Ponder While We Wander

Location: Arroyo Seco, Pasadena, CA, USA
Hosts: Amber Martin and Natasha Morisawa
Edited: https://www.studiosymbiotic.com/
 
Amber and Natasha explore the challenges and human connection to the universal experience of grief. They touch on the different types of grief, how we grieve, and why it is important to acknowledge it when it shows up. Our relationship with nature can provide ways of incorporating ritual and meaning-making into ways of holding and processing grief instead of disconnecting from it all together. 
 
Explore more about Ponder While We Wander
A soothing podcast for trying times.
https://ponderwhilewewander.com/
https://ponderwhilewewander.substack.com/
 
Episode Resources
Links:
https://gabrielinotribe.org/
https://www.cityofpasadena.net/parks-and-rec/arroyo-seco/
https://www.ekrfoundation.org/5-stages-of-grief/change-curve/
https://grief.com/
https://cac.org/daily-meditations/the-work-of-grief-and-love/
https://www.priyaparker.com/art-of-gathering-newsletter/grieve-together-now
https://www.kintsugigrief.com/resources

Location: Captain Whidbey, Whidbey Island, Washington, USA
Hosts: Amber Martin and Natasha Morisawa
Edited: https://www.studiosymbiotic.com/
 
Natasha and Amber travel to a magical place by ferry and, fueled by a couple cups of coffee, ponder the significance of coffee. They explore the ritual and magic of connecting over a warm beverage. Can a cup of coffee connect us to ourselves, loved ones, strangers, the whole world? Grab a beverage of your choice and join us.
 
Explore more about Ponder While We Wander
A soothing podcast for trying times.
https://ponderwhilewewander.com/
https://ponderwhilewewander.substack.com/
 
Episode Resources
Links:
https://www.captainwhidbey.com/
https://www.ebeysreserve.com/history-culture
https://www.islandhistory.org/our-story
https://michaelpollan.com/books/caffeine-how-coffee-and-tea-created-the-modern-world/
 
“Just the other day, I was in my neighborhood Starbucks, waiting for the post office to open. I was enjoying a chocolatey cafe mocha when it occurred to me that to drink a mocha is to gulp down the entire history of the New World. From the Spanish exportation of Aztec cacao, and the Dutch invention of the chemical process for making cocoa, on down to the capitalist empire of Hershey, PA, and the lifestyle marketing of Seattle's Starbucks, the modern mocha is a bittersweet concoction of imperialism, genocide, invention, and consumerism served with whipped cream on top.”
― Sarah Vowell
https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Sarah-Vowell/1558688
 
“I hope there are days when your coffee tastes like magic, your playlist makes you dance, strangers make you smile, and the mighty sky touches your soul. I hope there are days when you fall in love with being alive” 
– Brooke Hampton
https://www.barefootfive.com/barefoot-me

Location: Discovery Bay, Washington, USA
Hosts: Amber Martin and Natasha Morisawa
Edited: https://www.studiosymbiotic.com/
 
Come see how noticing our discomfort can invite us into deeper connection with nature as we ponder by the shore where birds, seals, and other than human nature join us. 
 
Explore more about Ponder While We Wander
A soothing podcast for trying times.
 
https://ponderwhilewewander.com/
https://ponderwhilewewander.substack.com/
 
Episode Resources
Links:
https://silvotherapy.co.uk/about-forest-healing
http://www.tribalmuseum.jamestowntribe.org/

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/