Meditation Archives - Mountain Zen Den

by Skydancer7

Mountain Zen Den ~ Ep. 137 – 30-Day Nature Reset – Day 1

30-Day Nature Reset, Inspiration, Meditation, Nature, Personal Development, Personal Growth, Personal Transformation, Podcast, Self-Development, Spiritual Growth, Well-being

Welcome to the mountain! How are your New Year’s goals and resolutions holding up? No cause for guilt or shame. No need to feel bad. On the journey toward wholeness, every day is Day 1. A fresh start. Every day offers an opportunity to learn and grow and begin again. Abraham Maslow, (you know - the hierarch of needs guy), observed, “What one can be one must be”. You and I were created for a purpose. And deep within each of us is the desire to grow and fulfill that purpose. We become restless, (or something even worse), when that purpose is ignored or stuffed down. This is the root of unhappiness and all sorts of sorrows, struggles, and addictions. As we step into the new year we have yet…

by Skydancer7

Mountain Zen Den ~ Episode 127 – Living an Awakened Life on Planet Earth with Peter Mayer

Inspiration, Meditation, Mindfulness, Music & Nature, Nature, Podcast, Purpose

Minnesota Singer/Songwriter Peter Mayer MZD Podcast – Ep. 127 Living an Awakened Life on Planet Earth with Peter Mayer Minnesota singer/songwriter Peter Mayer writes songs for a small planet--songs about interconnectedness and the human journey--songs about life on earth and the mysterious and wondrous fact of our existence. He also writes songs about dress hats, pumpkins and pajamas, and other important stuff. But I love the fact that he also writes insanely beautiful songs about spiritual awakening, oneness with the world, and deep connection with Nature. His music has been performed by artists like Kathy Mattea, David Wilcox, and Darryl Purpose, to name a few. His work has been included in songbooks, church hymnals, and folk radio playlists across the country, and he is the recipient of fellowships from the…

by Skydancer7

Mountain Zen Den ~ Episode 122 – The Adventures of a Rocky Mountain Tour Guide

Meditation, Mindfulness, Mountains, Nature, Podcast

Green Jeep Tour Guide Ron Francis - Estes Park, CO MZD Podcast – Ep. 122 The Adventures of A Rocky Mountain Tour Guide Welcome to another Fireside Friday here at Mountain Zen Den, where we take some time to share heart to heart the joys and importance of connecting with the natural world for mindfulness and Personal Transformation. Naturally! Do you smell that? That’s the scent of fresh mountain air here in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado in the spring. In today’s episode we meet up with an awesome human being, my fellow Rocky Mountain Tour Guide, Ron Francis. Ron has a heart of gold that just shines his love and passion not only for Rocky Mountain National Park, but the real joy that comes from being able to share…

by Skydancer7

Mountain Zen Den ~ Episode 114 – The Mindfulness Journey

Meditation, Mindfulness, Nature, Personal Development, Personal Growth, Personal Transformation, Podcast, Self-Development, Well-being

MZD Podcast - Ep. 114 The Mindfulness Journey This Fireside Friday finds us exploring The Mindfulness Journey, and how it shapes who we are and where we wind up in life. We also discuss how Mindfulness and Nature are inseparable for us. The Mindfulness Journey is a return home... A few resources we mention include: "You Are Here" by Thich Naht Hanh "Wherever You Go, There You Are" by Jon Kabat-Zinn "The Nature Fix" by Florence Williams "Vitamin N" by Richard Louv Photo Brett Wilson For more natural goodness Listen on iTunes > [maxbutton id="8"]

by Skydancer7

Mountain Zen Den ~ Episode 113 – Cultivating Presence

Meditation, Mindfulness, Nature, Patience, Personal Development, Personal Growth, Personal Transformation, Podcast, Self-Development, Well-being

MZD Podcast - Ep. 113 Cultivating Patience Today we’re going to talk about… …Patience. Did you feel the tension in the pause, as your legs got jittery, your toes began to tap, and you wanted me to fill in the word and get on with today’s meditation? Patience is the heart of what mindfulness is all about. It is the embodiment of living in the now. We see examples of patience in nature all the time: Seeds planted in the soil take time to grow and stick their head above the soil, and bloom and grow and bear fruit and flowers and vegetables. (Clock time vs. Horticultural time). Caterpillars in cocoons take time to become beautiful, brilliant butterflies. Bees patiently gather pollen for nectar, one flower at a time. A…

by Skydancer7

Mountain Zen Den ~ Episode 110 – Meditation Made Simple (Some Practical Tips)

Meditation, Mindfulness, Nature, Personal Development, Personal Growth, Personal Transformation, Podcast, Self-Development, Well-being

MZD Podcast - Ep. 110 Meditation Made Simple Want to learn how to meditate? It's simpler than you may have thought. Today we share a bit about our personal meditation journey and practices, and offer a few practical tips that may help you with yours. We also discuss some ideas from a couple of wonderful books we have been reading lately by Hal Elrod, Michael Singer and Ryan Holiday. (See links below). Glad you're here, c'mon in! "The Miracle Morning" by Hal Elrod "Stillness is the Key" by Ryan Holiday "The Untethered Soul" by Michael Singer "Snow White" and her Meditation buddies… Photos by Brett Wilson For more natural goodness Listen on iTunes > [maxbutton id="8"]

by Skydancer7

Mountain Zen Den ~ Episode 109 – Cultivating Compassion

Compassion, Inspiration, Meditation, Mindfulness, Nature, Personal Development, Personal Growth, Personal Transformation, Podcast, Self-Development, Well-being

MZD Podcast - Ep. 109 Cultivating Compassion “Along with love, compassion is the face of altruism. It is a feeling deep in the heart that you cannot bear other’s suffering without acting to relieve it.” ~ The Dalai Lama We come together at MZD to connect with Nature for mindfulness and personal growth. We talk about it all the time. In fact, we have been focusing on, and training if you will, how to cultivate personal strengths and traits that we desire to see show up in our lives as the best version of ourselves… things like… Do you find yourself struggling in a specific area, (or areas), of your life and personal growth? Perhaps, fear and doubt, anger, addiction, selfishness, pride or lack of compassion. If you said “Yes”,…

by Skydancer7

Mountain Zen Den ~ Episode 108 – Why Mindfulness? Why Nature?

Inspiration, Meditation, Mindfulness, Nature, Personal Development, Personal Growth, Personal Transformation, Podcast, Self-Development, Uncategorized, Well-being

Photo Melissa Wilson MZD Podcast - Ep. 108 Why Mindfulness? Why Nature? "Now is now.” ~ Laura Ingalls Wilder Welcome to the Mountain! We’re going to get back to the basics. Can you imagine how awesome it would be to wake up every morning to the amazing beauty and wonderful sounds of nature? We just got back from an amazing hike along Carter Lake and had our senses bombarded by the beauty and restorative powers of Nature… We were reminded that there are things all around us everyday that would bring so much joy and happiness and peace if we would just take the time to notice them. It’s called living in the Now. Now is all we’ve got. Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow hasn’t come, we just have Now. And…

by Skydancer7

Mountain Zen Den ~ Episode 105 – Cultivating Courage

Courage, Meditation, Personal Development, Personal Growth, Personal Transformation, Podcast, Well-being

Photo Brett Wilson MZD Podcast - Ep. 105 Cultivating Courage What are you grateful for today? What’s the first thing that comes to mind that you are thankful for? This is always a good place to start our meditation practice. On Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, we celebrate the gift of Courage, for which I am truly grateful. If it weren’t for the courage of leaders like Dr. King, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and a host of unnamed others, so many of the freedoms and benefits and pleasures we enjoy today would not be available to us. Did you know that “Fear not!” is the most repeated command in the Bible? 366 to be exact; one for every day of the year plus leap year! This should be encouraging. Literally!…

by Skydancer7

Mountain Zen Den ~ Episode 99 – Cultivating Wisdom

Meditation, Mindfulness, Nature, Personal Development, Personal Growth, Personal Transformation, Podcast, Self-Development, Uncategorized, Wisdom

Photo Brett Wilson “The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts.” ~ Marcus Aurelius In the most recent series here on Mountain Zen Den we’ve been talking about cultivating what we call your “Garden of Well-being”… Today we will discuss cultivating Wisdom in our lives. What does this mean? What picture comes to mind when you think of wisdom?... (Socrates, Aristotle, King Solomon, Confucius, Gandalf, Dumbledore, Yoda…“wise you are”, or maybe an owl…) What does Wisdom look like? And why do we need to cultivate it anyway? Wisdom has been defined as: “Knowledge of what is true or right coupled with just judgment as to action.” Meaning, it is Life Experience thoughtfully reflected upon, and then lived. It is the ability to make thoughtful observations, that…

by Skydancer7

Mountain Zen Den ~ Episode 96 – Cultivating Abundance

Abundance, Meditation, Personal Development, Personal Growth, Personal Transformation, Podcast, Self-Development, Well-being

Photo Brett Wilson MZD Ep 96 - Cultivating Abundance In Episode 82 we introduced the concept of Cultivating Your “Garden of Well-Being”. Those qualities in your life that you desire to have more of, and that would help make you a better person. Things like Presence and Gratitude, Hope and Faith, Love and Simplicity, Joy and Tranquility, Beauty and Wonder, Health and today’s subject – Abundance. Today we’re talking about cultivating a spirit of abundance and What Nature Teaches Us About Wealth & Abundance. Money is generally the first thing that comes to mind when people think of wealth and abundance. But having riches, that is, being wealthy and having abundance in your life is so much more than having a lot of money in the bank and accumulating things.…

by Skydancer7

Mountain Zen Den ~ Episode 93 – What Do You Really Need?

Inspiration, Meditation, Mindfulness, Nature, Personal Development, Personal Growth, Personal Transformation, Podcast, Self-Development, Simple Living, Simplicity, Uncategorized, Well-being

photo Brett Wilson Welcome to Walden Wednesday on the Mountain! I want to reward you with something a little different than what we typically experience during our traditional meditation time. In past episodes we have occasionally shared passages from Walden and other great writings and literature, relating to cultivating the rich wisdom, mindfulness and simplicity found in Nature. In 1845, American naturalist, poet, writer and philosopher Henry David Thoreau decided to try a grand “experiment”. In his own words, “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.” We’re going to offer more of these classics set in nature…

by Skydancer7

Mountain Zen Den ~ Episode 92 – The Drift

Inspiration, Meditation, Mindfulness, Nature, Personal Development, Personal Growth, Personal Transformation, Podcast, Self-Development, Well-being

The DriftPhoto courtesy Derek Sutton @dereksutton Unsplash Welcome to Mountain Zen Den! It has been a while, and much has happened since we last met here. The entire world has changed. Dramatically! Yet, while there have been a multitude of anxiety producing events and uncertainty, if you zoom out and look at the big picture, you can see it has actually been a season of opportunity, of renewal, self-reflection, ad growth. The possibility of change and revision… A “Re – Vision”. Today we're going to talk about what happened. We are not going to get into pandemics or politics or world events, or even masks, or viruses and vaccinations, or anything else that has occurred in the world over the past year. We’ve all had enough of that, and there’s…

by Skydancer7

Mountain Zen Den ~ Episode 90 – Cultivating Beauty

Inspiration, Meditation, Mindfulness, Nature, Personal Development, Personal Growth, Personal Transformation, Podcast, Self-Development

“…If you’re down to your final dime, can’t decide what else to buy to be happy You don't need a credit card to give your heart the beauty of the world..." ~ Peter Mayer ~ ~ ~ MZD Podcast Ep 90 - "Cultivating Beauty" ~ ~ ~ Well the hustle and bustle of Christmas has come and gone, and it’s the end of another year. Snowflakes are gently falling outside. The presents have been opened. The children are happily playing in the other room, and you sit with the one you love, sipping hot chocolate reading from a book with Currier and Ives prints, in front of the crackling fire, and breathe a deep sigh of contentment. Sounds like a Netflix Christmas special doesn’t it? So your world doesn’t look…

by Skydancer7

Mountain Zen Den ~ Episode 88 – Cultivating Joy!

Meditation, Mindfulness, Nature, Personal Development, Personal Growth, Personal Transformation, Podcast, Self-Development, Simple Living, Well-being

"When you do things from your soul, you feel a river moving in you. A joy." ~ Rumi ~ ~ ~ MZD Podcast - Episode 88 "Cultivating Joy!" How are you doing today? Are things going the way you want them to? Are you living the life of your dreams? Are you happy and content with your present state of being? More importantly, is your life filled with joy in this very moment? If you can answer “Yes”, to this last question, then you are a very blessed individual indeed. If not, no worries. Join the other 99.9% of people on the planet. That’s why we’re here today. We are going to explore some very practical ways to cultivate joy in your life and “Garden of Well-being.…

Category: Meditation