Mountain Zen Den Podcast

Can you hear "The Call" to a Great Adventure in your life? Something you know you were meant to do?

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be in a setting where it was just you and Nature for an extended period of time?

Imagine yourself as a woman, alone on a horse, 500 miles from home…

Far too often we pay attention to the loud and brash, which tend to have little meaning, while overlooking the important things that are taking place so quietly and humbly just outside the corner of our eye. ~ Erik Stensland “Whispers in the Wind”

At different points in our lives, the Christmas holiday season is marked by stress and anxiety, overwhelm, overindulgence, undernourish...

“Nature is hungry to interact with us. It wants connection…if you take one step, the world rushes in to meet you.” ~ Asia Suler

One of my favorite aphorisms is “Affirm Truth wherever you find it.” It’s a philosophy I have more recently come to hold dear and try to live by every day that I’m alive, because I’m finding that as I seek Truth, capital “T”, on my own “Hero’s Journey” as Joseph Campbell would put it, I am stretched a litt...

Today, is the day before Thanksgiving, and as I intentionally stop and breathe and just Be, one word comes to mind. Thankful.

This past year has been a year of Growth and Gratitude for us. We just want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for choosing to be on this journey of Mindfulness in Nature at Mountain Zen Den, and we pray for your continued growth and well-being.

Thanksgiving is my favor...

What does it mean to be a “Freethinker”?

Today, we meet with one who calls himself  “The Friendly Freethinker” — Chris Highland.

A skilled presenter, Chris Highland has given public presentations, taught classes and led retreats for congregations, business groups, high schools, universities, social service workers and you...

Welcome to the Mountain, and another Fireside Friday here at MZD where we meet with guests and share heart-to-heart the joys and benefits of the natural world for mindfulness and personal transformation, naturally!

Hey Friends, Brett Wilson here – your host and Trail Guide at Mountain Zen Den, encouraging you to connect with Nature for mindfulness and personal growth – naturally! Come on in…

Minnesota singer/songwriter Peter Mayer ...

Welcome to the Mountain!

Hey Friends, Brett Wilson here – your host and Trail Guide at Mountain Zen Den, encouraging you to connect with Nature for mindfulness and personal growth – naturally!  Come on in…

How are you?  I am so excited to be back with you after an extended hiatus, where we have taken some time to get away...

Here at MZD we talk all the time about the beautiful healing powers of Nature and the importance of connecting with Nature for mindfulness and personal growth…

Well today we’re going to take you on a beautiful Nature trail in Letchworth State park about an hour south of Rochester, New York. Shaped like an ant from a bird’s eye view, this trail offers a first-of-its-kind experience in nature designed for visitors on the autism spect...

“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 ...

Welcome to another Walden Wednesday, where we spend a few precious moments of our day to reflect on the beauty and goodness of Nature through some of the most enduring Classics ever written.  Literary gems by naturalists, philosophers, poets and thought leaders, like Ralph Waldo Emerson, John Muir, Enos Mills and Henry David Thoreau. 

In honor of the change of seasons, today, we revisit Thoreau’s Walden in one of his thoughtful dis...

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...

Welcome to another Fireside Friday here at Mountain Zen Den.  Come on in…

Today we meet with veterinarian Dr. Michael Suit and author of the books, “Finding James Herriot” and the sequel, “Monkey Bars”, as he shares his love for people and animals, along with how he got started as a veterinarian.  He enjoys connecting with people and animals and shares his observations of how animals continue to keep giving ...

 “Creativity is intelligence having fun.” ~ Albert Einstein

In the art of living a full and beautiful, meaningful life, there is an element we don’t talk about nearly enough, or put appropriate value on, or even attribute to personal growth, and dare I say, “Success”.  And that is, the art of “Playfulness”.

We see it in the natural world all around us — puppies and kittens, calves and goat kids, otters, beav...

“Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity.” ~ John Muir, Our National Parks

For this Fireside Friday we talk about why we love the mountains. And about our “Disorder”

There is something so invigorating, soul-awakening, renewing, restoring, refreshing and healing about being in the mo...

Today on Walden Wednesday we continue reading Enos Mills’ classic, Wild Life On the Rockies.

Mills was a huge nature lover and nature guide who lived in the late 1880’s, early 1900’s. He wrote his experiences and observations of the West, and mostly about his beloved Rocky Mountains. I love the chapter we are visiting today called, “The Beaver and His Works”. Here, Enos points out the antics, and importance of the beaver, a keyston...