Episode Transcript
When you think about nature, what do you think about? Do you think about trees and sky and birds? We are gonna talk about what nature is all about today from a spiritual perspective here on the spiritual American. We Americans enjoy a wonderful and powerful way of life, but internally and in relationships we may wish for better. Join me as we look beneath the surface and gain insights to transform every aspect of your life. My name is Dr. Anne O'Hare, and this is the Spiritual American. Welcome back everyone. Today we have a very nice topic. I have never met anyone that doesn't love nature or have very pure good feelings about nature. But today we're going to talk about nature in terms of how it relates to spiritual knowledge. That I'm a soul, I am living consciousness. When we think about nature, a lot of times we're thinking about the trees and the birds and the grass and so forth, and or maybe a, a scene like a forest scene or a beach scene. And all of these are lovely actually, as I'm sharing, as I'm saying them. It's bringing good feelings and nice feelings as I'm saying the words and bringing the images into my mind. In terms of spirituality, what is the relationship between the soul and nature? Or the soul and matter specifically, or the soul and the elements? What's the connection? Well, the soul is consciousness, right? I am the living, being the living consciousness. And the closest piece, or the closest thing of nature that I'm in connection with is this my body, right? And I have this body that I'm using for this life from the beginning of the body's life until the end of the body's life. I the soul, am using this body. So I have a very close connection with nature, with matter, the elements you could say. So what is the relationship between consciousness and elements or consciousness and nature. So you could say that consciousness is the master of matter or the master of the elements in the sense that wherever the consciousness is, the consciousness impacts matter and matter follows. Like I have a thought, I the soul, have a thought, move my hand and my hand moves. Now we don't think that much of this because we're so used to being in a body. You've heard me talk about body consciousness, right? We we're so used to being in a body that we don't really make the distinction or we don't think about the distinction between the soul and the body. It's kind of like when you learn how to drive a car. We have kids that are, car driving age, my niece and my son, and we were teaching them how to drive and one of the things I was sharing with them is that initially, you're trying to work the mechanism, but eventually you and the car almost become one. You have a awareness of the vehicle. Even though you are the driver, you have an awareness of the vehicle, so you're kind of moving as one. It's similar with the body and also with the driving of the car. I'm operating the vehicle. The sole is operating the body. Now, of course, the body is a much more advanced if you wanna say vehicle or instrument, then a car. But it's still the same principle. I'm the one that's making the elements do something. The second thing is looking at the elements themselves. So fire, air, earth, water, ether, which would be sky. Those are five elements, let's say. And we look at those elements and then all the rest of what we say, the flora and fauna, the plants and animals. And we are part of the animal part of it. Our bodies are part of the animal, part of nature. And all of it is made of the elements, isn't it? So if we look at that, it's very amazing to think. 'cause one time I was in a class and the speaker who was also a spiritual teacher. Was saying something like, is there such a thing as a house really? Like you're sitting in a house, but is it actually a house? Well, on one hand, yes, it's definitely a house, but on the other hand, isn't it a collection of wood and nails and metal and cloth plants that make the cloth and the plastic that makes the electrical lines and so forth. It's made up of all these different elements, but somehow we put it all together, which is amazing, and it becomes what we call a house. Same thing with a body. All the elements and everything come together into this amazing functional apparatus, and we call it a body. And of course, the soul gets to use the body to express itself, to have relationships and so forth. And there's so much that comes with the body. So. That's the other thing with the elements. Then nature itself, observing nature itself. What happens when we observe nature? I'm gonna say that when we observe nature, we kind of get a feeling of something. What feelings do we get when we're observing nature? I'm gonna say, we many times have a feeling of peace. Now animals don't talk right? So there's no language. Let's think about this, that the world of nature has no language. They don't have any buildings. They don't have any schools, they don't have any trades. They don't have universities. They don't have bowling alleys or pharmacies or anything like that, but they're still alive. They're here on Earth, and when we are around them, we are reminded of something I'm gonna say subtle and beautiful and natural, which is that the life on earth can be harmonious, simple, beautiful, and diverse. Also, the diversity and everything works together somehow, right? There's some intelligence in some, there's some order to the way nature works. So when we are in the presence of a nature scene, if we are paying attention, we may not be, we may be focused on what's going on in our mind. But if I'm paying attention and I'm allowing the environment to impact me, many times I'll feel peace or I'll feel a sense of expansiveness or maybe safety or maybe appreciation. I was walking this morning and I saw in, I have a lake around my, near my house, so I'm walking around the lake and I saw little ducks and the little baby ducks and I was just delighted. And that's a feeling that I'm experiencing, right? So being here, being on earth, being in nature, being with matter can be a source of joy, appreciation. I'm gonna say the reason that I'm making this episode is because I could stop now. Yeah, it's great nature's great, you know? But what is the significance? I just talked about peace, naturalness, consciousness matter elements. Animals, plants, and how it makes us feel and how we can be joyful and how it's simple and how it all works and how it's harmonious. That's what I just said, and I don't think that anybody listening to this would argue with any of that. My question now is why am I having this conversation. Because are we experiencing that? That expression, stop and smell the roses. Well, this is kind of a expansion of that idea. The principle of that is don't allow yourself to be so caught up in emotional states and worries and pain and sorrow and what's going on in our mind. Responsibilities and tightness and anger and miss out on the connection with the environment that we are living in. Have we forgotten? Have we forgotten that we're living on a planet that has air and earth and water and has animals that live free and are perfectly fine and harmonious? Have we forgotten that? Where do we fit in to that environment? I think with technology and with society and industrialization and so forth, and I'm not saying any of that's wrong. I live in it. I, this is my world and this is my life. I think where I'm getting at is that by understanding our relationship with nature, and that's what we're gonna explore now, the relationship, by understanding the relationship we can remember our own simplicity, our own harmony, our own naturalness, and our own joy. So what is it like to be in nature and what is that connection? So I'd like to do a little meditation that we can do together and just explore that briefly so that we can get in touch with some of those experiences that I'm gonna say is already in us. Our nature, our original nature matches nature but let's take a little practice and see if we can experience that. So sitting quietly, letting the body relax. Gently bring your attention to the center of the forehead. Imagine the point of light, I the soul. I'm sitting here, I the soul. I'm in this body. I am the consciousness and the body is made of the elements. And the body is my instrument. Very close relationship with this body. And as I'm sitting here, I'm going to imagine a nature scene. Could be mountains, could be forest, could be water, beach, a river, could be snow, could be raining, even. Any nature scene that you are attracted to, that you like, and then imagine the part of that scene that you like the most. Maybe it's an animal, maybe it's the water, maybe it's the trees. Give yourself a moment to identify which aspect of nature. Is attractive to you, then put yourself in front of that aspect of nature. So for me, maybe it would be a bird. So I'm putting myself in front of a bird. I saw a hawk today. Maybe I'll think about the hawk. And I'm putting myself in front of the bird, in front of the hawk, and I am now going to give myself two words to describe what I like about that aspect of nature. For me, it's the hawk. It could be a fish, it could be a dog, it could be a tree, the water, whatever it is for you. Just give yourself a moment and create two words to describe what it is that you are attracted to about that? So for me, for the hawk, I would say freedom and dignity. So think for yourself. Give yourself two words, and then imagine that you could talk to that aspect of nature, that you could have a conversation with the bird or the tree or the water or the bear or the lion or whatever the aspect is, and have that aspect in front of you and ask it a question. What advice would you give me? So that I could be more like those qualities that you have and see what it says. You can also express admiration and gratitude. And understanding that whatever the words to describe that aspect of nature, those qualities are in you as well. We are attracted to them. They're in us as well. So let the bird tell you. Let the water tell you the air, tell you the tree. Let them tell you. Let them give some advice and then just take one more moment and say whatever is in your heart. Feeling that connection through qualities, maybe it's a different species, a totally different part of nature, but I can still connect through qualities. So give yourself another moment and then say goodbye and gently start bringing yourself back to ordinary awareness. Move your fingers and toes around a little bit, bring your energy forward, and we're back. That was a very short example of a way that we can use meditation to feel connected to nature. In the sense that my own goodness, my own virtues, my own quality can also match nature, and I can make that connection and feel those qualities myself. I'm looking at nature and I feel them automatically, but have I been able to attribute those qualities to myself? I feel that this is a very simple and powerful and beautiful way for us to get in touch with our own virtues and qualities, and also to appreciate in a natural way, the natural world. So I hope that's given you something to experience and appreciate and I'll leave it there. Remember, our slogan is Heal, Empower, and Serve. And until next time, take care.
