The simple and only way to find stillness is to lose yourself in nature and find peace. Stillness is nature’s best virtue. There is no better way to learn stillness but from nature itself. Staying still, paying attention to the unseen and unnoticed, listening to the sounds of nature, breathing the fresh air- calms the mind and brings you in a state of tranquility and ultimately distresses the physical body. This article will unearth five effective ways to find stillness through our natural environment.

Are you with me on this nature journey?

Learn easy techniques to dive into the practice of mindfulness using nature as the catalyst. Don’t skimp through. Instead, read with a calm and present mind. The five ways to find stillness through nature are the tip of the iceberg in this life journey.

Before I elaborate on the five ways to find stillness through nature, let’s take a look at the following viewpoints and concepts that’ll help you find meaningful and profound nature experiences.

Mother nature

Mother nature encompasses elements and phenomena of Earth’s lands, waters, and biodiversity, across spatial scales. Including extents of human influence- from a potted plant to a small urban creek or park and expansive, “pristine” wilderness with its dynamics of fire, weather, geology, and other forces.

Human wellbeing

Since times immemorial human well-being has been linked to the natural environment in myriad ways. A growing body of empirical evidence reveals the value of nature experience for mental health. With rapid urbanization and declines in human contact with nature globally, it has become increasingly critical to preserve and enhance opportunities for nature experience.

Hence, the need to save and nurture our ecosystems has never been so critical but now. The diversity of organisms in an ecosystem and their processes influence the mental and physical well-being of humans directly.

Nature experience

Nature experience includes individuals’ perceptions and interactions with stimulants from the natural world. Indeed using our five-sense – touch, feel, smell, hearing, and experiencing the wilderness is at the heart of finding stillness through Nature.

Joseph Cornell, Founder and President of Sharing Nature Worldwide, asserts, “Nature intensifies perception.” “The greater one’s calmness, the more one feels connected to the environment.”

Sharingnature.com

The human mind is a wanderer

Unfortunately, the human mind is a wanderer. Interesting fact, Psychologists suggest that a human mind generates about three hundred self-talk thoughts per minute.

A study by two Harvard researchers, Matthew A. Killingsworth and Daniel T. Gilbert, in 2010 discovered that 47 percent of the time, adults think about something other than what they’re doing. In a simple but effective exercise, Joseph Cornell asked a group of twenty-five educators in Canberra, Australia, to focus on a beautiful tree as long as they could and raise a hand when their attention wandered from the tree to other thoughts.

After six seconds, every hand was raised. The educators were amazed to see how restless their minds were. 

Keep reading. The following paragraphs are for curious minds in ‘Five ways to find stillness through nature.’

Protect your consciousness and mental space. Use these five paths to find stillness through nature.

Over the coming century, the most vital human resource in need of conservation and protection is likely to be our consciousness and mental space,” says Tim Wu in his 2016 book The Attention Merchants.

As we continue to adjust to the new normal, life does feel cluttered and our minds a wandering battle field. We are spending more time on social media than ever before. With lesser human interactions and prolonged isolation the need to find solace in nature has never been so urgent and important.

Ironically, there is a silver lining to the situation—our chance to live a slower and more contained life. In many ways, we’re learning to be more still. To live in the here and now, at the moment. And to enjoy the simple things in life.

Stillness is an opportunity to find sanctuary in a sea of change

A chance to discover new perspectives and get a respite from the race that was life before.

And there’s no better way to understand stillness than learning from nature itself. Spending time in nature is a chance to connect with its silence.

Human beings are inherently wired to connect with nature: a concept called biophilia, our undying love for the natural world.

When we spend time being still, we calm the noise in our mind, which, in turn, relaxes the body. Spending time still helps relieve mental fatigue and thus reduces stress on the physical self.

Finally, I give to you below:

Five ways to find stillness through nature:

1. Forest Bathing

Practice the following technique

• Stand still under a larger-than-life tree in the forest. Look up at the lush green branches and around you at the vast natural space.
• Notice how the sunlight filters through the dense trees, moving in dappled patterns on the ground before you. Feel the soil mixture, dry leaves, fallen branches, and green moss under your feet.
• Now, fill your lungs with the cool fresh air and feel your body and mind relaxing with each breath.

Benefit

• Research shows inhaling nature’s aromas, released by the phytoncides in the trees, gives us a sense of openness and renewed energy. In the stillness, you’re able to connect with nature at a deeper, spiritual level. As your thoughts slow down, you find yourself in a state of tranquility and quiet.

Next step

• Caress the leaves of flowers, bushes, and tree trunks. In that moment of stillness, you connect with nature both literally and physically.

Benefit

• The flow of energy between you and the plant creates a harmonious connection that’s grounding. This healing energy makes you feel balanced, centered, and strong- providing mental, emotional, and emphatic clarity. You discover nature’s rhythm becomes your rhythm, slow, steady, and still.

2. Watch the Sunset

Practice the following technique

• Stand barefoot on grass, focus your gaze on the horizon, and watch the sunset. As you stand still, observe the myriad sunset colors brushed against the sky.
• Now, fill your lungs with the evening breeze, and as you exhale, feel your mind coming to a place of calm and serenity.

Benefit

• As you connect with nature’s rhythm, it allows you to regulate your nervous system more easily and access your parasympathetic nervous system.

Holistic coach Jade Dinsdale quotes, “It is much easier to access inner stillness when you are watching the natural rhythms outside.”

• Watching the sunset makes you happy. Research shows that sungazing or watching the sun during dusk or dawn cheers the brain by releasing serotonin.
• As you watch the sunset, you allow yourself to connect with the natural light. It, in turn, helps you meditate in peace, allowing you to connect with your inner-self and the natural surroundings.

Lastly,

• Notice the stillness around you at dusk. How calm the trees and plants are, birds ready to rest until dawn arrives. It’s time for you to wind down your mind and have a restful sleep to take on tomorrow refreshed and wise.  

3. Meditate at the Beach

Summer days are beach days. NBC News reports, “Staring at the ocean changes our brain waves’ frequency and puts us into a mild meditative state.” Furthermore, “The color blue has been found by an overwhelming amount of people to be associated with feelings of calm and peace,” says Richard Shuster, PsyD, Clinical Psychologist and host of The Daily Helping Podcast. “A study published in the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s journal found blue is associated with a boost of creativity.”

Practice the following technique

• Find your spot on the beach. Sit comfortably with your gaze at the blue ocean.
• Rest your hands on your side and feel the warm sand. Focus on your breath, inhaling and exhaling slowly and deeply while you let any distractions in your head float away.
• Listen in all directions, focusing on the chirping of the seagulls and the sea breeze blowing past your ears. Discover new sounds in this stillness that you weren’t aware of before.
• As your mind comes to a state of tranquility, imagine the still, calm ocean water underneath the crashing waves ebbing and flowing. Now imagine your mind as the clear ocean water underneath the crashing waves, unaffected by its surroundings. Feel the peace and clarity of your thoughts at that moment.

Benefit

• As you breathe the ocean breeze, you feel an instant discharge of unwanted energies. Being still rejuvenates your energy field, giving your life a sense of meaning and purpose.

4. Find stillness in your home garden

Plants and trees are beautiful instances of stillness. Physically, they’re centered in one location, immobile. They grow roots and learn to adapt to the environment around them. Intrinsically, they adjust and learn to thrive contingent on the resources available. They’re a metaphor for how we’re living our lives presently in the Pandemic.

Often, one doesn’t have to go too far to experience peace. It can be found in your garden.

Practice the following technique

• Look at a tree, a flower, a plant.
• Let your awareness rest upon it.
• How still they are, how deeply rooted in Being. Allow nature to teach you stillness,” says Eckhart Tolle, a spiritual teacher, and best-selling author.
• Next, please choose your favorite plant and observe its details. Research shows when you focus on something, you become mindful in the moment. You become present and notice what’s in front of you, which clears all distractions in your head. Being still with a plant allows you to discover the intricacies of its being in a moment. It’s a chance to gain new perspectives and find things you may have in common. You might find unique aspects of the plant. Therefore, in turn, it will make you feel happy. 

Or do this, instead.

• Lie down on the ground and look first at a tree. Focus your gaze on the patterns in the leaves and branches. These patterns are natural fractals that humans are drawn to, and looking at them has been scientifically proven to relax us. It’s been found that looking at them can reduce our stress by as much as 60%.

Benefit

• Research shows spending time in nature reduces our stress levels significantly. It alters our mood, makes us feel happy and cheerful, and improves our nervous system, endocrine, and immune response.

5. Find stillness in motion

Periodically, one finds stillness in movement rather than in presumably reduced activity. In my opinion, it is an excellent exercise among five ways to find peace through nature.

Practice the following technique

• Choose a natural surrounding for your walk. As you walk, be present and open to the experience.
• Observe your environment: the path you’re walking, feel the ground pressing under your feet. Notice the natural light, the blue sky, the green trees, or perhaps the colorful flowers. In summer, you’ll find honeybees and migratory butterflies whizzing around them. Smell the lingering scents in the air. Listen to the sound of the wind in the leaves or the cars passing. Make eye contact with and greet others you meet on your walk.
• Be mindful of bringing awareness to your footsteps’ repetitive, ritualized motion.
• Tune into your breath. Repeat a positive affirmation or mantra.
• Go slow. Get lost. Be unreachable.

Recommendation

• When you feel the tug of your responsibilities or the desire to check in with the outside world, push yourself a bit further.

Walking is an affordable luxury available to us all. It’s not about burning calories or getting the heart rate up. It’s just an embodiment of the concepts of presence, detachment, emptying the mind, slowing down, noticing, and appreciating the beauty of the world around you.

Final word.

Choose your path wisely, befriend nature to instill stillness in your everyday life. It’s the best path towards a sound body and mind that, in turn, will help you live a positive and fulfilling life.

“When all is quiet, and the birds are still, you can learn so much from those browsing hills.”

Laura Bullock

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