Ponder While We Wander

Location: Fort Flagler Historical State Park, Washington, USA
Hosts: Amber Martin and Natasha Morisawa
Edited: https://www.studiosymbiotic.com/
 
Natasha and Amber visit a place where the ocean meets forest to tune into birds as a way of intentionally paying attention and deepening how we make meaning in our lives. Come listen to the topic and the birds! 
 
Explore more about Ponder While We Wander
A soothing podcast for trying times.
https://ponderwhilewewander.com/
https://ponderwhilewewander.substack.com/
 
Episode Resources
Links:
http://www.tribalmuseum.jamestowntribe.org/
https://amytan.net/backyard-bird-chronicles
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31932836-mozart-s-starling
https://parks.wa.gov/find-parks/state-parks/fort-flagler-historical-state-park

Location: Price Sculpture Forest, Whidbey Island, Washington, USA
Hosts: Amber Martin and Natasha Morisawa
Edited: https://www.studiosymbiotic.com/
 
Natasha and Amber amble along in the Price Sculpture Forest on Whidbey Island, Washington, USA and explore creativity as an important force for individuals and humanity as a whole. If you are looking for an invitation or support to sink into your creativity, you’ll definitely want to listen to this episode!
 
Explore more about Ponder While We Wander
A soothing podcast for trying times.
https://ponderwhilewewander.com/
https://ponderwhilewewander.substack.com/
 
Episode Resources
Links:
https://sculptureforest.org/
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/finding-the-right-words/202506/creativity-is-not-a-luxury
https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/can_empathy_help_you_be_more_creative
https://historicwhidbey.org/whidbey-island-history
https://www.haydentimm.com/

Location: Penn Cove, Washington, USA
Hosts: Amber Martin and Natasha Morisawa
Edited: https://www.studiosymbiotic.com/
 
Rest is important, so why is it so hard? Amber and Natasha discuss some of the messages and individual and collective challenges to getting rest and give some examples of nature that invite us to take a deeper perspective to rest.
 
Explore more about Ponder While We Wander
https://ponderwhilewewander.com/
https://ponderwhilewewander.substack.com/
 
Episode Resources Links:
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15374223-Wild-geese-by-Mary-J-Oliver
https://salish-current.org/2024/11/20/orcas-display-uncanny-behavior-in-historic-penn-cove-visit/
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42771901-how-to-do-nothing
https://historicwhidbey.org/whidbey-island-history

Hosts: Amber Martin and Natasha Morisawa
Location:  Ft Townsend, Port Townsend, WA
 
Come walk with us while we explore the “love of life” humans have with natural environments. Amber and Natasha share ways in which this enhances our lives and can be integrated into everyday living. We find some banana slugs, evidence of other animals around, and breathe in the forest air, and you’re invited to come along!
Explore more about Ponder While We Wander
https://ponderwhilewewander.com/
https://ponderwhilewewander.substack.com/
“They travel long distances to stroll along the seashore, for reasons they can't put into words.”
― Edward O. Wilson 
 
Episode Resource Links:
https://www.childrenandnature.org/
https://natureconnectionguide.com/shop-base/forest-bathing-how-trees-can-help-you/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6143402/
https://sdbg.org/shinrin-yoku-connecting-people-to-nature-through-the-art-of-forest-bathing/
https://waparks.org/parks/fort-townsend/
https://parks.wa.gov/about/news-center/field-guide-blog/fort-townsend-historical-state-park-history
https://www.nrdc.org/bio/maria-mccain/bringing-outdoors-benefits-biophilia
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/biophilia

Schmitz Preserve Park
Seattle, WA- USA
 
Is it time for a relationship check-in with nature?
 
Have you thought about your relationship with the outside world lately? What happens when we shift from inside to outside? What if our connection with nature was more relational than transactional? We explore this and more as we walk a muddy trail in Seattle, WA- USA.
 
Explore more about Ponder While We Wander
https://ponderwhilewewander.com/
https://ponderwhilewewander.substack.com/
 
Episode Resources
Links:
https://natureconnection.guide/
https://earth.org/human-connection-with-nature/
https://greenseattle.org/about-us/land-acknowledgement/
https://theunpluggedclub.com/relationship-with-nature/
https://www.seattle.gov/parks/allparks/schmitz-preserve-park
https://mohai.org/blog/2010/mohai-minute-schmitz-park/
https://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/schmitz-preserve-park

Denny Park
Seattle, WA- USA
 
Join us for a discussion where we explore what labyrinths are, how you can walk them, and how walking them can be an important contemplative practice for our times. 
 
https://labyrinthlocator.org/labyrinth/denny-park/440/
 
Explore more about Ponder While We Wander
https://ponderwhilewewander.com/
https://ponderwhilewewander.substack.com/
 
Episode Resources
https://labyrinthlocator.org/
https://labyrinthsociety.org/
https://veriditas.org/
https://www.contemplativelife.org/practice/the-center-for-contemplative-mind-in-society/all/teaching-learning
https://www.contemplativelife.org/practice/labyrinth/all/body-movement

Seattle, Washington-USA
Discovery Park
 
We explore the topic of how we do hard things as we launch our discussion from an article of a study about social support and our perception of how steep a hill can be. There are also some surprise raccoons. Come explore if it matters who you’re standing next to or not when we do hard things! 
 
Explore more about Ponder While We Wander
https://ponderwhilewewander.com/
https://ponderwhilewewander.substack.com/
 
Episode Resources
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3291107/

Seattle, Washington-USA
Discovery Park
 
Jumping off of the work of Dr. Vaughan Wilkins and the field of applied Ecopsychology, Amber Martin and Natasha Morisawa explore the theme of Enculturated Zoochosis. Metaphors applicable to living in modernity and the challenges we may be having are discussed while observing some of the urban wildlife of Discovery Park in Seattle, WA. Could we be experiencing collective trauma? If so, what are the symptoms and what are the problems? And how might we begin to address these? 
 
Explore more about Ponder While We Wander
https://ponderwhilewewander.com/
https://ponderwhilewewander.substack.com/
 
Episode Resources
https://www.vaughanwilkins.com/thesis
https://www.seattle.gov/x63689
https://unitedindians.org/

Welcome to Ponder While We Wander, a container for invitations and  inspiration for connection to ourselves, others, and nature. This video gives you an introduction to us, how we got here, some of  our hopes, and an introduction to the podcast Ponder While We Wander.
 
This is a project of love from two friends who happen to be therapists, and we’re looking forward to seeing where it goes.
 
Thank you for listening,
Natasha Morisawa and Amber Martin
 
Find more information here: https://ponderwhilewewander.com/
 
Substack: https://ponderwhilewewander.substack.com/
 
Special thanks to:
Logan Bell
Ethan Bell 
Eve Hellebrand
https://www.studiosymbiotic.com/
 
More info on Natasha and Amber