by Skydancer7
Mountain Zen Den ~ Episode 56 – Putting It All Together (Full Awareness)

Mountain Zen Den ~ Episode 56 – Putting It All Together (Full Awareness)

21-Day Nature Challenge, Health, Lifestyle, Mindfulness, Personal Development, Podcast, Well-being
“I arise today through the strength of heaven; Light of sun, radiance of moon, splendor of fire, speed of lightning, swiftness of wind, depth of sea, stability of earth, firmness of rock. ~ Saint Patrick Your deepest roots are in nature.  No matter who you are, or what kind of life you lead, you remain irrevocably linked with the rest of creation. ~ Charles Cook Welcome to Day 6! Putting It All Together (Full awareness) Wow, you’ve almost completed your first week of the 21-Day Nature Challenge.  Great work! Now that you have begun sharpening all your senses, (or at least the ones you are aware of) one by one, in a mindful way out in nature, it’s time to just step back and be aware of what just happened.…
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by Skydancer7
Mountain Zen Den Podcast ~ Episode 55 – Taste & See

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…
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by Skydancer7
Mountain Zen Den Podcast ~ Episode 54 – Touch (The Feel of Nature)

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…
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by Skydancer7
Mountain Zen Den Podcast ~ Episode 53 – Wake Up & Smell the World

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…
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by Skydancer7
Mountain Zen Den Podcast ~ Episode 52 – Listening (Learning to Be Mindful with Your Ears)

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…
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by Skydancer7
Mountain Zen Den ~ Ep. 50 – Get Outside ~ Now!

Mountain Zen Den ~ Ep. 50 – Get Outside ~ Now!

Health, Mindfulness, Nature, Personal Development, Podcast, Well-being
  “Every day is an opportunity to find ways big and small to transform our lives and to grow spiritually.” ~ Bobby Williams   There is a Norwegian concept known as “Friluftsliv”. Hard to pronounce, but a great philosophy to live by. Basically it’s about being outside as much as possible. It’s come to embody Norway’s cultural love affair with Nature. First introduced in 1859, Friluftsliv refers to uplifting ambience. One of the best ways you can enjoy the simple moments in an uplifting ambience in life is by going for regular walks. There are many reasons you should head out the door and take a walk right now.  Here are just a few of them - Fresh air Sunshine Exercise A Treat for All of Your Senses Get Fresh…
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by Skydancer7
7 Reasons You Should Go for a Walk Right Now

7 Reasons You Should Go for a Walk Right Now

Blog Cabin, Health, Mindfulness, Nature, Personal Development
  There is a Norwegian concept known as “Friluftsliv”. Hard to pronounce, great philosophy to live by. Basically it’s about being outside as much as possible. It has come to embody Norway’s cultural love affair with the natural world. First introduced in 1859, Friluftsliv, (go ahead, try to pronounce it out loud. I dare you!), refers to uplifting ambience. In fact, the rest of us could learn a lot from the Scandinavians. According to U.N. rankings, Denmark is known as the happiest country in the world, with the Norwegians coming in a close second. You may have encountered the word “hygge” (pronounced “Hue-Guh), in recent times. It is hard to translate, but at its’ essence it embraces a conscious appreciation of being in the moment and enjoying the coziness, contentment,…
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