How Does Nature Heal Your Life?

A few years ago I had a biopsy in my doctor's office.  I drove home in a state of agony and worry.  When I got to my house, my feet led me right out to my garden. This wasn't a conscious decision.  I just found myself there.  Still semi-unconscious and numb with fear, I dropped to my knees and started tending my plants, touching the earth.  Within a couple of minutes the anxiety drained away, absorbed into the rich, dark soil.  I started to breathe deeply again.  I had a sense of serenity and was able to wait patiently for the results -- which were thankfully benign.

How did I know to do this?  The answer is that "I" didn't.  My body and deep psyche knew, however, and led me to my garden without any conscious ideas or suggestions from my over-active brain.  Pure ecotherapy!

Have you had experiences like this where nature healed your psychological or physical pain?  I'd love to hear them...

Comments

[Amy Lenzo]

I was once involved in offering a series of guided walks that took people on treks deep into the local landscape. There was an older gentleman who joined us on these walks almost every week. One day I was walking along with him, talking, and he told me that his wife had died recently. He said that he'd been inconsolable, but then he'd started coming on these walks. In witnessing the natural cycles he saw all around him, he had come to some inner peace and acceptance about his wife's passing. He started to feel that she, and he, were part of a bigger pattern of life, & that her death began to make sense to him as a natural part of that pattern. This to me was a perfect example of ecopsychology, or ecotherapy, if you will.

In my own life, I remember so many times I have been healed by my connection to nature. So much so that whenever I am deciding to move to a new place, I have to make sure there is somewhere I can go be with nature within walking distance. Just as many of us choose our homes based on how much light there is, or what the view is, I've recognized this proximity to nature as an essential need, necessary for my emotional well-being.

[Larry Saltzman]

Watching the endless subtle changes of the garden as the seasons passes grounds and relaxes me.

having a garden alive with food for me and for other creatures is also a profoundly satisfying feeling. I can browse through the garden picking food and feeling connected with the food. It re-spiritualizes the experience of food and is far more satisfying than shopping in a market.

[Jalaledin Ebrahim]

As a Wraparound Facilitator with a non-profit agency in Santa Clara County, I have seen the amazing results of refering two different teenagers at two different times to a volunteer youth camp counseling program at the Walden West Outdoor Science School in Saratoga, CA. In both cases, it was the combination of an outdoor/nature program and a positive, structured learning environment that provided both these troubled teens with the opportunity to step into leadership roles. This 6 day experience changed both lives to the extent that one was able to move out of the children's shelter after an 18 month stay and progress towards emancipation, and the other was able to drop his "gang" persona and posture so that he could transition into a mainstream high school placement and join the school's ROTC. In my opinion, it was both the ecotherapeutic component as well as the structural and leadership components of the program that were so hugely transformative and effective. Jalaledin Ebrahim, M.A., MFTi

[Ann Jarnet]

Linda's touching story reminds me of a sad story I heard from a former co-worker. She knew I had worked in environmental education and wondered if I might come and talk to a boy scout group about nature. I asked her to tell me about the group and what she wanted me to do.

She told the story of a recent boy scout outing to some caves near Ottawa, Canada, and how the event had been soured by one of the youngsters destroying an inhabited birdnest with a long stick, close to the entrance to the cave. The leaders had scolded the boy, given him a "lecture" on nature and the outing had been spoiled for everyone.

As she kept on talking about this, she allowed that the boy's parents had recently divorced and that there was an ugly custody battle. His behaviour had changed drastically and he'd become disruptive, violent, etc.

I simply asked if the boy might have done this to let one and all know that, in the same way he had destroyed the home of a bird family, his own family had been hurt by the split-up of his parents and that he felt badly about it -- indeed he might be feeling "destroyed" himself. I was sad that those who were there with him during his outburst had not seen it as a "teachable moment" to help him heal. Nature was right there to help him through it; humans missed the opportunity.

I never got to meet the boy scout group; the co-worker admitted to me she was the boy's mother and she was fairly upset with my reaction to her story. You can't win them all, I guess.

[Mary Jo DeGrandi]

It is interesting to me how our conscious knowing and our unconscious 'gnowing' can work in harmony or at cross purposes. Although I have been consciously seeking connection with nature to stay balanced and healthy and spiritually grounded for years, there seem to be times as well when I retreat from connecting as well--even though I "KNOW" that this will ultimately be more harmful than helpful.

Over the past couple of months, I have been in a state of transition---geographically, personally, professionally. While I recognize that I may simply need a quite period of gestation at the moment, I am also aware that my current surroundings--in a community and culture that does not truly support the basic premise of ecopsychology--is insidious in promoting its message that we are separate beings independent from the rhythms and influences of the world outside of that which we have created.

SO...a question...how do we heal a community, a culture, a mindset--even as it is pulling us in? Even as we seek not to reject the mainstream entirely, but simply to navigate its waters with a greater awareness of its perils as well as its beauty and power?

[Dennis Grannis-Phoenix]

I am just beginning my Master's thesis at Prescott College. My thesis statement is "An organic inquiry into personal transformation as a result of nature-based experience". I will be interviewing 4 participants about their transformational experience and am very interested in the transformations that will take place within myself, the participants and the readers of the research as a result of this project. I will be looking at life cycles and transitions, archetypes, ecopsychology, ego and psyche and the liminal/spiritual realms as some of the tools for conducting this research. This project begins with the telling of my own story of transformation during a trip to the Grand Canyon. I am personally convinced of the healing powers of nature or I wouldn't be pursuing this education and this thesis.

[linda buzzell-saltzman]

Mary Jo asked: "SO...a question...how do we heal a community, a culture, a mindset--even as it is pulling us in? Even as we seek not to reject the mainstream entirely, but simply to navigate its waters with a greater awareness of its perils as well as its beauty and power?"

Thanks for this question, Mary Jo. It's a big one! My own experience has been that joining a Simplicity Circle helped me get support for "dropping out" of consumerist culture at least partially. That way I could cut the amount of dollars I contributed to it and the psychic energy that being a good consumer demands. One thing that helped was cancelling my cable TV. No more ads or time-wasting shows that basically told me that if my house or gas-guzzling vehicle or body didn't look a certain way, I was worthless! These are perhaps just small actions, but I think they add up and can create cultural change.

I believe that the more facets of one's life, mind and spirit that one can get "outside the system," the more one can have the perspective and serenity to deal with things as constructively as possible, whatever is going on in mainstream society.

Thanks for posting your thoughts.

[Linda Buzzell-Saltzman]

Thanks fo Jalaledin, Ann and Dennis for telling us about the power of ecotherapy experiences. I'm looking forward to hearing about Dennis' research results and am eager to hear about any other research that has been done or is being done to prove the efficacy of nature-based psychological healing methods so we can convince the sceptics in mainstream psychology! Any info will be much appreciated.

[Valentine McKay-Riddell]

In response to Linda's request for more info on ecopsychological healing, I'm working on a PhD in Transpersonal Psychology at the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology in Palo Alto, CA. My dissertation topic is mentored Earth-based rites of passage for girls at the onset of puberty (menarche). This will, I hope, connect the girls not only with their "inner divine feminine," but also with the healing power of Gaia, our Mother Earth. It will also validate the life experience of the older women who are mentors. Recovering from cancer over 20 years ago in Mendocino, CA, I was blessed to have a sort of "Findhorn" gardener as a friend. She was 30 years older than I, and taught me so much more than gardening from the ground up (where you start with clay, build the soil, and continue from there)! I want to involve the girls in intimate contact with the Earth-- something that really engages their energy and creates an investment in what happens as a result of this investment. If any of you have suggestions, please let me know!

[Heather Witham]

Valentine, that is so wonderful!!! Have you read Judith Duerk's books? I like the woman-centered aspect of them. Oh how I wish I could participate in your rituals! I really hope you'll share your work with us!

[Amy Falstrom]

Just yesterday I wrote about an experience with Nature for my application
to begin a course with Project NatureConnect. I would like to share it here...

I have had many attractive experiences in Nature throughout my life. Some, however, stand out as particularly profound. One is an experience I had when I was finishing graduate school. I was going through a very difficult time personally and, in retrospect, I can see that it was an important juncture in my life. I was faced with
major contradictions between how I truly wanted to live and the reality of how I was living. I had to make some very hard decisions. This was a period of intense confusion, insecurity, fear and a sense of being hopelessly lost in darkness.

In a desperate attempt to find some relief from my own inner suffering I started driving out to a state park about 15 miles from my house. I was drawn to the large creek that run through it and sat there for long periods of time. I had no understanding of what I was doing, I only knew that I felt relief. During that period I went regularly to the creek and I can truly say that it felt as if I was going to visit a trusted and loving friend or beloved and wise teacher.

During my visits I would just sit on the boulders along the creek or walk in the water. Often I would lie down on the rocks as if I was a patient in convalescence.
The profound relief I felt was, I believe, due to a shift in awareness away from my thoughts and toward a deeper sense of being that was free of mental processes. There was a sense of being mute and I wanted no human interaction. I was aware of the creek and woods as having a very distinct and palpable presence. The solace I received just by being there was truly astounding and there is no doubt this solace did indeed emanate from Nature Itself.

I successfully made it through that period of inner/outer crisis. By success I mean that I became more what I call “my authentic self”. I know that my “meetings with the creek” and other similar experiences with Nature played a major role in my path toward psychological and spiritual wellness.

[Sylvie Shaw]

What a wonderful bunch of stories. Like biting into luscious grapes. Juicy stories. Touching stories. Stories with bite.

Just this moment I have come home and heard the "Waaa Waaa Waaa" of the inner city ravens who call for me to bring them a small snack. I place their meat on a branch of the big gum tree outside the kitchen. They carefully climb down. While they are doing that two smaller varieties of birds, one native, the other an imported 'pest' (that kills native birds) darts in and snatches some meat from under the raven's nose.

We don't have crows in Australia. Only ravens. But the joy they bring with their glossy blueblack feathers glistening in the late afternoon sun with their happy 'grock' sound while they are digesting their snack and their post-meal preening. Sometimes they don't eat their meat but take it to the neighbour's roof and hide it under the tin roof, a cache for later.

The ravens remind me of the abilty for large birds to co-exist if there are trees, even in the inner city. The point is - 'If there were trees'.

So the ravens are reminding me of the importance of somewhere to roost as well as somewhere to dine. They make me happy just to see them and know they are part of this world.

[Linda Buzzell-Saltzman]

Thank you so much, Sylvie for those ravens. We have them here to, strutting around regally in our garden in pairs making no sound, unlike the noisy crows. But we love them all and hearing bird noises is very healing. Wouldn't the world be terrible without birds? A friend of mine who is a passionate birder worries that the domestic cats and the most aggressive birds are doing away with our songbird population.

[robert-francis johnson]

When I first moved to new mexico I was so burned out from the insane way therapy is performed in mental health centers,too many clients,little reguard for the therapists needs,and often conflictual management.I started my own practice and didn't work on fridays,so I started going up the mountain to help me feel better,This was 24 years ago,and I still go to the mountain twice a week,the personal healing has been incredible,I wouldn't know how to do therapy without this necessary component.I started doing my own Eco-Psychology before there was a field.I also take clients out to nature whenever I can,which makes the therapy much more profound.I have also evolved this Earth/Art therapy using the Cob earth building process which [there are no words to describe what happens to people who start mixing mud with their feet]allows people to personally experience the Earth in such a different way. sincerley Robert Francis Johnson

[Linda Buzzell-Saltzman]

Thanks, Robert-Francis for your post. You are definitely one of the pioneers of ecotherapy! And how right you are that doing therapy of any kind can be too draining unless one "recharges" in nature. And the healing that clients experience when connecting or reconnecting with any natural process is astounding!

[dissertation write up]

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[Benjamin Dean]

I understand, as I daily tap into the deep rich soil of meditation. Glad to hear that all was benign. This fast-paced, broken-up, everything-but-organic lifestyle that we so easily get caught up in is the real enemy to our health. Just say NO! Everything we do, we can do with a little bit of Mother Earth's soil in us. She's our Mother, after all. Mindfulness about our own roots can keep us healthy, and makes it possible for us to pass a little of it on to others.

My greatest joy is to write about natural health and healing. Stop by at www.hownatureheals.com and check out some insights into the fundamentals involved in the human healing process.

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