Avsnitt
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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
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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
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Saknas det avsnitt?
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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
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U.S. Poet Laureate and fellow meditator Ada Limón joins me today on Our Mindful Nature to chat about her Signature Project, 'You Are Here, Poetry in Parks.'
Y’all this was a dream conversation for me - full of presence, hope and truth. Full of poetry and beauty even as we discuss climate crisis and environmental activism.
Together, we delve into the origins of ‘You Are Here: Poetry in Parks’, its deep connections between nature and poetry, and its aim to foster mindfulness and presence. Ada shares thoughts on the power of small actions amid climate crises, the inclusivity of the project's installations in national parks, and the importance of everyday nature. We also talk about the power of realizing that You. Are. Here.
“'You Are Here: Poetry in the Parks' aims to deepen our connection to nature through poetry,” said Limón. “I believe the way we respond to this crucial moment on our planet could define humanity forever. In conceiving of my signature project, I wanted something that could both praise our sacred and natural wonders and also speak the complex truths of this urgent time. Above all, this project is about rising to this moment with hope, the kind of hope that will echo outwards for years to come.”
At the end, as a mini practice, Ada reads her stunning poem Sanctuary.
Ada Limón is the twenty-fourth US Poet Laureate and the author of The Hurting Kind, as well as five other collections of poems. These include The Carrying, which won the National Book Critics Circle Award and was named a finalist for the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award, and Bright Dead Things, which was named a finalist for the National Book Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award, and the Kingsley Tufts Award. Limón is a recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, and her work has appeared in the New Yorker, the New York Times, and American Poetry Review, among others. Born and raised in California, she now lives in Lexington, Kentucky.
Learn more about You Are Here: Poetry in Parks: https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1207/3-6-24-poetry-in-parks.htm
Find Ada’s book You Are Here; Poetry in the Natural World here: https://milkweed.org/book/you-are-here
The Methow people were the first people to hear the sounds of Methow Valley, Washington that are included in today’s episode.
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
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In this guided meditation, we explore an elemental balancing practice for anxiety management and nervous system regulation. Reflecting on personal experiences with balancing extreme temperatures and anxiety, I share a visualization and sound meditation that has been deeply supportive in my own practice. I hope it will be useful in your own practice as well!
No discussion, no distraction - just the meditation for your daily practice.
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 Gordon Hempton for today’s nature field recordings, to Nick McMahan for sound design, and editing, and to Brianna Nielsen for production and editing support. Find them at:
soundtracker.com
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
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In this guided meditation, we explore an elemental balancing practice for anxiety management and nervous system regulation. Reflecting on personal experiences with balancing extreme temperatures and anxiety, I share a visualization and sound meditation that has been deeply supportive in my own practice. I hope it will be useful in your own practice as well!
Together, we will guide our energy to move from the root chakra to the third eye, integrated with breath work and visualizations to promote balance and cooling.
The supportive soundscape in today’s episode is a recording of a summer night in Olympic National Park from acoustic ecologist Gordon Hempton. You will hear a summer breeze swirl through tall grasses while chattering birds and a distant coyote settle down for the night.
In this episode:
00:00 Welcome and Introduction
00:46 Balancing in Extreme Temperatures
01:25 Dealing with Anxiety and Imbalance
03:05 Elemental Balancing Practice
04:32 Combining Practices: Elemental Balancing and Still Lake of the Mind
07:58 Guided Meditation: Journey Through the Elements
27:56 Closing and Returning to the Present
The sounds in today’s episode were recorded on the ancestral lands of eight tribes: Hoh, Jamestown S'Klallam, Lower Elwha Klallam, Makah, Port Gamble S'Klallam, Quileute, Quinault and Skokomish.
Thank you to Gordon Hempton for today’s nature field recordings, to Nick McMahan for sound design, and editing, and to Brianna Nielsen for production and editing support. Find them at:
soundtracker.com
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.
merylarnett.com
instagram.com/merylarnett
youtube.com/@ourmindfulnature
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7 a.m.
It’s a cool, blue morning, and we are seated alongside the Coosa River in Alabama. Our guided meditation practice begins with mindful breathing and sensory awareness. This is an opportunity for cosmic connection and deep relaxation.
It is silent except for the birds’ morning chorus and a whisper of wind through the river grasses.
Gradually, a family of geese make themselves known, and we are instantly reminded of Mary Oliver’s poem Wild Geese, which ends with the line -
{...} the world offers itself to your imagination, calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting — over and over announcing your place in the family of things.
Today’s poetic meditation is inspired by this invitation to remember our place in the family of things, to maintain a mindful awareness of our relationship with nature, to re-weave ourselves into the animate earth around us. Join me for this 6-minute, nature-inspired meditation.
Creek Native Americans were the first people to hear the sounds of the Coosa River that are played in this meditation.
Thank you to Brianna Nielsen for production and editing support. Find her at:
instagram.com/brianna_podcastpro
If you enjoyed today’s episode, please Sign up for my newsletter at https://merylarnett.substack.com/ to receive free mini meditations each week.
Want to support this podcast? Consider sending this episode to a friend or leaving a review. It is free and it really helps this show to grow!
merylarnett.com
instagram.com/merylarnett
youtube.com/@ourmindfulnature
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Today’s episode is the meditation offered at this year's Summer Solstice inspired by the poem An Inn for the Coven by Gabrielle Calvocoressi.
No discussion, no distraction - just the meditation for your daily practice.
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 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/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/@themindfulminutepodcast
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Today’s meditation is a live recording from this year’s Summer Solstice Meditation Retreat.
Midsummer and the temps are hot… literally and figuratively. As a way to explore the feelings that come with rising temperatures, in today’s class I share two powerful poems:
An Inn for the Coven by Gabrielle Calvocoressi
The Guest House by Rumi
These poems speak of a place where we are safe.
The Inn feels lush, abundant, filled with love and the possibility of beauty.
The Guest House feels sturdy, spacious enough for all our feelings to reside without conflict.
We hear of our loves, our hurts, and our divinity in these poems; all different and all the same and all inside.
And so, this midsummer meditation is an invitation to explore the inn.
To travel the grounds finding all the hidden trails.
To open all the doors.
It is an invitation to create or discover an internal experience of deep, nourishing safety, a place to nurture our love and hope. A place to rest well and to feel fully.
Join me for today’s discussion and guided 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
https://www.nickcmcmahan.com/
https://www.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
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Today, as the final installment in our Edges series, I am joined by writer, poet, memoirist, teacher, yogi, activist, and mother - Nadia Colburn.
Nadia has recently released her newest book of poetry, I Say the Sky - and y’all know how much I love exploring the intersection of poetry and mindfulness.
As a start, I want to share one of the review blurbs about Nadia’s newest book because I feel that it so perfectly sums up her work:
"From the opening poem and on through this glorious book, Nadia Colburn strikes the difficult balance between celebrating the splendor of the world we inhabit and acknowledging the grief and devastation that none of us can escape. As much a book of love songs as a book of elegies, I Say the Sky is a heart opening and mind sharpening collection." ~Camille T. Dungy
I couldn’t agree more.
In our conversation today, Nadia,who feels like an old friend, and I discuss:
Writing from the bodyAgency in times of distressMeeting edge places in a state of opening rather than contractionWe talk of generative, supportive action and of course we explore mindful writing practices to support ourselves in times of change. Grab your journal and join us!
Learn more about Nadia Colburn here: https://nadiacolburn.com/
Check out Nadia's FREE 5-day Meditation & Writing Challenge here: https://nadiacolburn.com/free-mindful-writing-challenge/
Learn more about Project Regeneration here: https://regeneration.org/
Thank you to Brianna Nielsen for production support of this episode. https://www.instagram.com/brianna_podcastpro/
Please sign up for my newsletter at merylarnett.substack.com to access these meditations as stand-alone audio files for your daily practice.
Make a donation or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visiting merylarnett.com
instagram.com/merylarnett
youtube.com/@themindfulminutepodcast
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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 momentThe relational words we use when discussing the land and ourselvesReciprocal relationship in the time of climate crisisThe 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.
Finally, deep gratitude to Nick McMahan for editing and the sound design of this episode, and to Brianna Nielsen for production support.
Learn more about:
Perri Lynch Howard: https://www.perrilynchhoward.com/
Nick McMahan: https://www.nickcmcmahan.com/
Brianna Nielsen: https://www.instagram.com/brianna_podcastpro/
Please sign up for my newsletter at merylarnett.substack.com to access these meditations as stand-alone audio files for your daily practice.
Make a donation or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visiting merylarnett.com
instagram.com/merylarnett
youtube.com/@themindfulminutepodcast
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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 actionthe misconceptions of self-carehow 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/
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.com
instagram.com/merylarnett
youtube.com/@themindfulminutepodcast
Thank you to Brianna Nielsen for production and editing support. Find her at https://www.instagram.com/brianna_podcastpro/
#meditatewithmeryl
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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/ 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.com
instagram.com/merylarnett
youtube.com/@themindfulminutepodcast
Thank you to Brianna Nielsen for production and editing support. Find her at https://www.instagram.com/brianna_podcastpro/
#meditatewithmeryl
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*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/ 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.com
instagram.com/merylarnett
youtube.com/@themindfulminutepodcast
Thank you to Brianna Nielsen for production and editing support. Find her at https://www.instagram.com/brianna_podcastpro/
#meditatewithmeryl
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*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/ 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.com
instagram.com/merylarnett
youtube.com/@themindfulminutepodcast
Thank you to Brianna Nielsen for production and editing support. Find her at https://www.instagram.com/brianna_podcastpro/
#meditatewithmeryl
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*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/ 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.com
instagram.com/merylarnett
youtube.com/@themindfulminutepodcast
Thank you to Brianna Nielsen for production and editing support. Find her at https://www.instagram.com/brianna_podcastpro/
#meditatewithmeryl
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Last week’s episode (We Are Made of Star Stuff; An Interview with Dr. Kimberly Arcand) is a personal favorite of mine, and this week, I’m highlighting the meditation from that episode to make sure you have a chance to listen.
The sonification of stars, black holes, galaxies and more invite a new way of knowing the cosmos. It is one thing to see a static image of the night sky and an entirely different experience when we hear that same data in an embodied way.
Meditation is exactly the same - we think we know ourselves, but then we get still and quiet and learn to listen, and suddenly a whole new field of insight and awareness is made available to us.
This meditation is an experience of mapping the cosmos of the body alongside 3 sonifications from NASA’s Chandra Xray Observatory - Perseus Black Hole, Milky Way Galactic Center, and Chandra Deep Field South. You will also hear a thread of ocean waves throughout to keep us grounded and centered, even as we journey through the cosmos.
Thank you to NASA for the sounds and images in today’s episode, to Nick McMahan for the ocean wave field recording as well as the sound design and production of today’s episode, and to Brianna Nielsen for production support.
Find them here:
https://nickmcmahan.com/
https://www.instagram.com/brianna_podcastpro/
Learn more about Dr. Arcand and NASA’s sonification project here:
https://chandra.si.edu/sound/
https://plus.nasa.gov/video/listen-to-the-universe/
https://www.kimarcand.com
Lastly, be sure to Sign up for my newsletter at https://merylarnett.substack.com/ to access these meditations as stand-alone audio files for your daily practice.
Make a donation or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visiting merylarnett.com
instagram.com/merylarnett
youtube.com/@themindfulminutepodcast
#meditatewithmeryl
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In 2020, experts at NASA’s Chandra X-ray Center began the first ongoing, sustained program to “sonify” astronomical data. The sonification project is led by my guest today, Dr. Kimberly Arcand (Chandra Visualization Scientist) along with her colleagues Dr. Matt Russo (astrophysicist/musician) and Andrew Santaguida (musician/sound engineer) at System Sounds.
The sonification of stars, black holes, galaxies and more invite a new way of knowing the cosmos. It is one thing to see a static image of the night sky and an entirely different experience when we hear that same data in an embodied way.
As we talk about the sonification of the cosmos, you will see that this is really another way of knowing or connecting to something that we think we know. Meditation is exactly the same - we think we know ourselves, but then we get still and quiet and learn to listen, and suddenly a whole new field of insight and awareness is made available to us.
This interview was such a bucket list interview for me. Dr. Arcand - a fellow meditator - helps us to more fully grasp the words of Carl Sagan when he told us we were made of star stuff and the words of Kabir when he wrote that inside the body there are hundreds of millions of stars.
Dr. Kimberly Arcand is the Visualization scientist & Emerging tech lead for NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory. Arcand is an award-winning producer and director. She is a leading expert in studying the perception and comprehension of high-energy data visualization across the novice-expert spectrum. As a science data storyteller she combines her background in molecular biology and computer science with her current work in the fields of astronomy and physics.
In this episode, Kim and I chat about:
What a Science Data Storyteller does and how this relates to our work as meditatorsThe origin of the sonification project at NASAHow data is translated into embodied knowingBlack Holes as cosmic recycling centersWhat happens when a star explodes (hint: the same thing happens to us when we ‘explode’!!)Learning to hear what is unhearableAfter our conversation, I guide a really unique meditation that uses 3 sonifications from Kim and her team to help us map the cosmos inside our bodies.
Join me for an exploration of the cosmos - both within and without.
Learn more about Dr. Arcand and NASA’s sonification project here:
https://chandra.si.edu/sound/
https://plus.nasa.gov/video/listen-to-the-universe/
https://www.kimarcand.com
Thank you to NASA for the sounds and images in today’s episode, to Nick McMahan for the ocean wave field recording as well as the sound design and production of today’s episode, and to Brianna Nielsen for production support.
Find them here:
https://nickmcmahan.com/
https://www.instagram.com/brianna_podcastpro/
Lastly, be sure to Sign up for my newsletter at https://merylarnett.substack.com/ to access these meditations as stand-alone audio files for your daily practice.
Make a donation or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visiting merylarnett.com
instagram.com/merylarnett
youtube.com/@themindfulminutepodcast
#meditatewithmeryl
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Sometimes the simplest practices are the most helpful. When lost, overwhelmed, sad or scared, I often find myself simply walking outside, lying down, and staring up at the sky. There's nothing specific to do, nothing specific to feel. It's simply a moment to watch the movement of the clouds or stars, and to remember that the earth is nothing more than a pale blue dot rotating in a vast galaxy of stars, planets, moons, and more. This practice connects us to something larger than ourselves and this one moment in time. What we experience through the cosmos surrounding us tells us about ourselves.
A little perspective is always a good thing. Join me for today’s 10-minute meditation; it is perfect for a reset, a brain break, or a moment of calm on a hectic day.
Sign up for my newsletter at 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.com
instagram.com/merylarnett
youtube.com/@themindfulminutepodcast
Thank you to Brianna Nielsen for production and editing support. Find her at https://www.instagram.com/brianna_podcastpro/
#meditatewithmeryl
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The Mindful Minute has a NEW NAME and NEW LOOK! After 8 years, I have updated the name to more accurately reflect the content offered here. Welcome to Our Mindful Nature!
“Back when humans lived in communal caves and tribal encampments, we told stories about the stars. When we started sailing, we used these same pinpricks of light to estimate our own location. When we began planting, we relied on the constellations and the Sun to plant and sustain crops. Yet today, most modern humans have lost this deep connection to the cosmos that was once central to our daily lives.” ~Sarah Scoles
Today’s episode is a replay of a 2022 interview that is still one of my favorites and is a perfect fit for our astronomical focus this month. Enjoy it!
I have devoted more episodes to the night sky and the cosmos surrounding us than any other singular topic, and today’s interview with science journalist and author Sarah Scoles perhaps best sums up why the skies above serve as such a powerful connection to our meditation practice and our deepest selves.
Sarah, along with astronomy professor Chris De Pree, wrote a unique guidebook (and a perpetual guest on my nightstand) titled Astronomical Mindfulness.
In today’s episode of Our Mindful Nature, Sarah and I talk about the power of the sun, moon, stars, and planets to offer engaging exercises that deepen your knowledge of the solar system, help you take necessary pauses every day, and foster a renewed sense of presence in the universe. The focus is on short, simple practices that immediately create a sense of connection and provide context for the hectic moments of our day-to-day lives.
Whether you look up at the night sky or not, the skies above us are perhaps the most central, ubiquitous element of human storytelling and identity. Humanity has looked up for as long as we have ever found a record of. The earliest cave drawings and the earliest indentations carved into the earth were made in reference to the sky above.
What we experience through the cosmos surrounding us tells us about ourselves.
Join me for this exploration of the cosmos, mindfulness, and some new practices you can try tonight. At the end, I offer a 10-minute guided meditation inspired by this conversation.
Sarah Scoles is a freelance journalist and contributing editor at WIRED. She is the author of Making Contact: Jill Tarter and the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence and They Are Already Here: UFO Culture and Why We See Saucers. Learn more about Sarah at: https://www.sarahscoles.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.com
instagram.com/merylarnett
youtube.com/@themindfulminutepodcast
Thank you to Brianna Nielsen for production and editing support. Find her at https://www.instagram.com/brianna_podcastpro/
#meditatewithmeryl
- Visa fler
