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Fisher Of Zen

Fisher Of Zen

Cari Ray

"When we step into nature, our opportunity is not only to learn about the world around us, but also to become better acquainted with the world that lies within us." - Cari RayCari Ray has been exploring the outdoors since she was a girl growing up in the Midwest, and she's been writing stories, songs, and making visual art for nearly as long. For many years now, those explorations more often find a fly rod in her hand. "Fisher of Zen" represents the culmination of those passions. Part podcast, part blog, part photo diary...all wondering about wandering with a particular focus.
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Top 10 Fisher Of Zen Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Fisher Of Zen episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Fisher Of Zen for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Fisher Of Zen episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

Like rivers, sometimes the biggest adventures start small. This certainly proved to be the case as we set out from our August basecamp to head up over a high mountain pass in the San Juans of Colorado. Besides the beauty of the Alpine Tundra, I had my heart set on visiting a few of the natives who have called these mountains home for some 70,000 years.

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On a recent trip to Oregon, I was fortunate enough to collect a fish story I'll likely still be telling when I'm old and grey. Later that night, around the absence of a campfire, courtesy of a regional burn ban, I sat down and told my tale to the page. One of the best things about telling a great story is getting to relive it again and again. And to unearth the nuggets of wisdom provided as you reflect.

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Fisher Of Zen - MINI VAN LIFE: Your Tiny Ticket to "Nomadland"?
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10/05/21 • 43 min

When I heard that an old friend was having her minivan professionally outfitted for camping, I was intrigued—about the mechanics and the motivation. So when fate found me both 2000 miles from my home and 20 miles from hers within weeks of her taking delivery of her shiny new coach, I was determined to find a time to camp together. She was equally excited. So as the sun began to descend on a warm September evening, we headed out of the city and into the forest. Listen in on a conversation about Van Life between a newbie and a 6-year veteran.

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The April sun burned hotter than usual on the back of my neck and tops of my feet as I made my way across the baked expanse of cobbled Texas riverbed. There was once, not so long ago, reliable water where Bluebonnets now confidently sprouted from between the rocks with no fear of drowning. I had been profoundly unprepared for this little expedition. In posesson of neither sun gaiter, wading boots, nor net. But there I was, making my way alongside another trickle of skinny water, as precious to me as the blood coursing through my veins, in search of a deeper pool and, perhaps, a dance with one of its residents.

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Fisher Of Zen - A MOVING MEDITATION: Fly Fishing & Mental Health
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05/18/22 • 16 min

May is metal health awareness month, and Pat Kellner, the guy behind Texas Freshwater Fly Fishing, asked me to put some thoughts together on the pursuit of fly fishing as it relates to mental health. Rather than a treatise on their connection, what flowed on to the page were some prime examples of how the sport offers opportunities for the sort of mindfulness practice that can pay big dividends in our daily lives.
It’s a long-held belief of mine that, if we let it, the pursuit can be immeasurably beneficial to mind, body, & spirit. Sometimes by offering low-hanging fruit like fly casting and drawing us into nature. Sometimes by offering situations that border on tedious or frustrating, presenting us with the choice to get bogged down or to rise above. Like most healthy choices, it gets easier with practice. Mastery is never about your relationship to anyone or anything else, it’s always between you and you. And step one to is to GET PRESENT.

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Fisher Of Zen - You, Me, and a Manatee
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08/17/21 • 7 min

Have you ever had a brush with fame? At the airport, at a restaurant, on the streets of New York or LA? It's one thing to see a celebrity on television or in a movie. And I think most of us would agree that it's yet another, even better thing to attend a live taping, movie shoot, or concert. But if you've ever had that "brush with fame" in your daily life, you know that experience is in a category of its own. Now imagine you happen to run across that same person and instead of walking away, they come over and strike up a conversation with you and then ask you to rub their back. Well, that's basically what happened here. Only the airport was a Florida spring head and the rock star was a vegetarian with flippers.

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Fisher Of Zen - Into the Woods

Into the Woods

Fisher Of Zen

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08/03/21 • 4 min

When I was 10, my parents acquired a 70-acre, mostly wooded slice of paradise. And while our prior residences had big yards and afforded me access to creeks and farm ponds full of bass & bluegill, tadpoles and turtles, it wasn't until we moved to what local old timers' referred to as "Pikeville Holler" that I began to find myself in the forest...

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In this installment, I have a heart-to-heart with Kate and Danielle Nolan of DNK Presents, Brown County Bikes, and a nonprofit called Live Adventurously that awards a backcountry weekend to 4 deserving women from a long list of nominees annually. There wasn’t much of an agenda for this interview as I wanted to just allow these ladies to talk about what they are passionate about. And believe me, there’s plenty. But the main thread that runs through our exchange is a focus on empowering and educating people, especially women, to embrace their sprit of adventure and self-reliance. To reconnect with themselves be immersing themselves in nature. Sound familiar?

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Fisher Of Zen - Be the River: Where Water Flows, Life Grows
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09/06/21 • 6 min

We had been driving across the flat, nearly featureless terrain for a couple of hours, and there was nary a tree for as far as we could see. This landscape had a unique, stark sort of beauty, but it's nearly impossible not to feel a little exposed in the presence of that vastness. We then descended from the mesa and into the Pecos River Valley just outside of Roswell, and immediately into what seemed to be an entirely different world as the flat earth gave way to a twisting, tree-lined river valley. Suddenly, we found ourselves in a shroud of green.

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With a busy Texas trout season drawing to a close, I finally had a chance to sit down and crack open “Not all Trout are Geniuses,” by fly fishing author, Mark Usyk. From the first chapter, I was drawn in...not only by the vivid storytelling, but by the easy, conversational tenor of his writing. And I was sure I needed to convince him to come on the podcast.

As he joined our virtual meeting from his den, he was accompanied by Masters of the Universe and Star Wars action figures, Kermit the frog, and an 18-inch statue of the Incredible Hulk holding a trout plaque. So yeah, I knew this was going to be good.

We’ll talk about the release of his third book, a little about fly fishing, and a fair bit about the path of transformation from hot rod builder and and cell tower climber to published outdoor author.

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FAQ

How many episodes does Fisher Of Zen have?

Fisher Of Zen currently has 15 episodes available.

What topics does Fisher Of Zen cover?

The podcast is about Meditation, Spirituality, Backpacking, Music, Camping, Outdoors, Podcasts, Hiking, Fishing, Philosophy, Sports, Wilderness and Fly Fishing.

What is the most popular episode on Fisher Of Zen?

The episode title 'PARADISE BY THE DASHBOARD FLIES: Bonus Time Well-Wasted' is the most popular.

What is the average episode length on Fisher Of Zen?

The average episode length on Fisher Of Zen is 24 minutes.

How often are episodes of Fisher Of Zen released?

Episodes of Fisher Of Zen are typically released every 14 days, 12 hours.

When was the first episode of Fisher Of Zen?

The first episode of Fisher Of Zen was released on Aug 3, 2021.

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