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The Nature Connection

A Technique for Pondering Life's Mysteries, Working Through Conundrums, Solving Problems and Deepening Spirituality

By Arlene F. Harder, MA, MFT

Page Two of Three Pages

"We use the word 'wilderness,' but perhaps we mean 'wildness. . . . In wilderness I seek the wildness in myself and, in so doing, come on the wildness everywhere around me because, after all, being part of nature, I'm cut from the same cloth.

"To rise above a tree line is to go above thought. Afterwards, to descend back into birdsong, bog orchids, willows, and firs, is to sink into the preliterate parts of ourselves. It is to forget discontent, undisciplined needs. Here, the world is only space, raw loneliness, green valleys hung vertically. . . .

"Wildness has no conditions, no sure routes, no peaks of goals, no source that is not instantly becoming something more than itself, then letting go of that, always becoming. It cannot be stripped to its complexity by cat scan or telescope. Rather, it is a many-pointed truth, almost a bluntness, a sudden essence like the wild strawberries strung along the ground on scarlet runners under my feet. Wildness is source and fruition at once, as if every river circled round, the mouth eating the tail and the tail the source.

—Gretel Ehrlich, The Sierra Club

A Technique for Drawing Upon the Qualities of Nature

Whether in the most remote depths of the wilderness or in more cultivated gardens close to home, the qualities found in nature seem to be grouped into several general categories. For example, there is (1) peace, beauty, quiet, patience, and restfulness; (2) strength, power, challenge, and energy; (3) renewal, continuity, and creation, (4) non-judgment and acceptance, (5) judgment and competition, (6) variety and non-conformity; (7) repetition and imitation; and (8) simplicity, lightness, and freedom.

The specific metaphors and qualities which are experienced when an individual looks at a picture of nature depend upon that person and his or her experiences. For example, a new leaf on a birch tree deep in a wooded glen may cause one person to experience peace and simplicity, while another may see challenge and the power of renewal. A scene of snow in the high country may be viewed as invigorating by one person, because be has skied in such places, while another might view that same scene as offering the potential of new life with the awakening of spring after the snow melts.

The challenges you are facing at the time you see a photograph of nature will influence what you get from it. For example, if you have cancer and are going through chemotherapy, your energy is often drained. Then the scene of a switchback going steadily up the mountain can remind you that all journeys consist of steadily taking one step at a time. Similarly, a lily floating gently on a pond deep in the woods can speak eloquently of the simple joys in accepting one scene, one flower, one treatment at a time..

If you've read the articles in Essential Qualities of the Human Spirit, you will know that I place a great deal of emphasis on expressing spiritual qualities in one's daily life. Drawing upon the qualities inherent in nature is a delightful way to be reminded of, and draw upon, these qualities. Here is one way you can use Nature Connection programs to open your heart to serenity and peace.

1. If you haven't yet taken the online walk through the woods (or if you want to go again), as you watch the different scenes, find a picture which best expresses peace, tranquility, quiet, and serenity and look carefully at that picture, studying the details as well as you can.

2. As you relax into the scene, let these qualities enter the very center of your being.

3. Close your eyes and see the image you have just been viewing. Notice any response you feel in your body or in your emotions. Allow yourself to again experience the peace and calmness in the picture.

4. Open your eyes and look at the picture again, studying the details carefully. Once more, notice any response you feel in your body or in your emotions. And again, as you relax into the scene, let tranquility and peace flow deep into your being.

5. Repeat the process several times until you clearly have the scene imprinted on your mind and the feelings of peace and serenity will be available to you whenever you remember the photo again.

CONCLUDED on Page Three

© Copyright 2003, Arlene F. Harder, MA, MFT