Spiritual places: Nature, stress relief, and meditation

Ideas on how to find spiritual places and reconect with nature to enjoy serenity.

In times of stress we may turn to harmful means of comfort such as alcohol, drugs, overeating or other self-destructive behaviors. This in turn can cause us to become more depressed because we have compounded the problems we were originally seeking to escape. Often, we can become so worn down by our problems that we forget a whole world exists outside ourselves. Sometimes we lack to get the proper perspective on our problems because we have failed to connect with nature. There is a great part of our psyche that is soothed by the natural world around us and we fail to notice it because so much of it has been paved over in favor of larger cities and more office space. But city planners are starting to realize the effect a lack of natural habitat is having on our society. We are now starting to see a return to landscaping and green-space in new developments that are cropping up everywhere and there is a lot of wisdom in that.

Remember when you were young and climbed trees, played in the mud, picked flowers, played in the surf, and generally enjoyed communing with nature? Wasn’t it soothing to let your mind wander as you experienced the sight, smell and texture of everything the natural world had to offer? If you could return to your juvenile carefree lifestyle you would find that a lot of the cares and worries you have now would dissipate. In order to get some relief from a stressful world, every person must take it upon themselves to seek out their own spiritual places. That is to say, a special place in nature that moves you to reconnect with your spirit or inner self.

To find such a place involves a little bit of exploring and a little bit of reliving the past. If you can, try to remember a place you experienced as a child. It could be a campsite, a playground, your own backyard, a nearby creek or swimming hole or any other place you explored as a child. You may need to ask your parents or siblings of the names of places you visited in your travels if you can’t remember. If it is not possible to visit some of your childhood haunts then you need to replace them with like-minded places near you. Visit a stream, a forest grove, a hill, a lake, a mountain trail, a field, a bird habitat, a backyard garden or whatever moves you. When you go, take with you a notepad and write down some of your thoughts and feelings as you explore your surroundings. Ask yourself thought provoking questions about why the animals, the wind, the vegetation etc, behaves like it does. Meditate on the bigger questions of life. Study in great detail, the plants, insects, and life forms all around you. Make believe you are a child, experiencing all this for the first time. Concentrate on how it makes you feel. Revel in the beauty and glory of all that surrounds you. Tactually explore everything. Feel the bark, the moss, and the mud. Now, reflect on the sources of stress in your life. Ask yourself what importance they should play in your life.

When you return to your spiritual place frequently, you will automatically be reducing the importance you place on your problems. You will be making time to nurture you inner self and in so doing you will be redirecting your attention on to yourself and your loved ones. You can choose to visit your place either by yourself or with your family. If you choose to share it with your children you will be teaching them a valuable lesson on how to place importance and respect on their natural environment and more importantly, how to look inwardly to deal with stress, insecurity, strife and anger. You will be more relaxed to love and teach with patience and understanding and able to face problems with balance and good judgement. Nature has a way of centering you and clearing your mind to better equip you to deal with the true dilemma’s of life and recognize the former stresses for what they are, simple inconveniences. So make plans to find yourself a spiritual place and you will deeply enrich your life.