APNC- Spring/Summer 2019 Lesson 1:1

[Amanda]

I laughed to myself the other day thinking about how often I am engaged in discussions about weather. Yes, even here in Southern California we talk about weather, though it doesn’t change much day to day. In my work most people are strangers when I meet them and politics and religion are avoided, and I actually really don’t enjoy small talk, but after our discussion last week I find myself okay with it. Weather is part of nature, and it’s a subject we can usually all get on the same page with, not too many people argue about what temperature it is outside, and if one person likes it a little cooler or a little hotter everyone just laughs about it and moves on. Weather aka nature as the great unifier I guess. We are all affected by extreme weather and sometimes even subtle changes, depending on where we work and live, but nature connection for me is appreciation and recognition and starts with myself. I can move through an entire day if I am anxious, or worried, or busy and not even notice changes or small animals or insects around me. I do want a connection to nature and to be present because I know I am better for it. I do things daily to help create that connection like meditation or just sitting outside a few minutes to notice what is going on around me, but there are challenges. I don’t think it is time though, even though many people would probably say that. It’s a decision of what to do with time and that is our decision. Sometimes a Netflix binge or a book will win, but I do find that even though I am not always present to nature it is present to me. I live in an area where a rabbit or hummingbird or hawk will seem to appear from nowhere. I am grateful for that because it calls me back to a connection, ultimately to myself.
Nature connection is present moment awareness, and I know being outside helps me to be grounded in the moment. My challenge to be connected is really my head, living in the future or the past. But I persist because it is important to me. I was fortunate to grow up in many kinds of environments outside, and I feel my best self, the best parts of me come out when I am outside. I didn’t grow up as a camper or a hiker or mountaineer, but I do enjoy long walks and conversations, especially with friends or the little ones I have in my life. As a kid I was outside catching grasshoppers and frogs or boogie boarding or snorkeling, and I am lucky for it. My mom would kick us out of the house until it got dark because she was running a small day care in our home, so any bodies she could get outside she would. I guess I have to lock the screen door myself now.

[ezavaglia808]

Hi Amanda,

I struggle with small talk too and appreciated your positive take on it. It’s so true how a hummingbird or other animal can grab our attention and quickly bring us back to the present.

[Tracey]

Thank you Amanda for being a “keeper”. I so appreciate what you do. So much of my “explanations” of what gets in my way are more like excuses. I can and will carve out more time to get connected to nature. It is one of the most important things I can do for myself, my grandchildren, and their children.

[Daniel Brisbon]

Wonderful reflection Amanda. What I really noticed from what you shared from your reflection wasn’t just your awareness when you feel disconnected to nature, but the fact that nature is always ready and waiting for you to re-connect. The birds and animals can be impactful triggers for us to come back into the present moment.

But isn’t it great that nature is never disconnected from us?

It is only when we become present and grounded that we can connect to it. And nature is always there waiting for us to return back to the present moment. It never takes a break from being ready to connect to us.

[Kimberly Beck]

I got kicked out too. How lucky we are!!! Thank you!

[David Fontaine]

Hi Amanda! Thanks for sharing your perspectives! It definitely gets the wheels turning a bit. Having moved away from my home state long ago I have found my relationship with my parents has weakened and, yes, we talk about the weather a lot now, haha! This sometimes bothers me because I always seek deep relationships with those around me and struggle with “shallow” conversation. It was only in the past year or so that I came to accept this and allow the relationships to ebb and flow in their own way. I was never a fan of the “should” statements that would arise in my mind around this….”I should be closer with my parents”, “I should have a larger friend circle”. I think the epitome of nature is constant change and evolution of all things in it. Some things evolve faster than others and we all have our own stories to live out but, we all remain connected by the same link. I find there is something to be honored and appreciated by even the slightest of encounters with other people and other parts of nature.

[Amber McCormick]

Amanda, I really loved your take on small talk about the weather. I’m one who loves deep conversation, but when meeting new people you have to get through the small talk to get to the deeper stuff. Your comment about weather(nature) being the great unifier is an excellent shift in perspective. Thank you!

[Kimberly Beck]

To me, nature connection is the innate and primal bond between people and the more-than-human world that satisfies deep belonging. It is getting off a plane on a different continent and excitedly greeting the familiar relatives of plants I know back home. It is hearing the juncos and robins mild alarms outside my window on a winter morning while making coffee and going outside to eventually find the origin of their distress – a hunting fox. It is the smell of midwestern dirt that makes me cry with deep memories of young solitude in the woods. I do NOT consider nature connection a hobby or a personal interest, as sleep and water are not personal interests. And while purposeful ‘activities’ and outings support my relationship and connection with nature, I am most fulfilled when awareness, dialogue, curiosity and reciprocity is an ongoing engagement. When this is occurring, a deep longing for belonging is satisfied within.
Nature connection is important to me because in my bones I know that we are designed – physically, sensually, intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually – for an expansive network of relationships with humans, animals and the land. Simply, it seems unnatural for me to not make time for all these relations. Staying connected keeps me more grounded, kind, happy, vital and productive – and I love to feel this way! Nature connection is also important because my life has been dedicated to this process. My studies (formal and informal), my work for the past 23 years, my current Rewilding business, my identity… has been about fostering such meaningful and biological relationships.
It is ideal for all the above to be consistent and easy… but inevitably there are challenges. I would say the greatest personal challenges I experience in regard to maintaining my connection are attention deficits. I am like a hummingbird zipping around, like a crow attracted to new shiny things. I want to do my regular sit spot but need to clean the barn area (have horses). I want to visit that land I have been missing for a year, yet on the way out the door I start a random project and never arrive. I want to sketch in my nature journal, but I can’t pull myself from cleaning dishes. Ug. Being still or grounded or fully aware can be difficult while in civilization – and it impacts all my relations, my learning, my writing and goal achievement. This story is as old as me, and yet growing up the only thing that helped me settle and focus was time in nature. Luckily most of my time was spent outdoors exploring and talking with animals.
As an adult, I came to realize the difference between current day and childhood is that I am now in control of my schedule and actions, whereas as a kid I was kicked out of the house to go outside or taken boating and camping with the family. The container of being in a tribe versus operating as an individual helped to support my nature connection – even though that was not my family’s objective. This is part of the reason I am here with you all – because together this is our objective and intention. The challenge of attention deficits is not constant, it is just a strong value to continue my personal awareness and intention to grow through my challenges and to deepen relationships.
I would also add, ironically, a strength in my relationship with nature is that I more fluidly weave engagement, observation and dialogue with beings through my daily life and tasks. Over the years my sensitivities have grown, my knowledge of place is deeper, and I better tune-in with the nuthatches feeding their young, the fox on the periphery of our property, the spring flower transitions and the clouds… all while I flutter about busily. Also, when doing a sit spot or hike or bird sit… I am there. I am not thinking about past or future. This comes easy to me in natural places, and I am grateful.

[ezavaglia808]

Hi Kimberly,

I enjoyed reading your thoughts on what nature-connection is to you. I too find myself longing to go outside yet my “should-do’s” get in the way. Some of what you wrote reminded me of the concentric circles exercise we learned about. I find my curiosity gets the best of me when the crows outside my window start going crazy and increasing in numbers. It tends to be because a bird of prey is nearby.

It’s nice to read everyone’s posts and see the things we have in common – be it loves and struggles.

[Tracey]

“A deep longing for belonging fulfilled”. Yes! Other than meditation, nature is the only other place that satiates the need to belong.
Peace

[Daniel Brisbon]

Kimberly, thank you for the well written insight. It is very apparent that you have been engaging in these practices and awarenesses for quite some time! Just like Amanda, you share your awareness from when you were a child to how you are now currently impacted by your time in nature compared to the rest of your day and life. Nature has a baseline. And when we attune to that baseline then things start to shift within us. And your awareness of being like the fast moving hummingbird or the easily distracted crow shows that you are acutely aware of these changes within you.

So what is the animal or archetype that represents being still and grounded? What aspect(s) of nature embody this way of being?

And how can you start becoming that nature-connected part of you in all areas of your life? Conceptualizing and experiencing what it means to be nature-connected is one thing, embodying it something else. And that’s why we are here in this course! How do we take nature-connection and apply it to all facets of our lives?!

What does that look like and feel like?

For me personally, I always enjoy visualizing the life and habits of the trees. They are the most still and grounded part of nature that I know of. And when the winds come, what do they do? They flow and dance with it. They are not rigid or frantic. They are grounded and present with the challenge (aka the wind). This visualization reminds me of how I need to be when I experience the need to do a million things at once. And to prioritize my day with what matters most and take each step one moment at a time. Sometimes being the hummingbird is what needed, but so is being the majestic tree.

Thanks for everything you shared!

[David Fontaine]

I love your examples of what makes you feel nature connected, Kimberly! I find it’s always the simplest of moments that we feel the most raw experiences of nature connection. It’s rarely in a big business meeting, sitting in traffic on the way home, or discussing politics with an opinionated person. It’s over your morning coffee as you observe the day come to life outside, before the influences of the day’s activities have had a chance to influence your mood and disposition. It’s out on that path you chose to slowly walk instead of run today. And I find it most prevalent when I am actively engaged in self care that I feel the strongest connection to nature. My challenge for myself is to accomplish nature connection in the moments it is hardest for me to access it. It can be so easy to get yanked out of harmony with nature by external influences. I’m great in my sit spot and when I intentionally set time to connect, but what about the rest of the day?

[s.mirandola]

Hello everybody this is Silvia from Italy. I can’t join the living-class due to jet-lag but I am virtually with you.
These are my thoughts:
Nature connection is when I go to the woods and I find answers to my questions by stepping into signs that Nature is showing me as symbols that are speaking to me and showing me the right way. My soul is mirroring the Nature and Nature is mirroring me because I am enclosing its essence in my soul, and its voice in my inner sage.
I feel connected to Nature when my body and mood are affected by weather changes; when I sit outdoor and I get lost by staring the moon and feel her as my sister; when I go to the Dolomites… temple of my ancestors’ memory and spirit; when I feel sick or blue and my cat lies on my chest to give me his love. Connection with Nature is when I experience Elevation while walking in the Woods and I shiver of emotion and I feel compassion toward myself and the world and I tuned in the deep listening.
This connection is very important to me because is a kind of recharger when I feel overwhelmed, it’s a wisdom that I question when I have doubts and it’s a direct connection with my soul and pure essence of my spirit: a compass that shows me the North when I get lost. I feel in a Flow state when I get this connection. However, stay in connection with this “wild beat” is a real challenge in this frantic society where technology is trying to sweep away our memory of being part of Nature. Deadlines, job, family, and many other daily activities are putting us under pressure and stealing our time. Silence is a luxury good and green-spaces are replaced more and more by buildings and shopping malls. Human touch and human relationship are replaced by social-networks, emails and you are turned upside down by this whirlpool. We should push ourselves to create “secret moments” during the day or the week spending time to bring our mindful attention on Nature and practice connection by questioning on our feelings and emotions that this link triggers in ourselves.

[ezavaglia808]

Ciao Silvia! I am sad you will miss our calls. It would be lovely to connect with you. I have family in Italy and find that country to be such a healing place for my spirit. I spent the last two summers in Italy walking various pilgrimage routes and continue to fall further in love with all it has to offer.
I found your words to be beautiful, poetic, and so true. Nature is a recharger for me too. I love how animals sense what we are feeling and needing too. My dog knows when I’m sad and cuddles with me. When I’m feeling discouraged in life an owl tends to appear and I know in a deep way that everything will work out.

Spero di conoscerti durante questo corso!

[Tracey]

Maybe it is safe to say, A commitment to Nature Connection is a commitment to ourselves.
Thank you for your sharing.

[Daniel Brisbon]

Silvia, you write your thoughts and experiences so well! And in such a wonderful place! I have never been to the Dolomites, but I have seen many pictures of the area and have several friends who have visited that part of Italy and experienced the grand scenery and serene outdoors. Your insights are so true and I really felt that deep understanding of the fact that nature is a place where you are able to drop in and embody your flow state. And that is so needed in today’s world! We can only access that flow when we are in deep connection within ourselves and the outside world.

I am also bummed out to hear that you won’t be able to participate in the live webinars, but I look forward to reading your reflections and insights throughout the program!

[Amber McCormick]

Hi Silvia! I have a very similar connection and get a lot of information through symbols that are presented through nature. It’s not something I discuss much in life because most people I’m currently surrounded by are very black and white, non-creative types (I’m not describing them well at the moment, but hopefully you understand what I’m trying to articulate). Thank you for sharing! I love hearing that others have similar experiences.

[ezavaglia808]

Nature-connection feels like visiting a wise elder. This elder doesn’t talk, doesn’t story tell. The elder just is. My life gets put in perspective by visiting this elder. For example, when feeling frustrated and stressed with work I visit the mountains and take a lone hike. Walking in the mountains, surrounded by enormous mossy trees I realize my problems play a small role in the greater picture of my life. I realize my life is plays a small role in the greater picture of this world. The trees have existed long before I was ever around and will continue to exist long after I am gone. As I walk I think about all the other people who have visited these same trees. I wonder if anyone else has felt supported while crying into one of those tall, mossy trees. I wonder If they’ve felt how their body can instantly relax when they place their forehead against the damp moss on one of the myriad of trees. If anyone else has yelled and heard nothing but their echo in response. I wonder if the trees have provided them with self-awareness by mirroring through a scene in nature what I am feeling inside. Nature-connection to me isn’t just about spending time outdoors. Nature-connection is about what nature teaches me about myself. Spending time in nature connects me to myself, to others, to all beings, and to the bigger picture.

In the Way of Wilderness Steve Harper touched on how our perceptions are expanded while immersed in wilderness. First we come to our senses – meaning our senses come alive. Then our modes of perception expand. Lastly we integrate our new discoveries into our daily lives. He described so well what I take away from my nature visits. Nature-connection is important to me because going outdoors is a chance for me to be intentionally present. Spending time outdoors is a great stress relief and it’s also a spiritual practice.

The biggest challenge I face with maintaining nature-connection is winter. I love the sunshine and long days. I also love the ease of packing for outdoor activities in warm weather. The short, cold winter days are tough. It’s also the time of year I struggle the most with depression. I noticed this especially after I moved back to Seattle after living in Hawaii for six years. Wintertime was special in Hawaii – it’s whale season. I would swim my daily mile in the ocean while being serenaded by the beautiful and mysterious humpback whale song. Over there it was easy to be outside 365.

Steve Harper wrote, “Metaphorically, our willingness to be in the mud and rain can reflect our willingness to be in our internal mud and rain. To put oneself in mud and rain is more than a matter of tolerance; it is active participation in our own ‘rainness’ or muddiness” (p. 188). This quote struck a chord with me because it is exactly what I have come to realize about how I view winter. How can I sit with my own “rainness”, “snowness”, and “darkness”? I am taking small steps, such as getting proper gear, and searching for outdoor winter activities I like. The part I most struggle with is the sense of losing my independence for a third of the year.

[Tracey]

Hello @ezavaglia808! Beautifully put! I especially liked your statement about how Nature shows our connection to all things. I feel that too and while I didn’t write it, it is a profound statement. Thank you for sharing.
Tracey

[Kimberly Beck]

I appreciate your beautiful talk and curiosity of trees! And I soooo understand the challenge winter brings – especially in experiencing depression. I do too. I’m so solar powered and live on a shady north-facing slope that never sees the sun in winter. Hawaii year-round does sound amazing, and can’t fathom being serenaded by whale song in your swims!! What a blessing!

[David Fontaine]

Hi Erinn! These are such great thoughts to consider, whether anyone else has or is using our spots for the same purposes we use them. Perhaps that’s why we never truly feel alone while we’re out there, even though we are physically alone in the moment. I like to imagine another’s past healing washing over me and easing me of my troubles while in my spots. I take literally everything to nature to either let it go or ask for guidance. Surely another soul has done the same before us, asking for guidance from a younger forest than the one you stand in today. I think that thought alone can bring comfort and connection.

For most of my life, until the past 5 years or so, I let the weather determine my outdoor activities. Not being a skier in Vermont while I was growing up, I would hole up inside for the winter. Even when I left Vermont later in life, I found myself in this same pattern for many years. As I started contemplating on it more and more, I would just ask questions of myself…..”why is it you can’t kayak in the winter?”, “what is really going to happen to me if I go for a hike in the snow or cold weather?”, “why is the rain keeping me out of my sit spot this morning?”. I never had one good answer to justify any of it. It always came down to old habits and the fact that I bought into my own BS excuses for not getting out of my comfort zone. The past few years I’ve had some of the most amazing experiences in conditions that used to keep me inside. You are totally on the right track though, proper gear makes all the difference….but also leaves no more room for excuses 🙂

Thanks for sharing!

[Amber McCormick]

I have had similar struggles with winter. I live in Maine. January and February get bitter cold. The snow seems endless, and it’s the time of year when I am the busiest with work. Limited sunshine and I feel it intensely. A few years ago I decided that I didn’t want to be miserable during the winter anymore (it seems like it’s more than half the year here). I started exploring outdoor activities- snowboarding and snowshoeing really stuck for me. I still haven’t done any crazy hiking/backpacking/mountaineering trips in the winter (though I’d like to once I acquire enough gear), but I do take regular walks at the Audubon center nearby. I have found that there is a peaceful quiet in the winter forest that is so different than other times of the year and there’s nothing better than getting out in the untouched snow, hearing and feeling the calm, and seeing the tracks of the animals around you. All of this has made a huge impact in my mental health during the winter. I hope you are able to find your winter connection to nature. It really can be quite special.

[jacklyn.couturier]

The only way I can tell you what Nature-Connection is to me is by my personal experience. So here is a short story about my first solo guided by my wilderness Therapist.
My experience: 2018
My sister passed in 2017- my first camping solo 2018
The day I pulled up to the camping spot and hiked what seemed like 10 miles but really it was only about 3, the weather was perfect. I laid out my sleeping bag, and laid back and just started asking questions, normally I would of put all of this in a journal but being in nature all alone I felt more at peace just talking out loud. The stars were amazing, I could of ask them anything, the breeze had me sleeping like a baby, the smell of fresh air was so refreshing.
The next day, I woke up to a beautiful sunrise, did some meditation and roamed around for hours, enjoying the view.
My sister loved butterflies as there was this one butterfly that followed me all day, I believed it was a sign that nature was giving me, at that point I felt at peace with her passing. It was her way of saying “little sister I’m ok”.
At one point it started to rain a light rain for about 5 min. I took that as a sign that I was being cleansed from all the anger and changed into a “Different” person.
At the end of the day, I was no longer angry, the trees, the ground beneath my feet, nothing around me but wilderness calmed me.
This is what I believe what Nature-Connection is and that is why it is important for everyone to get in touch with nature, sit by a tree, go for a walk, smell the air, trust me it can and will change your way of thinking and how you feel.
Maintaining the connection with nature can be a little difficult, if you work long hours like I did. I worked 10 hours shifts with no lunch in a small cubical. Never getting up and walking outside. That is when I got myself the Fitbit, and watched how many steps I got each day, set a goal and walked around the building until I reached my goal.

[Tracey]

Hello Everyone! Wonderful replies!
It seems through out my life, nature has either guided or embraced me. Either helped me through difficulty or helping me learn how powerful, yet gentle it is. Reflecting that all these forces are available to me…always. With this knowledge there is also a very deep understanding that respect of these forces is absolute. There is real true healing, belonging, necessity and rawness, balance in nature. Whenever I have been seeking or in pain or just needing comfort, or not seeking anything at all…no matter my location. The answer, antidote, the solution is available and it comes. It usually is the only thing that makes sense or can help me make sense. I am pretty sure I am not alone in the insanity of getting caught up in the insanity the world is and has produced. Cell phone, FB, Computer screens, TV screens. All these things are “escapes” from the life we don’t want or want to change somehow. And while they are a temporary numbing, they don’t really give us the thing we truly seek. I sometimes am not even sure what I seek I just know the way I was going about it isn’t it, and I believe there are many others like me (and you) who need nature as part of the way to get what they are looking to for.

Just making a conscious choice to become more aware, there have been a couple interesting experiences which 1) helped me to “be” more in the moment. 2) Find some examples of Concentric Circles! It always amazes me, you move in the direction you look and likewise, it moves toward you.

During one of the readings, I jotted down two quotes.
Price said “Trust the process, support the process, and get out of the way.” I love this because LIFE is a process! The process is so much bigger than we are and the “getting out of the way” part?? To me means, get out of my own way! So much can be done, so long as I get my fears, or ego, or whatever…out of the way of the process working.

“One of the most important responsibilities -this is an important transition- is to take responsibility for our projections, re-identify with these projections and become what we project.” Fritz Perls
This to me speaks of self acceptance. Once we can accept who we are, where we are, and embrace whatever that is, then and only then will we be able to proceed. I have found for myself, this can take moments, or years.

Pretty sure when my kids were younger, I was in nature much more then. Now I work and go home to eat, do sheets, and go to bed to get up and do it again. Recently sold my house which hopefully will allow me more time to become more nature connected. I am already seeing a change in my life and my demeanor.

Til we meet again,
Tracey

[Daniel Brisbon]

Jackie thank you so much for everything you shared with us. I am so glad you are on this course and have the chance to share your insights and reflections. Nature is such a powerful and healing container when it comes to living with trauma and grief. Nature can take whatever is going on inside of us and be just fine. It even invites us to bring our highs and lows onto the land. It’s almost as if nature wants us to bring our full, true selves to the experience when we are truly present and grounded in the connected experience.

I look forward to hearing and reading more about what you have to share!

[Kimberly Beck]

Thank you for sharing your story. Amazing how nature held and helped change your experience in the face of such loss. Relationship with nature truly is the great healer and perception shifter!

[Amber McCormick]

What a powerful experience. Thank you for sharing!

[Ivy Walker]

Hi everyone, I am sharing a resource. This is a link to the Eight Indicators of Awareness from Coyote’s Guide to Connecting with Nature by Jon Young, Ellen Haas & Evan McGown.

https://drive.google.com/a/earthbasedinstitute.org/file/d/1q7kIpTsEJhmlVDXHXosnqF7xGD5vzlD6/view?usp=sharing

[jacklyn.couturier]

Thank you Ivy

[rhonda]

First I’d like to thank you all for sharing so much of yourselves in the live class and here in the discussion forum. Your authenticity is appreciated and I look forward to getting to know all of you. I have a conflict again this Thursday but am hoping to start joining for the live sessions on June 27.

In my experience, Nature-Connection is being fully present, experiencing my environment with all senses and tapping into Nature’s wisdom to guide my way. I love the concept that Nature and I are one and have personally experienced the symbiosis that this connection offers.

Nature-Connection has always been a priority for me personally as I have always felt at home and most alive when I’m in Nature. As I child and teenager I sought Nature as a respite from trauma and unhealthy behaviors in my home. As a young adult I began to realize that I was my most creative, focused, and happy when my schedule allowed for regular time in Nature to recharge.

For most of my career I had to separate my time in corporate office settings where I engaged more with my head and analytical brain to solve complex problems. Then when I step into Nature, there is a discernible difference in how I show up, and it’s more natural for me to lead with my heart, connecting on a much deeper level with those I’m with, myself and Nature itself.

Since starting my own business in 2013 and setting my own schedule, outside of seasonal weather issues, I don’t find challenges maintaining this connection with Nature and have successfully prioritized my self-care in Nature. As I’m starting to do my Coaching in Nature and want to focus on this, I’m challenged by the fact that my clients are all over the world and I myself have been living a nomad life since 2017, living and working in 15 European countries and 5 US cities.

While I typically have some clients in every place I visit, I work with most of my clients over Zoom since we are in different cities. I take many of my Zoom calls for Career Coaching and Life Design Coaching outside on a patio when the weather allows, and I’ve experimented with a couple of long-term clients with both of us being in Nature in our respective locations.

Again, this has been doing Coaching “in” Nature vs. doing “Nature-Connected Coaching” … so I’m hoping that this course will inspire me to transition to “Nature-Connected Coaching!”

[Amber McCormick]

I apologize for being a little late the the party on this one. I just got back from traveling and have been catching up on all fronts. I won’t be able to meet with you all live, but I am eager to connect with you all here.

In the past, nature connection has been my way of finding calm within myself, however that view has shifted since watching the first recorded class. I loved the message that the brain and nervous system (and everything) is nature. Embracing this idea along with the Harper’s quote from Alan Watts in The Way of Wilderness, “You didn’t come into this world. You came out of it, like a wave from the ocean. You are not a stranger here”, gave me a sense of belonging in a way I hadn’t previously thought about. I have a highly sensitive nervous system and I am easily effected by nature and my surroundings. Because of this, I often feel a bit out of place and misunderstood. It makes me realize that everyone has the ability to have this connection, but not everyone chooses to do so. As Harper discussed, it takes a willingness to see ones shadow side to embrace the wilderness. It’s not a flaw, but a strength.

The biggest challenge for me with maintaining my nature connection is that I am a single mom to a 3 year old boy and I am trying to find calm and routine in the midst of chaos. I am also a full time professor. I tend to make sure everyone else (my son, family, students, etc) is taken care of before tending to my own needs or taking special time for myself, so accountability to myself is definitely a challenge, but something I’ve been working on the past few years.

Thank you, Michael, for sharing your story. Similarly, I am drawn to the back country because it is the only place where I can feel calm and at peace. I tend to have a lot of anxiety and I have a mind that doesn’t rest (even when I think it’s resting). The wilderness is the only place where everything settles for me. Something that struck me was the sacred questioning, especially the part about being open and looking OUTWARD for answers. I naturally do a lot of this questioning, but I tend to look for answers internally. It’s likely a big source of my anxiety, so I’m really intrigued to look outward for the answers. I suspect it is the piece I’ve been missing in my own questioning.

[David Fontaine]

I’m going to re-use my response from the Nature Connected Leadership course to this same question (with a few additions) because I still find this to resonate deeply with me today.

For me, being nature connected is getting in touch with our true essence, our true self . And I define that as simply coming from a place of love and respect for others and the true nature of the world . To care about the well-being of everyone and everything in our world.
One of my favorite verses of the Tao answers the question of “what it means to be nature connected” perfectly:

“The supreme good is like water, which nourishes all things without trying to. It flows to low places loathed by all men. Therefore it is like the Tao. Live in accordance with the nature of things. In dwelling, be close to the land. In meditation, go deep in the heart. In dealing with others, be gentle and kind. Stand by your word. Govern with equity. Be timely in choosing the right moment. One who lives in accordance with nature does not go against the way of things. He moves in harmony with the present moment, always knowing the truth of just what to do.”

I think of nature as much more than the outdoors. Nature is everything. It is the natural state of everything that exists. So being nature connected is about being in tune with the natural flow of everything going on around you. It’s about participating in it without trying to hold it back, make it conform to our preferences or alter it in any way. Being nature connected is important to me because it’s when I feel most alive. It’s when I feel the most valuable to others and my community. Jon Young says that “people thrive when they are connected to themselves, to nature and to other people in ways that support and nurture well-being as well as survival needs.” I couldn’t agree with that more!

The Way of the Wilderness reading reminded me that one of my biggest challenges in staying nature connected is that I can sometimes find myself only connecting out in physical nature (on the water, in the woods or in my sit spot). When I return to my daily responsibilities I can sense the connection lacking at times.
Also, when I have really profound experiences in my wilderness experiences I struggle upon my return. Steven Harper talks about how people “return from the wilderness with a sense of loss or pain” and I have felt that after many huge moments in my life. It’s like there is this deep sadness after the experience is over.

[Amber McCormick]

Hi David! I experience that same sense of loss when I return from the backcountry. I’m lucky enough to live only a few hours away, but as I drive back, the closer I get to the “city”, the stronger those feelings get. Now that I’m thinking about it, I am recalling what Harper said about starting and ending trips with some sort of ritual or ceremony. The last few times I have visited that special place in the wilderness, I’ve still experienced that sense of loss on the drive home, but it wasn’t as strong. The only thing that really seemed different is that before leaving my spot, I stood at the entrance, with a moment of gratitude and appreciation, thanked the land, and said goodbye. I think I’m going to have to play around with this some more to see if it helps eliminate that feeling. It would be incredible to bring the calm and all the wonderful internal gains from the wilderness home. Thank you for getting my wheels turning on this!

[s.mirandola]

Hello Amber, thank you very much for your reflection. It is nice to be part of this group because I think we are attuned and aligned to similar values and feelings. We can share insights that sometimes we can’t share with everybody because they’re not in our wavelenght. A big hug from Italy

[Tracy Cash]

Hello, Everyone. I’m sorry I missed the first live call. I live in Utah and am returning from the NC Leadership course. I’ve been attracted to EBI’s offerings as I look for a structure and guidelines for sharing these connection experiences with others.

Spending time alone in nature is the best facilitator for me. I’ve come away from hikes, bike rides, rock climbing, time on the water, etc. with creativity, insight, new solutions to problems, and a sense of calmness and confidence that I don’t find in many other activities.

I’ve also noticed that I don’t go to those same depths when I’m with others, or when others are attempting to facilitate these experiences for me. I’ve realized that I really need the lack of distraction and expectation to go where I need to go within myself and come back shifted.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I’ve skimmed them and found myself in some of them. I’m noticing that I don’t want to get too much into my head right now, so reading at length and sharing a ton is not what I’ll be doing. I’ll be on every call that I can make it to. See you there.

[Cassandra]

Hi Everyone,

I am VERY late coming to this discussion but want to thank you all for sharing your experiences and thoughts. I wrote up a piece in answer to the guiding question and I will share that below… but reading through the discussion above, I want to rethink and reconsider and reflect more on what nature connection means to me….

This is what I initially wrote:
For years I have worked as an environmental and outdoor educator. I take kids outdoors on a regular basis. I take adults on interpretative hikes in local preserves. I’ve interned with Outward Bound and seen and experienced first-hand the potential for personal growth through challenge and outdoor adventure. I’m a hiker and a camper and, on occasion, a conservation volunteer.

But questions arose through all of these experiences: sometimes when the focus is on personal growth, nature becomes a backdrop – always present but perhaps not seen. Sometimes environmental education and interpretation focus on facts and stories – the science of ecology and impact (good or bad) of humans within the environment – and the potential for personal growth is overlooked. There is power in both, but I have wondered how we can bring more intention into our time in the natural world to build awareness of self along with understanding of nature. How can time in nature become a created space for reflection, connection, and inspiration?

From this perspective, I feel nature-connection may have three (or more) elements or dimensions: as a practice, a mindset, and a context. As a practice (something done regularly and repeatedly to deepen the experience) either spending intentional time in the natural world or developing the skills (such as those mentioned already in this course related to observing, becoming aware, and being curious) as a way of understanding and approaching life. A mindset – using nature-based metaphor and the principles of nature connection to view life events and decision-making. Seeing daily life through a lens of nature-connection. And as a context (this one I struggle more to describe) – whether physical space such as used for adventure and/or wilderness-based programming, a focal-point for inspiration (such as that used for practices such as Shinrin-Yoku), or environment (more the outdoor-classroom approach to gain ecological understanding). I think there is a role for all three of these elements in creating a deep, intentional Nature-Connection.

I often find myself outdoors – for work or personal time – but I noticed quite recently that I am often not truly aware of my environment. I hike but my brain is elsewhere. I teach facts and stories, but I don’t allow time for emotive connection. I feel that adding this dimension can deepen the experience but also – and of more interest to me – become a tool for personal awareness, experience, and growth.

I participated in most of the first video call for this course – but it has taken me nearly four weeks to finish watching the call and take the time to process, reflect upon, and synthesize what I learned and have read. This is my biggest challenge with regard to nature-connection: carving out the time in a life full of distraction and stimuli to form a regular practice and conscious mindset. Creating that space and allowing myself to slow-down, ponder, and become curious. Building awareness within myself and practicing techniques to transform Nature from a backdrop and allow it center-stage.

-Cassandra

[Sul]

What is nature connection?
A line from a poem I wrote “See, when you felt the heartbeat of the earth mother pulse through you in that moment you knew you were inseperable from her, we met there, too”, describes what nature connection is to me. I also believe that is requires at times solo exploration and communal sharing. In Young’s article, he wrote that mentoring is a key element in supporting a deeper connection. I also really love the line “Wilderness is a leaderless teacher” in Harpers article. There is this sense belonging that I think people desire in a more meaningful way and in a mediation I recieved this message. “Belonging is in every moment” and I think when we see wilderness as a formless being but as ourselves

Why is it important to you?

Moving to NYC became the catalyst for seeking a deeper connection to nature. The urban landscape set me on a quest to repair my severance to nature which did not begin by living in a big city but was revealed more clearly to me by the concrete envrionment. My severence to nature connection if I were to provide a timeline began sometime in my teen years. I grew up in a home of violence and my abuser was my primary caregiver. When I removed myself from the unhealthy envrionment, I began a healing journey that was initiated by deep nature connection. The transformation and healing that occured soothed me as my first mother, the earth held me through it. Although the instant and continuous support brought me back to harmony and profound peace, I struggled to maintain a conscious connection later on. I believe I resorted to substance abuse as a means to escape the tremors of my trauma which I did not anticipate and had no tools to navigate. I abandoned nature connection as my resource and it was easy to do so considering the community I participated in.
Years later, I arrive confused and riddled with unhealthy behavioral patterns in NYC and I observe a starvation of my soul I never knew existed. The decreasing connection to nature had seemingly vanished and I had become phantom like in my inhabitance. My body electric with the overstimuliation, a cacophony of sound penetrates me. The citys sound waves shock my being and my soul began questing for an immersion of nature connection. Nature connection is important to me because it is the mother toungue of my instinctual self. It is the pharmacy of green medicine for healing and is how I take better care of myself.

What are the real challenges in maintaining your connection?

I compromise myself too often. Instead of maintaining nature connection as a priority, I get distracted with social things, work too much and feel depleted and restless. Also, I have to think differently and be creative with seeking nature connection living in NYC. After reading the materials about nature connection, I see the bigger challenge is not having a mentor and community to cultivate a deeper connection.