The Mountain Within: Finding Stillness in the High Places

Quiet Mind, Colorful Soul: The Weekly Series

A Collaboration by Hollie Brubaker & Poppy Anna Cash 

Hollie painting The Mountain Within, 2026

Written by Poppy Anna Cash  on April 25, 2026

“Color is a power which directly influences the soul.” Welcome back to the quiet, tiny painters. Today, we are stepping away from the gentle waters of the moon boat and beginning an ascent into a sanctuary of high places and deep stillness.

Drawing the Shadows Into the Light

I want to share something deeply personal with you today. Recently, I was diagnosed with severe Generalized Anxiety Disorder. For a long time, I didn't have a name for the "hum" inside me. It was a constant, buzzing vibration that kept my body in a perpetual state of fight-or-flight. I was humming with energy that I simply had no idea how to release because I couldn’t identify that it was actually anxiety until my therapist and I really began to dive into my life and all that I have been through.

She helped draw it all into the light, and we worked together to find ways that would allow me to begin releasing that energy. For me, that release is found in meditation and a visceral connection with nature.

I remember the first hike I went on after my diagnosis. I had a guided meditation going in my earbuds as I progressed through a wooded forest. Here in Ohio, we do not have soaring mountain peaks, but we have the Ledges (huge rock formations created by glaciers untold ages ago). I reached an overlook point where I sat and took in the world around me, expansive and peaceful.

The Wisdom of the Stone

These ledges have witnessed a staggering amount of change. They have stood through the thawing of the ice age, watching as massive glaciers carved their way through the landscape to form the Great Lakes. The forest has seen relentless storms, lightning strikes, and the cycle of bitter winters and sweltering summers, yet here they were, lush and teeming with life.

I literally sobbed as I sat on the rock. The release was incredible and healing. I let the earth absorb my tears and my pain. Slowly, the vibration that I felt inside began to soften and slow, and before I knew it, I felt like I was vibrating in sync with the heartbeat of the earth herself.

The Guardians of the Mountain

This experience of finding strength in the landscape is the heartbeat of our second guided meditation, Anxiety Relief. In this session, we focus on the imagery of floating peaks and the "guardians of the mountain"... the pine trees.

Against the pale grey mist, dark, crisp silhouettes of pines begin to appear. Like the trees at the Ledges, their roots are woven into the stone. They do not fight the wind; they sway with it. They carry the wisdom of endurance. This is the same strength that is being woven into your own spirit as you breathe.

The Symmetrical Release

In this practice, we invite you to breathe with the peaks. As the brush traces the edge of a mountain on the paper, we invite you to inhale, following that line up to its highest point. We hold for a still moment at the summit where the air is thin and clear, and then we exhale twice as long as the inhale, following the slope back down into the soft, protective fog.

With each mountain traced, your heart finds a steadier rhythm. You are not fighting the climb; you are part of the landscape.

A Shared Strength

Hollie and I believe so deeply in the help these meditations can provide. We understand that many people find it hard to visualize, and others find it difficult to sit still. Meditation is a practice, and it looks different for everyone. We wanted to create something accessible and empowering, whether you are on a rocky overlook or in your own living room.

The painting we create together today is a hazy masterpiece of strength. You are the mountain. You are the tree. You are the peace.

As you move back into your day, carry this truth with you:

"I am the mountain; the clouds are just passing through."

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