Simple Nature Meditation

I'm fortunate enough to be able to say that I live within a 20 minute walk from a small forest. It isn't a lot, but it has always worked for me. Scientists have shown time and again through physical and psychological research that being around trees promotes well-being, a higher sense of purpose, increases hormone level flow from a brain, promotes deeper oxygenation of tissue, and leads to a more bioavailable concentration of Serotonin and dopamine, pain and pleasure receptor neurotransmitters. It doesn't take much, and the power of nature can be exuberance, even in the smallest of quantities.

To do this meditation, you're obviously going to need some sort of nature. If there is no Forest within an accessible distance from your house, whatever topiary and foliage that lies in your neighborhood will do just as well. For this exercise, find yourself in a comfortable place, and a comfortable position, preferably sitting down or entry stance. Acknowledge of the wind in the air, as it fills you with life. Acknowledge the fact that you were breathing in, followed by breathing out, giving life to the plants nearby in the form of carbon dioxide. Realize that the plant you were looking at has its own innate personality, and that as you are undergoing respiration, so is it.

Next, it is most important to Center yourself and to find a calm within your Center. As a breathing, recognize a calm within your Center. As a breathing, recognize the fact that for a predetermined amount of time, your worries and deadlines and due dates will dissipate. As you breathe out, let go of the tension that this causes for you. Repeat for three or four breaths on this notion. And then, remembering that it is important to touch something beautiful at least three times a day, reach out and caress the nearest plants or foliage. As you make your mark of Love on it, let this plants become your focus. Thank it for all of the wonderful things it provides you with, and concentrate your love into that plan. Breathing in, give gratitude to the plant, and breathing out, let the plant reflect this gratitude onto you. You are part of one ecosystem, one planet. If possible, repeat this process for two more plants.

After you have caressed the plant and it's siblings, and received and gave love to and from the plants, take a deep breath in and blow it out slowly. On the next in breath, recognize that you were present in the Here and Now. Breathing out, let gratitude for being in the act of one mess with nature resonate within you. For another couple of minutes, breathe In and out, either with open eyes to take in the world around you, or with closed eyes and focusing on one particular object of nature. Do not hold attachment to these things, but do feel inspired by their beauty and let this beauty put you at ease. Now that you have completed this part of the meditation, go on a very slow and deliberate walk. This should take about 5 minutes. Walk around the nature that you have just occupied yourself in, breathing in that you have just occupied yourself in, breathing in deliberately and breathing out slowly. As you breathe in, realize that you are one with the Earth and Sky. Breathing out, smile to the Earth and Sky. Complete Water to last before stopping to thank the plants for what they've taught you on your way back to society. Repeat this meditation as often as possible, as the more you are cognizant of nature, the more you will begin to let go of your problems and trials.

 I am very grateful for the plethora of wildlife by my house. Not everybody is that lucky though. This exercise can be done in the living room with a single flower if need be. I hope this meditation helps in the pursuit of happiness in the clearing of conscience.

Connecting Deeply

It is impossible for any one individual to be totally aware of themselves and their surroundings and the interplay between the two at a constant and unchanging rate. We would simply lose our sanity. However, we do need to remember to step back once in a while and enjoy the sites right in front of us.

Connecting deeply to the world and everything and everyone around me was something that I struggled with for a long time. It was a concept that did not quite understand until halfway through college. Here are a few instances in which and attention can get the better of us.

Often times, we have our traditional, menial drive down the interstate to our nine-to-five job. We are at peace in that moment in time; no matter how long it lasts. During that nine-to-five job, there are some things that are similar from day-to-day, and some things that are different. Interaction with coworkers changes daily, and the things that you see on the way there also change daily. Do you slow down on the interstate to notice when a new tree has fallen over? Or that an unfamiliar car has a license plate from another state? Have you ever stopped to keep tally of how many different vehicle types you see, where they came from, he was driving them? Have you ever stopped and pondered the reality that the driver behind a vehicle might be facing at this given point in time?

You see, no one of us is like any other. We are all unique and special snowflakes, even if you find yourself in a room full of blank stares and people who all share common interest. There will still be something that differentiates them. If you take the time to learn about all those individuals, you will start to connect deeply with them, and with individuality itself. It is infrequent that you stop to realize the impact your life has on others and vice versa.

To connect deeply to the world, we must understand more of it. There is so much that we do not know about what lies beneath our oceans, and more so over, there are things that we cannot fathom about our neighbors. The kind of literature that was produced 20 years ago, completely different from the way it is now. Connecting deeply to these concepts can be achieved simply by taking 5 or 10 minutes out of one's day to dedicate it to either another person or another concept. There are plenty of applications out there that will pop up a daily reminder. Whether it is a new Bible verse, a different element on the periodic table, or another tip regarding healthcare, there are plenty of things out there to be learned on a daily basis.

Often times, we stare intently headlong into the distance, not paying attention to what happens along the way. When initiating ones day, how often do they ponder how many coffee beans make up their cup of coffee, how those beans were roasted, and who grew them and where? How often the amount of cheese on their keychain, while still knowing that they have keys on the keychain to begin with? And how often do we stare at our keyboard and ponder the amount of keys on a keyboard? There are so many things that we miss simply because we tune out to them. This can be interpersonal or intrapersonal.

Meditation and yoga are ways to connect deeply with oneself, which in turn, can improve their outlook on the rest of the world. Someone who is a cheap centerpiece or is working on it is more likely to engage in altruistic acts concerning the world around them. We must not be afraid of what we do not understand, and this understanding comes first from within.

These are just a few concepts that I share, only a few drops of water in an endless sea of possibility. It will be some time before we understand all that there is to be understood, but it all starts with the desire to do so.