Welcome.
You're here now because you're seeking a connection to nature.
Perhaps you're living somewhere which makes it difficult to access places of natural beauty.
Or perhaps you've been very much in your mind and are seeking a feeling of groundedness in the body in connection to the earth.
You've done so well to observe this sense of yearning in yourself.
So over the next couple of slow inhales and exhales send some gratitude towards yourself for this act of tuning in of observation and awareness.
Now closing your eyes or casting them downwards and whatever posture you're in,
Whether seated or lying down,
Just lift your heart slightly,
Lower your shoulders a little further from your ears,
Move your shoulder blades a little closer together and breathe into this slight shift in position.
Everyone has a favourite natural scene.
Bring a natural scene to mind now.
It might be sunlight sparkling on a stream in a forest.
It might be the ocean rolling onto a beach.
It might be looking up at the sky through the tree tops.
It might be the terrain of a mountain or a more humble image,
A garden perhaps.
Bring to mind a natural scene and let your mind really travel there,
Dwell there.
Observe the quality of the light.
Absorb the fresh air through your skin.
Feel the ground of that place through the soles of your feet.
Breathe in the fresh air.
Taking longer inhales,
Allowing your chest to completely fill with breath and then exhaling all the air out.
See if you can manage a micro pause at the end of the exhale before taking the next inhale.
If thoughts arise,
Direct the focus of your attention back to the natural scene,
Back to your senses,
Sensations of light,
Weather,
Ground,
Face,
Breath,
Feet in that place.
Breathe your way deeper into the scene.
Relaxing into your breath,
Into your body.
Just know that no matter how busy and distracted you may get,
You are nature.
You are not separate from nature because as a human on this earth you are nature.
You are life rising to meet life.
Just as every plant,
Every animal,
Every body of water,
The whole of the sky is nature,
Is life rising to meet life in a deep interconnection,
No one element in isolation,
A mandala of interdependent co-arising.
You are a vital part of all life,
A petal,
A jewel,
A grain,
A seed,
A pebble,
A treasured human life and the wider human family on this earth.
A vital strand of the web of interconnectedness of all life.
And as such you are always,
Always connected to other people,
To life itself,
To the nature that you are part of and all it takes to tune in to this constant unchanging connection is your attention,
Your focus,
The act of your acknowledgement of this interconnection.
All you need to do to feel more connected is to take a pause,
Go within and tune into your connection to the constantly evolving life on this planet and breathe into the acknowledgement of that connection.
You are nature.
You are life rising to meet life.
You are alive and connected to all life in interdependent co-arising and as nature you are always connected to nature wherever you are and whatever you are doing.
Your breath connects you.
The very fact of your life connects you.
Your awareness connects you and you can return to the sense of connection at any time by bringing awareness and conscious deep breathing to it.
So to bring this meditation towards a close take three final deep conscious breaths and repeat these affirmations to yourself inwardly as you do so.
Inhale,
I am always connected.
Exhale in every way.
Inhale,
I am life rising to meet life.
Exhale,
A vital part of this loving world.
Inhale,
This beautiful world belongs to me.
Exhale,
I belong to this beautiful world.
And as we return now to a more natural breath,
Just slowly move your body around a little to enhance circulation around the body.
Wriggle your fingers,
Wriggle your toes,
Rotate your shoulders,
Coming back and take the solace of having spent some time and awareness of your connection to all life and especially the natural beauty of the world forward into your day knowing that you can always return.
You can always choose to slow your mind through connection to conscious breath.
You can always look around and find a small patch of sky to bring your attention to,
To bring yourself back to your interconnection to the natural world and to your place here.
Thank you so much for taking some time to meditate with me today.
