9 Reasons to Connect with Nature

Nature and Spirituality

On the spiritual field, in most of the religions real transformation or the meetings with whatever God was, always happened in Nature. In Buddhism, needless to say, how much presence of Nature is noticed. In Christianity, many of its passages happened in nature as it was the case of Moses and the burning bush and Jesus’s forty days fasting leading to temptation.  There is no doubt that in Nature the ecology of life or the Ground of Being is nurtured and finds its own flow. Our ego gets out of the way giving passage to the Authentic Self .

The Importance of Being in Nature

What once was known by intuition, science is already showing evidence that being nature our brains can be rewired. A recent investigative article from National Geographic Magazine revealed how healthier people are when they live close to nature. It is as if the brain feels at home in nature and behave differently. Our whole body system calms and soothes themselves smoothly and on its own pace, according to the nurturing of our Great Mother Nature and our Great Father Sky.

Unfortunately, our frenetic life and its system don’t allow our brain to walk and process at his own pace. We are all obliged to overuse our brain in order to acquire, possess, earn, have, win, at the cost of our own unhealthy. No wonder anxiety and depression are increasing each year, especially among men where the pressure to be the provider, protector, masculine, and nowadays, sensitive, “and self-actualizing, not too concerned about money or career, but still ready to fight to protect home and country, and competitive enough to provide a good living for his family” (Keen, 1991, p.267).

Felipe Oliveira provides counselling for men seeking to live an Authentic Life™.

To read about The Ecology of Life & Depression, click here .

To read about The Benefit of an Addiction, click here.

Reference:

Keen S., 1991. Fire in the belly: on being a man. Bantan Books

Felipe Oliveira provides counselling for men seeking an authentic life. Click here to know more about his work . Or, please, continue reading this article about how Nature nurture our Deeper Selves.

9 Benefits of Being in Nature

In a talk that you can see here, Kris Abrams - a psychotherapist and shamanic practitioner - explained really well the benefits of being in nature. Below are the nine benefits on how nature sparks healing and rejuvenate our life:

1. Takes us away from our toxic culture;

2. Nature teaches us that there is nothing wrong with us;

3. Time slows down;

4. Surrender comfort and control;

5. Nature teaches us that death is part of life;

6. Gives us the power of silence and stillness;

7. Connect us to all living things;

8. Connect with who we truly are, leading to our Authentic Selves;

9. Provides us with the experience of the Divine;

Therefore, make yourself time to be in nature. Make yourself time to wander lost in the bush, watching the birds, or contemplating the lessons of an old Tree. And, please, remember: you don’t need to go to Nepal to be in Nature. An urban park near you will do the job. In my work as a counsellor, there is not one client that I do not send them to spend time in nature.

Now I invite you to watch this beautiful short documentary about Forest that inspired me to write this blog.