Rest in the Practice: Wintering at the Threshold of a New Cycle

Send us a textAs the year draws to a close, co-hosts Belinda Liu and Omar Brownson invite us into a rare and honest pause — one rooted in winter, vulnerability, and the courage to rest inside the practice.Recorded from two very different journeys — Belinda traveling through Prague, drawn by its alchemical history and mystery, and Omar returning from a weeklong Loving Kindness retreat — this final episode of the year reflects on what it means to step back in order to truly listen. When the world feels loud, accelerated, and uncertain, how do we remember what actually matters?Joined by longtime friend and teacher Dr. Paul Wang, the conversation unfolds as a winter council — a space for reflection, truth-telling, and reorientation as one cycle closes and another begins.Through stories of intentional travel, retreat, loving-kindness practice, and creative transition, this episode explores a central question:How do we pause without disappearing — and rest without abandoning what we love?Together, they explore:❄️ Winter as a practice of retreat, remembrance, and re-centering🕯 Rest as an active devotion — “rest in the practice,” not away from it🐍 The wisdom of composting, shedding and renewal as the Year of the Snake comes to completion🔥 Preparing for the expansion of the Year of the Fire Horse by clarifying what qualities, values and virtues to amplify in the lunar new year🌹 Rose (Vulnerability) — this month’s Gratitude Blooming card, a heartfelt reminder that truth, trust, and connection begin with being seenThis episode also marks a threshold for the Gratitude Blooming podcast itself — a gentle transition from monthly recordings toward more live, intimate practices on Substack, where reflection can unfold in real time and in community.Lunar New Year Raffle: Original Gratitude Blooming ArtAs we approach the Lunar New Year in 2026, artist Arlene Kim Suda is offering a raffle featuring original watercolor paintings from the Gratitude Blooming collection — luminous, seasonal reminders of what matters most. Proceeds will support Gratitude Blooming to amplify and grow organically in 2026.This episode is not an ending.  It is a wintering.A moment to rest, remember, and choose what you’ll carry forward — with honesty, gentleness, and gratitude.Let the Gratitude Blooming practice gently hold you.--- Join us live on substack to participate in our monthly community practice: https://gratitudeblooming.substack.com Create an intentional practice or give meaningful gifts with the Gratitude Blooming card deck, notecards, candles and much much more at our shop at www.gratitudeblooming.com. Learn more about our co-hosts and special guest for Season 4: Co-host Belinda Liu | Hestia Retreat Centers Co-host Omar Brownson | Trickster's Guide to Immortality on Substack Special Guest Dr. Paul Wang | The Dao CenterIf you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to leave us a 5-star rating and review. Your feedback is valuable to us and helps us grow. Share your thoughts and comments by emailing us at [email protected]. We love hearing from our listeners!

Send us a textAs we move deeper into November, the world around us begins its slow descent into winter. The days contract, the evenings lengthen, and nature invites us inward. In this episode, Belinda and Omar welcome back Dr. Paul Wang to explore how the water element in Daoist wisdom can help us navigate a time marked by uncertainty, loss, and profound change.Winter — and the water element — teach us about how to flow with change by actively transmuting fear with greater hope. This is the season when nature's energy roots down and inward, guiding us to fortify our inner foundation so we can meet life’s floods without being carried away.Through stories around the struggles of adapting to food scarcity and grieving personal loss together, the conversation circles around a central question:How do we strengthen our inner riverbanks so that the waters of change can move through us rather than overwhelm us?Together, they explore:The transition from soil to the winter water season as a time of contraction, deep listening, and turning toward our centerDigestive and emotional nourishment — tending the “inner soil” of the microbiome through porridges, broths, roots, and gentler rhythmsThe winter of the day — why the hours between 9pm–3am mirror winter’s medicine and offer a daily opportunity to practice restorationFear and flow — understanding our emotional terrain and how to create containers that help us feel held rather than floodedCommunity resilience — how food, land, and mutual care can soften the challenges of these timesLearning to move with change instead of spinning outThe Gratitude Blooming card that arises — Cosmos (Balance) — becomes a reminder of lightness in the midst of heaviness, and to play with the paradox of rooting deeply and allowing movement at the same time.This episode is a medicine for anyone feeling the intensity of the season or the weight of the world.It’s an invitation to slow down, nourish yourself, fortify your inner riverbanks, and remember that descent is not collapse — it is preparation for renewal.Let go. Let flow. And trust the wisdom of water.Winter Retreat InvitationIf your body is asking for a reset, spaciousness, or deeper listening, join us for a New Year’s Winter Sabbatical Week (Dec 28–Jan 3) on the Big Island.A week to rest, realign, set intentions, and welcome 2026 from a place of deep inner stillness.Find out more at: hestiamagic.com/nyeHol--- Join us live on substack to participate in our monthly community practice: https://gratitudeblooming.substack.com Create an intentional practice or give meaningful gifts with the Gratitude Blooming card deck, notecards, candles and much much more at our shop at www.gratitudeblooming.com. Learn more about our co-hosts and special guest for Season 4: Co-host Belinda Liu | Hestia Retreat Centers Co-host Omar Brownson | Trickster's Guide to Immortality on Substack Special Guest Dr. Paul Wang | The Dao CenterIf you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to leave us a 5-star rating and review. Your feedback is valuable to us and helps us grow. Share your thoughts and comments by emailing us at [email protected]. We love hearing from our listeners!

Send us a textHow do we spiral with change and not spin out of control?As 2025 continues to swirl with uncertainty, co-hosts Belinda Liu and Omar Brownson reunite with Dr. Paul Wang to honor the Fall Equinox and the elemental transition from metal to soil — a time of release, grounding, and gathering perspective.Together, they explore how nature, Daoist wisdom, and community rituals can help us stay centered when life feels chaotic. From Mount Shasta to the Big Island of Hawai‘i, they share stories of sacred mountains, falling leaves, and the medicine of awe — reminding us that even as the world quickens, we can root deeper into stillness and soil.When the Agapanthus (Perspective) card emerges from the Gratitude Blooming deck, it offers a radical invitation: Pause, breathe, and see through new eyes... the eyes of a mountain.What if transformation isn’t something to chase — but something to notice, to nurture, to remember?💡 In this episode:– Practicing endurance and trust through life’s seasons– The wisdom of “mountain eyes” — cultivating stillness within movement– Why pausing may be the most powerful act of leadership right now– Seasonal practices for digestion, grounding, and resilience– Seeing through new lenses: from AI oracles to ancient cosmology→ Subscribe to the Gratitude Blooming substack to grab a bonus seasonal practice from Dr. Paul✨ Join us for a seasonal pause in nature:This winter and spring, come root yourself in stillness and community at one of our upcoming retreats — from expansive waters of the Big Island of Hawai‘i and the sacred peaks of Mount Shasta.→ Join us for New Years 2026 on the Big Island of Hawai'i→ Join us for Spring Equinox 2026 in Mount Shasta, CA--- Join us live on substack to participate in our monthly community practice: https://gratitudeblooming.substack.com Create an intentional practice or give meaningful gifts with the Gratitude Blooming card deck, notecards, candles and much much more at our shop at www.gratitudeblooming.com. Learn more about our co-hosts and special guest for Season 4: Co-host Belinda Liu | Hestia Retreat Centers Co-host Omar Brownson | Trickster's Guide to Immortality on Substack Special Guest Dr. Paul Wang | The Dao CenterIf you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to leave us a 5-star rating and review. Your feedback is valuable to us and helps us grow. Share your thoughts and comments by emailing us at [email protected]. We love hearing from our listeners!

Send us a textDiscover mindful ways to transition into fall with Belinda, Omar, and Dr. Paul. This episode explores harvest wisdom, Daoist teachings, and gentle practices for balance, gratitude, and stress relief this autumn season.From coffee trees ripening on the Big Island to the Daoist teachings of the metal element, this episode invites us to notice the signals of what is ready to be gathered and what needs to be released. Together, we reflect on gentleness as a practice: how to exhale, soften, and discern with care rather than force. Join us in welcoming fall with balance, gratitude, and the question—what does a gentle harvest look like in your life?--- Join us live on substack to participate in our monthly community practice: https://gratitudeblooming.substack.com Create an intentional practice or give meaningful gifts with the Gratitude Blooming card deck, notecards, candles and much much more at our shop at www.gratitudeblooming.com. Learn more about our co-hosts and special guest for Season 4: Co-host Belinda Liu | Hestia Retreat Centers Co-host Omar Brownson | Trickster's Guide to Immortality on Substack Special Guest Dr. Paul Wang | The Dao CenterIf you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to leave us a 5-star rating and review. Your feedback is valuable to us and helps us grow. Share your thoughts and comments by emailing us at [email protected]. We love hearing from our listeners!

Send us a text2025 has been a year of relentless waves — uncertainty, upheaval, and unexpected turns.In this episode, co-hosts Belinda Liu and Omar Brownson are joined again by Dr. Paul Wang to explore how Daoist seasonal wisdom can guide us through noisy, volatile times.Together, they reflect on the transition into the metal season in Chinese cosmology, represented by autumn — a time of discernment, boundaries, and filtering out noise so we can hear the deeper signal of what truly matters.From the symbolism of sound and silence to the lessons of animals, oceans, and plants, the conversation reveals how remembrance, grace, and inner stillness help us navigate change.The Gratitude Blooming card they draw — the Poppy (Remembrance) — invites us to pause, honor what we want to sustain, and release what no longer serves.💡 Themes we explore:Navigating VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity) with presenceThe yin and yang of sound and silence — cultivating inner quiet in a noisy worldLessons from snakes, crows, coyotes, and manta rays as wayfinding guidesRemembrance as a path to wholeness — restoring what matters mostPractices for resilience in the metal season: breathwork, skin-brushing, and choosing what to receive✨ Whether you’re leading others, holding space, or simply seeking clarity in uncertain times, this conversation offers grounding practices and soulful reminders to help you stay connected to your own center.  Immerse yourself on the land in Hawaii with Belinda and Omar this October for their upcoming Gratitude Blooming retreat!--- Join us live on substack to participate in our monthly community practice: https://gratitudeblooming.substack.com Create an intentional practice or give meaningful gifts with the Gratitude Blooming card deck, notecards, candles and much much more at our shop at www.gratitudeblooming.com. Learn more about our co-hosts and special guest for Season 4: Co-host Belinda Liu | Hestia Retreat Centers Co-host Omar Brownson | Trickster's Guide to Immortality on Substack Special Guest Dr. Paul Wang | The Dao CenterIf you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to leave us a 5-star rating and review. Your feedback is valuable to us and helps us grow. Share your thoughts and comments by emailing us at [email protected]. We love hearing from our listeners!

Send us a textHow might letting go open space for something new (and even different) to grow in your life?In this episode, co-hosts Belinda Liu and Omar Brownson, joined by season 4 guest, Dr. Paul Wang, explore how we move from the heat of transformation into grounded stillness — from fire to soil. Through their personal stories from Hawai‘i, Los Angeles, and the Galápagos, they reflect on navigating rapid change, embracing uncertainty, and trusting the slow process of adaptation.Dr. Paul shares Daoist wisdom on late summer’s elemental shift, reminding us that fire’s intensity naturally gives way to soil’s stability. Together, they draw the Gratitude Blooming card for Forgiveness, sparking conversation about shedding what no longer serves and letting go with grace, not force.Whether you’re in a season of growth, shedding, or simply holding steady, this episode offers grounded insight for finding balance, even in turbulent times.Meet us in person at our upcoming October Gratitude Blooming retreat at Belinda's newest retreat center on the Big Island of Hawaii — use promo code BIGTHANKS for 20% off.--- Join us live on substack to participate in our monthly community practice: https://gratitudeblooming.substack.com Create an intentional practice or give meaningful gifts with the Gratitude Blooming card deck, notecards, candles and much much more at our shop at www.gratitudeblooming.com. Learn more about our co-hosts and special guest for Season 4: Co-host Belinda Liu | Hestia Retreat Centers Co-host Omar Brownson | Trickster's Guide to Immortality on Substack Special Guest Dr. Paul Wang | The Dao CenterIf you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to leave us a 5-star rating and review. Your feedback is valuable to us and helps us grow. Share your thoughts and comments by emailing us at [email protected]. We love hearing from our listeners!

Send us a textIn this episode, hosts Omar and Belinda, joined by Dr. Paul Wang, explore the intense transition from spring to summer—a time of rapid blooming and expansive energy. Omar shares a profound moment of wayfinding amidst a board meeting, guided by nature’s messages of patience, kindness, and the unexpected wisdom of a slithering snake.Dr. Paul offers insights from Daoist wisdom and Chinese medicine, emphasizing the power of aligning with the season’s fire energy while honoring the balancing yin. As they draw the 14th Gratitude Blooming card, the pasque flower symbolizing Destiny, the conversation turns to how we choose our path—or how sometimes, the path chooses us. They delve into the dance of shadow and light, personal triggers, and how aliveness guides us towards what matters most.Join us for this heartfelt conversation on allowing the season’s full bloom to guide your inner journey—and perhaps reimagine destiny not as a final destination, but as an invitation to respond with more presence, grace, and curiosity.--- Join us live on substack to participate in our monthly community practice: https://gratitudeblooming.substack.com Create an intentional practice or give meaningful gifts with the Gratitude Blooming card deck, notecards, candles and much much more at our shop at www.gratitudeblooming.com. Learn more about our co-hosts and special guest for Season 4: Co-host Belinda Liu | Hestia Retreat Centers Co-host Omar Brownson | Trickster's Guide to Immortality on Substack Special Guest Dr. Paul Wang | The Dao CenterIf you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to leave us a 5-star rating and review. Your feedback is valuable to us and helps us grow. Share your thoughts and comments by emailing us at [email protected]. We love hearing from our listeners!

Send us a textWhat if awe begins with remembering? In this episode, co-hosts Belinda Liu and Omar Brownson are joined by Dr. Paul Wang to explore the seasonal shift from budding to blooming—and how the heart holds the wisdom to navigate both. Rooted in Daoist philosophy, plant medicine, and the Gratitude Blooming card of Simplicity, this conversation offers a gentle invitation to slow down, feel more, and choose what truly matters.Don't miss the guided somatic practice at the end of this episode to support your emotional resilience and heart-centered mindfulness this spring.🌼 Support our podcast by subscribing to our new home on substack.  We offer bonus seasonal practices, new art, and reflections at:gratitudeblooming.substack.comJoin us on Big Island, Hawaii for our special Summer Solstice sabbatical week with Dr. Paul from June 16-22:  https://www.hestiamagic.com/summer-solsticeUse this special promo code for 10% off your ticket:  gratitudeblooming--- Join us live on substack to participate in our monthly community practice: https://gratitudeblooming.substack.com Create an intentional practice or give meaningful gifts with the Gratitude Blooming card deck, notecards, candles and much much more at our shop at www.gratitudeblooming.com. Learn more about our co-hosts and special guest for Season 4: Co-host Belinda Liu | Hestia Retreat Centers Co-host Omar Brownson | Trickster's Guide to Immortality on Substack Special Guest Dr. Paul Wang | The Dao CenterIf you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to leave us a 5-star rating and review. Your feedback is valuable to us and helps us grow. Share your thoughts and comments by emailing us at [email protected]. We love hearing from our listeners!

Send us a textHow might simplifying your focus create space for what truly matters to flourish in your life this spring? A delightful spring energy infuses this conversation as co-host Omar Brownson shares his transformative experience with the Ubuntu Climate Initiative in South Carolina's Gullah Geechee lowcountry. His beautiful poem "Purple Sarongs" captures the essence of gathering on historically significant land where Dr. King dreamed his "I Have a Dream" speech—a powerful setting for visioning 150 years into our collective future.The synchronicity of simplicity emerges as an unexpected through-line when co-host Belinda Liu reflects on her annual community spring equinox experience in Mount Shasta.  She picked the simplicity card in the opening ritual when exploring the threads between money, resources and exchanging in community.Dr. Paul Wang, our special guest for this season, illuminates Daoist cosmology's approach to seasonal change, explaining how April serves as an intentional transitional month and rite of passage towards flowering through the process of budding.  This cycle is an ideal time for us to reconnect with our values and honor what's shifting within and around us. He describes spring's budding energy as concentrated potential—focused rather than dispersed—and offers a powerful three-step simplification process: 1) essentialize core values, 2) eliminate what doesn't align, and 3) embrace what remains by braiding it into unity.When they collectively choose the Gratitude Blooming card represented by the Nasturtium flower with its theme of friendship, the conversation deepens around how self-friendship forms the foundation for authentic community connection. Omar visualizes this as a vessel—a "friendship" carrying us forward together through periods of growth and change. They reflect on how trust accelerates transformation, noting that "change moves at the speed of trust," and how the clearer we can envision possibilities beyond current challenges, the more effectively we can practice that world today.Join us for our first Gratitude Blooming retreats in Mt. Shasta and on the Big Island. Use this promo code to get 20% off your retreat ticket >> BIGTHANKSWhether you're seeking to navigate personal transitions, deepen your connection with natural cycles, or find community in uncertain times, our podcast and in-personal gatherings offer practical wisdom for concentrating your energy where it matters most. --- Join us live on substack to participate in our monthly community practice: https://gratitudeblooming.substack.com Create an intentional practice or give meaningful gifts with the Gratitude Blooming card deck, notecards, candles and much much more at our shop at www.gratitudeblooming.com. Learn more about our co-hosts and special guest for Season 4: Co-host Belinda Liu | Hestia Retreat Centers Co-host Omar Brownson | Trickster's Guide to Immortality on Substack Special Guest Dr. Paul Wang | The Dao CenterIf you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to leave us a 5-star rating and review. Your feedback is valuable to us and helps us grow. Share your thoughts and comments by emailing us at [email protected]. We love hearing from our listeners!

Send us a textThe world around us can feel chaotic and overwhelming, especially in the face of social and environmental challenges. In this episode, we delve into the value of finding sanctuary within ourselves—the importance of the "cave life"—and how it can lead to restorative growth. Our conversation invites you to explore the connections between solitude and community, embracing gratitude while acknowledging grief. We reflect on the transition from winter to spring and how these seasonal changes may impact our mental wellness. Our hosts share personal stories of their own transformative experiences in nature and the significance of finding our inner sanctuary in a fast-paced world. Listen in as we announce exciting upcoming retreats designed to foster connection with nature and one another. Each of these in-person gatherings are designed to grow our inner capacity to navigate the chaos of outer change. Join us on the land this May in Mount Shasta, CA or this October in Hawaii by registering at:  gratitudeblooming.com/retreatsWe are reminded of the resilience we can learn from nature—specifically, the lessons embedded in trees that thrive despite harsh conditions. Join us as we navigate our innate wildness and uncover the pathways toward restoration and community.Don’t miss this profound journey toward self-discovery and connection—subscribe, share, and leave us a review!--- Join us live on substack to participate in our monthly community practice: https://gratitudeblooming.substack.com Create an intentional practice or give meaningful gifts with the Gratitude Blooming card deck, notecards, candles and much much more at our shop at www.gratitudeblooming.com. Learn more about our co-hosts and special guest for Season 4: Co-host Belinda Liu | Hestia Retreat Centers Co-host Omar Brownson | Trickster's Guide to Immortality on Substack Special Guest Dr. Paul Wang | The Dao CenterIf you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to leave us a 5-star rating and review. Your feedback is valuable to us and helps us grow. Share your thoughts and comments by emailing us at [email protected]. We love hearing from our listeners!