Nature’s Stories

Of course all of our time in meditation isn’t only to learn mindfulness in the mobile studio.

In meditation we practice presence, returning over and over to the sensations that are happening in each new moment of now. One of the many techniques of meditation is to return to the physical sensations of the breath – how does your body move when air enters and leaves? When we practice at putting our minds awareness on our physical sensations, it gives us a break from the stories the mind may tell, teaching us instead to engage with the stories unfolding all around us. This skill of presence can be brought into each activity we do, it can be applied to all domains of life.

One of my favorite ways to bring mindfulness into my life is through being in nature.

The outdoors allows for our senses to enliven. In nature there is no need to intellectualize or analyze, instead we can use our senses as the primary dictators of our experience. We listen, smell, touch, see and sometimes even taste to interact with the world around us. Sensations can’t be felt in the past or future, they only occur in the present; being in nature is meditation in life.

Our creativity can blossom in the outdoors. There are no answers to work toward, no right or wrongs and no bosses or parents. Instead there is a blank slate of limitless possibilities.

Nature allows for a diffusion of tensions. As no matter what else is going on in life, the outdoors enables us to take a step back and see the world around is still humming just as it was.

And it can remind us what it felt like to be a kid again: wholly intrigued, interested and absorbed with the world around us.

At a time when we’d all like a little more space in our lives, our parks and backyards can provide us just that.