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

With the unseasonably gorgeous and cool evenings here in Atlanta lately, I’ve found myself called to do some walking meditation in the evenings. Recently, as I mindfully traced my path across my driveway, my present moment was filled with the Blue Star Creeper, the Weeping Peach and the scent of Gardenia. And, in the periphery I kept noticing a fluttering…

At the end of the walk, I sat down for a few final minutes and, as I often do, I pulled an animal spirit card from a deck for guidance. I pulled the hummingbird. The hummingbird represents the sweetness of life. Of being present to the full sweetness of whatever this moment in your life has to offer…

This isn’t to say that every moment could or should be easy. It is a real practice to pay attention, to search for, the sweetness in each moment. 

In our meditation practice, I think the sweetness comes from taking our time. It comes from luxuriating in the stillness rather than approach practice with a “hurry up, I ONLY have 10 minutes”. Instead can our attitude reflect, “I have TEN WHOLE MINUTES to be still with myself.” What sweetness can we draw from this?

As you tune into today’s episode of The Mindful Minute I encourage you to take your time. Listen and luxuriate fully. Draw the sweetness out of the moment.

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

***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

Part 3 of my Meditation for Anxiety series couldn’t come at a better time. I am just back from the vacation from hell… truly.

My fournado lived up to his name in every way. 

My baby got sick for the first time with a high fever. 

We were all sharing a room which meant no sleep for any of us. 

Our flight home was delayed… 

Need I go on?

The funny thing is I kept wishing we would get home. It’ll be better when we are home, I kept telling myself. And, then we got home, and you know what? My fournado is still four. The baby is still sick. We still haven’t gotten much sleep…

This is a classic example of the magical thinking that robs us of the opportunity for peace. Join me for today’s episode of The Mindful Minute as we discuss how to deal with the moments we wish we could run away from, how to attend and befriend rather than fight or flight, and how to survive vacations with little kids!!

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

***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

All this month, we have been working with meditation as a tool for anxiety. Our daily mindfulness meditation practice is the very best tool we have for managing everyday stress. However, when we are in the throes of deep anxiety or high stress, sometimes we need something a little more specific to help us through the moment.

This mini practice is 10-minutes for the moments of high stress. Use this at the office, after a fight with your partner, after losing your patience with your child…

As we practice in the midst of intense emotion, our only work is to remain in the present moment as much as possible, and to offer some kindness towards our experience.

Give this meditation a try this week and be sure to let me know (Instagram or Facebook!) if you found it helpful!

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

***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

Meditation for anxiety is a two-part practice. One, we must have a consistent, daily practice so that our foundation is one of calm wakefulness. Practicing coming back to the present moment without judgment time and again will do more for our stress than any emergency response.

AND, often, we need a practice to help us through the really hard moments. When the stress is too great, the anxiety too high, simply coming to present moment awareness might not be enough. We need something stronger to help us interrupt the fight or flight response. 

In today’s episode of The Mindful Minute, we practice Investigating with Kindness.  We take what we are experiencing and we ask of ourselves, “what am I believing in this moment?” Using this deeper insight to help us understand the actual trigger of our anxiety (hint: it is rarely the traffic, emails or tantrum that is causing your stress!)

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

***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

“Between stimulus and response there is a pause and in that pause lies your power and your freedom.” 

~Victor Frankl

My favorite quote. It sounds so good, doesn’t it? Just find “the pause” and everything will be better… Yes, I believe that! And…

Imagine your child just got suspended from school…

Imagine your client just emailed you to request a change on a project you’ve spent weeks completing…

Imagine you just got an account-overdraft notice from your bank…

This is when we need the pause the most AND when it is hardest to find. This month’s meditation series is an exploration of how we can use meditation as a tool to help us manage high stress and anxiety. 

Did you know when you first start meditating it is common for your anxiety to feel worse?! It is true and, happily, it is a really good sign. Curious?

Tune into The Mindful Minute today as we learn to recognize the sensations in our bodies and take the first step to using meditation as a tool for managing anxiety.

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

 

***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 things get hard or when things get stressful, what do you do?

Most people tend to try harder. We tend to actively look for solutions; to do more to try to fix it.

Instead, I encourage you to try reconnecting to yourself during those difficult moments. Let things settle so that you can see it a little bit more clearly.

Philosopher Alan Watts said:

“Muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone.”

In today’s episode, we explore the meditation practice called Prakasha. It means, generally, the space between any two things; your breaths, your thoughts, or anything else. This space is what allows us the ability to be okay and uncomfortable in the same moment.

Tune in today as we learn how to notice that space — Prakasha — and learn to be okay amidst discomfort.

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

***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

In this month's series, we have already explored several tools we can use to help us reconnect to ourselves. We discussed the importance of loving kindness and simply being still {part 1} as well as cultivating freedom through generosity {part 2.}

"A meditation master from Thailand's forest tradition came to visit the US several years ago. After just a short time here, he said rather bemusedly, "In Asia, the classical sequence of the teachings and practice is first generosity, then morality,

This month’s meditation series is a look at the many facets of disconnection, and how we can use it as a tool for reconnection.

One of the things I discovered on my own personal meditation journey is that I misunderstood disconnection as a tool for self-care.

When I felt stressed, overwhelmed, and feeling the need to unplug, my method of disconnection was actually a method of distraction - binge watching TV, reading, listening to a podcast... Things that let me either ignore what's stressing me out OR end up inspiring new ideas and things to do!

But when we have moments of overwhelm, we don’t need more ideas or inspiration.

We need quiet.

In order to reconnect with the calm center in each of us, we must actually disconnect. Meaning not fill the space with anything. Simply relaxing into what is and allowing it to be so. This is the method of care that enlivens and restores us to back to ourselves.

Tune in to today's episode of The Mindful Minute as we begin this first exploration into Disconnecting to Reconnect.

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

***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 meditation was originally recorded while on vacation a few years ago. For the holiday week and the start of our summer, I thought it would be fun to revisit this ocean-side meditation. Short, simple and peaceful,