Our Mindful Nature {Formerly The Mindful Minute‪}‬ Meryl Arnett

As you have likely noticed in this month’s episodes, we have moved from the stars to the soil. We will spend the next several episodes exploring edges and ecotones - spaces rife with the very best type of tension. The tension that inspires growth, expansion and action. Today, I am talking with artist, edge-walker, and dear friend Perri Lynch Howard about her experiences in a variety of ecotonal landscapes.Perri is an artist dedicated to forging new narratives from the front lines of climate change. Working in the context of extreme environments is an essential aspect of Howard’s practice, driving her curiosity to seek a deeper sense of place, beyond the dichotomy of near and far. Her artwork resides within the emerging genre of New Polar Aesthetics, expressed through painting, drawing, sculpture and sound.In this episode, Perri shares three of her unique, ecotonal field recordings with us as a way to explore the edges both within and without. We will hear the sounds of Vashon Island, the Great Basin Desert, and Svalbard and throughout we discuss:* Non-judgement * Listening for the truth of the moment* The relational words we use when discussing the land and ourselves* Reciprocal relationship in the time of climate crisis* The first rule of field recording AND meditating (!!)At the end, there is a guided meditation experience of the Vashon Island soundscape as an opportunity for you to explore your own relationship with edges. Thank you to the residencies and agencies that provided the time, space, and resources for Perri to record these incredible landscapes - The Arctic Circle Residency, PLAYA Artist Residency, Vashon Artist Residency, The Puffin Foundation, Artist Trust, and Quiet Parks International.

Last week, we began a new meditation series devoted to exploring the edges - both in the natural world as well as our internal landscape - and today’s interview and meditation practice do exactly that. Marisela B. Gomez is a community activist, public health professional, and physician-scientist. She is a co-founder of Village of Love and Resistance in Baltimore Maryland, organizing for power, healing and the reclamation of land. And,she is a meditation and Buddhist teacher, and a student of the late Zen Master Thich Nhat Han.She recently co-authored a new book, Healing Our Way Home: Black Buddhist Teachings on Ancestors, Joy & Liberation.In today’s episode, Marisela and I talk about the edges and the intersections of contemplative practices, community care and social justice.We talk about * the role of love in practice and action* the misconceptions of self-care* how and why spiritual or contemplative practice is vital for the healing of the planet and all beings.At the end, Marisela guides a beautiful meditation inviting us to explore and soften around our internal edges. Join me!Learn more about Marisela and find her new book here: https://www.mariselabgomez.com/ (https://www.mariselabgomez.com/)Sign up for my newsletter at https://merylarnett.substack.com/ to receive free mini meditations each week, creative musings, and more.Make a donation or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visiting merylarnett.cominstagram.com/merylarnettyoutube.com/@themindfulminutepodcastThank you to Brianna Nielsen for production and editing support. Find her at https://www.instagram.com/brianna_podcastpro/#meditatewithmeryl

Have you heard of an ecotone before?An ecotone is a transition area between two adjacent and different patches of landscape, such as forest and grassland.Ecotones do not simply represent a boundary or an edge; the concept of an ecotone assumes the existence of active interaction between two or more ecosystems with properties that do not exist in either of the adjacent ecosystems. An ecotone is a meeting place that creates something entirely distinct from either side of the boundary. In essence, 1 + 1 = 3.And this third space is what I want us to explore in this month’s meditation series.Edges, ecotones and third spaces are places of life, energy & growth; they are places of speciation - of creation and evolution.Third spaces are invitations into expansion - into knowing ourselves, our lands, and our actions in a way that wouldn’t be possible if we only resided on one side of the edge.Join me for today’s discussion of ecotones both within ourselves and in the outside world. Thank you to Gordon Hempton for the use of the incredible soundscape in today’s guided meditation. Recorded in North Carolina at Joyce Kilmer National Forest, the Cherokee were some of the first people to hear the sounds of this hardwood forest.Sign up for my newsletter at https://merylarnett.substack.com/ (https://merylarnett.substack.com/) to receive free mini meditations each week, creative musings, and more.Make a donation or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visiting merylarnett.cominstagram.com/merylarnett (http://instagram.com/merylarnett)youtube.com/@themindfulminutepodcast (http://youtube.com/@themindfulminutepodcast)Thank you to Brianna Nielsen for production and editing support. Find her at https://www.instagram.com/brianna_podcastpro/ (https://www.instagram.com/brianna_podcastpro/)#meditatewithmeryl

*Today's episode is a replay of a fan-favorite episode, The Stagnation Layer part 3, from September 2022*We started this meditation series, Are You Stuck, with the connective idea that the human body is a microcosm of the universe; that we can view the universe as a mirror image of what goes on inside.And, we looked to the Voyager space expedition, in particular the experience of Voyager 1 in the Stagnation Layer of the cosmos, as a metaphor for how we might engage with moments of ‘stuckness’ or stagnation.Today, 45 years after its launch and 14.6 billion miles from Earth, Voyager 1 and 2 have now spent 10 years in interstellar space. Interestingly, Voyager 1 went through the Stagnation Layer, and Voyager 2 did not. Yet, 10 years later, these two spacecraft are in the same place, both doing exactly what they are supposed to be doing, and both wildly, improbably successful. I think there are 3 vital lessons for us within this statement - - Community is vitally important for our movement through Stagnation.- It is our engagement that makes these moments magical and rich rather than scary and confusing.- We don’t need to worry about what anyone else is doing or experiencing within their meditation practice. Join me for today’s episode of Our Mindful Nature as we explore these three lessons and how they enrich both our meditation practice and our lived experience. Be sure to sign up for my newsletter at https://merylarnett.substack.com/ (https://merylarnett.substack.com/) to receive free mini meditations each week, creative musings, and more.Make a donation or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visiting merylarnett.cominstagram.com/merylarnett (http://instagram.com/merylarnett)youtube.com/@themindfulminutepodcast (http://youtube.com/@themindfulminutepodcast)Thank you to Brianna Nielsen for production and editing support. Find her at https://www.instagram.com/brianna_podcastpro/ (https://www.instagram.com/brianna_podcastpro/)#meditatewithmeryl

*Today's episode is a replay of a fan-favorite episode, The Stagnation Layer {part 2}, from September 2022*Part 1 of this meditation series introduced The Stagnation Layer of the cosmos and the periods of stagnation we experience both as individuals and as naturally occurring phenomena. Part of the description NASA shares for the Stagnation Layer says - There is a doubling in the intensity of the magnetic field in the stagnation region. Like cars piling up at a clogged freeway off-ramp, the increased intensity of the magnetic field shows that inward pressure from interstellar space is compacting it. Higher-energy particles from inside our solar system appear to be leaking out into interstellar space.As a personal experience, when we stagnate we likely feel an increased pressure to DO something, to figure it out, or to move. And, all our creative mojo feels like it is draining away. We find ourselves both anxious to move and possibly frozen in place. This is a tricky combination.Luckily, in these moments, there are ancient and wise teachings that can be so helpful. Even if we know or think we know, it is helpful to hear of the wisdom that has come before. Of course, what isn’t helpful is buying ALL the books. Or listening to ALL the teachers. This is overwhelming, and very likely frustrating. Instead, I encourage you to look for what I call ‘Threads of Truth’ - I came up with this term to describe the overarching themes within meditation that continue to appear across time, lineage, and geography. The words might differ, but the underlying wisdom is clearly the same. And, it is these threads of truth that serve as a compass when we are lost in the Stagnation Layer.Join me for today’s episode of Our Mindful Nature as we unravel the Threads of Truth and share in a 20-minute guided meditation practice. Be sure to sign up for my newsletter at https://merylarnett.substack.com/ (https://merylarnett.substack.com/) to receive free mini meditations each week, creative musings, and more.Make a donation or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visiting merylarnett.cominstagram.com/merylarnett (http://instagram.com/merylarnett)youtube.com/@themindfulminutepodcast (http://youtube.com/@themindfulminutepodcast)Thank you to Brianna Nielsen for production and editing support. Find her at https://www.instagram.com/brianna_podcastpro/ (https://www.instagram.com/brianna_podcastpro/)#meditatewithmeryl

*Today's episode is a replay of a fan-favorite episode, The Stagnation Layer part 1, from September 2022*When you read poetry of the mystics, when you study ancient tantric & buddhist texts, not to mention so many indigenous cultures across the world, we learn of the universe as a metaphor for the internal experiences of consciousness.The macrocosm and the microcosm… As goes the outside, so goes the inside…And the more time I spend connecting my meditation practice with the natural world, the more I experience the wisdom of this truth, perhaps never more so than as I reflect on The Stagnation Layer.Devoted listeners won’t be surprised to hear me bring up the Voyager space expedition yet again - it is one of my favorite stories and something that continues to capture my fascination - In 1977 two spacecrafts were launched with the mission of leaving our solar system and exploring interstellar space. In 2012, Voyager 1 achieved this goal, but not before spending a year in the transitional realm of space deemed by scientists as “The Stagnation Layer”.Scientists write:“Data obtained from Voyager over the last year reveal this new region to be a kind of cosmic purgatory. In it, the wind of charged particles streaming out from our sun has calmed, our solar system's magnetic field is piled up, and higher-energy particles from inside our solar system appear to be leaking out into interstellar space.”A cosmic purgatory?Have you ever felt you were stuck in a cosmic purgatory? Are you in one right now? Sometimes I think this feels like a dark void, like you are stuck in a doorway and can’t step through, or perhaps like a dense fog that you are lost inside. Lucky for us, the universe itself is providing the answer for what we do in stagnation, if we only remember to listen. Join me for today’s episode of Our Mindful Nature as we discover the Stagnation Layer and explore how we might move through. As always, there is a brief talk followed by a 20-minute guided meditation.Be sure to sign up for my newsletter at https://merylarnett.substack.com/ (https://merylarnett.substack.com/) to receive free mini meditations each week, creative musings, and more.Make a donation or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visiting merylarnett.cominstagram.com/merylarnett (http://instagram.com/merylarnett)youtube.com/@themindfulminutepodcast (http://youtube.com/@themindfulminutepodcast)Thank you to Brianna Nielsen for production and editing support. Find her at https://www.instagram.com/brianna_podcastpro/ (https://www.instagram.com/brianna_podcastpro/)#meditatewithmeryl