Often you get caught up in the day to day busy of life that you forget to stop and appreciate the beauty and serenity of the open green spaces around you. Following a challenging couple of years, it is great to be able to get out and about again to explore the great outdoors. It is time for to get reconnected with nature and allow that connection to deepen your creativity and boost your wellbeing.
How to connect with nature?
It is not just about going for a walk or sitting outside on the grass. Connection with nature involves tapping into your whole awareness and really noticing with all of your senses. Instead of just seeing a tree, really look and notice everything about the tree. From its visual appearance, how it feels against your hand and how it feels to just be there in the moment. This is where you become aware and present of nature on a holistic plane.
Your connection with nature should be intentional rather than accidental. Instead of waiting for a stressful or anxious incident to force you outdoors, you hound plan regular times to be present with nature.
The more you plan intentional moments in nature, the deeper your awareness will become and the easier it will be to consciously connect with your natural world.
Three steps to deepen your connection with nature
1. Make a date with nature
Set a regular time to commit to your time in the great outdoors. When you set clear intentions to do this your will build power in your relationship with nature. Your date with nature is best alone so you can communicate, listen and develop your spiritual relationship. Find a place where you are comfortable to be alone, it doesn’t have to be far away. It can be in you backyard or the local park. Anywhere you feel comfortable and safe to sit in silence and commit to your date with nature.
2. Sit down, get comfortable, relax and observe
Be still and let your awareness take over your thoughts. Close your eyes as your breathing settles into a natural, steady motion. Listen for sounds and to the silence. What do you hear? Birds? A river? Wind rustling the leaves of the trees gently? Next become aware of how you feel? Calm? Relaxed? Observe these feelings and allow nature to communicate with you.
3. Communicate and Reflect
As you sit in quiet awareness, allow your mind to reach out to the plants and/or animals around you. If you have been churning a problem over and over in your mind, use this time to articulate to nature what you are struggling with. Of course, you won’t physically hear a response, but you will get a response if you are listening. For example, if you are struggling to find direction use the trees as a metaphor for how you can grow. With practice the process of communicating with nature will become easier.
Finding a connection with nature and being able to communicate in a way that allows your awareness to flow helps to restore perspective in your life. Spending time in nature and allowing for a connection is perhaps the best kind of therapy you can undertake to stay grounded and balanced when life gets overwhelming.