Nature Archives - Page 5 of 9

by Skydancer7

Mountain Zen Den Podcast ~ Episode 64 – Growing Your Nature Knowledge

21-Day Nature Challenge, Meditation, Mindfulness, Nature, Personal Development, Podcast

Welcome to Day 14! There’s a good chance that if you’re here today, it’s because you are a passionate nature-lover. There is just something about wilderness and wildlife that draws you. It calls to your spirit deep within and won’t let go. Its beauties and wonders are a part of your deepest self, who you are at your very core. You have a hunger for “green” knowledge, and can’t get enough. In general, the more time we spend in Nature, the more we want to know and understand about the natural world and how it works. And the more we learn, the more we fall in love with her. There is such a depth to the character and essence of all things wild… so many wonderful aspects to fall in…

by Skydancer7

Mountain Zen Den Podcast ~ Episode 63 – Finding Beauty in Everything

21-Day Nature Challenge, Lifestyle, Mindfulness, Nature, Personal Development, Podcast

“If you truly love nature, you will find beauty everywhere.” ~ Vincent van Gogh Welcome to Day 13! Hello fellow Nature-lover. Have you had your “Nature Fix” today? We all need it. It is our cure for stress, anxiety, boredom, and even high blood pressure and other health issues. It’s our nourishment for the soul, and has even been described as “Vitamin N”. Probably one of the most obvious things we all love about Nature though, is its indisputable beauty. We love to drive, hike and camp near majestic, breath-taking mountain scenery and ocean seascapes, glorious sunrises and sunsets, and fascinating, beautiful wild creatures. Artists love to sketch, paint and photograph gorgeous natural scenes, and we love to buy them and hang them on our walls. The beauty found in…

by Skydancer7

Mountain Zen Den Podcast ~ Episode 62 – Signs of Life (Finding Hope in Nature)

21-Day Nature Challenge, Lifestyle, Mindfulness, Nature, Personal Development, Podcast

“Plant seeds of happiness, hope, success and love; it will come back to you in abundance.This is the law of nature.” ~ Steve Maraboli Welcome to Day 12! At times, the world can seem like a dark and hopeless place. Long, black nights, and seemingly endless winters can challenge our faith. Droughts crack the earth and wither our hearts. Storms can dampen our spirits, lightning strikes, and harsh and chilling winds can feel cruel, making life miserable and almost unbearable. It’s these sinister, and less desirable experiences in nature that can make a person want to avoid ever going outside, being exposed to the unfriendly elements and environment. Add the gamut of health and life-threatening risks, dangers and annoyances such as ticks, flies, wasps and mosquitoes, spiders, snakes,…

by Skydancer7

Mountain Zen Den Podcast ~ Ep. 61 – Just Breathe

21-Day Nature Challenge, Lifestyle, Mindfulness, Nature, Personal Development, Podcast

“Breathe in and tell yourself that a new day has been offered to you, and you have to be here to live it.” ~ Thich Nhat Hanh Welcome to Day 11! For the past week and a half on this 21-Day Nature Challenge, it may have felt like you’ve asked to do a lot, think a lot, make a lot of observations, and then write them all down in your journal. Who has time to do all this? I know, it may feel like a lot to ask for a busy soccer-mom, businessman, student, active and dutiful grandparent, or any other ordinary human being living on planet Earth in the 21st century. If this challenge has taken you out of your comfort zone and your daily routine, I want to…

by Skydancer7

Mountain Zen Den Podcast ~ Episode 60 – Creating A “Matterday”

21-Day Nature Challenge, Lifestyle, Mindfulness, Nature, Personal Development, Podcast

“Teach us to number our days…” ~ Psalm 90:12 Welcome to Day 10! Here’s something for you to think about. What did you have for breakfast yesterday? Where did you go? What did you see? Who did you spend time with? Does any of what you did really matter? In his inspiring book, “Go Outside and Come Back Better”, author Ron Lizzi proposes the concept that many good days make up a good life. He invites us to, “Picture a see-saw, (teeter-totter in some places). This balance represents your life…” He then asks you to imagine that when you came to the end of every day, if it was a good day, you would place a stone on the right side of the seesaw. If it was a bad day,…

by Skydancer7

Mountain Zen Den Podcast ~ Episode 59 – Practicing the Art of Slowing Down

21-Day Nature Challenge, Lifestyle, Mindfulness, Nature, Personal Development, Podcast

Welcome to Day 9 of the 21-Day Nature Challenge! Do ever feel like there’s just not enough time to get everything done? Guess what? There isn’t. It is a sad fact that here in the age of high-tech convenience where we can have pretty much anything we want on demand, the feeling that life is supposed to constantly be busy and rush by in a blur is a normal thing; not healthy, just standard living these days. And no one really seems to notice, or care. Or at least we don’t believe we have the time to do anything about it. We’ve said it before, but here at Mountain Zen Den it’s not about spending time in nature for the sake of being more mindful just to be mindful. (Although…

by Skydancer7

Mountain Zen Den Podcast ~ Episode 58 – Doing A Nature Count (A Scavenger Hunt for Nature Lovers)

21-Day Nature Challenge, Lifestyle, Mindfulness, Nature, Personal Development, Podcast, Well-being

“In wildness is the preservation of the world." ~ Henry David Thoreau Welcome to Week 2, and Day 8! You are learning how Nature helps you become a better person, in every area of your life – body, mind, and soul. Before we continue, take a moment and think about what first drew you to the idea of doing a 21-Day Nature Challenge? What did you hope to accomplish, receive or benefit from it as a result? Are you finding what you were looking for? Are you making new discoveries about yourself and the world around you? Last week we focused on using our senses to become aware of and absorb the benefits and beauties of the natural world all around us. This week we are going to zoom in…

by Skydancer7

Mountain Zen Den Podcast ~ Episode 57 – Knowing (Intuition)

21-Day Nature Challenge, Lifestyle, Mindfulness, Nature, Personal Development, Podcast

“No matter how sophisticated you may be, a large granite mountain cannot be denied – it speaks in silence to the very core of your being” ~ Ansel Adams “Be still and know that He is God.” ~ Steven Curtis Chapman Welcome to Day 7! You have made it through the first week of the 21-Day Nature Challenge! There’s something magical that happens to a person after having spent considerable time in Nature. You have been learning, or re-learning how to use all of your senses, and to be mindful whenever you step outside. Remember when you were a kid, how easy and natural it was to take in more of the world? You just did it naturally. Everything was new and your eyes and ears, and entire being…

by Skydancer7

Mountain Zen Den Podcast ~ Episode 55 – Taste & See

21-Day Nature Challenge, Lifestyle, Mindfulness, Nature, Personal Development, Podcast

Day 5 ~ TASTE & SEE! “One must ask children and birds how cherries and strawberries taste.” ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe So how are you doing on the 21-Day Nature Challenge? Are you finding it difficult staying on track and doing this challenge every day? If so, don’t be discouraged. Life gets in the way, as they say. It’s a normal thing. And the whole point of the challenge is to be able to take an ordinary day and make it extraordinary by living in the moment, whatever the moment brings. Doing it in Nature gives an added benefit of beauty, peace and health & fitness by getting outdoor exercise, sunshine and fresh air - all good for the body, mind and spirit. So if you miss a…

by Skydancer7

Mountain Zen Den Podcast ~ Episode 54 – Touch (The Feel of Nature)

21-Day Nature Challenge, Lifestyle, Mindfulness, Mountains, Nature, Personal Development, Podcast, Well-being

“Forget not that the Earth delights to feel your bare feet, and the winds long to play with your hair.” ~ Kahlil Gibran “Earth's crammed with heaven... But only he who sees, takes off his shoes.” ~ Elizabeth Barrett Browning Welcome to Day 4! You are on a roll… Way to go! By now you are probably aware that you are generally most comfortable using only one or two of your five senses. This can be eye-opening, (or nose-opening as we smelled yesterday). We have millions of specialized touch receptors in our skin and tissues, which send touch signals to our brains. These receptors all respond to touch, pressure, temperature and pain. Many animals, such as cats have an advantage over us. Their whiskers, which are very different from…

by Skydancer7

Mountain Zen Den Podcast ~ Episode 53 – Wake Up & Smell the World

21-Day Nature Challenge, Health, Mindfulness, Nature, Personal Development, Podcast, Well-being

“Every flower is a soul blossoming in nature.” ~ Gerard De Nerval Welcome to day 3! Our intention for the day is to follow our noses. Or at least pay attention to the gift of smell. The practical purpose of our proboscis’, (that is our noses), is one of the most overlooked, (pardon the pun), powers we have been bestowed with. While animals have a much greater ability to use their noses for tracking and differentiating between vast numbers of varying smells, the human sense of smell is still quite acute. In fact, we can recognize thousands of different smells. This is because we have around five or six million odor-detecting cells high up in our nasal passages. On the other hand, rabbits have about a hundred million of…

by Skydancer7

Mountain Zen Den Podcast ~ Episode 52 – Listening (Learning to Be Mindful with Your Ears)

21-Day Nature Challenge, Mindfulness, Nature, Personal Development, Podcast

“The word ‘LISTEN’ contains the same letters as the word ‘SILENT’”. ~ Alfred Brendel “Listening is about being present, not just about being quiet.” ~ Krista Tippett Day 2 ~ LISTENING (Learning to Be Mindful With Your Ears) Welcome back! We are learning to be more appreciative and grateful for all of the natural goodness in our life. It’s about intentionally noticing the simple things everywhere around us. Today we are going to use another of our God-given senses. Hearing. Have you ever truly stopped and thought about what an amazing gift sounds are? Frequencies vibrating at different rates can make an amazing variety of noises, tones and even music! Sounds can be quite pleasant, or they can range from being minor annoyances to being downright harsh…

by Skydancer7

Mountain Zen Den Podcast ~ Episode 51 – Beginner’s Eyes

21-Day Nature Challenge, Mindfulness, Nature, Personal Growth, Podcast

“There’s so much beauty around us for just two eyes to see, and everywhere I go I’m looking…” ~Rich Mullins Welcome to the is special edition of Mountain Zen Den - The 21-Day Nature Challenge Day 1 ~ "Beginner's Eyes" (Learning to see as if for the first time)) Welcome to Day 1! We’ll begin with this thoughtful and active meditation for the day. Today you begin your journey to a new life in a new world as you start to see everything through fresh eyes with a mindful heart. Now there are two things you need to commit to as you begin: Set an “Intention”. Take a few thoughtful moments to write in your Nature Journal exactly what you hope to get out of this 21-Day adventure. It…

by Skydancer7