Copyright © 2021 Lee Spirit

I’ve been so excited to listen to the interviews on The Nature Summit this week, and to see some other like-minded folk who also feel a deep, spiritual connection with nature! So naturally, my topic for the week is the healing power of nature, and how it helps us reconnect with our own hearts!

This summit has been quite uplifting for my heart! Listening to the power of nature from different perspectives allows me to look at things through a wider lens. Also, seeing some great photos from around the world with others who share my love for nature has opened my heart like a blossoming rose! You can’t see it in my photo, but it was crazy windy on this mountain top! But even the feeling of the wind on our faces reminds us that nature is alive, and it breathes life into us.

When coming up with these blog posts, I become more present by feeling into my week to see what comes up for me while I’m out in nature, or inside. This is a great way for all of us to begin tapping into the present moment, no matter what we are doing.

Ask yourself: What am I feeling in this moment? Do I feel positive and uplifted, or drained and frustrated? Is my heart open or closed? If you’re leaning more towards the lower vibrational energies, (angry, depressed, stressed out, etc.), then a wonderful place to find relief is outside in nature where you will feel its healing powers.

What If I Can’t Get Outside in Nature?

One of the good points made in the summit is that if you can’t get outside for whatever reason, then do what you can to find a window where you can see outside, and bring more of nature’s beauty to you.

You may be stuck in a hospital bed. So if possible, find a window where you can look at the sky and the clouds, and notice their beauty as the clouds change and float by. Notice the tree in the parking lot, with green buds starting to come out in Spring. Get more indoor plants that you can admire in detail. Listen to the birds outside, and pay close attention to their songs.

Become more present by using all of your senses when you go outside in nature, or bring it inside to you. Feel the grass under your bare feet, or dig your fingers into some garden dirt. Bring it to your nose to smell the earthy scent of the soil. Feel the warmth of the sun on your skin. Splash your face with some cool creek water, or just imagine that the water from your tap is a waterfall. You don’t need to travel to an exotic place to feel the healing power of nature!

We Are All A Part of Nature

One way to realize the healing power of nature is to remember that we ARE nature! We come from the earth and we shall return to the earth! All of the elements of the natural world – Earth, air, water, fire, and ether – make up who we are.

We often admire rivers, lakes, and oceans, but forget that our bodies are 60-70% water, or more! Our emotions ebb and flow like the earth’s water. Also, as mentioned in the summit, 25% of our genes are shared with trees, which breathe just like we do! When the trees exhale, we breathe that air in. They make us feel grounded and rooted. The healthy foods we eat that nourish us come from the same soils that the trees grow from.

In the wildlife world, the grizzly bear mamma protects her cubs just like a mother protects her children. The fire in our bellies both gives us the willpower to get up and do something, and it also warms our hearts. Our angels, spirits, ancestors, guides, and guardians live in the ethers and we feel connected to them, often out in nature.

So the further we distance ourselves from nature by staying inside, working on computers, staring at our phones, or rushing through traffic, the less connected we are with ourselves and others. This can lead to increased levels of stress, anxiety, and physical illness, like high blood pressure, obesity, or diabetes. It can harm our children’s development, and affects our own brain development.

Healing Power of Nature & Connection

With work responsibilities, relationships, and life pressures, it can be easy to find ourselves quite distanced from nature. There is a feeling of disconnect in our relationships with others, and also with ourselves. We forget to take care of ourselves, and it results in these illnesses and fatigue. These can become chronic if we don’t pay attention and make some healthy changes.

I know that my increased time spent in front of the screen lately, and time spent indoors completing this work has made me feel a few things in body, mind, and spirit. While I love sharing these thoughts, words, and ideas with you with the intention of helping in any small way, there is more tension in my head, eyes, neck, and shoulders. The more time I spend indoors, the more constricted I have felt in heart and spirit. I am more frustrated and less zen. I am also more fearful of things in the outdoors, when normally I have felt more at One with nature.

Being aware of feelings such as this is a really important step in listening to our hearts, and trusting our inner knowing to guide us. While I share my love for nature and outdoor activity with you, I must also give myself time to get out there in nature and do my own healing!

The more time we spend immersed in nature, the less fearful we become, and the more in tune we are with the elements and wildlife. Like meditation or anything else, it takes some consistent practice. It’s a great idea to join a group if you are fearful of going out alone, or need more interaction and connection with others.

Nature Returns Us To the Present Moment

As mentioned, nature can heal us by bringing us back to the present moment. This means we are paying attention to, and connecting with our breath and bodies, and what we feel through our senses.

While out on a hike, like the one in my photo, we feel our physical bodies working hard and breathing heavily. When we know what we are feeling – invigoration, fatigue, pain, or joy – we can take that inner knowing and transform ourselves in positive ways.

For example, we feel our strength, like the mountain, and our breath like the wind. It clears our minds, and gets the blood flowing. We make it to the top of a mountain, and it gives us more confidence in ourselves and our abilities. So we look for another mountain to climb, or embark on a new training program to get us more fit for greater challenges.

Without present-moment awareness of our bodies and our surroundings, it’s more difficult to know what our hearts and souls are calling for. Nature is a beautiful, nurturing, and supportive place to begin gaining this awareness. I often feel “held” while out in nature. It’s like no other feeling in the world!

Nature is a Reprieve for Stress, Grief, Negativity, & Addiction

The healing power of nature can certainly be felt the more we immerse ourselves and become intimate with it. Many of the speakers in the summit commented on how just touching the earth can be a healing balm. For instance, laying on a sunny boulder by the water and feeling the rock on your skin, or leaning up against, or climbing a tree and feeling its texture. Soaking your feet in a rushing stream, or noticing the vibrant colour of a butterfly’s wings.

Studies show how effective nature is at relieving stress, holding us in times of grief, and allowing us to release pent up anxiety and negativity. Our moods are uplifted and our constant mind-rumination starts to cease. We are better able to absorb the shocks of life, and addictions are reduced or eliminated. Nature is now being prescribed more by doctors. Read here for more on Nature Therapy as a Prescription for Health.

When we allow ourselves to receive the benefits of nature, rather than just rushing up to the mountain top as fast as we can, we have a better connection with ourselves, which in turn allows us to show up as our best selves in a positive way in our relationships with others. As the stress melts away, the armour around our hearts dissolves.

Nature Gives Us a Zest For Life

Have you ever gone out into a big, open field in the mountains or somewhere else, and just started running, wild, and free? Maybe you started singing as I often do, “The hills are live with the sound of music”? or perhaps, “I’m free, free fallin'”? Nature has this effect on us, bringing us alive, and giving us a sense of freedom, wonder, and awe.

We feel the healing power of nature when we find peace of mind, or have a new zest for life. Maybe we feel our good health and fitness, vitality, confidence, adventure, imagination, creativity, curiosity, and life purpose.

This, in turn, allows us to be a better, more caring person, connected to others and ourselves, in shared fun and laughter, and a shared sense of purpose. We pay attention more to our reactions and transform them into healthy responses instead. We can adjust to situations more easily, and bring out our best selves from our open hearts, and be a positive influence in our connections with others.

Healing Power of Nature & Our Open Hearts

As you can see, there are so many ways that nature opens our hearts. Like a flower opens and closes, so too does our heart open and close. Nature survives in less than ideal conditions, and so do we. Like nature, we are resilient and can heal ourselves. We are a mirror reflection of our natural world, and a participant in that world.

When we feel an aliveness, curiosity, joy, delight, bliss, or gratitude, we are vibrating at a higher frequency, which allows us to feel we are a part of something greater than ourselves. There is a sense of belonging, union, caring, and greater compassion for ourselves and others. While the healing power of nature is often best felt in solitude, sharing that joy with others with our heightened awareness and vibes is a beautiful way of sharing this gift with the world. Get out there and enjoy! 🙂

Lee Spirit is an avid outdoors adventurer with a love for nature, photography, health & fitness, wellness, and spirituality. Her own personal journey has led her to the  study and practice of mindfulness, health, wellness, yoga, spirituality, sound healing, meditation, and personal development for over 20 years. Get Lee’s Free ‘Natural Mind Healing’ Report that will help develop your sense of appreciation for the natural world, and ease your mind of stress, worry, & anxiety.