Tag Archives: nature

Earth has Her Moods

For many years I have practiced daily walking outdoors. It is a quite, meditative time when I relax and escape from my monkey mind cage.

Ideally, immersing in nature is part of the walk. Daily walking requires a certain self-discipline, because realistically every day does not offer “perfect weather”. (We all have our own definition of that – if we didn’t, people wouldn’t talk about the weather so much.) I have walked in cold, rain, snow, and gloom as much as I have enjoyed sunshine and bright, shiny walks. I have come to love all of it.

Here’s the thing: I love sunshine as much as the next person. And when we’re feeling down, the sun can be a real mood lifter. But depending on what I’m dealing with in my day, sunshine can feel like a good friend trying to jolly me out of my problems, rather than allowing space for my mood.

My observation over the years is that those moody, rainy, snowy, cloudy days also have their own merit for solitude and introspection. They are the perfect back drop to quiet my conscious mind. There I inevitably find the space for the true answers to come through from my subconscious.

Rain or shine, nature is my therapy. Without fail, I find the beauty, grace, quiet and solitude I need to transcend the rat race.

“Some people feel the rain. Others just get wet.” ~ Bob Marley

“Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather.” ~ John Ruskin

“As long as this exists, this sunshine and this cloudless sky, and as long as I can enjoy it, how can I be sad?” ~ Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl

“I am a tiny seashell that has secretly drifted ashore and carries the sound of the ocean surging through its body.” ~ Edward Hirsch

Her Heartbeat is Ours

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Do you feel your connection to Earth? Her heartbeat is connected to us in ways that are only starting to be understood. More scientifically called the Schumann Resonance, this “heartbeat” is an electromagnetic wave that circles Earth’s circumference. It is closely connected to and communicates with our brains.

This from a Gizmodo post, The Earth has a heartbeat we can see from space:

“The wavelength is the circumference of the earth (or twice the circumference, or three times, or four, and so on). This means that the troughs of these waves will always line up, as will the crests. When crests combine, they get bigger. And with lightning hitting the earth over four million times a day, these waves keep getting the boosts they need. The waves don’t sweep across the surface of the earth. Instead they’re like standing waves, that just pulse at their troughs and crests – a resonant heartbeat.”

The Schumann Resonance (the base atmospheric electromagnetic resonant frequency is 7.83 Hz) is closely in sync with our Alpha brain waves (8 to 12 Hz). Alpha waves “are dominant during quietly flowing thoughts, and in some meditative states. Alpha is ‘the power of now’, being here, in the present. Alpha is the resting state for the brain. Alpha waves aid overall mental coordination, calmness, alertness, mind/body integration and learning.” (From What are Brainwaves? – Brainworks, Train Your Mind.)

The scientific study of the full effects of interference with the Shchumann Resonance ELF waves on our well-being is still in its infancy. But, studies to date suggest that when human vibration is out of sync with the Earth’s resonant heartbeat, we are not in a prime state of health. There are many articles outlining the interference and possible detrimental effects played by our synthetic technologies. There are also theories that staying in alignment could play an important part in the future expansion of our collective human consciousness.

But, why not let yourself be the judge? Start noticing how you feel when you spend too much time around TV, computers, cell phones, etc. And comparatively, the next time you’re out in nature, really tune in to how the images, colors, and sounds are affecting your mind and body.

Listen to the Earth’s heartbeat. She is communicating with you, so get to know and feel her language. Whether you realize it or not, she is calling you back to your organic essence.

Healing Power of Trees

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Do you know that trees have the power to heal you? The Japanese know it! They are avid tree lovers and forest bathers. You heard it right! Bathing in trees, spending time around them and soaking up all their great energy.

Trees are powerful medicine

Major studies and experiments have been conducted in Japan to measure the positive effects of trees on humans. The results astound in terms of physical and emotional health. The benefits include improved immune system, lower pulse rate and blood pressure, and reduced incidence of depression. Have I piqued your interest? To find out more, go to this Quartz blog post: The Japanese practice of ‘forest bathing’ is scientifically proven to improve your health.
After you read it, you may just become the next tree bathing convert!

Forest bathing moves West

And lest you think this is just some ‘flash in the pan’ fad, I’m here to tell you, no it is not. In 1982, forest bathing integrated into the national health program in Japan and the studies quoted on health benefits go back as far as 2004. Tree bathing is lately being embraced in our Western culture as an antidote to stress.

A brief excerpt from the Quartz article:

“Julia Plevin, a product designer and urban forest bather, founded San Francisco’s 200-member Forest Bathing Club Meetup in 2014. They gather monthly to escape technology. “It’s an immersive experience,” Plevin explained to Quartz. “So much of our lives are spent interacting with 2D screens. This is such a bummer because there’s a whole 3D world out there! Forest bathing is a break from your phone and computer…from all that noise of social media and email.”

As far as I know, no one has figured out how to bottle this yet. And I hope they never do! I urge you to scout around soon for some trees, and let them work their magic.

They’re waiting for you…

Nature Teaches Us

When I see a solitary tree in a field, I wonder… Are you lonely out there? Do you yearn for the other trees, your family?

But wait, when the farmer cleared the field and if there were others, why did he not cut you down too? Perhaps there was something in you that he felt. A will to live? A purpose not yet fulfilled?

Were you the one tree that looked strong enough to withstand the solitude, to be staunch and strong through every harshness imaginable to guard his field?

But wait, you are NOT alone. Earth, air, sky, clouds, rain, sun… You are nurtured, cradled, and loved by all of it.

Perhaps you demonstrate that not just simply survival – but dare we hope great joy? – is found in your ostensibly lonely journey.

But still I wonder, DO you miss your trees? Your family?

Hmm. Perhaps not. Perhaps you also teach that it is ALL family.

Green Monday

No Monday blues here. I’m bringing you an injection of nature’s green to start your week feeling uplifted and rejuvenated. Think of it as a building block, a foundation for your day (and I hope) for your week. Build on it.

Pen onto your calendar, right now, something that will uplift you each and every day. Commit to those goals. Make your well-being the most important “item” on your calendar this week.

You know the things that bring you personal happiness, that lift your heart. Right now we might be restricted to “the small things”. What you will find out is that the small things are actually the big things…

“The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.”
~ John Muir

“When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world.” ~ John Muir

“In every walk with Nature one receives far more than he seeks.” ~ John Muir

“If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden.”
~ Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden

Photos courtesy Luis del Río Pexels, HoliHo Pexels, KANENORI Pixabay, Pixel2013 Pixabay, SplitShire Pexels