Spiritual connection to nature

[Chris]

Mods: I really intend this to not turn into anything specifically religious, so hope this OK to post.

I find myself feeling a connection to nature. An amazing feeling of trying to let myself become part of nature, rather than trying to overcome it.

I also find certain smells, sounds (including music), physical sensations and sights which make me feel close to the environment I am in.

Personally not a religious person, but I do feel a deep connection to things in a way that I cannot explain. I also feel myself drawn to certain mythologies and traditions - look at things like Norse paganism, Anglo-Saxon paganism, or even non-specific beliefs which people hold around the harvest and the world we live in. They interest me and I respect the attempts to connect with nature.

I’d be really keen to hear what sort of traditions or beliefs people here have which they feel connects them more with the world we live in.

 

[Pattree]

Well ………. here goes!

First and up front: where I’m coming from.
I am a Pantheist, Pagan, Postmodern Druid.

(There is a lot of unpacking in each of those words.)

Second, for clarity:
I am not religious, sentimental or superstitious. I do feel that I’m spiritual

I think I understand what you are saying and I too find myself drawn to aspects of (my perceptions of) nature. I’m also drawn to some abstract concepts and thoughts in a similar way - as if they too were things like trees and butterflies.
I am particularly drawn to trees, mountains and to wide skies. The night sky also calls to me in a way that we might agree is spiritual.

As a Pantheist, I understand that the Universe consists of 3.2 x 10 to the power of 80 quarks and that I am 2 x 10 to the power of 22 of them - (well a bit more actually ). For me everything is nature but of course I understand that most people use the word to refer to an organic nature and the forces surrounding it, such a that which existed before industrialisation.

It might be useful to explore the term “spiritual”, something I view outside of the religious context but I’ll shut up now and think. I believe that thinking is why I’m here.

 

[gibson 175]

Mods: I really intend this to not turn into anything specifically religious, so hope this OK to post.

I find myself feeling a connection to nature. An amazing feeling of trying to let myself become part of nature, rather than trying to overcome it.

I also find certain smells, sounds (including music), physical sensations and sights which make me feel close to the environment I am in.

Personally not a religious person, but I do feel a deep connection to things in a way that I cannot explain. I also feel myself drawn to certain mythologies and traditions - look at things like Norse paganism, Anglo-Saxon paganism, or even non-specific beliefs which people hold around the harvest and the world we live in. They interest me and I respect the attempts to connect with nature.

I’d be really keen to hear what sort of traditions or beliefs people here have which they feel connects them more with the world we live in.

I think this is a great place to be mentally-totally in the moment-not thinking of the past and not worrying about the future.

 

[John Fenna]

I too am not involved in (or convinced by) the organised Religions that I have come across - but I am what is often referred to as a "Spiritualist".
Although recognized in law as a Religion, "Spiritualism" as I recognize it is a personal set of understandings based on personal experience - not something that is at all formulaic or "organized" in any way.
Getting out into natural surroundings - mountains and woodland especially - has helped me through some tough times and has preserved what little mental health I have left and I have seen how being out in the woods has also helped many who have learning disabilities/mental health issues (I have worked as a "Support Worker" at a Care Farm where I spent a lot of time taking the Participants out into the woods).
I really do think that immersion in "The Natural" can give a true Spiritual experience that can help you....
"I lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help" Psalm 121:1 KJB
It seems to be a long recognized effect

 

[crosslandkelly]

"We are stardust
We are golden"

 

[oldtimer]

Appreciation of the numinous is not confined to the religious. As an atheist, I have feelings of awe and wonder as I contemplate the wonders of nature and the universe.

 

[Billy-o]

I’d be really keen to hear what sort of traditions or beliefs people here have which they feel connects them more with the world we live in.

I know that some people call it fishing.

 

[Laurentius]

I do feel a very strong connection to nature, and always have. Is it a spiritual connection? It depends upon what you mean by spiritual, but I feel that the same spirit that runs through nature is what runs through me, there isn't a real separation, even in my flat I am surrounded by plants and can look out upon trees. I am into bushcraft because of the nature aspect rather than the technology.

 

[XSR101]

IMHO, the nature connection is the most direct relationship anyone can have with creation. It needs no mediation through deities or building(temples).

A lot of the people on the 1990s road protests who lived in the trees and the woods developed a deep connection to nature. I think the same is true of many climate activists, especially those who were on HS2 camps.

When I went to Newbury C1996 I had already lived with Australian Aborigines & among the Sami in Finland. Love of the planet & nature is the driving force behind most of the climate/environmental activists i know.

We all here have a love of nature, outdoors an wilderness skills possibly many people here are very deeply connected with nature but don't articulate it.

It's always nice to hear indigenous (not Norse) people talk about nature connection and it's spirituality though, with out the trappings of feathers and toys.

 

[RonW]

Is it spiritual?
Or is it biological, evolutionary, psychological?
Something we have been utterly disconnected from, but desperately need for our entire wellbeing?

 

[TeeDee]

My view. ( I'm wary of discussing faith beliefs too much but equally will protect my right to not be swayed or coerced to believe in others.. )

To me , Spirituality is akin to a Maslowian type need.
More present in some than others.

To me...

Spirituality is a hunger , a willingness to fill a void once one is aware that a void exists ( self awareness )

Spirituality like Hunger needs to some extent to be satisfied.
Some will be satisfied with simple nourishing meals.
Some will want the full banquet with the trimmings and splendour.



Dogmatic religions/cults are Fast Food Franchises.
They will service the various needs of that hunger in their specific approved fungible manner but ultimately attempt to ( at best ) convert others to their brand of fast food or ( at worst ) to retain a customer service loyalty in some tenuous way.
Some people are born into these franchises and will extol their particular believed benefits.


Spiritual needs , ( Hunger ) can be filled/replenished where ever one finds it sated best.
If that is a church - with others of the same denomination then that will be fulfilling - if its the correct fit for that person.


If that is in the Wild , and one feels the same sort of awe/wonder/fulfilment then the Wild is a Spiritual place. And satisfying of ones needs.

 

[Nice65]

Is it spiritual?
Or is it biological, evolutionary, psychological?
Something we have been utterly disconnected from, but desperately need for our entire wellbeing?

We’ve lost touch with spirituality and there’s a huge surge of people seeking it back in less organized forms. Religion, and we all have it one way or another, is a personal thing that comes from inside. Disappointed and deflated by the glamour of baubles and material things such as wealth brings also bring emptiness and impotence.

We don’t have the elders, the wise men, the shaman. And we have a lot of pseudo initiation such as gang culture, prison culture, even the ‘Join the army, it’ll make a man of you’ pseudo initiation. It doesn’t turn children into adults spiritually, it turns people into child/man and child/woman which can be extremely damaging as it justifies poor behaviour, projecting emotions onto others, bullying really. It’s kind of easy to spot, the whole world is at it, blaming everyone else and not being responsible for controlling emotions.

I’m fairly introverted these days, it took a massively painful initiation to get here, to realise I’m responsible for my actions, how I feel about things. By introverted, I mean by Jung’s definition which is where the words come from. These days introvert is understood as withdrawn and extrovert as outgoing. I don’t mean like that, extroverts are those that project outward emotions like anger and blame others, introverts realise they have a choice.

Anyway, of to the sacred well with the dog, she is all I have left, and I’ll enjoy her company for as long as I have her…

 

[XSR101]

Post Modern industrial capitalism humans lack a initiation culture where the individual faces their mortality and are humbled by nature.

Most indigenous people's cultures have these initiations which are transitions from child to adult & sometimes also onto a specific path, such as medicine or warrior.
Adolescence serves no purpose in indigenous cultures.

These initiations are dangerous & not compatible with public liability insurance. They are sanitised for the modern human by people who then teach it in 10 days. With a little Bushcraft training too..

Years ago I met an Australian Aboriganal elder who told me that charging for spiritual teachings was fundamentally wrong, because people expect an outcome, & if they don't get the expected outcome the pretend they have he said this was dangerous for both the practitioner and the customer.

I know someone currently charging £395 for an online 5 month 20 lesson Nature Sprirituality course, based through FB & Zoom. It's mostly Jungian archetypes/psychotherapy type. I meet s lot of self proclaimed shamen who cant light fires. This is the age we live in.

I'm sure among members here there are people who don't think of themselves as spiritual but their connection to nature is deeper than they realise.

Again this Sami man puts it eloquently.

 

[Tengu]

I call myself `Tengu` but I am well aware I should not be taking such things so lightly.

The Other World is a scary, dangerous place and not one you want to go to, even with knowledge and preparation.

Worse for those who end up there by accident. To become a Shaman is possibly the best outcome. Many folk die or are permanently mentally damaged.

And to be a Shaman is to be a powerful outcast.

Tengu are powerful beings; but they remain Tengu...No new incarnation for them, they just are reborn as another Tengu.

(Masterton got that wrong like he got the nuclear physics bit wrong..)

 

[FerlasDave]

I’d be really keen to hear what sort of traditions or beliefs people here have which they feel connects them more with the world we live in.

As some of you know, I am a follower of Christ. I often don’t partake in “religious debate” here as in the past I’ve been ridiculed and belittled because of my faith. So I will just ignore any comments other than what Chris is referring to.

We are all aware of the Ten Commandments set before Abraham in the Old Testament, but I have always firmly believed that just as importantly, and maybe more so is the very first commandment that was given to Adam at the dawn of mankind. That is genesis 1:28-30 when the lord explains how every seed, tree, plant and animal is ours to be a steward of. He even gives us the first task of catergorising all of life, something we still haven’t completed to this day. WOW! What an honour!

I’ve also come to learn that humankind will protect what it loves… Family, friends, property, land etc. and I feel this is where we have a disconnect from our creator. If we really truly love creation, then we will protect it. If we love the material, man made things, then we have no hope of fulfilling that commandment.

So to come full circle….

Because I love my creator, I love his creation. And so I wish to learn and explore and experience it, and the more I experiences I have with creation the closer I feel to my creator.

Hope that provides some good for thought.

 

[demented dale]

Mods: I really intend this to not turn into anything specifically religious, so hope this OK to post.

I find myself feeling a connection to nature. An amazing feeling of trying to let myself become part of nature, rather than trying to overcome it.

I also find certain smells, sounds (including music), physical sensations and sights which make me feel close to the environment I am in.

Personally not a religious person, but I do feel a deep connection to things in a way that I cannot explain. I also feel myself drawn to certain mythologies and traditions - look at things like Norse paganism, Anglo-Saxon paganism, or even non-specific beliefs which people hold around the harvest and the world we live in. They interest me and I respect the attempts to connect with nature.

I’d be really keen to hear what sort of traditions or beliefs people here have which they feel connects them more with the world we live in.

it sounds like you are in a really good place. It is our natural state. I get very powerful glimpses of it. It's funny really, I started this bush craft journey as a Rambo survivalist and it has turned into a deep appreciation and connection with nature. I am also coming to an understanding of my place within the bigger picture. I have found a deeper spirituality as I have gotten older. It is getting better as well. x

 

[Pattree]

I am also coming to an understanding of my place within the bigger picture.

I think that is all that any of us can ask. To recognise that place.

 

[demographic]

Appreciation of the numinous is not confined to the religious. As an atheist, I have feelings of awe and wonder as I contemplate the wonders of nature and the universe.

Reminds me of the Richard Feynman quote.
"I have a friend who’s an artist and has sometimes taken a view which I don’t agree with very well. He’ll hold up a flower and say "look how beautiful it is," and I’ll agree. Then he says "I as an artist can see how beautiful this is but you as a scientist take this all apart and it becomes a dull thing," and I think that he’s kind of nutty. First of all, the beauty that he sees is available to other people and to me too, I believe, although I might not be quite as refined aesthetically as he is, I can appreciate the beauty of a flower. At the same time, I see much more about the flower than he sees. I could imagine the cells in there, the complicated actions inside, which also have a beauty. I mean it’s not just beauty at this dimension, at one centimeter; there’s also beauty at smaller dimensions, the inner structure, also the processes. The fact that the colors in the flower evolved in order to attract insects to pollinate it is interesting; it means that insects can see the color. It adds a question: does this aesthetic sense also exist in the lower forms? Why is it aesthetic? All kinds of interesting questions which the science knowledge only adds to the excitement, the mystery and the awe of a flower. It only adds. I don’t understand how it subtracts".

 

[Pattree]

Feynman Lecture
The Beauty of a Flower

He struggled after his work at Loss Alamos but he was one of the foremost minds in physics which is my explanation of nature. I believe that what we sense as the spiritual is no more or less than what we sense visually or by touch. Spirit is integral with the universe - it is how the universe speaks to us.

Sartre suggests that everything exists by its presence, its absence and its spirit. An example might be the Gap Tree.