To Bloom Is to Remember: On Simplicity, Awe, and the Heart

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.Create an intentional practice with your own Gratitude Blooming card deck, notecards, candle 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:  gratitudebloomingCreate an intentional practice with your own Gratitude Blooming card deck, notecards, candle 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. Create an intentional practice with your own Gratitude Blooming card deck, notecards, candle 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!Create an intentional practice with your own Gratitude Blooming card deck, notecards, candle 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 we could harness the wisdom of nature to transform our lives? Join us as we explore this intriguing question with our esteemed guest, Dr. Paul Wang, whose expertise in Chinese medicine and Daoism guides us through the profound themes of grief, gratitude, and self-care. Reflecting on the recent natural disasters in Los Angeles, we delve into the crucial importance of aligning with nature and fostering a sense of collective well-being. Discover the tools of pausing, noticing, and community as we navigate the challenges of rebuilding and reimagining our connection with the environment.As we venture into the intriguing realm of cosmic and personal cycles, prepare to be captivated by the solar polar flip and its potential effects on our natural world. This cosmic event sets the stage for a broader conversation on life's small signals—those subtle cues that can have a significant impact if left unaddressed. With the help of the Gratitude Blooming Card deck, we reflect on the importance of friendship as a source of resilience and balance, drawing parallels to our personal experiences of feeling overwhelmed and the necessity of self-care to prevent burnout.We then transition into a vibrant exploration of friendship as an ecosystem, reflecting on the diversity of human experiences and the interconnectedness of our relationships. The colorful nasturtium flowers serve as a metaphor for the beauty and complexity of our communities, while ancient symbols like the Rod of Asclepius remind us of the healing power of companionship. As we embrace the sweetness and bitterness of life, we invite you to tune into your own seeds of intention, nurturing them as we all prepare for the growth and transformation that lies ahead. If you'd like to practice seasonal living with us to navigate change and challenge with more wholeness, sign up for our new online Change Well Series launching Feb 23 to Mar 16, 2025.  Together, we will embark on a special journey to prepare for the spring cycle through physical, mental, emotional and spiritual alchemy.  REGISTER HERE:https://www.gratitudeblooming.com/changewellCreate an intentional practice with your own Gratitude Blooming card deck, notecards, candle 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 the profound insights of seasonal living with the esteemed Dr. Paul Wang, whose extensive experience in martial, medical, and mystical practices illuminates the path to a life in harmony with nature's cycles. Join us as Dr. Wang reveals the art of dancing through life's changes, emphasizing the importance of aligning with the natural rhythms of birth, growth, maturation, and dormancy also known as spring, summer, fall and winter. Explore the necessity of stillness and the magic of connecting with one's center, as we reflect on the releasing time of fall. Together, we challenge the influences of technology and artificial light, urging a return to rest and the inner world.We also delve into the dynamic balance of yin and yang during seasonal transitions, examining its impact on our communities and personal relationships. Through the symbolism of nasturtium in the Gratitude Blooming Card deck, we invite you to embrace the darkness and the hidden treasures it can unveil in your life. As we navigate the powerful emotion of fear, Dr. Wang shares strategies to not only face it but thrive amidst uncertainty, drawing on astrological insights and the guiding intelligences of mind, intuition, and instinct. Finally, we celebrate the concept of fearless gratitude, underscoring the role of self-trust and inner confidence in personal transformation and resilience.Create an intentional practice with your own Gratitude Blooming card deck, notecards, candle 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 textZen Master and movement leader Norma Wong returns to share her profound insights on tenacity and transformation, illuminating the intricate dance between persistence and stubbornness. And, she shares insights from her new book, When No Thing Works. We pull the dandelion card, representing tenacity, and explore the art of nurturing curiosity and playfulness amidst adversity, much like how dandelions spread their seeds across vast distances. Norma's reflections on her extensive travels (including more than 3 million airline miles) offer a rich tapestry of lessons that parallel the resilience and adaptability of these unassuming flowers, emphasizing the cyclical nature of growth and personal evolution.Tune in to discover how valuing the process over outcomes can lead to thriving practices, both personally and communally. Our conversation centers on the courage it takes to release creative work into the world, trusting it will land where it's meant to grow. We delve into the transformative power of intentional practice, elevating routine into ritual, and the importance of choosing practices that truly serve us. As we navigate life's transitions, the metaphor of autumn invites reflection and renewal, encouraging us to let go of what no longer serves us while embracing the unpredictability of new beginnings. Join us in a conversation that intertwines the beauty of nature with the journey of human growth and connection.“This is deep, no-nonsense grounding, taught lightly, with invitation and humor and curiosity. Profound and embodied in each line... I know I will return to this text over and over.”—adrienne maree brown, author of Emergent Strategy (and previous Gratitude Blooming podcast guest)ABOUT THE BOOKTalking story, weaving poetry, and offering wisdom at the intersections of strategy, politics, and spiritual activism, When No Thing Works is a visionary guide to co-creating new worlds from one in crisis. It asks into the ways we can live well andmaintain our wholeness in an era of collective acceleration: the swiftly moving current, fed and shaped by human actions, that sweeps us toward ever uncertain futures. Grounded in Zen Buddhism, interconnection, and decades of communityactivism, When No Thing Works explores questions like:● As we stand at a threshold of collective change, what leaps must we make?● How can we push through discord and polarization and meet these critical changepoints collectively?● What practices, strategies, and spiritualities can align to vision a sustainable future for our communities and descendents?● How can we step out of urgency to tend to our crises with wisdom, intention, and care?ABOUT NORMANorma Wong, a life-long resident of Hawaiʻi, is a descendant of Native Hawaiians and Hakka Chinese immigrants. She has decades of experience in organizing, policy, stCreate an intentional practice with your own Gratitude Blooming card deck, notecards, candle 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 textJoin us for our Empathy & Democracy series, a live podcast and pop-up art series brought to you by the Democracy Center, VC Film Fest and Gratitude Blooming. Guided by the changing seasons, this fourth and final installment centers on the transformative practice of "Fearless Gratitude" in action as we pause together to feel and share the depths of our emotions as we grapple with the complexities of this election year. What if acknowledging the unseen fears and biases in our lives could reshape our story and guide how we show up for these times of great human divides?In this episode, we uncover our shared struggles around vulnerability, courage, humility, and the wild card of life-- themes from Gratitude Blooming's Garden of Fearless Gratitude.Together, with 35 leaders, facilitators, coaches, and community builders, we experienced how gratitude, as a social emotion, can create spaces where even our most challenging emotions can coexist harmoniously.Tune in to remember the power of pausing in shared space to inspire collective action.  This is the crucial work ahead to nurture our democracy for a thriving future.Create an intentional practice with your own Gratitude Blooming card deck, notecards, candle 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 textThis week, we are joined by beloved movement creatrix adrienne maree brown in a conversation about talking with trees, finding your murmuration, and holding complexity (and each other). With wisdom from Gratitude Blooming’s rose card representing choice, the celebrated author of Emergent Strategy joins co-hosts Belinda Liu and Omar Brownson for an insightful conversation on building right relationships, the power of proximity and her new book Loving Corrections. We unravel the threads of how capitalism and colonization pull us away from our local communities and the urgent need for spiritual technologies to navigate global crises. Listen in as adrienne shares her wisdom on staying present and connected with our surroundings and the people closest to us, drawing from personal experiences and collective actions like passing a ceasefire resolution with her community in Durham, NC.How does a budding spring rosebud symbolize the myriad of decisions we face in life? In an illustration rich with metaphor, we explore the intricate paths of personal growth and choices, inspired by the branching paths of a rose drawing. From enchanting writing retreats in Ireland to the meditative act of planting rose bushes, we reflect on the lessons nature teaches us about balance, protection, and growth. Each choice, whether familiar or uncharted, blossoms with its own potential and beauty, mirroring our life's journey.Art and activism intertwine beautifully as we celebrate the power of creativity in times of political and emotional upheaval. Drawing from a spring equinox excerpt from her new book, adrienne maree brown shares how poetry, song, and spells can transform overwhelming emotions into life-affirming art. By turning chaos into creative expressions, we find ways to embrace joy, authenticity, and a positive outlook.  We hope the heartfelt stories and actionable insights shared in this episode inspire you to turn tough emotions into meaningful actions and cultivate beauty and resilience even in the most challenging times.Deepen your exploration of Gratitude Blooming's Card #3 CHOICE / SPRING ROSE by tuning into our song and other episodes on choice here:https://www.gratitudeblooming.com/choiceExplore adrienne's work here:adrienne maree brown is growing a garden of healing ideas through her multi-genre writing, her collaborations and her podcasts. Informed by 25 years of movement facilitation, somatics, Octavia E Butler scholarship and her work as a doula, adrienne has nurtured Emergent Strategy, Pleasure Activism, Radical Imagination and Transformative Justice as ideas and practices for transformation. She is the author/editor of several published textsCreate an intentional practice with your own Gratitude Blooming card deck, notecards, candle 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 shapes our identity and fuels our courage to challenge societal norms? Today, we revisit an inspiring conversation with Jim Herr, director of the Democracy Center at the Japanese American National Museum. Jim opens up about his experiences as a Hapa kid in rural Pennsylvania, where he faced exclusion and was told he couldn't be president because of his skin color. His journey from feeling marginalized to leading critical discussions on democracy and empathy offers a compelling narrative of personal growth and resilience. We also touch upon artist Arlene Kim Suda's reflections on cultural identity and the unique pressures mixed-race individuals navigate, emphasizing the crucial role of community in embracing our differences and moving towards a more inclusive society.Curiosity can be a powerful tool against fear. We explore how engaging with what makes us uncomfortable can lead to deeper understanding and diminish fear's hold on our lives. By taking small, intentional steps, we can conquer our anxieties and live more fulfilling lives. To help keep curiosity alive, we introduce practical tools like the Garden of Curiosity note cards and candles from the Gratitude Blooming shop. These simple reminders encourage us to end each day with a moment of pause and curiosity, fostering peace and a sense of renewal regardless of the day's challenges. Join us for this uplifting episode that showcases the transformative potential of curiosity and empathy.Create an intentional practice with your own Gratitude Blooming card deck, notecards, candle 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!