 . Web Site Navigation Project
NatureConnect: Introduction Education Information Validation Contacts  |
|
|
|
'
|
Project NatureConnect |
The Value and Outcomes of Nature-Connected Experiences.
Return to first page of this series
"Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into the trees." --John Muir
This quote is sound advise and comforting to me. It would do me good to spend more time in nature and find more peace around my life amidst the challenges of being in transition and all the changes in my life that feel consuming right now.
This reminds me of the Reiki energy that flows out my palms, as well as the life force that flows through all living things. This non-verbal energetic life force animates and unites all of life!
Boxed Activity 17-1
I was not able to complete this activity with a group of people, but reminisced instead about doing a similar activity when I was young. People would form two lines and one person would fall, while the other one caught and then they would switch. This exercise was always hard for me to do because it took a great deal of trust in my partner. If I had any doubt that they would catch me then I didn't not want to relax completely and fall backwards 100% and would protect myself. Looking back with the knowledge that I have now, I think it is because I did not know or trust their inner nature, so why should I trust my life in their hands to safely catch me? If you ask me this was dangerous activity to be doing at school. And what were we supposed to learn by it? The Willow in the Wind activity sounds more purposeful and will try it at a later time.
Connector #44 Where's Home?
In my mind the song is playing "Oh give me a home, where the Buffalo roam, where the Deer and the Antelope play..." After spending some time in my childhood home of Redding, CA on May 4th during my trip, I noted the following attractions to the area that I connected very deeply with:
Emerald green Sacramento river flowing downstream with bright spring green trees & brush that unite the shore and water, light reflected on the water shines and sparkles from the sunlight. I am awestruck by the swift's pattern of circling the river to skim it's surface and then swoop back up to their nests under the bridge, rustle of the wind through the trees, grapevines and berry bushes in bloom, Oak Trees, Manzanita Trees, warm sunshine, nearby foothills, Mt. Lasson & Mt. Shasta looming in the distance majestically. I notice the manmade activity in harmony with the land: train whistles, jet streams in the sky, water towers, multiple bridges crossing water, bikers, walkers, stretches of the Sacramento River Park with people going about their leisurely pursuit of recreation. I connect with Canadian geese, the changing mood & colors of the evening night sky and it's refection on the water, heavenly sunset time, dropping temperatures, cool breeze, red wing blackbirds, ants, spiderwebs, bird songs. The lasting feel of sunlight on my skin, watching fish jump out of the river, exotic looking ducks catch my attention (black and white with red beaks) while watching life happen simultaneously all around me in a diverse yet unified way. I also appreciate the puffy clouds in the sky, cottonwood dancing around in the air gracefully, Pidgins "hoeing" nearby, ducks flying somewhere else for the night, silence except for the birds sounds, yellow and purple wildflowers, sunlight illuminating the foothills and mountain to the East, SW wind blowing behind me, polarized light with changing light & sky, noticing the richness of the red soil of the earth. In this moment, I belong here and I am home! Redding is my home (again) through my attractions and connections to the land's natural features and presence circling and embracing my being. I allow my senses to be sunkissed and gently fulfilled in being a witness to this present moment. I am part of this community because of my connections to nature. I am aware of how people and nature can co-exist in a harmonious & peaceful way. I am mindful that I can create this sense of connection and being "home" through my ability to connect with nature deeply in this way wherever I may be.
Returning to my elementary school, I connect with the Palm Trees, mockingbirds, long natural grasses, Oak groves, purple wildflowers & orange poppies, snow on nearby mountaintops, evening sprinklers on the lawn where I played as a child, crickets and frogs bringing in the night with their chorus, huge orange harvest moon rising to the West. The sounds of the evening twilight sky heal and sooth me, the sweet smell of the air and it's gentle breezes caress my being. My inner child is enlivened and I am a child again, in awe of this wonderful place.
As I sit under a special giant Oak Tree that I enjoyed as a child, I connect and thank it for nurturing me as a child and all the children over the many generations. It gives me the gift of healing and releasing my burdens (including a headache). I give it Reiki and bless it in return. It says that I am the first child who has returned here to Thank it, as an adult. It feels appreciated and has more to give back to the children it now nurtures. I feel it's heartbeat and the wind embraces me and for the moment there is a magical feeling between us. It is very alive and ant's crawl across it's long and steady trunk. I am in gratitude and feel whole again. My inner child feels safe and nurtured. These are where my roots have begun and I have returned here to remember. I like the school mascot: "Manzanita Bald Eagles" with the slogan "safe, respectful & responsible" listed. My hope is that children who are educated here treat nature with respect, and create safe and responsible lives for themselves in touch with their webstring connections like I am doing here and now. My inner child wishes upon the first night star.
In summary, deeply connecting with nature anywhere also feels like home....a deep sense of belonging and senses fulfilled.
Text attractions: This chapter was so rich and valuable to me, and I cherish the guidelines it lays out!
" In your relationships, bring in immediate natural attractions. Try to refrain from bringing in stories or references outside of your personal experiences...." "Our greatest challenge in each immediate moment is to respect and support nature's nameless, intelligent attraction-loves (NIAL) in ourselves, others and nature, to refrain from imposing our disconnected stories on the integrity of NIAL." These suggestions really resonate with me, but practicing them will take mindfulness and feels like working a new muscle!
" Make efforts to consciously respect, validate and be thankful for your experiences, your thoughts and feelings. " This sounds like the greatest form of self-love to me, and want to treat myself that way!
I am attracted to the list of 13 suggestions for relating without trespassing. I read them out loud to my partner and we talked about how we could apply them to our relationship, which would greatly enhance it. This was a lovely way to connect.
I'd like to think that we do create green on green (g-g) experiences together in nature bird watching or witnessing nature together.
Three G/G statements: I am a person that get's good feelings from...
Connecting with my webstring attractions and feeling connected to the natural world wherever I may be
Connecting with the natural beauty of the Redding, California area
Connecting deeply with my inner child and allowing my senses to be fulfilled for healing
Having this taken away would feel like searching for home but never able to find it! This activity increased my self-worth and trustfulness in NIAL my reminding me of it's renewing powers.
This activity re-educated the wrangler that says childhood memories can't be integrated and connected to the present moment.
Keyword: Magic, Awe, Beauty, Community, Home
Power sentence: By connecting with NIAL, I am home again!
" If all the beasts were gone, man would die from loneliness of Spirit, for whatever happens to the beast, happens to the man. All things are connected. " -Chef Seattle
I have loved this quote for quite awhile, due to it's simple but clear message about the future that lies in our collective hands. Of all the entities in the natural world, I connect with animals the most and my connection with them brings me so much joy!
I colored the snake yellow and connected with the medicine he has to offer me.
Boxed Activity 41-2: Unwrangling: Being open to NIAL in people & places
a) This reminds me of what we did on San Juan Island, only we went off on our own and then came back and shared. It would've been neat to walk around and share our attraction to the entire group and find a mutual attraction for the whole group to connect with and talk about what senses were being fulfilled by it. Maybe another gathering?
b) The variation we did was walk along the seashore for 15 minutes solo, following our attractions and then asking the attraction what it was married to. I connected with seaweed and rubbed it over my sensitive forearm skin, enjoying it's smooth & wet texture which I greatly enjoyed for quite some time. It said it was married to the sea, and the sea was married to it out of survival needs. Then a seal appeared and I asked it the same question, and it replied married to the sea out of love & survival too. I realized that the ocean is a huge webstring full of entities that are all interdependent and therefore "married" to each other out of love & survival which connects them all. This helped to deepen my understanding of the oneness of life and the beauty of naturally beneficial marriages. I thought about my own marriage and felt some relief that we only need to continue as long as it is serving and mutually beneficial to both of us. Being bound by religious ethics of "till death do you part" need not apply to our partnership. Why should the government or anyone else put conditions on two people's relationship? That is not how nature works!
b) Modern expectations steal my joy by making me want fancy dwellings bigger then I need, filled with nice things which cause me to be a slave to earning money just to consume more, and being a part of the insanity of modern society. I end up resenting these expectations and feel hurt by my own actions to live up to them sometimes still. I need to give myself some compassion here--at least I am recognizing the pattern. Awareness is the first step in change for me!
Share this website with a friend:
,
INSTITUTE OF GLOBAL EDUCATION Special NGO consultant United Nations Economic and Social Council
PROJECT NATURECONNECT
Readily available, online, natural science tools
for the health of person, planet and spiritP.O. Box 1605, Friday Harbor, WA 98250
360-378-6313 <email> www.ecopsych.com
ORGANIC ADVANCED ECOPSYCHOLOGY IN ACTION
The Natural Systems Thinking Process
Dr. Michael J. Cohen, Director
send email
All programs start with the Orientation Course contained in the book
The Web of Life Imperative.
.
