Take a Walk on the Wild Side

Photo: (c) Jamie K. Reaser

Bear

It’s not my track,

I say, seeing

The ball of the foot and the wide heel

And the naily, untrimmed

Toes. And I say again,

For emphasis,

To no one but myself, since no one is

With me. This is

Not my track, and this is an extremely

Large foot, I wonder

How large a body must be to make

Such a track, I am beginning to make

Bad jokes .I have read probably

A hundred narratives where someone saw

Just what I am seeing. Various things

Happened next. A fairly long list, I won’t

Go into it. But not one of them told

What happened next-I mean, before whatever happens-

How the distances light up, how the clouds

Are the most lovely shapes you have ever seen, how

The wild flowers at your feet begin distilling a fragrances

Different, and sweeter than any you ever stood upon-how

Every leaf on the whole mountain is aflutter.

~ Mary Oliver

PRACTICE

• Dress appropriately to be out-of-doors for at least an hour.
• Bring an adequate supply of water, pen, and journal.
• Select a location where you can both walk on a nature trail and step off the trail to wander in the surrounding area (Note: it is against the rules in some local parks (etc.) to leave the trail.  Please respect local provisions meant to protect you and the natural environment).
• Recommendation: Let someone know where you are going and when you plan to return.
• Upon arrival, practice “Connecting with Nature” (posted January 8, 2013), or any other activity that will enable you to fully tune into the landscape.
• Spend at least a quarter of your time walking along the nature trail.  Notice what your attention is drawn to and what thoughts and emotions are present.
• Journal your observations of both the inner and outer landscape.
• Wander a bit further on the trail and then select a location to wander off the trail into the woods.  Notice how your thoughts and emotions shift. 
• As you walk forward “introduce” yourself to the natural landmarks and take mental note of their individual characteristics   just as you would when you meet a person for the first time.
• Proceed to explore this natural area for as long as time permits, taking time to journal your observations and insights when you are inspired to do so.
• Return along the same path, “acknowledging” each of your landscape features as your make your way back to the trail.  What do you notice about each of them and about yourself as your return?
• Once back at the trail, journal your observations.
• Repeat the practice often, each time allowing yourself to go a little further from the trail and/or into an area that you have not explored previously. Notice how your ability to become increasingly "intimate" with the natural world influences your relationship with people. 

This practice was first published in "Courting the Wild: Love Affairs with the Land," edited by Jamie K. Reaser and Susan Chernak McElroy and published by Hiraeth Press (2008; www.hiraethpress.com). (c) Jamie K. Reaser. All rights reserved.

Environmental Cleanup

Photo: (c) Jamie K. Reaser

...garbage has to be the poem of our time because
garbage is spiritual, believable enough

to get our attention, getting in the way, piling
up, stinking, turning brooks brownish and

creamy white: what else deflects us from the
errors of our illusionary ways, not a temptation

to trashlessness, that is not too far off, and,
anyway, unimaginable, unrealistic: . . .

~ A. R. Ammons, excerpt

PRACTICE

PART ONE

• Formally (e.g., through an “adopt a street or beach or park etc.” program) or informally choose a natural location near your home where you can practice land stewardship.
• Visit this location routinely (at least once a month, perhaps on the full moon) and remove any waste that has been dumped there.
• Note any violations (e.g., dumping, vandalism, poaching) and report them to the appropriate authorities.
• If you own the land or have permission from the landowners, enhance the property for wildlife by adding native plants and boxes for native wildlife, such birds, bats, and bees.

PART TWO

• Familiarize yourself with the “Nature as Mirror” practice (posted January 9, 2013) and apply it when you visit your environmental stewardship location by focusing on the human-alterations and impacts to the site.  Note: Bring a pen and journal.
• What emotions arise?  What memories?  What beliefs about yourself, other people, and the land?
• What “garbage” do you need to clean up in your own life?  What violations to your inner landscape need to be reported?
• Journal your observations.
• In what ways can you enhance the beauty and abundance of the landscape-of-you?
• Do so, and enjoy the results.

Suggested reading: Garbage: A Poem by A. R. Ammons (1993; Norton)

This practice was first published in "Courting the Wild: Love Affairs with the Land," edited by Jamie K. Reaser and Susan Chernak McElroy and published by Hiraeth Press (2008; www.hiraethpress.com). (c) Jamie K. Reaser. All rights reserved.

Story Telling with the Spirits of Place

Photo: (c) Jamie K. Reaser

Talking to the Forest

...To the forest, rain or shine, whichever comes

Dropping its downright shafts before our eyes,

And think o something to say, using new words

That won't turn back bewindered, lost or scattered

Or panicked, curling under the first bush

To wait for a loud voice to hunt them out,

Not words that fall from the skin looking like water

And running together,  meaning anything,

Then disappearing into the forest floor

Through gray-green moss and ferns rotting in shade,

Not words like crown-fire overhead, but words

Like old tree felled by themselves in the wilderness,

Making no noise unless someone is listening.

~ David Wagoner, excerpt

PRACTICE

• Dress appropriately for the weather and the length of time that you wish to spend out-of-doors (at least an hour recommended).
• Bring a pen and journal, adequate supply of water, and cushion or chair to sit on if you choose.
• Locate a natural place that feels special to you   or that calls to you. This might be a wilderness area, your backyard, or even a small urban garden.
• Consciously step into the spiritscape of the land by letting go of your mental "focus" on the forms around you and inviting your body to sense the essence of what is there.  Tune into sensations in your physical body, as well as your emotions.
• Recommendation: Practice “Connecting with Nature” (posted January 8, 2013).
• Introduce yourself to the place, sharing something of your intent for being there.
• Invite a spirit of the place to introduce itself to you. Once you have a sense that you have been spoken to (pay attention to the feelings in your "gut"), envision this tree, rock, animal, etc. as an ensouled being and sit beside it.
• Ask the spirit of the place to tell you its story.
• Listen with the ears of your heart.
• Ask yourself what that story has to teach you about your own life journey.
• Journal your observations.
• Ask the spirit of the place what it would like in reciprocity for its story   water, some a song, prayer ties, or perhaps the telling of your own story.
• Make the offering with gratitude and continue upon your path.
• Repeat this practice often, observing synchronicities and increases in your intuitive abilities.

This practice was first published in "Courting the Wild: Love Affairs with the Land," edited by Jamie K. Reaser and Susan Chernak McElroy and published by Hiraeth Press (2008; www.hiraethpress.com). (c) Jamie K. Reaser. All rights reserved.

Nature as Mirror

Photo: (c) Jamie K. Reaser

It was a dream 

in which my greater self

rose up before me

accusing me of my life

with her extra finger

whirling in a gyre of rage

at what my days had come to.

What,

i pleaded with her, could i do,

oh what could i have done?

And she twisted her wild hair

and sparked her wild eyes

and screamed as long as 

i could hear her.

This.  This.  This.

~ Lucille Clifton

PRACTICE

• Dress appropriately for the weather so that you can remain comfortable in the out-of-doors for at least an hour.

• Bring an adequate supply of water, a cushion or chair to sit on and a compass if you so choose, and a pen and journal for recording your observations.
• Go to a safe place out-of-doors.  This place might be very near your home or quite remote.
• Practice “Connecting with Nature” (posted January 8, 2013).
• Sit down facing North, close your eyes, and allow your thoughts to become still (give yourself at least a few minutes to calm your mind).
• Open your eyes and allow them to softly focus on some aspect of the landscape in front of you   perhaps it is a tree, a bird, a stone, or a mountain.
• Ask yourself, “If this aspect of nature was a mirror, what would it be reflecting back to me about myself?”
• Notice what comes into your awareness   perhaps it is aspects of your character that it is time for you to let go of or transform, or aspects of your life that warrant celebration and gratitude, or a deeper awakening to your unique gifts.
• Journal your observation.
• Repeat the question, observations, and journaling while facing East, then South, then West.
• Make an offering of gratitude to the place (perhaps each direction while reciting what you learned).  The offering might be comprised of water, prayer ties, a poem, song, etc.
• Repeat the entire process routinely in the same and different locations.  Notice if any patterns emerge with respect to the aspects of nature that serve as a mirror or in reference to each of the directions.

This practice was first published in "Courting the Wild: Love Affairs with the Land," edited by Jamie K. Reaser and Susan Chernak McElroy and published by Hiraeth Press (2008; www.hiraethpress.com). (c) Jamie K. Reaser. All rights reserved.

Living Nature as Metaphor

Photo: (c) Jamie K. Reaser

Departing Storms

I have opened all of my

doors to the oncoming

winter storm.

The wind howls lullabies

and the branches of the naked

sycamore flail

as it dances,

entranced to music

that I have long ago forgotten

how to drum up.

Dark grey clouds come

to me across the western ridge,

running southward

and then East.

My eyes follow their

intent to be somewhere

soon.

Should this be my prayer today?..

~ Jamie K. Reaser, excerpt

PRACTICE

• Find a quiet place out of doors to work uninterrupted for at least an hour. Bring a writing pen, colored pens or crayons, and a journal for recording observations.

PART ONE

• Practice “Connecting with Nature” (posted January 8, 2013) or engage in any other practice that will enable you to relax and become focused.
• Make a list of adjectives (e.g., stormy) that describe the patterns and trends in your life.  Note: You can explore your entire life story, periods of specific time, or the current moment.
• Make a list of aspects of the natural world (e.g., storms) that are related to these adjectives. 
• Collect adjectives together that are associated with certain natural phenomena and/or natural objects (e.g., storms might be associated with dark, tumultuous, lightening fast insights, chaos, etc.).
• Review the role that these natural phenomena and/or natural objects have played in your life.  In particular, explore their relationships to major life transitions and moments of deeper awakening   to your unique gifts, for example.  What patterns do you notice?
• Write a poem, song, or story about these aspects of Nature and how they relate to your internal nature.

 PART TWO

• Identify a natural process that inspires you.  Perhaps it is the metamorphosis of a caterpillar into a butterfly, or the blossoming of a flower, or the way trees can bend and brace in a magnificent storm.
• Make a list of steps and/or adjectives that characterize this process. 
• Draw one or more pictures that illustrate the process.
• Consider this natural process as a metaphor for your future.  What emotions does it bring up?  What does it inspire you to do?  How does it inspire you to act with regard to other people, the environment, and your own needs?
• Write a poem, song, or story about your future, incorporating this life metaphor.
• Place the pictures, list of adjectives, and what else you wrote where you can see them regularly.  
• Repeat this process anytime you are feeling stuck or want to be even more inspired to live your life fully. 

This practice was first published in "Courting the Wild: Love Affairs with the Land," edited by Jamie K. Reaser and Susan Chernak McElroy and published by Hiraeth Press (2008; www.hiraethpress.com). (c) Jamie K. Reaser. All rights reserved.

Departing Storms was first published in "Sacred Reciprocity: Courting the Beloved in Everyday Life" (2012; www.hiraethpress.com). The complete poem can be found at http://talkingwaters-poetry.blogspot.com/2012/01/departing-storms.html