Mindfulness Archives - Mountain Zen Den

by Skydancer7

Mountain Zen Den ~ Episode 134 – Awaken to Mindfulness in Nature

Mindfulness, Nature, Personal Development, Personal Growth, Personal Transformation, Podcast, Self-Development, Spiritual Growth

MZD Podcast – Ep. 134 Awaken to Mindfulness in Nature It’s been awhile. Glad to see you back here. Today is a new day. A fresh start to a new you. A great time to ask the question, “Am I awake to this moment? To the here and now? To this moment?” Henry David Thoreau reminds us that the vast majority of civilization leads quiet lives of desperation. Or maybe if he were around today, he would say “noisy lives of desperation” Lives spent trying to be anywhere but here, now. Today I would like to invite you to remember that all we have is this moment. Yesterday is gone, a thing of the past, and tomorrow is no guarantee, a thing of the future. Everything that has ever happened…

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 124 – Cultivating Self Mastery

Mindfulness, Personal Development, Personal Growth, Personal Transformation, Podcast, Self Mastery, Self-Development, Spiritual Growth, Well-being

MZD Podcast - Ep. 124 Cultivating Self Mastery “He who controls others may be powerful, but he who has mastered himself is mightier still.” ~ Lao Tzu The ancient philosopher, teacher and Stoic, Epictetus said, “Happiness and freedom begin with a clear understanding of one principle: Some things are within our control, and some things are not.” It takes wisdom and the habit of thoughtful effort to discern the difference. The things that are within our control are simple and few, but powerful! Our own opinions and behaviors (basically, our responses to outside events and stimuli)Our aspirations and desiresThe things that repel us He goes on to say, “It is only after you have faced up to this fundamental rule and learned to distinguish between what you can and can’t…

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 117 – Cultivating Humility

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

MZD Podcast - Ep. 117 Cultivating Humility “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less." ~ C.S. Lewis You are to be thanked and congratulated you for being here! Either as a regular subscriber and part of the MZD community, or maybe a first time listener, chances are, you are here for two reasons — you love Nature, and, you have a desire to grow and become the best possible version of yourself for Optimum Personal Transformation. The Greeks had a word for this — Arete´, which roughly translates to Virtue or Excellence. Throughout the past several episodes, we’ve been taking a look at the concept of cultivating your “Garden of Well-being”; that is, intentionally and thoughtfully, mindfully seeking ways to weed out the undesirable thoughts,…

by Skydancer7

Mountain Zen Den ~ Episode 115 – Listening to Your Inner Guide

Mindfulness, Nature, Personal Development, Personal Growth, Personal Transformation, Podcast, Self-Development, Spiritual Growth

MZD Podcast - Ep. 116 Listening to Your Inner Guide "True well-being is knowing, trusting, and following your inner guidance." ~ Paul Hudon Today we meet with writer, speaker, columnist and author of the book, “Your Inner Guidance – The Path to Discovering Your True Happiness”, Paul Hudon. Paul lives just 100 miles or so down the road from us here in Colorado, where, when he’s not writing and speaking, or walking in the woods with his dogs and his wife Jane, he helps her grow and sell flowers as a business. Beautiful life… Paul is a kind and gentle soul, and he and I had a great time talking about his spiritual journey of how he discovered and came to trust his inner guide, his book, and the concept…

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 101 – Happy Bird Day to You!

Mindfulness, Nature, Personal Development, Personal Growth, Personal Transformation, Podcast, Self-Development, Walden Wednesday

Photo Brett Wilson MZD Podcast Episode 101 Happy Bird Day to You! Here are on this Walden Wednesday, we are celebrating National Bird Day by taking a few moments out of our day to slow the heart and mind down enough to truly listen, and absorb the thoughts, ideas, philosophies and writings of great thinkers, naturalists and lovers of Nature like Emerson, Whitman, Muir and Thoreau. And then, as always, we give you a little time at the end to just “Be”, in a natural environment, and settle into a deeper state of awareness as you go through your day, fully-awake, fully-present, alive and intentionally growing into becoming your best self. Today we are visiting the writings of one of my heroes - naturalist, wildlife photographer, and Nature writer Enos…

by Skydancer7

Mountain Zen Den ~ Episode 100 – Ten Things You Can Do To Improve Your Life Right Now

Lifestyle, Mindfulness, Nature, Personal Development, Personal Growth, Personal Transformation, Podcast, Self-Development, Success, Uncategorized, Well-being

Photo Brett Wilson MZD Podcast - Episode 100 Hey Gang, so glad you have joined us today, because this is an exciting day for us here at MZD! Not only are we celebrating our 100th episode, but it is also our first Fireside Friday where we sit back here in the Zen Den, as we like to call it, and have a chat with writers, and naturalists, artists, musicians and great thinkers and lovers of Nature, all for the purpose of personal growth through connection with Nature. And I’m especially pumped to be introducing a very special person in my life, the only other person I know personally who is as crazy about Nature and wildlife as much as I am, and who I am crazy about – my Best…

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 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…

Category: Mindfulness