Nature Is Speaking: Reese Witherspoon is Home | Conservation Internation...

We all know that recognising our connections to the world around us, connecting with the nature we are part of, is good for our sense of wellbeing. But that connection needs to be maintained, strengthened and protected. For all of us.

Nature Rx Part 2: Discover your dose of nature.

Nature is at the heart of everything we do, including fun!

Nature Rx Part 1

A fun way of describing the impact of our work

How deep does your practice go?

Sign on a tree in Grizedale Forest

Being mindful isn't simply about recognising that we are not our thoughts, that these simply come and go, some having more effect than others. It certainly isn't a simple meditation on the breath, learning to be in the present moment, nor is it about learning to respond rather than react, though of course it is all these things and more.

Effectively 'being' mindful rather than 'doing' a mindfulness practice means also recognising the consequences our actions (or inaction) will have, understanding our connectedness to everything (including each other) around us. 

So while mindfulness may help us be less stressed, more in touch with how our minds work, it may also mean we feel guilty when we recognise and understand that we have the ability to change, to influence and to empower ourselves and others but fail to do so.

Practicing mindfulness in and of our natural environments, the very environments we are part of means we will see the need to protect and preserve them. We may feel emotionally vulnerable when we see them being abused and damaged. So practicing mindfulness, being mindful of ourselves and all around us may mean we feel compelled to take more personal responsibility and this is simple to do. We can look at our own effect, practicing leave no trace or minimal impact. We can volunteer to help others learn about the value of our world or to help protect it, volunteering to clean beaches, build fences, count wildlife, whatever is needed to help. We can also contribute time and money to groups trying to do these things overcoming what one commentator described as "smugly sitting on a cushion while the world goes to hell".

Meditation with a great view

So go out, enjoy the world we are part of and think what you can do, no matter how insignificant it may feel, to help preserve the world we are part of, to protect it so that future generations can enjoy it too.

Being Human

Last night I saw the play Everyman, an adaptation by Carol Ann Duffy of the 15th play The Somonyng of Everyman (The Summoning of Everyman). This up to date version, a National Theatre production starring Chiwetel Ejiofor as everyman, who faces the consequences when death comes calling.

Chiwetel Ejiofor as Everyman at the National Theatre

The fact that this play is hundreds of years old, yet is totally relevant to the consumerist, indulgent world of today shows how despite the fantastic progress of technology, health and education, we have made little progress as a truly caring society.

There was a key question that I find particularly thought provoking - 'what does it mean to be a human being'?

There is a new initiative - 'the sustainable human' sustainablehuman.me that I think sets the scene for our thoughts as we attempt to answer this question. Something that needs more thought (and then action!)

Just watch

Just Stop

Simply sitting, noticing the view and our senses

Over a hundred years ago, J.A. Thompson, Regus Professor of Zoology at the University of Aberdeen told the doctors assembled for the British Medical Association (BMA) annual conference that 

"Nature ministers to our minds, all more or less diseased by the rush and racket of civilisation, and helps to steady and enrich our lives".

He went on to point out that this was achieved through mindful contact with all around us, animate and inanimate.

Today, we can argue that there is even more 'rush and racket' and that more and more people are affected by by it, by trying to work the hours, use the technology, keep ahead. What happened to the idea that technology helped make our lives easier? How often have you been frustrated, stressed or hassled by the inability to achieve what seem like simple tasks using the technology available to you?

The good news is that mindful contact with nature doesn't need anything except your desire to make such contact. No technology, no outside assistance, simply a determination to stop, to breathe and to notice what is around you by engaging with all your senses. Notice how warm the sun feels, while at the same time you can feel the cool breeze on your face. Notice the multitude of sounds, birds calling, trees creaking even the sound of a motorbike racing down the road. The key is to notice the sound, welcome it as part of your symphony of the moment. There is no need to tell a story, to wonder what the sound is or where it came from, where it is going. Simply notice it and move on, find another sound. 

Notice the colours you can see, the shapes, feel the textures. Whatever you are doing you can stop and notice. You can focus on your breathing, again no stories, no wondering why it is how it is, simply watch the breath come and go. Allow yourself just a few minutes, not to stop but to generate the ability to continue, to rejuvenate the mind, simply to be.

Changing times

The moon, a reminder of the natural process of change and
renewal and showing that even a dark time can bring light

It's been a while since the last posting, for a number of reasons. To start with settling into a new pattern of academic writing, data analysis and teaching following the completion of research into the benefits of a nature focus on the integration of mindfulness in daily life. The results of which will be available on this site before Easter. 

Also finding a new 'hideaway' in Scotland which provides superb access to the forests, hills and coastline and all the flora and fauna that experience opens to us. It's been great to start exploring from a new base.

Yet at the same time the last few months have contained a very different exploration experience, accompanying a friend through his diagnosis of cancer in July, treatment, slow and debilitating increase in pain and finally (December) sudden and rapid deterioration including admission to the local hospice for the last few days (January). Leading the memorial service was a particular challenge, wanting it to reflect his Buddhist values and personal wishes and at the same time being open to all friends, family and colleagues.

One of the traditional offerings made by Buddhists is that of a flower. This is a natural reminder that things grow, evolve, change, and fade away. This process is apparent wherever we look in nature, the phases of the moon, the tides and seasons, the changes in colour from spring to autumn, and the period of winter when we all pause, some species hibernating, others making sure they are warm and have enough food, preparing for the next change.

Watching my friend was a reminder of this natural process. In fact after his own diagnosis he moved on to include more awareness and activity in and around nature as he prepared himself for the inevitable. He spent time walking locally, photographing the bird life on the local canal and seashore and sharing this increased awareness with others through writing and his Facebook page. He made changes at home to prepare for stages that would be difficult not only in terms of his ability to cope but to prepare things for his son taking over. Together we reflected on his achievements, on his experiences and talked about a growing sense of completion, that his life was what it was, nothing left to do or to prove, acceptance of what was to come. He became truly 'in the moment', savouring each experience without judgement, it was simply what it was.

Nature is invaluable to a mindfulness practice. To fully appreciate our place in the world, in nature, we must be aware, and simply getting outdoors or watching something growing at home helps us develop awareness. Watching as we walk, understanding our connection to everything around us and the impact we have on ourselves and others. Learn about what is around us, explore it, your life will be richer as a result.