Regenerative Future
7 Ways to Connect to Nature
WHY? Why would you want to connect to nature? Why is it important?
First of all, there is no nature and us. We are part of nature, we belong inside the web of life. But we have forgotten it. And now nature is often no more than the park we walk in on a Sunday afternoon. Leisurely, relaxing, but also annoying when we are bitten by a mosquito or hear a fly in the living room.
Let’s give some background on this ‘why’ question. Undeniably, we have some problems in this world. From climate change to loss of fertile topsoil, from biodiversity loss to plastics pollution in our oceans, from air pollution in our cities to shortages of drinkable water. And I am convinced that our disconnection from nature is an important cause of these problems.
World of Separation
When in the 1600s René Descartes described humans as machines, the western world started to direct their sciences towards the studying of specialist parts, disconnected from all other fields. And we created a world of separation.
Our economics, for example, are driven by maximization of profit, instead of respecting all values, not only money. Our businesses include only production costs in their prices. All other costs, such as waste, pollution, health problems of people, and many more are costs for our societies.
Responsibility is no longer connected to our actions. And the consequences are felt more and more clearly.
Systemic thinking
The solution is a change of world view. From separation to connection. We cannot just maximize a part, we need to optimize the whole. This is called holistic thinking, systems thinking, systemic design. E.g. Fritjof Capra wrote about it in his book ‘a Systems View of Life’.
The world is not made up of separate parts, all these parts are connected. If you touch a piece of fruit, it is connected to the rest of the world. It connects to the tree, which connects to the soil with its roots, to the air with its leaves, to the sun to make its photosynthesis work, etc. We breathe the oxygen that is produced by the trees, who in return eat CO2 to produce cellulose for their stems.
“If you touch a piece of fruit, it is connected to the rest of the world. It connects to the tree, which connects to the soil with its roots, to the air with its leaves, to the sun to make its photosynthesis work, etc.”
I will write many more blogs about systemic thinking because I am convinced it will be at the roots of our changing societies. We need to shift from a consuming generation to a restoring generation before we can start enjoying the abundance that is nature’s gift to all.
Real People Like You and Me
So there is hope. People have created our economic system of unlimited growth, we can also change it. And by people I mean us. Small, insignificant us. Real people like you and me. Small gestures can have big impacts.
They can inspire others, creating a wave or they can show our governments that we are serious about change and they will act upon that. Mahatma Gandhi said it wisely: “Be the change you want to see in the world.”
“Be the change you want to see in the world.” — Mahatma Gandhi.
And we can start by reconnecting ourself to nature. Because we are part of nature. We belong to this beautiful, very intelligent, innovative web of life. And it brings me such joy every day to dive deep and feel it!
Improved Health
When I started to reconnect myself with nature, it made me uncomfortable at first. I was brought up in the suburbs. Yes, from the age of seven we had a garden, but I was never very interested in learning the names of plants. I was mostly reading books and thinking a lot.
But it all changed. And the result is that my intuition works much better now, my health improved, my work and relationships flourish because of inner peace and deep listening skills. My joy is now much bigger and growing! My feelings of anxiety and frustration that were dominant before, are now in the background. Only occasionally showing their dark colors. A life changer!
“My work and relationships flourish because of inner peace and deep listening skills. My joy is now much bigger and growing!”
What can you do to reconnect yourself to nature? Here are some suggestions.
1. Put a compass in your pocket
Our sense of place, of belonging, has been lost to most of us. Do you know if your desk faces the west? Or north? Are you aware of what direction you are driving in when you have the sun in your eyes?
Looking at a compass several times a day gives you awareness of the place you are in, the steps you are taking in your life, the connection to sun, moon and mother earth. It is a first action you can take towards being aware that every step counts, every thought counts, every action counts.
“Every step counts, every thought counts, every action counts.”
And it is fun! Try to start your lunch walk with going north today and see where you end up. Get lost and find your way back on intuition. Use the compass to make conscious choices about the spot of the next fruit tree you plant or the mint and lemon verbena for your next cup of tea.
2. Choose a GAIA place and spend time there every day
I learned about the GAIA place in Schumacher College in the UK, a college that offers transformative learning for ecological and social change. A GAIA place is a place where you can observe the earth and her creations.
Choose a place close to your door, so it will be easy to reach and visit often. It can be a spot with just a tree or a wall with mosses or a bush. And spend time at this spot every day. You can just sit there, watch a bird or an insect, or just muse. You can meditate or do whatever you like.
“After a while, you will start to notice things you didn’t notice before.”
After a while, you will start to notice things you didn’t notice before. For instance, you will notice small things about the blackbird that distinguishes him from others, so you know it’s the same bird. You’ll notice his specific voice or his way of flying up when he’s fed up and wants a change of scenery. Give him a name.
Get connected. And most of all: enjoy it!
3. Meditate outside
Meditation is a great way of calming your thoughts and emotions. In the beginning, your thoughts will be all chaotic and confusing, but after becoming familiar with meditation, your thoughts will quiet down.
They will never disappear completely, that’s not the point. But the more you train yourself to watch your thoughts and emotions without getting carried away, the more space will be created for intuition and an automatic connection to the web of life.
Meditating outside has the positive side effect that you can feel connections to the environment. You will start to feel the tree you are sitting under or you will feel the little feet of a beetle on your hand.
“The more you train yourself to watch your thoughts and emotions without getting carried away, the more space will be created for intuition.”
The SoundCloud channel of TreeSisters has meditations to connect us to nature. This foundation combines the increase of female values in our societies with planting trees in the tropics. At specific moments such as full moon or equinox, there are live online gatherings as well that connect people and nature.
4. Lie in the grass and feel the heartbeat of Mother Earth
A very simple exercise: lie on your back in the grass, close your eyes and feel where your body touches the earth. Just follow your breath for a while and feel the heartbeat of Mother Earth.
When I realize that the earth has existed for 4.6 billion years, all the time changing and feeding and cradling every living species, I can only feel awe! Respect!
“The earth has existed for 4.6 billion years, all the time changing and feeding and cradling every living species”
An ant might walk over your arm, just feel its feet. If you feel fear, just feel it, don’t press it away, just observe and breathe. The fear will lessen with every out-breath and new joyful energy will enter with every in-breath. Enjoy your connection.
5. Dance without limiting yourself
Our society has put many, many brakes on our personalities. Image is held up, what will people think? How often have we heard: “act normal, that is extravagant enough…” Well, it is not enough! We want to rewild ourselves. Be joyfully real. And intuitive dancing can do the trick.
You can put on some music and dance in your living room alone for a start. While you dance, follow your connection to the music and move along. Don’t think about how it looks. Just dance.
“Don’t think about how it looks. Just dance.”
Slow moves or jumping wildly, it can all happen, just follow your instinct. If you want a bit more guidance, you can join classes of 5 Rythms. It will liberate your soul…
6. Take a silent walk and open all your senses
A silent walk is a great way to connect to nature. Open all your senses and hear, see, smell, taste, and feel. You will be surprised at how much you will notice that you didn’t notice before.
You will hear different birds’ voices, taste the leaves of a dandelion, smell the fragrance of soil when it has just rained, feel the texture of bark or of sand flowing through your fingers. And you’ll see colors and shapes you have not been aware of before.
“You’ll see colors and shapes you have not been aware of before.”
If you want to do something with what you have experienced during the walk, you can write a small poem of three sentences. In two of them, you describe something you noticed outside of yourself, the third will be about something inside.
A feeling, an emotion, a thought… Get your creativity flowing…
7. Be outside in the dark
Our eyesight is the most dominant sense we have. So if that sense cannot be very active, we will deepen the experience of our other senses.
Our hearing will be more intense and we can hear the call of the owl. Or the rustling of mice through the dry leaves. We can smell, taste and feel many more nuances and gradations.
“If our eyesight cannot be very active, we will deepen the experience of our other senses.”
Also here, fear can kick in. We can feel vulnerable without our eyesight. But when you have got used to this feeling of vulnerability by just being in the dark in your own backyard, you can go one step further and stretch the territory to a place you know well in daylight.
And if you then want to go deeper into the experience of being along in the dark in nature, you can consider doing a Vision Quest and step completely out of your comfort zone.
Good luck. Enjoy the exercises and enjoy sharing your experiences. Nature will welcome you…
If you want to connect, you can find me on LinkedIn or Facebook or somewhere on a beach getting connected to the sea…
