Wild Geese Getaway
Wild Geese Getaway
TWO Nature-Inspired Mindfulness Meditations
Recently, I participated in my first artist fellowship in partnership with Getaway House. I was able to spend some time in quiet, gentle focus - meditating, hiking, writing and resting.
Today, on the podcast, I share one of the meditations that came out of this experience.
Picture this:
7 a.m.
It’s a cool, blue morning, and we are seated alongside the Coosa River in Alabama. Our guided meditation practice begins with mindful breathing and sensory awareness. This is an opportunity for cosmic connection and deep relaxation.
It is silent except for the birds’ morning chorus and a whisper of wind through the river grasses.
Gradually, a family of geese make themselves known, and we are instantly reminded of Mary Oliver’s poem Wild Geese, which ends with the line -
{...} the world offers itself to your imagination, calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting — over and over announcing your place in the family of things.
Today’s poetic meditation is inspired by this invitation to remember our place in the family of things, to maintain a mindful awareness of our relationship with nature, and to re-weave ourselves into the animate earth around us.
Grab your headphones and join me for this 6-minute, nature-inspired meditation.
Creek Native Americans were the first people to hear the sounds of the Coosa River that are played in this meditation.
Thank you to Brianna Nielsen for production and editing support of today’s episode.
Natural Happenings This Month
August 2024
In honor of the first supermoon of the season, I’m sharing an extra special, bonus mini meditaiton for you this month!!
The August lunar cycle is sometimes referred to as ‘The Sturgeon Moon’ because the giant sturgeon of the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain were most readily caught during this part of summer.
The sturgeon have been around since the late Jurrasic period and are incredibly slow to evolve, earning them the title of a ‘living fossil’. Connecting to the energy of the sturgeon is inviting us to connect to ancient wisdom.
In this 5-minute meditation, we connect to the energy of the sturgeon as we listen to a South Carolina wetlands morning. We hear a Barred owl hoot, soft insect chorus, and water splashes from feeding fish.
The Call of the Sturgeon
The Cherokee Native Americans were some of the first people to hear the sounds of this particular landscape. The Algonquin native tribes of the northeastern United States called the full moon in August the Sturgeon Moon.
Thank you to Gordon Hempton for the use of the soundscape in this meditation.
Coming Up:
Hankering for a community to chat about meditation, community care and more? Our next live, virtual meditation class will be on Monday, August 12 at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Join us!
*all of the content shared in my podcasts, newsletters & meditations is written by me {Meryl Arnett} without the use of AI. If you catch a mistake or typo, I hope it makes you smile knowing a real person is behind every word published 💛