Morning Cup of Calm

Nature is the best way to center oneself. Even if a wild forest is far from you, there are ways to find green spaces and reconnect with our source. Today let’s take a walk through the green world.

In so many ways, the world tells us to hide our light. Never mind that; we should allow ourselves to shine, whatever form that takes. We are brilliant beings. Today, let’s choose to shine.

Cypress Rosewood is taking a much-needed vacation, so ʞu¡0ɹʞS is taking over the Sunday Morning Music Meditation with a set she’s calling Morning Bowl of Calm. Join us for an hour of quiet meditation music — a great way to start your Sunday!

One of the most difficult challenges that humans face, particularly in the current era where everything feels so fraught, is to maintain equilibrium. This doesn’t mean that one shouldn’t feel emotions — on the contrary, it is unhealthy to suppress them. But finding ways to feel and express emotion while remaining balanced, or being able to return to balance, is how we can address the world around us without losing ourselves. So today we work to achieve equilibrium.

In our part of the world, weather is expected to be sunny and warm, with low humidity. The new seedlings are loving and thriving in the sun. It’s a reminder to us to honor nature, get nourishment where we can, and embrace healing and growth. This doesn’t mean that the darkness isn’t still there, but that focusing our attention on how we can — individually and collectively — work for healing and peace helps set a larger intention. The hard work of growing has started. The world around us is alive with new growth. So let us be.

As Spring settles in across the Northern Hemisphere, the breezes carry scents and sounds of spring…

Hope is power. Even a single light can hold back the dark.

Today is Valentine’s Day. It’s the day we focus on love. And yet different people feel very differently about it. It can be especially difficult for people who feel lonely or unloved, or people for whom the day has been marked by pain or travail. So today, instead of focusing on romantic love, we’re going to focus inward and feel love for ourselves.

There are sacred spaces everywhere — churches and temples, stone circles, forests, oceans, even kitchens and one’s own heart. Let’s explore them together.

The moon in winter seems both closer and colder. This is the weekend of the full “Snow” Moon, so today we contemplate the winter moon.

Something magical happens in the early morning hours, even in the dead of winter, when the sun breaks over the horizon, and the world seems to leap with joy at the return of the light. Today we face the sun in the morning and greet the light with exultation.

With the turn of the year comes new visions for the future. We place our hopes in the changing calendar, giving energy to turning year so that it might be better than the previous year. In the past few years, this has taken on special significance for many of us. So today is about hope and newness. What do you want for the new year?

Winter Solstice was last weekend in the northern hemisphere. The nights are long, the days are short and often dark. In the ʞu¡0ɹʞS household, we often light many candles. Not only do they offer hope for the days to come, they offer gentle light and comfort for the moment. So pour a cup of something warm, light a candle or 17, and have an hour of meditation with us.

Mornings this time of year are sometimes crisp and bright, reminding us that the sun will return, bringing new life.

In the dark months, when the leaves have fallen and the world has faded to browns and greys, that’s when the quiet work happens. The trees and plants are resting above ground… but roots deep underground are doing the work of growing, reaching toward new soil and gathering strength for the spring. So, too, should we.

The autumn and winter months are the time to slow down, rest, and recharge before spring. Growth begins underground. Take the time to breathe slowly and move slowly during the cooler months.

The sun feels more distant as autumn stretches on, but it’s still there, a nourishing presence. Today we look to the sun with longing and gratitude, and take refuge in what warm places we can find.

Cypress Rosewood is enjoying family time this morning, so Cup of Calm is taking over the hour. Join RadioSpiral for an hour of live meditation music beginning at 8am Pacific/SLT, with your guest host, ʞu¡0ɹʞS.

As the autumn foliage turns from brilliant reds and golds to brown and falls to the ground, the world begins to take on its winter hues of greys and silvers — a different kind of beauty all its own. Let’s explore the greys of autumn…

In the crisp Autumn morning, pour a cup of something warm, inhale the aroma and let it calm your spirits…

As Autumn settles in and becomes winter, the dry leaves blow around, the chill settles in, and we feel the coming of winter. We draw inward, and remember to steep warm drinks and wear the clothes that embrace us for the colder season. Today let’s settle in with a cup of something warm and listen to the leaves as we hear meditative music for autumn…

Several mornings now, I have been captivated by the morning sun, which comes up as we’re preparing breakfast and getting ready for our day in the ʞu¡0ɹʞS household. There is something about the light in the morning, both before and after the sun comes up, that sets one’s soul to rights. So this morning we will meditate in the morning sun.

This weekend promises to be … ah … lively, and a bit fraught, for folks living in the United States. I offer you a moment of calm and centering before wading into the fray.

One of the most rewarding sensations is a good, thorough stretch, especially early in the morning. So, wake up gently, pour yourself a warm cup of something, and take the time to stretch fully.

Plant your feet, and remember what it’s like to be close to the earth. Breathe deeply, reach downward to the roots of the planet that sustains us. Draw peace and comfort from her, and share that with the world around you. This morning’s show includes a grounding meditation. Join us for some calming connection to the earth.

sə-ˈstān – : to give support or relief to : to supply with sustenance : nourish : keep up, prolong : to support the weight of : prop also : to carry or withstand (a weight or pressure) : to buoy up sustained by hope There is hope in music. Join us for “Sustain” — this week’s Morning Cup of Calm on RadioSpiral.net.

The journey itself is the point as much as is the destination. So what happens when you reach the end of the road? Look back and remember the journey, keep its lessons, hold the memories of people and places you met along the way, and carry them with you.

Stepping stones are symbols of progress, of movement to a better place. Today let us step calmly into a better place, even if only for a little while.

The rains in summer happen every day in some parts of the world. When the combination of conditions make the sky empty itself on to the ground, the world turns vivid — brilliant greens, deep browns… and the sounds! Thunder, the rain on the leaves, the frogs… it’s auditory heaven. Let’s play in the rain!

Explore the space between spaces, the borderlands where awake and asleep meet, where water and earth touch, that trembling breath between silence and song, where life and dreams tremble in balance.

Follow your spirit down into the deep. There you may find wonder, joy, hope, peace, and healing.

I’ve been thinking a lot about spiders and their webs lately, and how good they are at using the environment around them to weave their homes. We could all learn from that — both in our physical surroundings and our understanding of how deeply connected we are to the world around us, even if we forget that (often). So today, we weave.

While we can't spend every moment of our lives in bliss, we can certainly cherish those rare, brilliant moments.

Sit in a place where you can feel a gentle breeze. Close your eyes, and feel it whisper past your skin.

Drift along on an hour of calm music

Darkness alone cannot extinguish the light, but even a single light can banish the darkness.

Happy Weekend, friends! Take a moment to breathe and be calm with us on this edition of Morning Cup of Calm.

Heartbeats, heartwarming, heartsick, heartbroken, heartened…today’s episode is designed in the hope of offering some healing to our hearts.

The Full Moon in April is named the Pink Moon after the pink flowers that bloom in spring. Other names are Breaking Ice Moon, Budding Moon, Awakening Moon, Egg Moon, and Paschal Moon. This episode of Morning Cup of Calm honors them all. Breathe in the scent of spring and greet the moon with us.

As I look out my studio window at the mist on the mountains, I find that it's music for the eyes. Restful and beautiful, and just what we need right now. Take an hour to drift and breathe.

On this week’s edition of Morning Cup of Calm, we honor the elements and the cycles of birth and death, creation and destruction. This hour of music is performed live as always by Rebekkah Hilgraves aka ʞu¡0ɹʞS.

In an increasingly chaotic world, take an hour to sit in the quiet. Sip tea, sit comfortably, watch spring enter the world, meditate on hope.

Take the quiet road when you can. Walk in silence, breathe in the stillness, move in nature. Join us today at 8am SLT for an hour of live meditation music to start your weekend in peace.

Hope is rebellion. Love is rebellion. Music is rebellion. The arts are always where change happens. Sit with us for an hour of calming music, to help you center and refuel before you wade back into life.

The news cycles get scarier, but in the midst of the madness, there are yet signs of hope: people taking decisive action against destruction and tyranny; people who truly care doing things to care for each other. These are the bright points on which we focus. Take an hour to breathe and bathe in calming sounds.

The frantic news cycles bring constant sorrow and fear now. Some of it is hyperbole, much of it is all too real. Before facing the disasters of the day, let’s have an hour of peaceful meditation, and then be deliberate about what we can and should tackle.

An hour of meditation music to start your weekend on a sweet note.

As the world spins further and further into chaos, we need moments of calm where we can find them. Join us for our new show, Morning Cup of Calm, an hour of live, improvised, gentle meditation music to help you start your weekend in peace and calm.