By now you probably know how strongly I believe in the healing power of nature. But in case you didn’t get it, let me share with you my most recent experience while on vacation in the Pacific Northwest.
Prior to the trip, I’d been feeling, as I can tend to, very weighed down, burdened, and depressed, despite the fact that I have a wonderful life these days. My nerves were also shot. In this state of consciousness, I can totally over-react to the most minor thing which has been a source of bewilderment to me in the past.
I will add that prior to the trip I had allowed myself to become immersed in the 2016 presidential election process. I was aware that I was extremely upset by a lot of what I was hearing and was affected by all the negativity, fear, hopelessness, and hatred. Thank you media, but I should have known better because I do know that the collective consciousness on the planet right now is full of fear and pain. I also know that as the energetic beings that we are, we absorb the energy from the collective consciousness and it affects our state of consciousness. Some of us are greater “absorbers” than others and therefore are more affected by it. Nonetheless, it takes a toll on all of us.
Our state of consciousness affects how we feel and affects the perceptual lens through which we see ourselves, others, and the world. For me, there’s even a visceral feel to it … the fear and negativity has a bodily felt heaviness to it, like I’m weighed down by a heavy weight. It’s a low vibrational field which actually makes me feel sluggish, unmotivated, and depressed. In psycho-spiritual terms, we might call it an egoic consciousness.
Add to that that we become conditioned to accept this state as normal and “just the way it is these days”. No wonder prescriptions for anti-anxiety and antidepressant drugs are at an all time high in this country. We have adjusted to life in our society and world. I’m reminded of the words of the Jungian analyst, John A. Sanford, who stated, “But what if society itself is sick? What if a whole way of life is meaningless and cut off from spiritual roots? If an individual adjusts to a sick situation, the individual can only become a part of that sickness, even though from the point of view of the society in question he is “well’’. How much of the epidemic of anxiety and depression we see today might be due to this? Food for thought…
Having said all that, what’s the remedy? So glad you asked… certainly one of the remedies is time immersed in nature! If we’re going to spend our days immersed in energy fields, let’s compensate for all the time we spend in low vibrational fields by intentionally putting ourselves in high vibrational fields. Nature is good medicine for our consciousness. Our recent vacation was spent in Stehekin, Washington, a remote community in the North Cascades National Park. You can only get there by boat, plane or hiking and there is no TV, cell phone or cable access. It’s also on a pristine glacial lake surrounded by mountains and fir trees… jaw droppingly beautiful!
So, not only was I removed from all the fear, negativity and hopelessness, I was infused with beauty, awe, wonder and appreciation. Everywhere I looked I saw the beauty, miraculousness, abundance, and coexistence of life. And talk about mind blowing, the stars in the night sky made the immensity of the cosmos palpable! It totally shifted my state of consciousness and how I felt. A calmness and ease took over me. I experienced a lightness of being and spontaneous joy. Everything looked and felt differently. Looking around me I knew I could not help but trust in the inherent goodness of this evolutionary process that life is. I could see all that is positive in myself, others and our world, and I felt hopeful. My soul, which loves astonishment and wonder was very happy, as was I. I was vibrating at a higher level … a soul level consciousness.
The benefits don’t stop there. The HeartMath Institute has been studying the role of positive emotional states on health and well-being for over 20 years now and their research has shown that positive emotional states like awe, appreciation, care, etc. produce what they call a state of “psychophysiological coherence” in the mindbody that correlates with less stress, greater ease and well-being, and turns on the body’s innate capacities to balance and heal which means optimal health, as well.
As I was hiking in the woods, I had this deep sense that anyone that allowed themselves to be in a setting like this for an extended period of time could find it curative for whatever ails them. The Japanese medical prescription of “Forest Bathing” as a viable and important healing option makes tremendous sense to me. I can personally attest to the remarkable effects in just 10 days. And, after coming back home to “reality”, I have maintained the sense of ease and well-being. (I did, however, choose to no longer tune into the media and news). In our world today, I think it’s more important than ever that we take advantage of the amazing healing potential of nature!