Oh y’all. If you are struggling to practice right now; I’m with you. If anxiety and overwhelm are front and center; I’m with you. If you aren’t sure you can even stand to listen to a whole podcast episode right now; I’m with you. 

It is a lot. All of it. 

As I thought about what might be helpful in the month of November, what felt the most resonant (at least to me) is to focus on the simplest acts of care. 

This episode highlights the major teachings I’ve shared in classes and on the podcast through 2024 so far, and it teases out the most important reminders for maintaining mental health. I share a bit about a brand new PTSD treatment I got to test, tips for when meditating for 20-minutes is out of the question, and ways to care for ourselves and our loved ones in the simplest of ways.

Lastly, I share a guided meditation that emphasizes simplicity and presence. May it serve all of us well <3 

Sign up for my newsletter at https://merylarnett.substack.com/ to receive free mini meditations each week, creative musings, and more.

Thank you to Brianna Nielsen for production and editing support. Find her at:

instagram.com/brianna_podcastpro

Watch on YouTube, Make a donation, or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visiting 

merylarnett.com

instagram.com/merylarnett

youtube.com/@ourmindfulnature

In this episode of 'Our Mindful Nature,' I am delighted to welcome back Octavia Raheem, acclaimed author, rest coach and dear friend, to discuss her newest book, 'Rest is Sacred.'

Together, we explore the significance of rest, what it means to rest, and, more importantly, what it looks like to find rest in the midst of constant “busyness”.

Octavia shares insights on the various forms rest can take, from conventional yoga practices to simple mindful pauses in daily life. At the end, Octavia shares a guided exercise and reading from her book, encouraging listeners to seek restorative moments and redefine what rest means to them.

Join us!

Find Octavia & her new book here: https://www.octaviaraheem.com/rest-is-sacred

Sign up for my newsletter at https://merylarnett.substack.com/ to receive free mini meditations each week, creative musings, and more.

Thank you to Brianna Nielsen for production and editing support. Find her at:

instagram.com/brianna_podcastpro

Watch on YouTube, Make a donation, or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visiting

merylarnett.com

instagram.com/merylarnett

youtube.com/@ourmindfulnature

“If one sees two women sitting at a crossroads, facing one another, they are engaged in witchcraft.” - Talmud

From our witch meditation series, we know that the witch archetype is truly about people who are reclaiming their personal power. And from the quote above, I love the significance of this sense of power being found in the crossroads; the intersections. It reminds me of one of my favorite teachings in Buddhist psychology - known as The Middle Way.

In the teachings of The Middle Way, we learn to embrace tension and paradox. Rather than waiting for the resolution, we become skillful at residing in the middle of it all…

“Of course we can always imagine more perfect conditions, how it should be ideally, how everyone else should behave. But it’s not our task to create an ideal. It’s our task to see how it is, and to learn from the world as it is. For the awakening of the heart, conditions are always good enough.” - Ajahn Sumedo

Join me for today’s discussion and guided meditation centered on the power we find while resting in the middle.

Sign up for my newsletter at https://merylarnett.substack.com/ to receive free mini meditations each week, creative musings, and more.

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:

nickmcmahan.com

instagram.com/brianna_podcastpro

Watch on YouTube, Make a donation, or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visiting

merylarnett.com

instagram.com/merylarnett

youtube.com/@ourmindfulnature

A meditation for your daily practice - no chat beforehand, no distractions. Just you, the forest, and your breath.

Join me for this Green Witch-inspired meditation.

Sign up for my newsletter at https://merylarnett.substack.com/ to receive free mini meditations each week, creative musings, and more.

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:

nickmcmahan.com

instagram.com/brianna_podcastpro

Watch on YouTube, Make a donation, or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visiting

merylarnett.com

instagram.com/merylarnett

youtube.com/@ourmindfulnature

In this episode, we continue our exploration of personal power through the archetypes of the witch. Together, we will journey through the Water Witch and the Swamp Witch archetypes, uncovering their unique connections to water, the moon, and the balance between conformity and wildness.

The Water Witch draws rituals from aquatic environments, emphasizing adaptability, while the Swamp Witch thrives in the liminal spaces, representing untamed freedom.

Being fluid in change is the superpower of both of these witchy archetypes.

At the end, there is a 20-minute guided meditation devoted to the Water Witch, inviting all of us to sync with the rhythm of our breath and metaphorical ocean waves, fostering inner peace and presence.

“You are the sister to the wolf and friend to the hawk. You know in your heart the language of the plants and the songs of the wind. You have an innate connection to the wild edges. You know the beauty of the bee in flight, and hear the call of freedom on the horizon. And yet, as you go through your day today, it may be easy to miss the drum call of the Earth.”  

– Wild Woman

The Green Witch is one who sources her sense of power and nourishment from the Earth itself. She is one who might feel deeply connected to plants and animals and finds balance with time outside. 

The Green Witch likely spends more time than most contemplating the understanding that we are nature. 

In our exploration of the earth and forest archetype, we look at reciprocal relationships with the earth as a source of power and grounding. 

Join me for today’s talk and Green Witch-inspired meditation.

Sign up for my newsletter at https://merylarnett.substack.com/ to receive free mini meditations each week, creative musings, and more.

Thank you to Nick McMahan for today’s custom-crafted soundscape, sound design, and editing; and thank you to Brianna Nielsen for production and editing support. Find them at:

nickmcmahan.com

instagram.com/brianna_podcastpro

Watch on YouTube, Make a donation, or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visiting 

merylarnett.com

instagram.com/merylarnett

youtube.com/@ourmindfulnature

Welcome, Witches.

This all new meditation series is devoted to the archetype of the witch. Why, you ask? Well for starters, it is spooky season, but perhaps more importantly, because the witch archetype is especially potent for those of us grappling with reclaiming our personal power. 

There are so many ‘types’ of witches: the kitchen witch, the green witch, the water witch, etc. And,all of these sub-types refer to the place or activity where we source the majority of our power. 

Today’s episode is devoted to the Kitchen Witch:

In ancient Greece the word for “cook”, “butcher” and “priest” was the same -‘mageiros’- and the word shares an etymological root with the word magic.

– Michael Pollan

The Kitchen Witch is one who finds her power in the kitchen. 

• She is deeply committed to nourishment - with a cauldron bubbling and tea brewing 
• She is drawn to family recipes connecting her to ancestors
• Her ingredients connect her to the earth element
• And perhaps most importantly, cooking on stove or hearth-fire, connects her to the alchemical power of fire. 

Fire resides in the belly. It is the heat of action, of purpose, intention and passion. It is also the fire that burns the ghosts that haunt us.

This fire is directly tied to the heart space, the home of air/breath/spirit, this is where our caring, compassion and love originate. For the kitchen witch, these two domains are intimately linked - our fire transforming our love - making love manifest.

Join me for today’s episode devoted to the alchemy of the kitchen witch complete with a 20-minute guided kitchen witch meditation and a custom-made kitchen witch soundscape from Nick McMahan. Enjoy!

Sign up for my newsletter at https://merylarnett.substack.com/ to receive free mini meditations each week, creative musings, and more.

Thank you to Nick McMahan for today’s custom-crafted soundscape, sound design, and editing; and thank you to Brianna Nielsen for production and editing support. Find them at:

nickmcmahan.com

instagram.com/brianna_podcastpro

Watch on YouTube, Make a donation, or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visiting 

merylarnett.com

instagram.com/merylarnett

youtube.com/@ourmindfulnature

More often than I can count, I have conversations with students asking me what’s next in their meditation practice, how to go deeper, or how to feel better in the toughest of times… and today, I am delighted to share a powerful conversation offering a few answers to these tough questions.

Andrew Holecek is a returning guest to the podcast, as well as a renowned author and humanitarian who teaches internationally on spirituality, meditation, lucid dreaming, and the art of dying. His many books include Reverse Meditation and Dream Yoga. And now, he has a new book out - 

I’m Mindful, Now What? Moving Beyond Mindfulness to Meet the Modern World. 

This book, and our discussion today, reveals how the form of mindfulness many of us know is merely one thread in a much older, greater tapestry of contemplative practice. For anyone who has sensed the potential for something much deeper and more profound - this conversation is for YOU.

Andrew and I talk about: 

• Brining meditation off the cushion and into our day-to-day experiences
• Practices that move beyond simply “calming down” 
• The near enemies of practice, which include spiritual bypassing, spiritual materialism and the tricky distinction between tranquility and liberation. 
• Waking up vs. growing up
• Five nocturnal meditation practices, the value of the dream state, and the magic of liminality.
• Lastly and most importantly, we talk about why these practices matter when the world is on fire. 

At the end, Andrew shares a guided meditation that he does every morning to start off his day. Join me for this inspiring conversation and practice. And listeners, I need to know - should I have Andrew come back to tell us more about these dream practices?!?

There is so much richness in this practice, here is a breakout of some of the key moments:

01:32 The Five-Year Retreat Experience

04:42 Beyond Mindfulness: Deeper Practices

06:54 Shamatha and Vipashyana Explained

12:18 The Importance of Waking Down

15:48 Therapeutic and Somatic Support

18:32 Traps on the Meditative Path

24:16 Waking Up vs. Growing Up

26:48 Nocturnal Meditations

27:16 The Importance of Dreams

27:34 Polyphasic vs. Monophasic Cultures

28:16 Ego and Altered States of Consciousness

29:06 The Three-Dimensional View of Reality

31:00 The Five Nocturnal Practices

32:51 Exploring Liminal Dreaming

34:14 The Science Behind Liminal Dreaming

35:23 Observational Intent and Thought Image Amalgamation

36:37 Deconstructing the Sense of Self

42:56 The Collective Mind and Quantum Entanglement

48:44 Guided Meditation Practice

Learn more about Andrew Holecek and find his new book here: https://www.andrewholecek.com/

Sign up for my newsletter at https://merylarnett.substack.com/ to receive free mini meditations each week, creative musings, and more.

Thank you to Brianna Nielsen for production and editing support. Find her at:

instagram.com/brianna_podcastpro

Watch on YouTube, Make a donation, or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visiting 

merylarnett.com

instagram.com/merylarnett

youtube.com/@ourmindfulnature

Today’s episode is an invitation to settle into the deepest listening and to celebrate what we find when we move beyond the noise of humans. Today, we embark on a meditative listening experience crafted by nature field recordist Nick McMahan. 

Earlier this year, Nick spent several days seeking out the quietest spot in Oregon. Exploring nature’s whispers and finding serenity in the sagebrush are what inspired today’s guided audio experience - a recording of Nick’s exploration.

Together, we will listen to the symphony that arises within Oregon’s quietest ecosystem.

What does it mean to listen to such quiet? What can we learn in the absence of human-made noise?

Grab your headphones, close your eyes, and join Nick on a journey through the Basque Hills of Oregon:

High and dry. There is hardly anything here. No water, no trees, just a small two-track (dirt road where people have driven enough times to form a road, but the ground has never been graded), and a distant horizon. The terrain appears endlessly flat, but after some time walking, I cannot see my car anymore. No towns, people, highways, or aircraft. A strange silence seems to be suspended in the still air. I sit down in the sagebrush and the wind calms. Looking closer I see various small wildflowers growing in clumps, thoughtfully placed near roots and sage. I lay down. It doesn’t feel dirty here. The dusty soil is cool, almost soothing. Eyes close, it is not long before a whir of wings pass not far overhead. Quickly followed by another and a hushed chirp. Something imperceptible has shifted. There is another soft chirp. Another whir, over to the left. Then a trill. Gradually building, a mesmerizing chorus of Brewer’s sparrows and a steady drumbeat of a common poorwill in the distance weave the song of this quiet sage land.

These sounds were recorded on the ancestral land of the Northern Paiute people.

Today’s episode was written, recorded and edited by Nick McMahan. Nick is a nature sound recordist and photographer, seeking projects to promote a more conscious world. Learn more and check out his sound libraries by visiting: nickmcmahan.com

Sign up for my newsletter at https://merylarnett.substack.com/ to receive free mini meditations each week, creative musings, and more.

Thank you to Brianna Nielsen for production, editing and social media support: instagram.com/brianna_podcastpro

Watch on YouTube, Make a donation, or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visiting 

merylarnett.com

instagram.com/merylarnett

youtube.com/@ourmindfulnature

Soundscape Alchemy.

Friends, what an episode I have for you today! Months ago, I took an impromptu trip to Canaveral National Seashore to visit acoustic artists Perri Lynch Howard and Gordon Hempton.

Frequent collaborators on the podcast, I was ecstatic to spend a weekend practicing the art of listening with them both. We walked mangroves, explored shorelines, and discussed the interplay of human voice, aerospace traffic, and birdsong.

The creative collaboration of Gordon and Perri resulted in a stunning piece of environmental art titled, “Hear Me Out.” 

Join me today for a discussion of what it means to listen with honesty, to weave ourselves into the natural world we inhabit, and to move “in close proximity to lifelong love.”

In this episode, Perri and Gordon delve into their experiences during their artist residency at Canaveral National Seashore through the Soundscape Field Station Artist Residency Program. The conversation highlights their collaborative project 'Hear Me Out', which investigates the changing soundscapes and their artistic interpretations influenced by the environment. They share their journey of recording, the emotional challenges faced, and how Doris Leeper's legacy inspired their work. The discussion also touches on the significance of natural sound preservation and future projects related to soundscapes and environmental art.

At the end, pop in your headphones, close your eyes, and listen to “Hear Me Out.”

Gordon Hempton

Acoustic ecologist Gordon Hempton has circled the globe three times in pursuit of the Earth’s rarest sounds. His sound portraits which record quickly vanishing natural soundscapes have been featured in People magazine and a national PBS television documentary, Vanishing Dawn Chorus, which earned him an Emmy. Hempton provides professional audio services to media

producers, including Microsoft, Smithsonian, National Geographic and Discovery Channel. Recipient of awards from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Rolex Awards for Enterprise he is co-author of One Square Inch of Silence: One Man’s Quest to Preserve Quiet (Free Press/Simon & Schuster, 2010) and Founding Partner of Quiet Parks International.

https://soundtracker.com/

Perri Lynch Howard

Perri Lynch Howard is a multi-disciplinary artist working in painting, drawing, installation, and sound. Her visual work and sound installations convey the passage of light, sound, and signal through landscapes on the front lines of climate change - a phenomenology of place. Howard received her BA from The Evergreen State College, BFA from the University of Washington, and MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art. Her art has a global reach through projects completed in Italy, Portugal, Brazil, Canada, the Arctic Circle, and in South India as a Fulbright Senior Research Scholar.

https://www.perrilynchhoward.com/

Thank you to Nick McMahan for today’s sound design and editing; and thank you to Brianna Nielsen for production and editing support. Find them at:

nickmcmahan.com

instagram.com/brianna_podcastpro

Lastly, thank you to Atlantic Center for the Arts and the ACA Soundscape Field Station for making this collaboration possible.

https://atlanticcenterforthearts.org/home/soundscape-field-station/

Watch on YouTube, Make a donation, or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visiting 

merylarnett.com

instagram.com/merylarnett

youtube.com/@ourmindfulnature

In this Monday night meditation class, we delve into the concept of listening and silence amidst the constant noise of modern life, especially during the election season. Today’s discussion touches on the various sources of human-made noise and their impact on inner peace, the varied definitions of silence, and the key to mindful listening.

David G. Haskell wrote, “listening opens us to what is hidden or unappreciated,” and together we will explore this hidden, unappreciated terrain.

Today’s guided meditation, featuring natural sounds from the quietest place in Oregon as recorded by Nick McMahan, encourages listeners to practice deep listening, find tranquility within themselves, and hear what was previously unheard.

Let’s practice!

The nature sounds you hear in today’s episode are from the ancestral lands of the Northern Paiute people. Now considered the edge of the Great Basin or the Basque Hills area of southeastern Oregon.

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:

nickmcmahan.com

instagram.com/brianna_podcastpro

Sign up for my newsletter at https://merylarnett.substack.com/ to receive free mini meditations each week, creative musings, and more.

Watch on YouTube, Make a donation, or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visiting 

merylarnett.com

instagram.com/merylarnett

youtube.com/@ourmindfulnature