Today’s episode of The Mindful Minute is a special offering in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day and the painful struggles our country is wading through in this moment of time. Two weeks ago, on Wednesday, January 6, we watched as a group of Americans stormed our Capitol during a joint session of Congress. We watched and heard hatred spew for so many of the cultural, ethnical, racial, sexual divides that make up our population. And amidst this heartbreaking and terrifying display of hatred, ou...
Jan 21, 2021•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast Lunchtime is the time of day when we need an added dose of focus and energy to carry us through the rest of the day. It is a natural point of low energy, and often it is also a time when we start to think about how much we haven’t gotten done yet. We start planning tomorrow’s to-do list while still working through today. This tension between low-energy and high-demands actually diminishes our ability to get things done in a creative and timely manner. A mid-day meditation practice is benefited f...
Jan 18, 2021•14 min•Transcript available on Metacast For years, lunchtime was my meditation time. It was an easy time for me to be consistent; I knew I was going to eat lunch at some point every day, I knew I could take 10 minutes before that first bite to tune-in, and I could sync it with my kids naps! This is also the time of day when we need an added dose of focus and energy to carry us through the rest of the day. It is a natural point of low energy, and often it is also a time when we start to think about how much we haven’t gotten done yet. ...
Jan 14, 2021•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast This mini-meditation is a sunrise {or morning} meditation practice that is designed to help you start your day with a wakeful and calm presence. Practicing first thing in the morning is a great way to get in touch with the quiet of your mind, to establish yourself within your intentions and to move into your day with a quiet grace. I can’t guarantee that your kids, pets and colleagues will cooperate, but I can guarantee that at least you’ll have a head start on a peaceful day ;-) Join me! These ...
Jan 11, 2021•15 min•Transcript available on Metacast Every time of day has a particular energy and a particular need: a need for energy rising, a need for balance, or a need for relaxation. As we kick off 2021, I thought it would be valuable to explore meditating at different times of day - sunrise, midday and sunset - and the practices and energies that accompany these times of day. Although it can be ideal to commit to a particular time of day for your meditation practice, I’ve found tremendous benefit in altering my time of practice based on th...
Jan 07, 2021•31 min•Transcript available on Metacast As we enter into the New Year, it is so easy to get sucked into the “new year, new you” mentality - the goals, the aspirations, the improvements… However, I want to invite in a different idea: Perhaps the return of the light isn’t asking for new and improved, but rather like its own return - it is asking us to return home to ourselves. This mini practice is a special meditation designed to guide you to discover your own personal talisman, meant to hold you steady on your own unique path. What is...
Jan 04, 2021•14 min•Transcript available on Metacast This month’s meditation series has been a collection of archetypal tools that we can use to carry us through the winter months. We started this series with the knife {the ability to learn new ways}, then we found the candlestick {the tenacity to ride a rough road}, and now we add our final and most personal tool - the talisman. A talisman is often an object that is thought to have magic powers and to bring good luck. It can connect us to the strength of the spirit world, to our own mystical know...
Dec 31, 2020•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast Today’s practice is a practice known as Bhavana. It is a steeping of our souls just as we would steep a cup of tea. A tea bag full of herbs is placed in warm water and as it soaks, the water takes on the qualities of the herbs. In this same way, as we call in what is most needed for our future during meditation, our warm bodies take on these qualities. Ready to try it? Let’s practice. Learn more about my New Year’s Day virtual meditation retreat here: https://www.union.fit/orgs/meryl-arnett Thes...
Dec 28, 2020•16 min•Transcript available on Metacast Before humans understood how the earth moves around the sun, the time of the Winter Solstice was a scary one. It appeared as if the sun had stopped moving, and what if it never rose again? What if light and warmth didn’t return? In these times of unknown, our ancestors created celebrations and rituals to call the sun back. They celebrated what they were grateful for and they honored what they most wanted - the light. This is so relevant for us today. We are in an incredible time of transition wi...
Dec 21, 2020•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast Much like our ancestors in the season of the Winter Solstice, we too can find solace during times of transition with rituals and practices that warm our hearts, stoke the fires of hope and rekindle the flames of connection. This meditation series began last week with the introduction of the first of three archetypal tools that will support our meditation practice and ourselves during the winter. We began with The Knife. Psychologically, the knife represents: Carving out a life for yourself A too...
Dec 17, 2020•37 min•Transcript available on Metacast Today’s mini meditation is a practice that calls forth the first ancient tool needed to help us move through the transition of 2020 to 2021: The knife. Psychologically, a knife can represent Carving out a life for yourself A tool for cutting through obscurity and seeing into hidden things Cut away what is no longer needed and carving out new beginnings An ability to learn new ways When we acknowledge the metaphorical knife in hand {and heart} we are opening ourselves up to a willingness to learn...
Dec 14, 2020•16 min•Transcript available on Metacast December is a month of transition, a month of closure and a month of expectation. Ancient lore tells us that within this month, there is a period of time when it appears that the sun has stopped moving across the sky. These days of little light, known now as the Winter Solstice, was originally a time of worry. What if the sun didn’t resume its journey across the sky? What if the light didn’t return? I find a lot of similarity and comfort in these stories as we face the long winter months of the ...
Dec 10, 2020•37 min•Transcript available on Metacast Often when we meditate, a central image, feeling or idea will emerge during our practice. These images can be viewed through an archetypal lens to help us gain deeper insight into ourselves and our present moment. Archetypal energy can be thought of as an initial and eternal energy that exists across continents, cultures and time itself. When we tap into this understanding our practice comes into sharper focus. Join me for today’s mini meditation as we explore what energy is present for you toda...
Dec 07, 2020•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast When I was a young yoga teacher, one of my students gifted me a set of animal spirit oracle cards after a bird repeatedly flew into the studio while I was teaching. This small gift set me on a 10+ year journey of using oracle cards as part of my personal meditation practice. What I’ve learned through using a myriad of oracle cards {animal medicine, tarot, archetypes, yantras, etc.} are lessons in Trusting in my own inner wisdom Connecting to forces unseen and the divine feminine Understanding an...
Dec 03, 2020•47 min•Transcript available on Metacast “One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today.” ~Dale Carnegie Join me for a short meditation focused on cultivating contentment for the moment just as it is. These mini meditations are meant to support a daily home practice. Tune in every Monday to find your practice for the week! Full episodes are release...
Nov 30, 2020•15 min•Transcript available on Metacast Somehow, the holidays are upon us... and, for many of us, this year's holidays won't look quite the same. Perhaps they will be smaller, more intentional, or quieter. Some of us will appreciate this smaller, quieter time. Some of us will ache for what we wish we could do. Likely, we will all experience a mix of the two. As we approach the holidays in the time of Corona, I thought it worthwhile to spend some time reflecting on contentment. Discontentment is the illusion that there can be someth...
Nov 26, 2020•Transcript available on Metacast It is time to gather our courage, to gather our ferocity to stay awake and engaged even though we may be tired in this leg of our journey. A fierce courage to keep going when the going is tough. A fierce love when we’d rather judge, discriminate or ignore. A fierce engagement with both our meditation practice and with our actions in the world. In essence, our fierceness is the reclaiming and wise application of our intuition. Join me for today’s mini meditation as we cultivate and gather ferocio...
Nov 23, 2020•15 min•Transcript available on Metacast A few months ago, for several weeks, every single night I dreamed about spiders. Sometimes the dream was about the spider itself, sometimes the spider was just chilling in the background, sometimes I was doing spider-like things like weaving… Then, I remembered reading “The Spider’s Prayer” from Kim Krans’ graphic memoir, Blossoms and Bones: Tangled or Tattered, Precise or Perfect, Here I am in the web of my life. I am not trapped by it. I am the maker of it. And, when the morning wind has its w...
Nov 19, 2020•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast This special meditation is a practice designed to nurture and soothe your soul. When weary, downtrodden, or fretful, this rich meditation is offered to fill you up and remind you of your own loveliness. As poet Lynn Ungar says: Imagine setting it all down— papers, plans, appointments, everything— leaving only a note: “Gone to the fields to be lovely. Be back when I’m through with blooming.” These mini meditations are meant to support a daily home practice. Tune in every Monday to find your pract...
Nov 16, 2020•15 min•Transcript available on Metacast I intended to talk about “fierceness” in the second installment of my Election Month meditation series. I look forward to talking about the intersection of ferocity and mindfulness {and I will soon!}, and yet... In the days since last week, which feels like last year it lasted so long, I have felt such an intense exhaustion, a level of weariness, that I knew today was not the day for fierce-ness. Tomorrow perhaps. Next week, definitely. But today, today's a day for nourishment. Today is a day fo...
Nov 12, 2020•37 min•Transcript available on Metacast If you aren’t sure how you’ll keep going this month, if staying in bed and pulling the covers over your head is tempting, then this particular meditation is for you. In a safe, accessible way, we are pulling up our big kid pants, and stepping out in each moment of our life with eyes wide open and hearts blazing. Join me for this brief mini-meditation and keep going - Tender, Messy, Awake. We got this! These mini meditations are meant to support a daily home practice. Tune in every Monday to find...
Nov 09, 2020•16 min•Transcript available on Metacast As we muddle through this long-awaited election, we are tangling with some fierce emotions, and while I could teach some lovely, feel-the-peace type meditations {and I’m sure I will} it feels to me crucial that we use this time to engage with the fierce and the not-so-beautiful side of the human experience. In this month’s meditation series, we are going to examine the beauty of the unknown, the beauty of fierceness, and the beauty of the not-so-beautiful. This series will offer up some tools fo...
Nov 05, 2020•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast Within our meditation practice, there are times when we feel quite deep and internal, and there are times when we feel more ‘on the surface’ and external. This flow from depth to surface and back again is a normal and healthy part of our practice. Mark Nepo refers to this ever-moving flow as “persistent drift”. Join me for today’s mini meditation as we honor whatever cycle we may find ourselves in during meditation. These mini meditations are meant to support a daily home practice. Tune in every...
Nov 02, 2020•14 min•Transcript available on Metacast Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about cycles. Cycles within our own lives, our relationships and within our meditation practice. Have you noticed that your meditation practice ebbs and flows? Sometimes in consistency, yes. But more so, what I mean here is in the times you feel depth, and the times you feel surface. The times when you are listening externally, and the times when you are listening internally. The times when it feels quiet and restful, and the times of profound insight and inspira...
Oct 29, 2020•32 min•Transcript available on Metacast In many meditation teaching traditions, there is an unbroken lineage of teachers. This means that each teacher can trace back to the teacher before her all the way back to the original Guru of the lineage. And, within this unbroken lineage there is a power of transmission. The Guru energy is carried through each teacher in the lineage in its own way and passed through to its students. In essence, this means you have direct contact with Guru energy assuming you study within an unbroken lineage. I...
Oct 26, 2020•16 min•Transcript available on Metacast Today’s episode of The Mindful Minute explores inviting the grace of a “Guru” into your meditation practice. Now, there is a lot of misconception out there about what a Guru is or isn’t so we will explore what this actually means and how it can help your meditation practice. A Guru is a teacher who is fully enlightened, realized or awakened and has the capacity to awaken you to your own enlightenment. Not many of us will have the good fortune to study with an in-the-flesh enlightened master. In ...
Oct 22, 2020•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast Today’s mini meditation is an invitation to give our hearts over to our meditation practice. Not to hold back or to judge, but to say yes to each and every inner experience. YES to the daydream YES to the repetitive thoughts YES to falling asleep YES to the blah and YES to majesty. As we trust what unfolds, the unfolding becomes more meaningful. Join me for today’s mini episode of The Mindful Minute. Within this meditation, you will hear a few beautiful phrases inviting our bodies, minds and hea...
Oct 19, 2020•15 min•Transcript available on Metacast This month’s meditation series, Giving It Up to Grace, is an exploration of 4 types of grace that can serve as tools for deepening our experiences both on the meditation cushion and in our daily lives. We started the series last week {part 1} by tapping into the mystical, cosmic forces of the universe, and using the beauty of a sunset or the majesty of a mountain as a way into something deeper within ourselves. Alternatively, many of us will find a deepening of practice and an awakening of...
Oct 15, 2020•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast This month’s meditation series, Giving It Up to Grace, is an exploration of 4 types of grace that can serve as tools for deepening our experiences both on the meditation cushion and in our daily lives. We started the series last week {part 1} by tapping into the mystical, cosmic forces of the universe, and using the beauty of a sunset or the majesty of a mountain as a way into something deeper within ourselves. Alternatively, many of us will find a deepening of practice and an awakening of...
Oct 15, 2020•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast The more I pay attention, the more I realize how much energy I spend trying to control every second of my life. I want things to look, feel, and behave a certain way at all times, and when it doesn’t {which is often}, it creates stress and struggle. You do too? Today’s mini meditation is a practice in releasing the control we so falsely believe we hold over every waking moment. Invoking a spirit of grace within our meditation practice is what allows meditation to feel like an “effortless effort”...
Oct 12, 2020•15 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
