Nature Connection Defined: A Delightful In-Depth List to Support You In Feeling Better Each Day.

In March of 2020, I started a daily nature connection practice.  The following is a list of the main aspects of nature connection that I have compiled after a few years of my daily nature connection practice.

Overall, my practice helps me feel my best, about myself and my life.  It is a transformative practice that allows me to tune into myself and the world around me. It helps me release some of the emotional baggage I no longer need and it raises my vibe. If you would like to learn more, check out my book called Stellar: uplevel in love and reach your full potential through nature connection.

And if you would prefer to watch videos rather than read, check out my YouTube channel.

Alrighty, let’s take a look at this list!

🌸 Nature connection does not need to involve movement, but it must include slowing down.  Keep this in mind if you are mixing activities such as a workout, like walking or biking, or gardening and nature connection.  You must slow down.  You will miss a lot if you are moving quickly or if you are trying to accomplish big tasks, like gardening, while nature connecting.  

🌸 It doesn’t require a knowledge of plants, or plant names, but it does require an awareness of what is around you and an openness to know more.  You may want to be aware of what stings and bites or causes rashes.  You will want to be certain about correctly identifying plants that you taste or touch.  It can take a great deal of time and study to differentiate one plant from another and baby plants are famously difficult to identify.  Like a guest visiting friends, it is always best to respect what is around you, remain curious and be ready to learn more.  Also, the plant identification apps on our cell phones are not perfect.  They make huge errors, sometimes depending upon the quality of the photo, sometimes they are just wrong without any clear reason.  Always check with three sources and if you can talk to someone in the know, someone with a lot of experience with plants, such as an herbalist or gardener, even better.

🌸 It is not a form of spirituality. It does not insist on beliefs, such as the belief that there are fairies and gnomes in the forest, though it meshes well with beliefs and spirituality.  If you are a spiritual or religious person, nature welcomes you and your beliefs.  Check yourself and make sure you are just as open and accepting as nature is with you!

🌸 There need not be a set goal. You do not need to find beauty, to experience awe, to work through feelings, to tune into intuition, to receive information from your greater knowing, but any of the above may happen while you are nature connecting. Sometimes the very best thing to do is to allow your body and mind to simply rest and reset, without words or actions, in a peaceful space.

🌸 Though it is easy to focus and calm the mind in a natural space, nature connection is not a form of meditation.  The forest is an open and welcoming space for the practice of meditation, but nature connection does not need to include meditation.

🌸 Nature connection involves sensing what you are sensing, what you are noticing in nature.  Run through your senses and ask yourself what you are sensing inside of you and around you.  What do you see, feel, hear, smell, and even taste. The smallest details may light up for you when you do this, or you may experience a clear view of yourself within the context of life teeming around you.

🌸 Nature connection is a habit that is as important as brushing your teeth– it’s best to do it every day.  Nature connection is a form of self-care that helps you prioritize yourself. Take yourself to a natural space and tune into the moment, tune into how you are feeling. Over time, this type of self-care increases self-awareness and the capacity for self-love.

🌸 Nature connection is complementary to many healing modalities.  It will help support an increase in positive emotions but sometimes we need more.  People with clinical depression, for example, may need professional help and this primary therapy is supported by adding nature connection.  Another example, someone requiring medical care for a major illness will require the medical care. Healing will be supported by nature connection.   

🌸 Flexibility. In Canada, the weather is always a factor in how much or how little we go outside.  Though wild or natural spaces offer the most benefit, it’s important to be flexible and to include indoor nature connections so that we can still nature connect during times in life when the weather is going sideways or, for whatever reason, we do not have access to greenspace, or urban vegetation and natural areas.  Indoor nature connection activities include making and enjoying cups of herbal tea, quality time with pets, caring for houseplants, visualization, formulating with herbs, creative arts including sketching, painting, morning altars or ephemeral art, dancing, writing, and taking photos.

🌸 Nature connection is something you can do as a solo activity whereas nature therapy requires a guide. I do this by myself because I want to tune into myself.

🌸 Nature Connection can be a time to focus on yourself.  It’s important to offer yourself nature connection as a solo activity. Solitude offers you the gift of focusing on just one person: yourself.  This is not to say that you can’t nature connect with people seeking to do the same; but if you do, I believe you should also practice nature connection on your own as well. 

🌸 I choose to nature connect on my own because I need time each day to anchor the habit of remaining focused on myself.   Being in nature and focusing on what is around you offers you an activity that you enjoy on your own, without friends or family.  It creates a boundary in terms of your time and interests. 

🌸 Cell Phones help enhance and support our connection to nature.  I ultimately want to unplug and be present to the world around me when I am nature connecting, but I always bring my phone because it is super useful. Cell phones have built-in timers.  Use your timer to help you relax and not worry about the time.  You can also take photos, notes, write journal entries, and make videos with your cell phone.  It is so wonderful to take a snapshot of what happened in your nature connection.  Of course, you need to manage your tech and not let it take centre stage as you nature connect, but it is a brilliant tool to bring with you in nature connection.  You can also use it to contact friends to show them what surprised you in nature.

🌸 Meditation is easier in greenspaces. It is easier to drop-in and relax into a meditative state in nature.  Part of the reason for this is that greenspaces offer an abundance of similar patterns of complexity at different scales and unperceived symmetries.  These patterns are called fractals. Humans tend to enjoy seeing fractals because they increase engagement and curiosity while decreasing tension at the same time.

🌸 Nature models secure attachment style. Observe nature and you will see animals and plants comfortable being themselves, individually, their lives weaving together to create this interdependent ecosystem. You can also practice being securely attached to trees, plants and all you see in nature. You can feel safe in nature, form healthy relationships with plants and trees, animals and spaces.  This can be important when we are facing significant challenges in our relationships with humans.

🌸 Spending time in nature helps us develop a better sense of our intuition. When you are relaxed and open, better downloads about life can happen in nature.  Spending time outside of day-to-day tasks opens up the possibility of exploring who you are, your human experience, offering opportunities for self-discovery, self-care, creativity, and calm.

🌸 Nature is open and accessible to all.  Be authentically you, nature accepts you as you are.  You don’t have to have status or own anything to connect with nature.  You can live anywhere and connect with nature.  In my experience, urban dwellers seem to get it and value nature connection as much or more than people who live in the country. You can live in the city and nature connect. 

If you want to learn more about nature connection, I have recently written a book about this powerful practice. Pick up your copy here!