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PROGRAM OUTCOMES:
Robert, an online program participant, shares his results from
a nature-connecting activity.
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I DISCOVER A TRUSTABLE PLACE IN MY MIND
Part One
My wife has just planted our
annual flower bed next to the walk in the back of the house.
As she was explaining to me what was what in the beds, I saw
small tulip sprouts breaking ground. As the next several days
evolved, I saw that the plants were gaining height and appearance.
I have been attracted to these new plants for about a week or
so now and as I read this chapter I realized why and what attracted
me to them. I like them because they reveal new life in Nature.
They have purpose and possess qualities of awe and peace for
me. They also act as a study for me to observe in an accelerated
format. They will grow to adulthood shortly and become a part
of the web of life without speaking or having labels other than
ones we attach and other natural species will interact with them
for food, shelter and life.
Part Two
I like myself because I too
have something to offer others through the realization that I
am part of the same natural system that the tulips are. I give
life, food and shelter as well as warmth and good feelings to
others around me. I can feel the part that I play in Nature without
benefit of title, voice or egotistical feelings getting in the
way. In the past I would have noticed the tulips as they were
growing, but would still thought of them as a separate part of
nature.
Natural
Senses That Registered
in my Awareness:
The tulips had not yet bloomed,
and I probably wouldn't have paid them much notice, if I hadn't
been doing the activity with them. In fact I had previously considered
removing, them as they were in kind of an awkward location.
Music: I began to hum a single
note, relatively high pitched but a pleasing tone.
The beauty of the still closed buds began to distill in my heart.
What wonders were they holding? What would open up?
Distance Wonder: I moved off
my chair and drew close up to individual buds. The petals were
still mostly green with just a hint of coral red blending in
with the green. But, just at the uppermost point- a crack between
the leaves revealed the beginnings of a vibrant velvety-red,
inner petal. The depth of my sense of wonder increased.
Intensity: The difference between
the exterior color and the interior color was powerfully distinct.
I began to wonder: Does the exterior color on the petal stay
the same greenish or will it change to match the interior color?
Or is the exterior green petal really a leaf that recedes or
falls off when the bloom appears? I was amazed that I had never
really noticed how a tulip grows before.
Smell: No smell at first. A
subtle smell as my awareness increased.
Community/Belonging/ Compassion:
Already, I was beginning to sense my connection to them powerfully.
They were a family with each other. They were part of my family
as well. How could I have ever considered removing them?
Light/Sight: The evening sunlight
glowed on the silky petals- making them dance with color. One
might have thought they had bloomed already- so vibrant was the
display. I never realized that yet un-bloomed flowers could be
so beautiful.
Season/Gravity/Time: I grasped
the fact that a few short weeks ago- this beauty was hidden completely,
unborn- yet imagined, under the ground. Defying gravity it somehow
emerged- to feel me with awe.
Feel/Temperature: I bent down
and placed my cheek against a petal. So soft. And what was it?
Yes, cool. I never really realized its temperature would be cool
in comparison to my own
Motion/Play/Pleasure: The buds
swayed atop their tubular stems. I was struck by the fact that
they continue to dance day in and day out even when I am not
watching them.
Hypnosis/Relaxation: I felt
hypnotized by the beauty of it all. All the stresses of the day
seemed to melt. There was nothing to do but be with them.
The next day, as I was walking
out my back door to go to church, something bright & colorful
appeared in my peripheral vision. Turning, I drew a breath, "Oh
Look! They bloomed. Just since yesterday three of them had popped
wide open.
I drew near, mystified that
what was just yesterday closed and green was now a vibrant red
with a deep black center and gold interior stripes.
Gratitude: I felt profoundly
grateful that I had paused to observe its process of emerging.
I will never really think of tulips in the same way, because
now I have a relationship with them.
Humility/Consciousness/Spirituality:
I was definitely humbled by the tulips. Such wonders of creation.
I sensed that the grandeur of creation is wrapped up in them-
just as it is in you and I.
A Quote I Liked: "Each
time we resonate with a natural attraction through a different
sense, we get to know the attraction and ourselves in a new,
more fulfilling and holistic way.
My Conclusion: When I "see"
nature, other people, and myself through other senses, my sense
of wonder and gratitude for them grows.
Dreamtime: I awoke this morning
feeling myself in the arms of nature- as if cradled inside the
tulip.
I pointed out the open tulip
to my son. He didn't really get what I was so enamored about.
But, I understood this. After all, I wouldn't have gotten what
I was so enamored about yesterday, either.
Trustable Space in my Mind:
Time with Tulips is Time with Me is Time with God.
Act now.
Master Organic
Psychology by doing it.
Explore it from our homepage
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Contact us at 360-378-6313 mailto:nature@interisland.net,
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