Yesterday, the horizon transformed completely different from morning coffee to evening stroll. The tress went from bud-kissed branches to a tapestry of soft green. Spring is an amazingly transformative time for nature, which includes you and me.
Connecting with the creative energy of spring can set our spirits free to fly and inspire creativity and personal growth. This moving meditation practice can help you mindfully immerse in the natural processes of spring.
Moving Nature Meditation
Head outdoors. It doesn’t matter if you do this practice right outside your front door or deep in the forest. Nature abounds. To begin your moving meditation, pause and take a few deep breaths. Start walking slowly. Notice what in the environment draws your attention.
After a couple minutes, bring awareness to individual senses, one at a time:
Look: Gaze high and low. Take a landscape view, then draw your focus close in. Observe the spaces, lines, textures and patterns nature has created. You can continue this for a minute or longer as you stroll.
Listen: Seek the origin of individual noises, next take in the acoustic symphony as a whole. You can pause or continue walking for this practice.
Smell: Pause your walk. Come to stillness and close your eyes. Draw in a deep breath and notice smells, subtle or strong. Open your eyes and begin walking again, maintaining your focus on scent. Observe the sources and the natural processes creating the smells.
Touch: If temperatures allow, remove your shoes and walk barefoot for a bit. Notice the temperature and feel of the grass or sand. Stroke the new leaves and sprouts with your fingers. Notice wind or water flowing over your hands. Feel the varied textures of the trees, flowers and soil. Notice any subtle sense of energy flowing as you touch.
Bring it all together: Observe yourself as a moving piece of this magical ecosystem. Tap into all of your senses now. Mindfully observe how you interact with nature with each step forward. Notice how your emotions, thoughts or energy shift.
End your practice by closing your eyes and taking several slow, deep breaths.
Follow-up Journal Prompts
After your walking commune with nature, consider noting some observations in your journal:
Note what awed you, surprised you, or otherwise made an impression during this sensory practice.
Observe any sense of separateness in your relationship with nature, and ponder the fallacy of that. Does the Earth end where the ground touches your foot? Or does it continue in you? What all does the wind touching your skin connect you to?
Consider what actions are taking place in nature at the micro and macro levels.
What is the energy of spring inspiring for you? What is transforming or growing in your life right now? What would you like to see change?