About the Blog

The Nature of Your Body

The body itself is a screen to shield and partially reveal

the light that is blazing inside your presence.

 

Each of us is born into Beauty,

But we need to be walking in a garden to see it.

-Rumi  (OHBW, p.27)
Imagine your body as an eco-system.  You marvel at its streams and waterfalls, would never dream of pouring poison into the play of its waters.  The longer you spend inside this place, the more you become aware of a delicate balance between parts, of how easily you might tear the carefully strung web.  Where you seek to nourish, you might weigh down and destroy.  You learn to touch carefully here, to tune your senses to a rhythm you could once barely perceive.

Or perhaps you prefer the image of your body as a treasured pet.  A pony, for instance, that you longed for as a child.  You clean and polish the bright skin so it will gleam like your dreams. You set free the strong spine and limbs to massage themselves often with joyful movement, never allowing sad stasis to take hold.  Together you and this loved creature dance as one being, as the interplay of two kinds of life.  You begin to feel that within his strength, there is a vision as creative as your mind’s, that his beating heart will carry you much further than you could go alone.

The lovely quotes at the start of this chapter are from the 14^th century Sufi poet Rumi, whose words effortlessly lift the human body into unity with Nature and the spiritual power within. For thousands of years, aboriginal tribes and religious groups have sent members into the wild in the belief that this would be a growth experience for them.

Jesus, Mohammed, Buddha and many other prophets have gone into outdoor isolation for a time.  They found a truth that was solitary, but would later benefit the world.  The coming-of-age Nature ritual has also been an important part of an adolescent’s life in many cultures, often with the young person’s name changing afterwards to reflect a truer understanding of the self.  Yet, as the Australian aboriginal “walkabout” proves, the transformational power of Nature can take place at any age.

From these examples, we learn that from many different world cultures, some have gone into Nature to contemplate spiritual unity.   In each case, Nature has the effect of therapy, and these people emerge not always as visionaries,  but often as empowered individuals with ideas that nourish their lives and those of their people for generations.

WHY WE NEED NATURE: 5 Fundamental Concepts 

These are the core ideas which have supported me in making my own Nature connection.

1. We need to pay attention to our physical selves and the world around us to survive.

Despite technological changes in our outward manner of living, ours is not an Artificial Intelligence.  We have not evolved beyond our fundamental physical state.  We are creatures whose growth and wellness needs Nature as a reference point.

2. Psychologically, If we ignore our need for Nature,we develop a deep-seated unease.

If we remain unable to make meaningful contact with our natural needs and environment,  it will impact wellness and eventually health.

From instinct, we still reach toward our natural environment according to the drives we are born with.

As Michael Hyatt recently put it: “We are hard-wired for contact with Nature.”

3. Opening one’s life to include a relationship with Nature can assist healing and the achievement of lasting wellness.

This needs to be done gradually and according to one’s own pace.   It does not require rejecting your doctor, religious faith or medication.

4. At times of crisis, rather than becoming self-destructive, we can turn to unity with Nature to fortify our self-care.

As we move closer to understanding Nature, we learn to better appreciate and care for our own bodies, thereby becoming proactive about our health and wellness.

5. We can learn from people who have a powerful personal connection with Nature, such as aboriginals, prophets and nature writers.  We can then adapt what we learn to form our own unique, personal relationship with the Earth.