In this blog post, I delve into the fascinating realm of emotions and the profound impact that our emotions have on our pets.  Humans can experience a wide array of emotions, and our animal friends are not immune to the subtle nuances of our feelings.  Join me as I consider how our emotional states can influence the well-being of our beloved pets.

At the heart of every connection lies a subtle yet powerful force – energy.   Animals possess an innate ability to sense and respond to the energy that surrounds them. Whether it’s a domesticated pet or a wild creature, the vibes we emit play a crucial role in shaping the dynamics of our interactions.   Understanding and managing our energy can be the key to creating harmonious connections and fostering mutual respect between species.  

The Language of Emotions:

Our pets may not use the same spoken words as us, but we know that they naturally communicate telepathically.   Telepathy is the exchange of emotions or feelings over distance (‘tele’ = distance; ‘pathy/pathos’ = emotions).  When we consider this, it’s not surprising that our pets respond so quickly to human behaviour and emotional cues.

Dogs and horses especially have a remarkable ability to discern human emotions through our body language, tone of voice, and facial expressions. This unique sensitivity is beneficial when we want to train them.  However, because they so readily pick up on our joy, sadness, stress, or anxiety, we can also shape their responses and behaviours in unintended ways.

Respecting boundaries:

Just as humans appreciate personal space and boundaries, animals do too.  Pay attention to their cues and body language. If an animal appears uneasy or stressed, it may be signalling discomfort with the energy in the environment.  Maybe someone is too close physically, or perhaps they are simply picking up on a desire to connect which feels overwhelming to them.  

Respect their boundaries, and allow them the space they need. This includes being aware of their energetic boundaries.   If we have a strong desire to connect, a dog or horse will feel our energy ‘reaching out’ just as strongly as if we had physically approached them. 

This is also true when we are walking in a forest, woods or fields. All of the beings in that place will pick up on our energy long before we even physically arrive in their space.  If we are distracted, our thoughts and emotions are just like a loudspeaker, broadcasting to all the living things in that place.  Next time you go to a wood or a forest, I invite you to use this mantra from my teacher, Jon Young.  “Right now, is my field of disturbance greater than my field of awareness; or is my field of awareness greater than my field of disturbance?”

Recognising the Signs:

If your domesticated pets exhibit changes in behaviour, appetite, or energy levels, it is possible that your emotional state may be influencing them. Dogs especially are known to exhibit signs of stress such as pacing, whining or excessive barking when they sense their owners are under a great deal of pressure.  Also if you are anxious about their behaviour you will inadvertently increase their anxiety. Now they are picking up your feelings of anxiety and that makes them even more anxious.  To them it seems that you have just confirmed to them that there is a reason to feel anxious.   

The more that you become aware of and familiar with your own emotional landscape, especially recognising old trauma responses, the more you might start to notice these responses being mirrored back to us by your animal companions.   As you notice these patterns emerging more and more, stop and ask yourself whether there is some emotion within you that could be affecting them.  

If the answer is ‘yes’, please don’t feel guilty. Insta see it as an opportunity to make things better for your animal.  Now that you have brought consciousness to your own emotions, you are in the driving seat. You now have the power to create a calm environment for your pet.

This simple yet profound shift can transform your interactions from mundane to magical.

Empathy and Companionship:

This exchange of emotions between us and our pets works both ways. Because they are so attuned to our emotions, pets also display remarkable empathy.  How often have you noticed that when you’re feeling jubilant or low-spirited, your furry friend responds with affection, or provides a comforting presence?  This empathetic exchange fosters a sense of companionship that transcends words. Creating a unique bond that contributes to the overall well-being of both humans and animals.

Emotional awareness and animal communication:

When communicating telepathically with the animals in your life, it is vital to be aware of this emotional interconnectedness.  If you are feeling sad, stressed or you’ve just had a difficult conversation with another human, rather than sit down to have a chat with them take some time out and reset your emotions before attempting to communicate telepathically.  This ensures that the emotions you’re feeling do not cloud the communication.  When we are filled with emotion ourselves, whether that is anger or love, the telepathic communication with them will either be their response to our emotions or be ‘coloured’ by those feelings.  Either way we are not providing a clear space for them to express exactly how they feel, or what they are thinking.

Supportive practices:

You might recognise the truth in much of what I’ve said and you could be thinking, “it’s all very well saying ‘just manage your emotions’ but how do you do that?”

There are a number of practices and daily rituals that can support greater emotional awareness and that help to bring our emotions back to a more neutral place.

Mindfulness:

Practising mindfulness is a powerful tool in managing our energy around animals. Whether it’s through meditation, deep breathing, or simply being present in the moment, mindfulness helps us regulate our emotional states. By cultivating mindfulness, we can create spaces of tranquillity that benefit both us and our animal companions.

Sit Spot:

Spending time sitting quietly in nature, even your humble backyard or balcony, is enormously supportive of being emotionally peaceful.  Connecting with nature is shown to have a wide range of health benefits. It reduces our blood pressure, lowers cortisol (the stress hormone) and raises our oxytocin levels.  You could even introduce this to your daily dog walk. Your pet will love sitting quietly with you simply observing nature doing its thing.

Yoga or meditation:

Both of these two practices often include a breathing technique that helps to quieten the mind and bring our emotions (and our pulse rate) back to a relaxed state.

Equine facilitated therapy:

Working face-to-face with horses helps us to become aware of our emotional state, even when it’s not obvious to us.  Horses are extremely emotionally sensitive.  They are the most accurate barometer of whether we are emotionally calm and aligned, or not.  It is no wonder that EFT (equine facilitated therapy) is becoming increasingly popular.

I will be offering a course on 8-10 March in Coffs Harbour, NSW, Australia called ‘Healing with Horses’.  This workshop provides the opportunity to explore your own emotional wounds and unconscious reactions. You will be guided by a herd of horses (and their human co-facilitator).  We will also be weaving animal communication into the weekend, so that we can see immediately the positive impact that emotional healing has on our animal communication abilities.  

If you have an animal that is showing signs of stress or separation anxiety, please email me or book a free discovery call and we can explore how animal communication could help them.

Conclusion:

In the intricate tapestry of the animal kingdom, energy is the thread that binds us all. By consciously managing our energy around animals, we open doors to richer connections, deeper understanding, and a world where humans and animals coexist in harmony. Let us embark on this journey of awareness, mindfulness, and compassion, as we strive to create a more empathetic and interconnected world for ourselves and our animal companions. Together, we can unlock the true potential of the incredible bond between humans and animals.

Photos: ahancoo.at Pixabay; Barbara Olsen at Pixabay; Helena Lopes at Pexels; Richard Savickas at unsplash

As my time in Australia draws to a close and I contemplate exchanging a Sydney summer for a UK winter, I’m wondering how to embrace the rainy season. How to adjust to a dark, cold and wet autumn that’s rapidly moving into winter without simply longing to be back in the warm sunshine.

It’s not the rain itself that I’m resisting. Give me torrential rain in a tropical climate and I’m quite happy, because I know I’ll soon be dry and warm again.  But weeks of rain when it’s also cold and dark is another matter. This has led me to think about rain in more detail. How we feel about it, how we respond to it and whether we see it as a blessing or a nuisance. Also what happens when we communicate with rain – will it respond, and if not why not?

Communicating with the elements

Rain is of course the element of water, and we can communicate with all elements: rain, wind, sun, fire, air, rock, water, earth. However it seems that we most often try to communicate with the weather when we want it to change. We call forth sun when we have a picnic planned and rain when the garden is getting dry, or we ask it to go away. But the weather does not only impact us and our plans – it impacts all the lifeforms around us. It can be helpful to hold in mind these questions when when we make requests of the weather:

1. Why am I asking for this change – at the personal, community and global levels?
2. Is what I am asking for beneficial to the other lifeforms in this area? How will they be affected by my request?

When we ask these questions, we become clearer about our motivation. Are we asking for the good of all, or is our intention to meet our own personal needs or desires? If we are motivated for the greater good, we can include this greater need in our communication with the element of rain. We can also communicate with other elements to support our request. We might ask the wind to blow the rain clouds to a new location; or the wind to change the direction of fire.

If the latter we could shift from needing the weather to change for us, and instead we might ask…
“Can I find a way to embrace the gifts of this element and be grateful for what it provides?”.

A blessing or a nuisance?

Last weekend I was in Orange, in the central west of NSW, leading a Level Two training.  On Saturday our outdoor activities didn’t even get going before we were chased indoors by a thunderstorm.  Next day the ground was still too wet to sit on. However this group were very happy about that!  For them it was proof that the rain had given the land a good soaking, delivering it’s much-needed life giving blessing down into the earth.

At the same time the northern hemisphere has had a very wet start to the winter season.  There has been so much rain that the ground can no longer carry it away and everything gets waterlogged or flooded.  The farm can’t be worked, the roads are often impassable and as a result everyone is ‘over it’.

Same rain, different responses, depending upon the need.  So it’s not the rain that’s the problem.  It is how we perceive the rain and its impact. The rain is simply being rain, doing its rainy thing.

“The rain began again.  It fell heavily, easily, with no meaning or intention but the fulfillment of its own nature, which was to fall and fall.”

Helen Garner

The joy and beauty of rain

In contemplating how to embrace ALL types of weather, especially those that can be challenging, I came across a blog celebrating the beauty of rain.   The author writes…

“When I was little, if it was raining, I would get a big coat and an umbrella and find somewhere dry to sit. I would sit for hours listening to the dripping on my umbrella, almost like your own private roof. It was such a relaxing feeling. I don’t know but there is something quite magical about the rain and I love it.” 

This blog reminds me that I used to love the rain when I lived in London.  It felt like a blessing as it washed the city clean.  Great rivers of water pouring down the drains, taking the city grime with it.  It would chase most people indoors, so rainy days meant fewer people on the streets. I often felt like I had the whole city to myself. 

As I write this I find myself looking forward to finding a big umbrella or wrapping up in waterproofs, and sitting outside as I embrace the sound of the rain on my own private roof.  I may communicate with it while I sit, and if I do it will be to thank it for blessing us and the land with the gift of water.

If you’re curious to learn more about how to communicate with the elements, we cover this in our Level Two programme and also in the Immersion Weekend. Contact us for more information about the next dates of these courses.

Images from top:
wet pine tree: anders mellerup at unsplash; frog on a leaf: ilham hadi prayoga at unsplash; girl and dog in the rain: yao yao van as
two women sheltering under banana leaf, sasint at pixabay

This ‘Roots Meditation’ guides you to imagine roots coming out of the soles of your feet, going down into the earth, connecting you to the earth and to all the life forms that are there.  All living things are connected to the earth, and you can connect with any living thing this way. 

When you connect to the earth through your ‘roots’ you can connect with the microbes, worms and insects in the soil, to the roots of plants and trees nearby, to the imaginary roots of animals.  Even birds and other flying things spend some of their time on the ground or in trees and shrubs, so you can connect with them too.

How this supports animal communication

Connecting through your ‘roots’ supports your animal communication practice in several ways.

• It helps to ground you, moving your energy away from your head, your busy mind and thought projections and brings you into your body. 

• Once you are in your body you can more easily get in touch with your own feelings.  When you are aware of your own feelings, you can more easily distinguish them from another’s. You can feel what animals are feeling as distinct from your own feeling.  Instead of trying to mentally figure it out or mixing their feelings with your own thoughts and feelings.

• Connecting through your roots is especially helpful when you are trying to communicate with wild animals. Also with plants and trees, or with any aspect of wild nature.

• Through this roots connection you will become connected to your whole animal body. Through your own body you can feel your connection to the animal.

Roots meditation:

Sit comfortably with your feet flat on the ground.  (If you prefer to meditate sitting cross-legged, you can follow the same process. Simply imagine making the connection from your root chakra, rather than from the soles of your feet.)

Sit quietly and follow your breath for a couple of minutes, consciously drawing the breath into your belly.  Become aware of your breath getting slower and deeper, and feel yourself relax.

Become aware of your feet planted firmly on the ground.  Feel the Earth caressing your feet and your feet caressing the Earth.  Even when you are in a building you can make a connection with the earth beneath.

Now imagine ‘roots’ coming out of the soles of your feet (or your root chakra) going down into the earth.  If you are indoors see these roots going through the floor of the building and down into the earth.

Imagine yours roots spreading out and connecting with the microbes and insects in the soil. With the roots of the plants and grasses nearby. Finding the roots of nearby trees.  You might greet these beings as you encounter them.

Next bring to mind an animal that you would like to connect with.  Imagine your roots exploring and finding their roots.

As your roots meet, imagine them connecting and intertwining. As you make the connection send them a greeting.  Take a moment to feel this connection to their energy. See if you can sense how they are feeling in this moment through this root-to-root connection.

Once you have made the connection you can communicate with them in the same way as with the heart meditation. Ask them questions and listen for their answers coming back to you through your roots and into your body.

When you are complete, simply imagine your roots releasing and untangling from theirs. Draw your own roots back through the earth and back to your own body.  Now take a couple of breaths, and then slowly open your eyes as you return to this present moment.

Support your own wellbeing

You can use this practice to support your own wellbeing. Use it to quieten your mind.  It’s especially valuable when you’ve been busy at the computer, or have just rushed in from full day’s work. The roots meditation can help to settle and re-centre you.  It literally grounds you.

This meditation helps to consciously bring your energy down into your body, away from your head and busy thoughts and ‘to do’ lists. It helps you become calm, centred and connected to the earth. It can provide a beautiful transition at the end of a day’s work.

I hope you enjoy exploring this way of connecting with other beings. You could play with connecting with domesticated and wild animals, as well as with plants and trees. Let me know in the comments what you experience.

Autumn and Spring are the best seasons for communicating with nature. These are the times of greatest change in nature’s cycles, and this year we have also seen some unusual weather patterns all over the world.  This is having an impact on the animals, birds, insects, plants and trees. 

Whether you are in the northern or the southern hemisphere, this is an especially good time of year to ask the nature beings around us how they are experiencing these changes.  The change of season and the change to the global climate.

We can simply ask “how are you doing?” and “what do you need?”, or we can ask “is there some way I can help you?”  Here are some ideas about questions you can ask, followed by a step-by-step on how to communicate with trees, birds and insects.

During the Autumn harvest

In the UK we have had an abundance of fruit this year.  The apple trees are laden, the blackberries came thick and fast!  Now the the forest floor is covered with acorns and sweet chestnuts.  On the surface this appears to be a good thing.  However, there is a traditional saying that an abundance of berries forecasts a hard winter.  Is there any truth in that?

Statistics show that abundant harvests are often followed by severe winters.  Meanwhile others will say that the amount of fruit is relative only to the weather that preceded it, and cannot be a forecast of what’s to come.

So which is true?  Are the trees producing more fruit to ensure their progeny survive a harsh winter?  Or have they simply had ideal conditions for a bumper harvest?

What do the trees have to say about it?

How about the birds, insects and animals?

The berries and nuts came much earlier than usual, which can play havoc with the rhythms of the birds, animals and insects that rely upon the autumn harvest to see them through the winter.  Unless they change their routine and begin gathering stores earlier, by the time they start their harvesting activity many of those resources can be gone.

We can also ask the animals and birds how they are coping with this abundant but much-earlier-than-usual harvest.  Has it affected them in any way, and if so, how? 

Enjoy playing with this as you sit with the berry bush or the apple tree in your garden, or with the oak and sweet chestnut on your walk through the woods.  Ask the birds that come to the feeder or pond, or the bees that are still harvesting nectar.

At the Emergence of Spring

Across much of the southern hemisphere the winter months have been very wet, compounding the effect of a very wet summer.  That heavy rainfall is continuing now into spring in some places.  As a result, the ground has not been able to dry out and is so water-logged that the rain is simply running off.

You might be curious about how the trees manage when their roots are in wet soil for so long.  How were they able to survive the excessively wet winter? In Spring the trees and plants draw on their winter reserves of energy so they can put forth leaves again.  Do they have enough reserves to do that and grow strong and healthy in the summer?

What do the trees have to tell us about how they are coping with the changes to our climate?

We can also ask the animals, insects and birds how they are coping with so much water around.  You might ask “have you had to adapt your spring behaviours?”. You can ask the burrowing animals, “do you have enough places to raise your young?”. “Is there anything you need from us?” 

What about the insects? Are they finding it harder to gather pollen? We can ask “how is the weather affecting you in the spring?”. Most of all we can ask them “how can we help you?”. “What do you need from humans?” “How can we help you to thrive?”

Enjoy playing with this as you sit with the bottle brush or wattle in your garden, or with the trees on your walk through the forest.  Ask the birds that come to the feeder or pond, or the bees and butterflies harvesting nectar.

To have a conversation with a tree, plant, bird or insect… or an animal, follow the steps below. And have fun!

How to communicate with a tree or insect

To communicate with a tree or plant, the basic approach is the same as you would to communicate with an animal…

• Centre and settle yourself, and become fully present to this moment
• Imagine projecting heart energy or loving energy to the tree, plant, bird or insect
• Notice if you can feel the connection – it might feel warm or ‘buzzy’
• Now simply ask them using words or picture, out loud or silently in your mind – “How are you doing?” or “What can I do to help you?”  
• Ask the question and then quietly listen for their response.  It may come as words, pictures, thoughts, ideas or physical sensations  
• You could ask more questions and listen for answers, or you could simply have a conversation with them just as you would with another human… or with an animal

This is co-creation with nature and it’s one of the gifts of being able to communicate with all species.  The ability to check in with them and ask what they need and then to be able to support those needs.  It is a beautiful co-operative dance between humans and the natural world, and it’s a joy to be part of it.

I’d love to know how you got on with this activity and what you learned from them.  Please post in the comments section below or email me. 

If you’d like to find out more about how to communicate with animals, plants or tree, there is one more course taking place in 2022.  There will also be more introductory trainings and refresher courses in 2023.  Details of some of those are in this email.

Featured image: james_givens_unsplash. Other images courtesy of Pixabay and unsplash

We have reached the end of this series and today I will be talking about how the power of gratitude, and how to bring your experience to a mindful close.

When we visit our Sit Spot we can begin by giving thanks for the living things that share our Sit Spot and even asking them for permission for being there.  At the end of our time we can also gave thanks for being there.

There is a variation of this practice that we can introduce into our life in every moment. It is something that we would do every day, several times a day, in the Findhorn spiritual community where I lived for seven years. We would pause at the start of each new activity, take a moment to connect with ourself, with the activity and with the others who we will be participating with. Then at the end of the activity, we would pause again, take a moment to reflect and give thanks – what went well, what could have gone better, what did we learn – before moving on to the next task or the next meeting.

This moment of pausing at the start and end of activities has many benefits.  It brings us into the present moment.  It also brings us immediately into direct relationship with the activity and those others beings that we are going to be engaging with.  When we do this before a group activity, such as a work shift or a meeting, it brings us into synchronicity with the others in the group and things flow more gracefully.

Last but not least it is a very simple and easy way to bring ritual into our daily life – and ritual makes the mundane magical.

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If you have 20 or 30 minutes (or more)…

When you arrive at your Sit Spot, take a moment to greet this place and all the beings that use it.  Ask again for permission to be in this space and to share and enjoy it with them. Turn your attention to your breath and observe the air moving in and out of your body.  Feel yourself becoming relaxed and peaceful.

Now sit for a while and simply enjoy being in this place.  Look at the things that you saw on day one and notice if you see them differently today.  Can you see any of the things that you mapped from your Sit Spot position?  Even if you cannot see them, you may remember where they are – you may even have marked them on your map.  Try connecting with those tracks now, as a way of coming into relationship with the animals that left those marks.

Notice the direction of the wind on your face, or the sun on your skin.  Sniff the air.  Listen for the different sounds – are they more familiar to you now?  Engage all of your senses, one at a time and all together, as you recall those activities from day two.

Now pay attention to the bird song – noticing the direction of the sounds.  Are you at your Sit Spot at the same time of day as you were on day three?  If so, are those songs coming from the same location as they did before?  (You can check your map). 

If you are there at a different time, is the quality or quantity of bird song different than previously?

Now become aware of your connection to this place, in whatever way that makes sense for you.  Does this place feel more familiar to you than it did on day one?  Do you feel a deeper sense of connection with this place?   Do you get a sense of this place welcoming you differently than it did on day one?

Finally focus on your heart centre and imagine radiating love and appreciation to everything that you can see and hear.   Give thanks to this place for welcoming you and letting you be here in this way.  If you don’t plan to return to this place regularly (or at all), take a moment to say goodbye.

Only got ten minutes?

Take a moment to greet this place and all the beings that use it.  Ask again for permission to be in this space and to share and enjoy it with them.

Turn your attention to your breath and observe the air moving in and out of your body.  Feel yourself becoming relaxed and peaceful.

Now sit for a while and simply enjoy being in this place.  Look at the things that you saw on day one and notice if you see them differently today. 

Notice the direction of the wind on your face, or the sun on your skin.  Sniff the air.  Listen for the different sounds – are they more familiar to you now?  Engage all of your senses, one at a time and all together, as you recall those activities from day two.

Become aware of your connection to this place, in whatever way that makes sense for you. Do you feel a deeper sense of connection with this place?  

Finally imagine radiating love and appreciation to everything that you can see and hear.   Give thanks to this place for welcoming you and letting you be here in this way.  If you don’t plan to return to this place regularly (or at all), take a moment to say goodbye.

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The power of gratitude or thanksgiving

Gratitude calls our attention to the multitude of things going right with the world, reinforcing our sense of the interdependence of all living things and reminding us of our kinship with nature. 

Gratitude also provides a place of strength from which we are more easily able to deal with life’s challenges, and is a simple way to bring balance into our daily lives.

Gratitude forms a core routine of many indigenous cultures – as part of their daily lives they offer thanks to the Spirit that moves through all things, the ancestors, the four directions and the elements. They also regularly give thanks for the abundance of the natural world before eating, before hunting, before going to sleep. 

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Thank you for taking part in this challenge.  I hope you have enjoyed it.  I plan to offer more challenges over the next months, so please keep an eye open for those. Some will be nature-based and others will be animal communication based.

If you’d like to find out more about connecting with nature and communicating with animals, please check out my website.  You will also find details of upcoming courses and events on my Facebook and Instagram pages.

Meanwhile I hope that you continue to enjoying getting outside and enjoying nature and feeling gratitude that we can choose to spend our days in this way. 

With love, Jacqueline x

I love learning about bird language.  I find it a fascinating topic.  Did you know that birds have five primary languages?  All that beautiful tweeting and singing is actually a pretty sophisticated communication system.

Today I would like to introduce you to bird language and mapping. These two activities complement one another beautifully.  You will want to take a notebook and pencil with you to your Sit Spot today.

Bird Language

I am new to bird language, having only recently been part of a weekend workshop where my co-facilitator introduced this topic. I learned that there are two primary ways that birds communicate: through behaviour and through sound.

There are five primary forms of sound that birds use: Song – which needs no explanation! Companion Calls – when birds call and respond to one another. Territorial Aggression – used to stake their claim to their space. Juvenile Begging – you may have heard this clamour when the chicks are vying for the food that the parents have just brought to the nest; and then they will go silent when the parents leave to look for more food. Finally Alarm Calls – which is one that we probably hear quite a lot, especially after we have just arrived in their environment. 

Explore Bird Language at your Sit Spot:

Once you’ve arrived at your Sit Spot and greeted all the beings that are there, make yourself comfortable and focus on your breath for a while.  Observe your breath moving in and out of your lungs.  As you do so notice your breathing becoming more relaxed, deeper and longer.  As your breath slows your mind frees up as your thoughts become quieter.

Now turn your attention to the bird song that you can hear.  Begin to identify how many different bird songs you can hear.  It doesn’t matter if you know which bird is making that song or not, simply listen for the different types of song. 

How many can you count?  Keep listening and tallying up all the new songs you hear.

Now begin to notice which direction the sounds are coming from.  Are there two birds with the same song in different directions?  Do they appear to be calling to one another – taking it in turns to sing?  Are they companion calling or just singing?  Try guessing which of these categories the bird songs that you hear fall into.

I was out ‘wandering’ recently and stopped to listen to the bird songs all around me, identifying some, wondering about others, noticing their directions.  I recorded a video, which you can watch here.

Mapping:

In your notebook draw a rough sketch of your Sit Spot and an area of about 100m in either direction. You may want to mark north on the map. Now begin by sketching the main features – the trees and shrubs, water features, any structures (man made or natural). 

Try not to be concerned if it is accurate or not, or looks ‘pretty’ or not – the purpose of this activity is to act as a memory-jogger for you and also to help orientate you and place yourself within the landscape.

Now mark on your map the locations of the different birds that you heard.  If you don’t know which bird made the sound you can simply number them 1, 2, 3… If you heard the same song from two different directions, give them both the same number, to help you remember that it was the same species of bird.

You can go into as much detail as you wish with this activity, depending upon how much time you have.  Get as creative as you wish with coloured pens, or use a pencil and keep it simple and sketchy. The main thing is that you have fun with it.

You can bring it with you next time you visit your Sit Spot and keep adding to it. Be playful. Be childlike. Be curious.

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If you have 20 minutes, or 30 minutes (or more) available:

Take your time and really indulge in these two activities for as long as you like.

Only got ten minutes?

Either focus on the different birds that you can hear nearby, noticing where they are and how many you can hear; or sketch something you see in nature.

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I hope that you enjoy this activity.  Please write about it in the comments section or share your experience on our Facebook page.   – it would be lovely to hear about your experiences.  Meanwhile have a wonderful day and I look forward to sharing more with you tomorrow.

In this blog I will be exploring the different ways you can encounter nature through sensory experiences. These are lovely practices to add to the Sit Spot routine.

Humans are very visual animals.  We put a lot of attention on what we see, and don’t always notice what we are picking up with our other senses. When we engage all of our senses it brings our nature-connection time to life.  To introduce a sense of playfulness these sensory activities are all named after animals.

If you have 20 minutes, or 30 minutes (or more) available:

When you arrive at your Sit Spot, begin again by greeting the trees, plants and animals that are there. Become aware of your thoughts and let them simply drift by on your mind’s eye.  Observe your breath and, as you do so, let it become slower and deeper.  Drop into a quiet, relaxed, calm state.  You may notice that this happens more quickly than it did yesterday, because you are already retuning your perception.

Owl Eyes:

This is a way of engaging with your peripheral vision.  Pick a point in front of you and let your eyes go soft.  Stretch your arms out to the sides at shoulder height.  Now, wiggling your fingers, move your arms forward and backwards a bit.  This will identify the edges of your peripheral vision.

Try stretching one arm up and one arm down to see where the upper and lower edges of your peripheral vision are.

Letting your arms drop to your side, sit for a while gazing with a soft wide vision.  Notice the tiny movements of leaves when the breeze stirs them, or the ripple of the grass.  The shades of light and dark.  Notice birds or insects moving on the periphery of your vision.

Let yourself sit with this wide vision for several minutes.

Deer Ears:

Now turn your attention to your hearing. Try closing your eyes for this activity, as other senses can become stronger without our dominant sense of vision. 

Cup your hands behind your ears and turn your head to focus on different sounds.  Move your cupped hands to the front of your ears, so you can hear behind you without turning around.  You can pick up sounds for a full 360º in this way.

Relaxing your hands again continue to notice what you can hear. Maybe birds, insects, unseen mammals, the breeze, the rustle of leaves, the crackle of trees expanding in the heat.  Now listen for:

• the furthest sound
• the closest sound
• sounds behind you
• sounds in front of you
• sounds on either side
• sounds above you
• the quietest sound

Keep noticing sounds around you, searching for different sounds, new sounds, constant sounds, sounds from nature, sounds from humans.  When you really pay attention to the sounds of nature do the human sounds disappear, even for a while?

Keep listening to the different sounds for a several minutes.  Try combining Deer Ears with Owl Eyes.

Spider Touch

Become aware of the feeling of the sun on your skin.  With your eyes closed feel the breeze – which direction is it coming from?  My grandfather taught me to lick my index finger and hold it up in the air, to detect which direction the wind is coming from (it’s coming from the side that feels coldest).

Notice the feel of your clothes on your body, your feet touching the ground.   Take your shoes and socks off and feel the ground with the bare soles of your feet.

Keeping your eyes closed put your hands down on the ground beside you – how much detail can you detect?  Do things feel different than they look?

Stand in front of a bush or shrub, close your eyes and feel its leaves.  Does it feel the same as it looks?  Do you notice anything new about it without your sense of vision telling you what it is?

Dog Nose

Turn your attention to your sense of smell.  Take quick sniffs of the air around you like a dog. What do you smell?  Does the smell change as the sun comes out or as the wind blows?

Does it make a difference if you use a long breath or quick sniffs?  Get down on all fours like a dog and sniff the ground, the grass, the leaves. 

Synthesis

Now turn on all your senses together.  Let your eyes be soft and wide, listen to the little sounds around you, feel the wind or sun on your face and smell the air with long breaths.  Hold this wide-open awareness for as long as you can. 

End by thanking everything that is there for sharing this place with you.

Finish up by taking 30 seconds to make a few notes or sketch something that captures the key elements of your Sit Spot time.

Only got ten minutes? 

Sit outside and widen your vision as much as possible, noticing what you can SEE above you, beside you; look at both at the same time.

LISTEN to the birds – in front of you, behind you, on either side.  The sounds of bees or other insects.  Listen for the furthest sound and the quietest sound.

Take your shoes and socks off and FEEL the ground beneath your feet – the grass or the earth.  Wiggle your bare toes and nestle them into the ground even more.

Hug a tree and as you do close your eyes and run your fingers over its bark.  Or gently stroke the grass, or a shrub, or a flower – do it again with your eyes closed.

Close your eyes and sniff the air.  SMELL the plants nearby – maybe freshly cut grass, or a flower or herbs.  Really savour the scent, taking in as much detail as you can.

End by thanking everything that is there for sharing this place with you.

Finish up by taking 30 seconds to make a few notes or sketch something that captures the key elements of your Sit Spot time.

Make your experience richer by sharing it

You can use these sensory exercise any time that you go to your Sit Spot.

Please share your experience in the comments below. Sharing our experience benefits us in several ways.  It helps to reinforce the experience in our memory by revisiting it.  Also, when we share together it weaves a rich tapestry of experiences that we can all enjoy.

I hope that you enjoyed exploring these sensory experiences in nature and please look for the next in the series