Spirituality -- Seeking Your True Self

[aei]

Any members who meditate or follow other practices (e.g., Zen) to discover their true self and wish to share more about their efforts and experiences, please contribute to this thread.

Thank you.

 

[bobcat]

In recent years there has been a growing body of research revealing the many positive effects that spending time in nature can have on our health and wellbeing. Indeed, studies in the field of environmental psychology examining how our relationship with the natural world impacts our mental and physical health consistently find that they are inextricably linked. These positive findings are backed up by numerous clinical trials that have investigated the effect of natural environments on a range of health issues, from anxiety and depression to attention deficit disorders and pain management.
When you are in nature, you are more spiritually awake than at any other time in your life. Why is that?
I don't try to understand it. I just let it wash over me and enjoy the energy renewal.
To me, it's like the energy in the electrical circuits of your house. It's always there whether you use it or not, but you have to plug into it to get the benefit.

 

[aei]

When you are in nature, you are more spiritually awake than at any other time in your life. Why is that?
I don't try to understand it. I just let it wash over me and enjoy the energy renewal.
To me, it's like the energy in the electrical circuits of your house. It's always there whether you use it or not, but you have to plug into it to get the benefit.

Thanks for taking time to write your wonderful post.

"Why is that" is an answerable question in matters of spirituality. You can experience it but cannot explain or rationalize it.

And more "one lets it wash over oneself" more beneficial it gets. Try to "understand it" and it disappears.

Yes, it's an energy source that is outside of the mind (thinking): always present, fresh, and new.

Thank you.

 

[feywon]

In recent years there has been a growing body of research revealing the many positive effects that spending time in nature can have on our health and wellbeing. Indeed, studies in the field of environmental psychology examining how our relationship with the natural world impacts our mental and physical health consistently find that they are inextricably linked. These positive findings are backed up by numerous clinical trials that have investigated the effect of natural environments on a range of health issues, from anxiety and depression to attention deficit disorders and pain management.
When you are in nature, you are more spiritually awake than at any other time in your life. Why is that?
I don't try to understand it. I just let it wash over me and enjoy the energy renewal.
To me, it's like the energy in the electrical circuits of your house. It's always there whether you use it or not, but you have to plug into it to get the benefit.

Why do you think i retired to a very rural home? i can step outside and be surrounded by nature. i have 4.9 acres of land. Sagebrush, Juniper trees, some small pines a couple of large trees; irrigation ditch gurgles in summer when it's taking water to other members of the co-op (farmers/ranchers). When i walk about my land i see signs of the nocturnal visitors and sometimes see rabbits. Many nights a year i can see the Milky Way as clearly as i did during my rural childhood.

By the way, there has also been much research showing the positive effects of meditation. Sadly too many people think meditation requires more focus and time than it does. Recently stumbled on videos and 'shorts' of a guy who confirmed something i've been telling people for years: You don't have to sit still in darkened room to meditate. Repetitive motions can actually help you get to the where you're producing Alpha brain waves. i suspect many athletes, gardeners, dancers have reached that state unaware. So it's not 'deliberate' meditative state but it still has benefits.

Here's a short, but if you search on YouTube you can find longer talks of his. Captions usually available. He's an interesting character, like the other highly spiritual people i've known he has a good sense of humor.

 

[aei]

By the way, there has also been much research showing the positive effects of meditation. Sadly too many people think meditation requires more focus and time than it does. Recently stumbled on videos and 'shorts' of a guy who confirmed something i've been telling people for years: You don't have to sit still in darkened room to meditate.

Aye!

Thank you.

 

[feywon]

i have been on spiritual journey since age 13, tho physical issues (life, work, love, kids) often took precedence at times. As a teen i read King James Version of Bible completely, raised more questions than answered (especially since at same time i was a Science nerd). Then i read scriptures of other world religions. The similarity in teachings, tenets led me to reading myths, legends, folklore and fairy tales from around the globe. Whoa---they too had many similarities both in their moral points and manner of telling (not Disneyfied versions of them). i came to feel that most scriptures had originally been part of the latter group (legends, myths etc) that simply got elevated to being 'scripture' by folks that could use them to govern and direct populations.

Let me be clear, doesn't mean there's not a lot of moral and emotional truths in either set of old stories---just means i don't believe they were actually directed by a God or Gods. For me there's a Universal Consciousness not a 'personified' (i.e. human or animal shaped) Deity. Tho this consciousness can and does manifest in many ways.

i first tried meditating using library books on it i found when in my late 20's. In early thirties i took various course from the 'Silva Method'. In early days the founder called it 'Silva Mind Control Method'--meaning each of us can exert control over our own minds. But thanks to the abundance of cults in USA from 60s thru early 80s (some still pop up--but not as many as back then) they changed to 'Silva Method'. It was an incredible help and i've continued to use those methods over the years. Sometimes sporadically due to distractions/lessons of physical existence i mentioned at beginning of this. But it remains a huge part of who i am, here/now.

 

[bobcat]

Why do you think i retired to a very rural home? i can step outside and be surrounded by nature. i have 4.9 acres of land. Sagebrush, Juniper trees, some small pines a couple of large trees; irrigation ditch gurgles in summer when it's taking water to other members of the co-op (farmers/ranchers). When i walk about my land i see signs of the nocturnal visitors and sometimes see rabbits. Many nights a year i can see the Milky Way as clearly as i did during my rural childhood.

By the way, there has also been much research showing the positive effects of meditation. Sadly too many people think meditation requires more focus and time than it does. Recently stumbled on videos and 'shorts' of a guy who confirmed something i've been telling people for years: You don't have to sit still in darkened room to meditate. Repetitive motions can actually help you get to the where you're producing Alpha brain waves. i suspect many athletes, gardeners, dancers have reached that state unaware. So it's not 'deliberate' meditative state but it still has benefits.

Here's a short, but if you search on YouTube you can find longer talks of his. Captions usually available. He's an interesting character, like the other highly spiritual people i've known he has a good sense of humor.

I agree wholeheartedly. For years now I have thought of it as meditation in motion. As you spend time in the busy world, you lose contact with the natural essence of your being. It only comes back to you when the noise fades and you purposely focus on spiritual quietness. That is where awareness happens. You stop thinking and start feeling.

When you are silent and present in nature , your mind notices things that are normally drowned out in an overstimulated world. One just needs to let it envelop them, listen to it, and move toward it. It is the way to stripping away the chains of modern life. It is the modern world that makes us strangers to ourselves.

The Native Americans knew the real value of nature and what it does for the soul. Nature has it's own soul or essence that you can merge with, commune with, and connect with. It is alive, vital, and full of energy, quite unlike man-made things. We are naturally part of that ecosystem. I go for a walk every morning to enjoy the experience that always awaits me. There is a unifying life force that flows through all living things. When you are immersed in it, the soul can take flight.