New Year's Day Intention & Guided Meditation: Heartfulness, A Softer Path in 2025
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSS | YouTube
Happy New Year and welcome back to Our Mindful Nature, where we explore the intersection of meditation, nature, and mental health. Let’s start the year by diving into a fresh, gentler perspective on mindfulness — or should we say, heartfulness?
In this episode, I share a thought that’s been swirling in my mind: what if we reframed our practice? While in the West, meditation is often translated as “mindfulness,” the original Pali word aligns more closely with the concept of “heartfulness.” Imagine how this shift might change the way we experience meditation practice and life.
💡 What We Discuss in This Episode:
Why mindfulness in the West focuses so much on the intellect and how this reflects our cultural values.
The richness of practicing from the heart: a softer, more embodied approach.
How heartfulness isn’t just about sitting on a cushion but about cultivating a way of being.
Simple, actionable steps to embrace heart-awareness in your practice:
Ask for blessings or support at the start of your meditation.
Soften into your body and breathe from the heart.
Practice wakeful rest, becoming a co-participant in your experience rather than a manager of it.
🧘♀️ A Guided Practice:
We’ll close the episode with a short nature-based meditation to explore heartfulness together. Feel the warmth of the season and settle into a sense of connection with your inner landscape.
🎧 Tune in to explore a gentler, more heartfelt way to nurture your mental health, connect with nature, and deepen your meditation practice.
✨ Let’s Connect:
Enjoyed the episode? Let us know your thoughts! Share your reflections on social media and tag us at @merylarnett.
Ready to embrace heartfulness? Hit play and let’s journey inward together. 🌟
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 episode including narration, nature field recordings, video and sound design, and editing; and thank you to Brianna Nielsen for production and editing support. Find them at:
instagram.com/brianna_podcastpro
Watch on YouTube, Make a donation, or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visiting
This episode is written and recorded without the use of AI content creation. If you catch a mistake, I hope it makes you smile knowing a real person is behind each of these stories, ideas and guided meditations.
