Feeling ‘disconnected’? Despite the amount of time you spend on all your devices “being connected”.
Are you busier than ever? A slave, to your every growing, never-ending ‘To do list’.
Does your inbox, computer and your mobile compete for your attention, beeping and flashing every time you get a marketing message or someone somewhere has posted yet another photo of a cup of coffee?
Sleep, work, eat, sleep, work, wash, cook, clean, eat, sleep, and work – over and over again…..
All the while, there is a feeling of disconnect, dissatisfaction and emptiness – that a photo of someone’s coffee on Instagram will never fill.
Disconnection in the modern world
If you are feeling a sense of disconnect in today’s world, you are not alone – we see this reflected back in the world around us.
Next time you’re on the bus, street or café, have a good look around and see how many people are focused on the small screens in front of them and ask yourself; is a real-world conversation or eye contact a novelty from a bygone era?
Does all this disconnect with life and the real world around us also leads to a larger disconnect with the natural world and the very soul of our being? And if we can’t connect with ourselves, how can be present to fully connect with our friends or loved ones?
What’s more, is there anything we can do about it – here and now – other than taking a year off to travel or going to an expensive therapy…..??
You bet there is!
Simply spend some time in nature.
Here are 3 things that you can start today, how to enjoy nature and why it’s so beneficial:
#1. Forrest Bathing
“The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.”
One of the simplest ways to enjoy nature is to unplug, get off the sofa and out into a local forest or national park. In Japan, they even have a name for it ‘shinrin-yoku’ or forest bathing.
Recent studies show that a simple walk in nature lowered depression, pulse rate and blood pressure – which benefits our overall health as well as that of our immune system.
Spending time in the forest is beneficial thanks to;
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Trees give off essential oils and medicinal aerosols. These are currently undergoing various studies, and the effects largely depend on the type of tree. Redwood has been shown to fight cancer cells, and pine is great for stimulating your intelligence – there are also a host of immune boosting and respiratory benefits for the body. For further details check this fascinating interview here of Diana Beresford-Kroeger on For the Wild podcast, who discusses the magic of trees and their benefits in more detail.
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The deep forests also give us the chance to experience a profound natural silence that as discussed here with Gordon Hempton on OnBeing, this level of silence is rare in our city/ suburban lives and is almost as endangered as the animals that live in the forest.
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It is also here in nature that Schumann resonance is at its strongest. As demonstrated in the documentary Beings of Frequency:
The frequency between the earth and the ionosphere is named the Schumann resonance after the man who discovered it. This frequency is exactly the same as our alpha brain waves – demonstrating a deep connection to the earth upon which we live.
Further research done by Dr E Jacobi has shown that we suffer disorientation and ill health when we are disconnected from the Schumann resonance for any length of time. Yet in cities and populated places, it has become near impossible for scientists to get a reading on the Schumann resonance due to the interference of electromagnetic radiation (cell towers, wifi etc). This in turn also affects our physical and mental bodies as well as our health.
I always believe the forest and trees to be magical; if you look at our lungs and flip them upside down they even look like the roots of a tree. In reality, we live in a symbiotic relationship with the trees, we breathe in Oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide and they do exactly the opposite.
Without them, we simply would not be here.
#2. Visit the seashore to benefit from its minerals, negative ions and sounds
“The Sea cures all the aliments of man” Plato
If you’ve ever spent any time near the sea, you know how relaxed and refreshed you feel from a swim or walk along the shore. There is Thalassotherapy (from the Greek word ‘Thalassa’ meaning sea) Spas where you can pay to go and heal from the sea’s magic, or you can just take a stroll or swim in the ocean.
The main benefits of spending time near the beach:
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The ocean is full of minerals that we benefit from whether we are swimming or walking in the wet sand, we are absorbing their qualities.
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The clash of the water molecules through the waves also creates negative ions – which have also been shown to assist our body in absorbing more oxygen which in turn strengthens our immune system and protects us from free radicals.
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Not only is the ocean air and spray beneficial, but so is the sound of the waves. Which is no doubt why sleep or meditation CDs use the sound of the waves to lull us into a mildly meditative state.
There is nothing quite as healing and sensational as swimming in the sea or taking a stroll along its shoreline.
Leave your phone and iPod in the car, and spend your time there mindfully. Allow yourself to sense the peace, and magic – are even dolphins or whales, or rainbows to greet you 😉
Just relax and be…..
#3. Flower Meditation
“If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change.’ Buddha
This is a great meditation which suggests going out into a local or your own garden and meditating on a flower.
I tried it myself while I was living in Buenos Aires at the time and lived near a Rose garden, I started stopping way back from my morning walk to sit and meditate with a rose.
It took a few days to realize that it is not about making it something to tick off your to-do list, or slowly watching 5 minutes go by.
It’s really about disconnecting from the world while connecting at the same time. As I sat and softly meditated with the flower it dawned on me how imperfectly perfect it was. The petals were worn and had been chewed on by bugs and yet still perfect in nature.
As the warm love of really seeing this rose grew, I noticed the flower was very slowly turning away from the sun to face me. As all the flowers were facing the sun, I know this isn’t a coincidence.
We both sat and bathed in each other’s shine for a while. Time and the world seem to stop and I unashamedly and humbly admit that I’ve never felt more loved, connected and alive than in that moment.
If you have a garden near you, even if it is a park nearby, go and take the opportunity to meditate with a flower. Stop, and really look (not stare wildly ;)), let go and be. And see what happens…..
Stop the spinning world for a moment, and disconnect to reconnect
Not only does spending time in nature provide us with some incredible health benefits, but it also creates a stillness and space that we can step into. And through stepping into that space we can reconnect with ourselves in the simple recognition that we are nature – we are not at all separate from it.
In reality, we are nature. We are as indigenous to this world as a bird, or a bee….
So let’s disconnect to reconnect
Resources or portals into further information should there be a particular subject you want to delve into further:
Podcast interview: Replanting the global forest
http://www.motherearthnews.com/natural-health/herbal-remedies/forest-bathing-ze0z1301zgar
https://qz.com/804022/health-benefits-japanese-forest-bathing/
calloftheforest.ca/from-diana-touch-the-trees/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20074458
Podcast: They Grey Escape: Cymatics
The Healing Power of the Ocean
