How to Cultivate Mindfulness through Your Connection to Nature

There is weather in Seattle, not just rain. Someone told me, when I first moved there, that all the glorious sunshine we have for days on end all summer long, would simply end one day. As if someone turned the faucet on and forgot to turn it off.

Puget Sound

Well, it does rain in Seattle, but not just any rain. There are MANY different kinds of rain in the Pacific Northwest. Sometimes, we are wrapped in a damp blanket of drizzle. It took awhile after I moved there, but the rain and I are finally developed a relationship. We bonded.


Sometimes, it is simply a steady springkling, not too hard. The kind of rain that when it hits the hood of your REI-Gore-Tex-Rain-Jacket, it sounds just like rain hitting your tent as you sleep in the rainforests of the Olympic Peninsula in western Washington.

I often spent the day at Seward Park, the only state park left within the city limits of Seattle that still has old growth forest. Seward Park sits on a peninsula of sorts that juts out into Lake Washington, so it is surrounded by water on three sides. Well, make that four sides- water from above as well. You can walk the perimeter of the park, along the lake, and you can walk in the midst of the forest on trails that take you back a hundred years or so into wilderness, into wildness.


Bald eagles still nest at Seward Park and I often saw one. Since many days are shrouded in mist, sometimes I could not really tell if it was an eagle or not, but I could tell that it was an enormous soaring bird. That is one of the benefits of Seattle weather...it blurs the real with the surreal...so my bird becomes an eagle for me, if only for the day. A small gift to soothe my soul.

The rain here protects us, reminds us to retreat every once in a while, to slow down, to be present in each and every moment. November rain provides the advent of our season of contemplation. The rain is a reassurance, a constant. You know that no matter what you do each day, the rain will be there- comforting- like an old friend. In Seattle, you can rely on the rain.


Before I lived in Seattle I lived in the high desert of Walla Walla, WA. I remember writing to my grandparents on the east coast: “We don’t get weather here. It’s just sunny, blue sky everyday. I’ve been here two months and I have not seen one cloud yet.” I said this, almost as a complaint, wishing for just a little bit of dark relief from the relentless sun. 

Columbia River Gorge

I discovered the meaning of Big Sky when I moved to eastern Washington. The rain gets trapped on the west side of the Cascade Mountains, so eastern Washington is a veritable desert. I learned to appreciate the many different shades of brown: deep, rich earthy browns- the color of the fields when the dirt has been turned over after the harvest. Golden light brown, the color of the wheat as it sways silently across the Palouse, juxtaposed with the bright sun and deep blue sky, where you can see for miles and miles in any direction. No large evergreen trees, not many trees period, but lots of sagebrush. You grow to love sagebrush when you live in the open desert.


There is so much healing in our connection to nature, in our connection to the landscape around us: so much mystery and peace. I experienced this myself over a decade ago when I moved to Washington state. I was drawn to the wide-open spaces and I cherish them. For 15 years in my Sociology classes, I assigned the wonderful book Refuge by Terry Tempest Williams. One of the themes of the book is our healing and spiritual connection to nature, and the importance of having a sense of place, a connection to the land. A dear environmental sociologist friend first shared this book with me, and my life has never been the same. He has since died from lung cancer, though he never ever smoked. He was a “down-winder,” a victim of the nuclear testing ground of Hanover, WA to the west of Walla Walla.


Over the years, my students have come from a wide variety of ages and backgrounds, but they all have resonated with the idea of a spiritual connection to nature. Almost every person has had a story of a sacred encounter in nature. Some described how a love of the ‘outdoors’ was often cultivated in them from childhood on. We discussed how connecting with the Earth, for some unknown reason, brings us into a larger, deeper connection with our God and brings us into a deeper connection with our inner self, our soul.


Living out in the Pacific Northwest, you have no choice but to connect with your surroundings. The contradictions in the landscape between the east and west side of the state speak volumes, and you are propelled to become mindful of who you are and become aware of where you are.

Mt. Rainier and Seward Park to the left

When it is not raining in Seattle, the Cascade Mountains call to you from the east and the Olympic Mountains call to you from the West.

Mt. Rainier, a 14,400 foot volcano looms valiantly above the city, humbling and awing us all at once. On a sunny day, Mt. Rainier causes more traffic jams than a fender bender...one simply must stare and Pay Attention. The beauty we find in nature reminds us of that as well- to be Awake in our lives to the beauty in others.

 
These have been the themes that nature has taught me so far: to become awake, to pay attention to the mystery of life, but to also remember to retreat, slow down, and reflect. My connection to the land, and to nature, has provided me with these life lessons and so I honor God and what He has created in return.

The Power of a small group of committed citizens: the birth of Project H.O.P.E.

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In fall of 2005, I was asked to teach a class called Applied Sociology and I intended to take the title literally. Each week, I asked myself, how can I get these 15 college students more hands-on involvement in the local community? This course focused on how to assess the health and needs of a community, and how to attempt to fulfill their needs.

One evening, I was sitting down to meditate. I had a pen and paper nearby as I usually do to capture insights, or more realistically, to write down a to-do list, so I can actually relax into meditation. I realized before closing my eyes, that I did have a question on my mind, so I simply posed that question: “What can I do with my class tomorrow?” I was truly only focused on the next day’s class, and was unprepared for what happened next.

When I closed my eyes, I literally saw Project H.O.P.E. (helping other people and the earth) unfold before me. I saw my class go to our little local Catholic school (St. Michael School) and conduct interviews: asking students, faculty, and staff about what improvements they would like to see in their school. I then saw us and many others creating a beautiful garden in the front of the school, fixing up the playground, and painting the inside hallways; just simply beautifying a school that did have the extra resources to do so on their own.

My immediate reaction was to say, “Have you lost your mind? I am not doing all this!” But it quickly became clear to me that I would not be doing anything; I just needed to facilitate the process and let it unfold as planned. Moreover, I would have to believe in the power of a “small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.” (--Margaret Mead)

I still did not intend to follow through on this ‘crazy’ idea. In fact, I completely dismissed it as unrealistic. However, I did take my class to St. Michael School that week to conduct the interviews and outside analysis for our assessment assignment. When we returned to our class room to debrief the exercise, I was utterly astonished by MY students’ reaction. The first words out of their mouths were, “Dr. D, we HAVE to DO this project! We can’t just go there and get their hopes up and not follow through!” Now is when I began to realize that the divinely-inspired plan I saw in meditation was going to unfold whether I wanted it to or not.

I will never forget that day in the classroom: their eagerness was contagious! They began to brainstorm ideas at once and we had the entire year’s worth of work fleshed during that one class session.

Our intention was to build community relations between our college and their grade school; beautify their school with gardens, murals and playground improvements; and “Pay it Forward” by partnering with the grade school to raise money for another Catholic school in Mississippi that had been entirely wiped out by Hurricane Katrina.

By the end of the day, we had our Kick-off party planned. Within three weeks, we were going to have an ice-cream party at their school, and unfold our ideas for the project. I will never forget Carla getting on her phone right there in the classroom to call Vale Wood Dairy about donating all the ice cream we would need for our event. (I can still see Carly, Moe, and Renee dishing out ice cream that day!)

We wanted to go there bearing gifts so Michelle offered to solicit sports equipment donations from her softball team and the rest of athletics, while Anna quickly researched buying pencils for each student with our two names on them to demonstrate our unity. Without delay, Neil stepped up to organize the equipment we’d need to eventually create these gardens.

In the end, the main Project H.O.P.E. team that worked together for the rest of the year consisted of Michelle, Anna, Neil and myself. By late April of the following year, we had raised over $3000; completed the gardens (we built two-foot high stone garden walls which enclosed two large 9foot by 9foot garden plots); with the art skills of one of the moms, we created an enormous mural which covered an entire hallway; fixed up the playground; organized dozens of students, local community members, faculty and various student groups to participate in the work parties; and finally sent $1000 to Saint Clare School in Mississippi to help rebuild their school.

Throughout the many months of service work, we were sustained by the energy and enthusiasm of that first class that said, ‘hey, we need to DO this!” and that was a call that a few committed citizens could not ignore.
Thanks to all of you former students who still inspire me to this day!

Three Simple Ways to Connect with Nature: finding your special spot

As children, many of us naturally adopted a ‘special spot’ somewhere outside where we felt peaceful or playful, or maybe it was place we went to when we needed a little solace. Throughout the years, I asked my students about their special childhood place. Nearly every student fondly recalled their ‘special spot.’ For me, my special spot consisted of playing in the creek that ran through my neighborhood and spending countless hours floating ‘leaf boats’ down the stream until my mother called me in for dinner.

In part 2 of the technology-free day assignment, students are asked to spend 6 separate occasions in nature, preferably finding for themselves a special spot. Each time, they need to spend a minimum of 20 minutes alone in nature, without the use of their cell phones, or iPods. They are also given journal questions: those that pertain to “Wilderness Without” and those that pertain to “Wilderness Within.”

Anyone can find a special spot. Families can enjoy time in nature and get to know their place at the same time. Students in a class of any age can also engage in this project.

Here are three easy ways to connect with nature:
1) Find your own special spot: a place that you like to go outside in nature, maybe it is simply in your own backyard; maybe your special spot is at a local park; maybe you are lucky and you can still visit your special childhood place.
2) Promise to go there once a week for the next several months and spend at least 20 minutes there.
3) Use the following questions to get to know your special spot and write down the answers in a nature journal. Wilderness Without Questions: How much sunlight does my ‘spot’ get? How does it look in the morning, afternoon, evening? Is there water in my ‘spot’? Take one day and track the source. Orient yourself in your ‘spot.’ Find north, east, south, and west. From which direction is the wind blowing? What kinds of sounds do you hear? Which ones are nearby? Which are further away? Are they all ‘natural’ noises? Describe the soil in your spot today. (i.e. crumbly, moist, dry, flaky). Are there trees in your ‘spot?’ Are they native trees. Are there any wildflowers? Do you see signs of animal life? Insect life? Describe them. Are there any edible plants, resident or migratory birds? What kinds of rocks are there?

How does this undertaking “help other people and the earth” you may wonder? Well, for one thing, it may help you and YOU are part of the earth, by giving you a place of peace and repose. And secondly, it helps us to get to know our place on this planet, and we are more likely to care for what we know and love.

Tommorow, you can learn the Wilderness Within questions!

Sustainability and You: a kid's perspective

Today on Sustainability Now Radio, join host Peter Buckland as he interviews principal Donnan Stoicovy and teachers and students from the Park Forest Elementary School
How do you teach environmental intelligence and an ethic of environmental care?
Join Rainier Foley-DeFiore in the 5th grade and his teachers from Park Forest Elementary as they try to answer this questions from many perspectives, including gaining the wisdom from "the mouths of babes." The radio show that brings global and local sustainability issues to central Pennsylvania. Every Friday from 4 to 5 pm on TheLion.fm 90.7fm WKPS.