Nature-Inspired Meditations
Feeling overwhelmed despite your best self-care practices?
You’re not alone. Anxiety, stress, and mental health struggles are at an all-time high — even for those of us in healing professions.
After teaching and practicing meditation for 15+ years, host Meryl Arnett shares the secret to deep, restorative and helpful meditation practices - nature-inspired meditation.
Meryl’s soothing guidance and high-quality nature soundscapes will help you to:
Cultivate a meditation practice that relieves stress and quiets the mind
Strengthen your resilience and compassion through mindful connection
Relax and reconnect deeply with immersive, nature-infused meditations
Tune in every Monday and Thursday for nature-inspired meditations designed to calm an overwhelmed mind, ease anxiety, and deepen your connection to yourself and the world around you.
Now, let’s grab a cup of tea, a comfy seat and settle in for today’s practice.
Listen
The Final Episode: A Heartfelt Farewell from Our Mindful Nature
11 years ago, this podcast began as a simple gift for a handful of meditation students. Today, it comes to a close with a full heart and deep gratitude.
In this final episode of Our Mindful Nature, host and meditation teacher Meryl Arnett shares a personal reflection on the journey that brought this podcast to life, what it has meant to carry a practice through 11 years of real life, and where mindfulness is calling her next.
The Mindful Kitchen: Simple Rituals for Cooking with Intention, Gratitude, and Joy
Can preparing dinner become a mindfulness practice?
In this conversation, Meryl sits down with cookbook author and podcast creator Nicki Sizemore to explore how intention, gratitude, and presence can transform even the most ordinary meal into something deeply nourishing. As Our Mindful Nature enters its final season after 11 incredible years, this series continues its exploration of food as a doorway into everyday mindfulness.
Beyond the Cushion: Food, Gathering, and Community as Mindfulness Practice
What if one of the most profound mindfulness practices isn't found on a meditation cushion, but around a table instead?
In this conversation, meditation teacher Meryl Arnett sits down with anthropologist, meditation teacher and author Dr. Ashanté Reese to explore how food nourishes not only our bodies, but our histories, our communities, and our capacity to care for one another.
Extended Listening Experience: Spring Rain in the Cascade Mountains for Meditation, Work, or Sleep (No AI!)
What if you could experience the complete journey of a spring rainstorm from beginning to end? This extended nature listening episode offers the full, unedited soundscape that formed the backdrop for the three-part "Chasing the Ephemeral" meditation series. Recorded in Washington State's Cascade Mountains, this pure nature experience invites you into deep listening without guidance, narration, or interruption.
Chasing the Ephemeral Part 3: Salamander Meditation & Finding Balance Between Water and Earth
What does tender self-care look like when the world feels overwhelming? In this final episode of the "Chasing the Ephemeral" spring series, meditation teacher Meryl Arnett turns to the salamander, quiet guardian of vernal pools, for wisdom about gentle transformation and emotional balance. Through a deeply personal dream about tending to what's been neglected, this meditation explores how to practice radical self-care during times of moral injury and societal upheaval.
Chasing the Ephemeral Part 2: Pink Moon Meditation for Meeting Beauty
How do we meet beauty at the precise moment it appears and practice releasing it just as gently? In this second episode of the three-part "Chasing the Ephemeral" series, meditation teacher Meryl Arnett guides us beneath April's Pink Moon for a practice in experiencing awe without attachment. Just like the creeping phlox that suddenly carpets the ground in pink before fading away, this meditation teaches us to honor what blooms in our lives right now.
Chasing the Ephemeral Part 1: A Spring Rain Meditation Practice
What if the most meaningful experiences are the ones we can only meet in the moment? This first episode in a three-part spring series explores the concept of "ephemeral"—those fleeting wildflowers, temporary woodland pools, and brief moments of wonder that can only be caught when we're fully present. Join meditation teacher Meryl Arnett for a journey into spring's hush, where we learn to practice awe and find renewal in life's most transient moments.
Forest Bathing at Dawn in a Frozen Evergreen Valley | Sensory Meditation with Winter Birds
Before the world wakes, the frozen forest comes alive. This unique 30-minute listening experience invites you into the pristine winter dawn of Washington State's Sinlahekin Valley, where winter birds greet the morning with bold, communal song that cuts through the cold and offers deep reassurance.
Unlike traditional guided meditations, this is pure, unfiltered nature—no narration, no instructions, just you and the authentic sounds of winter's dawn chorus.
Support Our Mindful Nature
Since 2016, I have joyfully poured all my creative energy into the creation of this podcast. It has grown from an occasional meditation offering to a weekly show with interviews, book recommendations, guided practices and high-quality nature soundscapes. If these offerings support you and your meditation practice, please consider making a one-time or monthly donation to support the growth of this labor of love. If you can’t donate, please consider sharing this podcast with a friend or leaving a review wherever you listen to your podcasts.
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“Just wanted to say a huge thanks from Suffolk U.K I started to listen to your podcasts after the return of anxiety and panic attacks and you have made my life so much clearer, and calmer I love listening to your podcasts, you will never know how much your calming words soothe my soul.”
— Our Mindful Nature Podcast listener