powerful practice and one that is very accessible to beginners. Join me in today’s episode of The Mindful Minute as we look at a few of the different types of meditation {yep; I’ll talk about TM} and try a new practice together. 

Practice with me live each Monday as I record this podcast. My virtual meditation class includes time for Q&A and to connect with me personally! https://www.union.fit/orgs/meryl-arnett

Connect with me on Instagram {@merylarnett} to get bonus meditation tips, mini-meditations, and the occasional baby spam: https://www.instagram.com/merylarnett/ and if you enjoyed today’s episode, please consider leaving me a review wherever you get your podcasts. Reviews help others to find this podcast!

***Did you know I have a 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 ***

#meditatewithmeryl

When we meditate, we are in essence harnessing the light of awareness and shining it inside. This light allows us to look deeper inside, to see more, to clear out the cobwebs.

Turning on the lights is brave. It is powerful. It is enlivening. 

And yet, if we haven’t done the work to shore up the foundation, to clear the path leading deeper in, turning on the light can serve as a shock. 

If you’ve been the dark a long time and you step out into the brightness of daylight, it can be blinding, can’t it?

We shield our eyes; perhaps we run back inside for sunglasses, something to protect ourselves from the glare…. 

If we haven’t done the work to be with little discomforts, how might it feel to face bigger discomforts? It can send us running for the hills, abandoning our meditation practice with the seemingly innocent excuse of “I just don’t feel like it” right now. 

Today’s mini meditation practice allows us to gain steady traction, firming footing, and gather courage to bring what is needed from the darkness into the light. It allows us to take off the sunglasses.

We start to trust the images, the thoughts, the threads of connection that are revealed to us. 

We start to be more curious about the responses we have to the daily moments in our lives. 

We start to explore the freedom of choice. 

Today’s meditation is a practice of shining the light. Let’s get to it.

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.

Connect with me on Instagram {@merylarnett} to get bonus meditation tips, mini-meditations, and the occasional baby spam: https://www.instagram.com/merylarnett/ and if you enjoyed today’s episode, please consider leaving me a review wherever you get your podcasts. Reviews help others to find this podcast!

***Did you know I have a 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 ***

#meditatewithmeryl

This past Saturday, June 20, was the Summer Solstice, and it is the first solstice in many years that I didn’t teach a special meditation event. I usually host something extra special to harness the power of these reflective times, and yet, this year, even though I had already mapped up what I wanted to share and reflect on, I just kept delaying until the day was upon us and it was too late…

The Summer Solstice is the longest day of the year; the most light we see in a 24 hour period.  

When we meditate, we are in essence harnessing the light of awareness and shining it inside. This light allows us to look deeper inside, to see more, to clear out the cobwebs.

Turning on the lights is brave. It is powerful. It is enlivening. 

And yet, if we haven’t done the work to shore up the foundation, to clear the path leading deeper in, turning on the light can serve as a shock. 

If you’ve been the dark a long time and you step out into the brightness of daylight, it can be blinding, can’t it?

We shield our eyes; perhaps we run back inside for sunglasses, something to protect ourselves from the glare…. 

If we haven’t done the work to be with little discomforts, how might it feel to face bigger discomforts? It can send us running for the hills, abandoning our meditation practice with the seemingly innocent excuse of “I just don’t feel like it” right now. I’ve caught this at play in myself lately {hence the lack of a Solstice event this year}.

My invitation today is to let go of the need to “think” through this natural play of events. Instead of analyzing, how can you choose to move with each moment as a moment of transformation?

How to do this? Well, step one is ‘don’t skip your meditation practice even when you want to…’ Step two is ‘anchor more deeply into your heart.’

This month’s series is called Awakened Heart and my original intent behind this topic was this very talk. The practices of meditation, while they start out working with the mind and the thoughts, are always gently guiding us into the heart.

Not in a sappy way; not in a hippy-dippy way. In a clean, clear trajectory towards deeper understanding of ourselves and our place in the world. Every meditation text, every meditation guru from millenia before, guides us here. 

It is from here that we can gain steady traction, firming footing, and gather courage to bring what is needed from the darkness into the light. 

We start to trust the images, the thoughts, the threads of connection that are revealed to us. 

We start to be more curious about the responses we have to the daily moments in our lives. 

We start to explore the freedom of choice. 

Today’s meditation is a practice of shining the light. Let’s get to it.

Connect with me on Instagram {@merylarnett} to get bonus meditation tips, mini-meditations, and the occasional baby spam: https://www.instagram.com/merylarnett/ and if you enjoyed today’s episode, please consider leaving me a review wherever you get your podcasts. Reviews help others to find this podcast!

***Did you know I have a 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 ***

#meditatewithmeryl

Our discomfort is wise. It is asking us to pay attention to something important. Anger. Sadness. Grief. Guilt. Shame. All of these difficult feelings are wise.  And yet, the realities of most of our upbringing is that we learn to respond to this discomfort unwisely. We respond to discomfort with knee-jerk reactions.

Our meditation practice teaches us how to be comfortable with discomfort. Or perhaps a better way to say it might be, how to be patient within discomfort.  It is within this pause of discomfort that we are able to hear wise action calling our name. Join me for today’s mini meditation - this particular practice has a specific breathing technique designed to help balance the nervous system. It’s a great practice if you are feeling particularly anxious, stressed or overwhelmed.

Thank you to today’s sponsor, Manta Sleep {mantasleep.com}. Manta sleep believes quality sleep is the foundation for everything good that happens in life, and they make the world’s most comfortable sleep mask to help us get that better sleep. Mindful Minute listeners save 10% on all orders with code ‘Mindful10’.

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.

Connect with me on Instagram {@merylarnett} to get bonus meditation tips, mini-meditations, and the occasional baby spam: https://www.instagram.com/merylarnett/ and if you enjoyed today’s episode, please consider leaving me a review wherever you get your podcasts. Reviews help others to find this podcast!

***Did you know I have a 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 ***

#meditatewithmeryl

I take the weekends off; I completely unplug. No social media, no email, no news. Usually that allows me to refuel for the week ahead and to be able to engage wholeheartedly. However, this Monday as I opened my laptop, I opened it to discover that my own city, Atlanta, GA, was the home of another unjust murder of a black man by police. Rayshard Brooks. 

This class is offered here to hold space for all of it. For grief, for anger, for fear, for world-weariness, for heart-weariness. Meditation alone will not fix this moment. It can’t. I can’t. We can hold space for each other and for the possibility of comfort within this moment. 

I believe one of the greatest gifts of a mindfulness meditation practice is the way it allows us to trust our discomfort.

Our discomfort is wise. It is asking us to pay attention to something important. Anger. Sadness. Grief. Guilt. Shame. All of these difficult feelings are wise.  And yet, the realities of most of our upbringing is that we learn to respond to this discomfort unwisely. We respond to discomfort with knee-jerk reactions.

Our meditation practice teaches us how to be comfortable with discomfort. Or perhaps a better way to say it might be, how to be patient within discomfort. 

The very nature of our thoughts has created a problem for us.  When we experience discomfort our brain is designed to immediately encourage a response to fix the problem. Feeling fear? Get safe. Feeling hungry? Find food.

Culture has taught us that we should be happy and comfortable all the time, and if we aren’t, we are doing something wrong. 

Together, these two thought processes leave us with this lesson: if we are uncomfortable, WE MUST FIX IT IMMEDIATELY.

And the quickest way to do that? Fight or Flight.

What’s important here is that fight or flight can inspire BOTH wise and unwise action. Our work is to tap into wise action.

So often yoga & meditation teachers use the phrase “do your work” - meaning when a lesson or insight shows up in your life, work with it. 

It sounds action-oriented but really it is “allowing” oriented. Allow this lesson to be here. To show itself to you. Be curious. Be kind to yourself as you learn to stay another moment. 

It is within this liminal space that we are able to hear wise action calling our name. Join me for today’s episode of The Mindful Minute and let’s do our work together.

Thank you to today’s sponsor, Manta Sleep {mantasleep.com}. Manta sleep believes quality sleep is the foundation for everything good that happens in life, and they make the world’s most comfortable sleep mask to help us get that better sleep. Mindful Minute listeners save 10% on all orders with code ‘Mindful10’.

Connect with me on Instagram {@merylarnett} to get bonus meditation tips, mini-meditations, and the occasional baby spam: https://www.instagram.com/merylarnett/ and if you enjoyed today’s episode, please consider leaving me a review wherever you get your podcasts. Reviews help others to find this podcast!

***Did you know I have a 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 ***

#meditatewithmeryl

Hope is a practice. It is something we do rather than something we have. So too is our meditation practice. It isn’t a state to have or exhibit, it is a practice to return to on a daily basis.

We can’t plan our way into a meaningful life. We must practice into it. We will make false steps, we will stumble, we will see small gains. We will practice. 

Join me for today’s mini-meditation as a practice into hope.

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.

Thank you to today’s sponsor, Manta Sleep {mantasleep.com}. Manta sleep believes quality sleep is the foundation for everything good that happens in life, and they make the world’s most comfortable sleep mask to help us get that better sleep. Mindful Minute listeners save 10% on all orders with code ‘Mindful10’.

Connect with me on Instagram {@merylarnett} to get bonus meditation tips, mini-meditations, and the occasional baby spam: https://www.instagram.com/merylarnett/ and if you enjoyed today’s episode, please consider leaving me a review wherever you get your podcasts. Reviews help others to find this podcast!

I am humbled to share this practice with you all today. You are showing up even though I’m sure many of you are experiencing feelings of I-don’t-want-to right now. Perhaps you don’t want to meditate right now because you are so uncomfortable, or angry, or disappointed, or scared, or tired, or done with waiting one more second, or all of the above.

I am humbled to share in this practice because it reminds me and us that hope is also a practice.

Hope is a practice. It is something we do rather than something we have. So too is our meditation practice. It isn’t a state to have or exhibit, it is a practice to return to on a daily basis.

Cynics don’t build the future. Those courageous enough to act from the humility of their lived experiences and the audacity of their boldest dreams, this is who builds the future.⁠ We can’t plan our way into a meaningful life. We must practice into it. We will make false steps, we will stumble, we will see small gains. We will practice. 

As Jaqueline Novogratz said, “We are made from what came before. We make ourselves out of the promises that lie ahead. And we are always in the process of becoming.”

Join me in today’s episode of The Mindful Minute as we share in this process of becoming. We will start with a short talk on hope and then share in a 20-minute guided meditation practice. Now, let’s practice.

Thank you to today’s sponsor, Manta Sleep {mantasleep.com}. Manta sleep believes quality sleep is the foundation for everything good that happens in life, and they make the world’s most comfortable sleep mask to help us get that better sleep. Mindful Minute listeners save 10% on all orders with code ‘Mindful10’.

Connect with me on Instagram {@merylarnett} to get bonus meditation tips, mini-meditations, and the occasional baby spam: https://www.instagram.com/merylarnett/ and if you enjoyed today’s episode, please consider leaving me a review wherever you get your podcasts. Reviews help others to find this podcast!

***Did you know I have a 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 ***

Today’s meditation practice is a compassion practice that can apply to any person or group of people that you choose to practice for - it can be practiced for yourself, if you are the one who needs that loving support today. When we practice, we are deeply connecting to the thread of humanity we all share. Let us stand {and sit} together in solidarity and in love.

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.

Thank you to today’s sponsor, Manta Sleep {mantasleep.com}. Manta sleep believes quality sleep is the foundation for everything good that happens in life, and they make the world’s most comfortable sleep mask to help us get that better sleep. Mindful Minute listeners save 10% on all orders with code ‘Mindful10’.

Connect with me on Instagram {@merylarnett} to get bonus meditation tips, mini-meditations, and the occasional baby spam: https://www.instagram.com/merylarnett/ and if you enjoyed today’s episode, please consider leaving me a review wherever you get your podcasts. Reviews help others to find this podcast!

***Did you know I have a 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 ***

#meditatewithmeryl