Meditation In Nature

[Amy Irene]

Hello everyone ,

I have taken up meditation this summer and at first I had massive problems in calming my mind and focusing into the moment. I didn't feel very good about the meditation, it almost made me feel frustrated. This was when I tried to do "strict labeling" meditation with my eyes closed.

Then I watched Leo's video of "do nothing" meditation and I found out that this could be helpful for beginners like me to at least feel good about the meditation and get some results without requiring as much effort. It includes sitting and having eyes open and not trying to control thoughts.

After being a little more successful I tried to change it up a bit and I decided to go meditating outdoors, into the yard of my house. I felt a lot calmer instantly as I was focusing on the landscape, sounds and weather of my surroundings. This helped my mind to calm down without me having to control it much. I also actually feel good about the meditation when I do it this way and it doesn't feel like a chore anymore.

Yesterday I tried to go further than my own yard, into a corner of a park which is covered by trees. It felt great to meditate there. I feel like the nature has the power to calm your mind down if you are still and open your senses to its beauty. It feels so fresh to breath in the clean air from the nature.

What do you think of meditation in nature? Do you have own experiences about this? Please, try it out if you feel like this could be helpful to you.

This is my first post in the forums! I've been watching actualized.org videos for few months now and I've taken my first steps to become my best version. It is so nice to be here now, I hope I learn a lot from you all .

 

-Amy

[PsiloPutty]

Sounds like you're enjoying your newfound peace, Amy! That's so cool, and if you stick with it, it will mature and grow into something you look forward to every day because you'll know that each meditation sit furthers you into getting to know yourself. 

Do you watch your breath as you sit in nature? 

[ChimpBrain]

I also like to meditate outside when the weather is decent. Like you mentioned, the sound of the wind in the trees and chirping birds is very calming. It also gives me a chance to get some sun on my skin and get in some "earthing" time. 

[Amy Irene]

Thanks for the input ?

@PsiloPutty Yes, I need to stay consistent with the new habit so it'll become an inseparable part of my life ☺️. About the breathing, I wouldn't say that I've been controlling it but I try to breath from the belly. Is it recommended to control the breath, or do you mean that by "watching"?

@ChimpBrain Nice to hear that you like outdoor meditation as well ☺️. If you believe in chakras, this "earthing", or I would say rooting, heals the root chakra, which is the foundation to your internal well-being.

[PsiloPutty]

Hi again. No, not controlling your breath, but just focusing on it. A lot of meditation techniques are breath-focused. Here's a very brief video for you. Something to maybe incorporate in with your nature sits. Even with focusing on your breath, you'll still get to hear the birds, feel the breeze, etc.  It might actually make your nature sits better (eventually), as staying with your breath keeps you in the present moment.

 

[Amy Irene]

Thanks a lot for the video, I found it helpful. Next time I'll be more aware of the breathing so that the monkey chatter has to take the backseat place ☺️. Also, the video confirmed that the strict concentration type of meditation is not necessary. This is why I kept failing at first, I tried so hard to concentrate that I didn't feel peace in the moment and thus I got frustrated.

[St Clair]

@Amy Irene I absolutely love meditation in nature! One of my favourite things. I don't see many people endorsing it though, telling you things like "you don't need to go anywhere to do spirituality". But in my own experience, one of my top top values is Adventure, and I love to integrate adventure into my spiritual practice to make it a more enjoyable experience.

So I would take my meditation practice to the forest, up to the top of a mountain, to the side of a lake, etc, and I would merge with the harmony of nature in a sense. It feels like I am absorbing the Qi of this amazing place I am in, discovering the essence, finding the inspiration, and empowering my art/life as a result. It feels like I'm making more progress in my practice too. In fact, I am adventurous with all of my good habits - exercise, journalling, contemplation, reading - all of these can be taken out to nature, as a creative way to implement them into my life AND enhance the practice.

To me, I feel like this is adding a very magical touch to my self actualisation, but I think I am seeing it this way because 'Adventure' is one of my top values. Perhaps you could find ways to integrate your value system into your practices to enhance them. But as a general statement, I couldn't recommend practicing in nature enough! 

But also, I was living in the most EPIC/beautiful place in my country - I couldn't simply sit on a cushion in my room when the nature outside was so abundant and alive!  

[Amy Irene]

@St Clair Sweet, what a beautiful sight!

I haven't been very adventurous yet but you're right about that life should be an adventure instead of a continuous grind. Gotta keep exploring and staying curious to live life to its fullest

Edited August 21, 2018 by Amy Irene
A typo.

[Ingit]

@Amy Irene I practise the same Do nothing technique It works best for me mediating ober 1 and a half month.. feels powerful