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Our ability to cognitively abstract our contact with the world constantly takes our sensory experience and hides it under a veil of thought. (Cohen, M.J. 2003. The Web of Life Imperative: Regenerative ecopsychology techniques that help people think in balance with natural systems.).

     The good feelings we get doing simple wild things like wiggling bare toes in sun-warmed sand or cheering a tiny ant hauling a heavy load can reveal what we genuinely want and need for enhancing wellness. Call it ecopsycholog-ing to be fancy, or listening to self to be plain. Better yet, don't name it at all. Just go outside. It's the most  powerful, ecologically sound antidote for the ills of modern living leading to the rewards of balance, harmony, and joy.

tNature's power to comfort,  encourage, heal

 by j. c. brittain and others

When you are feeling low, go to a natural place, and when you get there, ask the sounds of Nature to sound out and regale you with their laughter. ~j.cb '03

"The whole world was a nest on its humble tilt, in the maze of the universe, holding us."
~Linda Hogan, Dwellings

Walk into nature; and let nature walk into you. ~j.cb'04

Let Nature enkindle your heart
with the courage to walk inside yourself. ~j.cb '04

Sit still and allow Nature to touch your hands, your head, your heart, your whole being. ~j.cb '07

What greater joy than to feel your feet planted firmly on Earthwhile your spirit soars to the heavens and beyond...j.cb '04

There are special times in Nature when you're filled with genuine spirit, not just your own spirit, but the spirit of the entire universe.
~j.cb, '05, thoughts

Outward answers come from inward journeys. ~j.cb '05

In Nature, we discover the oldest world there is...the world inside ourselves. ~j.cb'07

"I firmly believe that Nature brings solace in all troubles."~ Anne Frank,
Dairy of Anne Frank

If you're still standing on the precipice of life,jump in...let the adventure begin. ~j.cb '07

When I was as a really young child, I went to Nature, and I stayed there. Good thing no one saw me go or they would have brought me back. ~j.cb '07

Nurture your felt love and respect for Nature. Never deny it. The good feelings you get are part of Nature’s nurturing love. They are the intelligence, beauty, and diversity of Nature that sustains all things in shared perfection. They are our genuine longing...our true belongings. Reconnect to nature's wisdom, and welcome wellness, balance, and joy back into your life. ~j.cb '04

As you walk, feel that everything around you is a part of you. Feel yourself in the trees standing tall and firm. Feel inside of you the movement of their branches and leaves as they sway and flutter to the slightest breezes. Rise and fall with the ravens as they ride and play in the currents of air. Follow them until they disappear into the blue. Follow the wind by the sounds and movement it creates as it flows through, around, and over trees, meadows, and rocks. Feel yourself in every sound and movement of nature.
~Charles Cornell 

People speak in tone voices that are heard; Nature speaks in a heart voice that is felt. Don't ask for proof that the spirit of Nature exists in you. Your existence suggests proof. And your longings for Nature confirm it.
~j.cb '06

Nature leaves footprints everywhere for us to follow. Look down. They are there. Look up at the stars. They are there, too. Nature is not bound by earthly laws; it leaves footprints everywhere.
~j.cb '06

It is a fact of life that our senses, feelings, and emotions are facts of life. They are as much a part of nature and our personal nature as is the land and sea, or our heartbeat and eyesight. The feelingful callings of the sensation of thirst are a biologically intelligent love for water that is as real and true as water itself.
~Michael J. Cohen

Do more than go to nature.
Be nature...reconnect to the nature in you.
~j.cb

Nature-Centered Thinking

Sitting outside with grateful permission under gigantic pecan trees, their thirst quenched by the rain, my dog kisses me with her muddy nose.

As we sit, I am filled with golden rays of sunshine pour through the open arms of the trees. My gaze goes to the grass, alive with pill-bugs, crawling grubs and much more, all appreciating the gift of water from the skies. They busy themselves with the work of restoring and rebuilding, not minding at all; it is all just play.

As I relish quiet mind moments, I am attracted to the freshness of the air, the peace that I feel, the music the birds are singing, and the energy of love. I take in and experience all as One now, a love attraction. The sun has spread its arms to me. There is no separation-it is as close to me as my very breath.

My appreciation of life cannot be spoken-only felt within my heart. My self is one with the All...I am totally aware and in thankful communication and communion with senses come alive.

I would not be willing to give up my ability to experience this connection because it is my life, my love. I feel alive with golden light of nature's wisdom. I am one with All, in harmony and balance. Why would I ever want to go back to being insane?

Permission is granted to me when I am courteous to ask to visit the natural area; I know this because I feel light and joyful.

The ability to feel and to sense is nature's way-I say thank you by returning the favor.

I deserve to have and enjoy nature-connecting experiences because I am of them/in them...

I look through my senses at how much I've re-learned. I am humbled by nature's patience with me as I go about this journey. One of my symbols is the turtle; I may be slow, but I get there before the rabbit.

Stress is relieved; joy is put in its place. A peacefulness. A freedom.

To give up this experience I would suffer a profound loss-a loss of my first love.

Yes, talking about Nature's goodness and wisdom is hard to share. Others ask me, "What gives/"

The part of myself that I ignored was the everlasting connection with the all.

I am committed to actively sustaining my natural relationships.

Lightning in the south says it is going to rain again tonight. I feel its approaching energy. It brings blessings in abundance to All.

Excerpts from The Singing Creek Where the Willows Grow, the Mystical Diary of Opal Whitely, with biography and afterword by Benjamin Hoff, author of The Tao of Pooh and The Te of Piglet:

     POTATOES

All of the potatoes wore brown dresses, (They) are most interesting folks. I think they must see a lot of what is going on in the earth--they have so  many eyes. (120)

And all the times I was picking up potatoes, I did have conversations with them. Too, I did have thinks of all their growing days there in the ground, and all the things they did hear. Earth-voices are glad voices, and earth-songs come up from the ground through the plants; and in their flowering, and in the days before these days are come, they do tell the earth-songs to the wind. And the wind in her goings does whisper them to folks to print for other folks, so other folks do have knowing of earth's songs. When I grow up, I am going to write for children—and grownups that haven't grown up too much—all the earth-songs I now do hear.

 I have thinks these potatoes growing here did have knowings of star-songs. I have kept watch in the field at night, and I have seen the stars look kindness down upon them'. And I have walked between the rows of potatoes, and I have watched the star-gleams on their leaves. And I have heard the wind ask of them the star-songs the star-gleams did tell in shadows on their leaves. And as the wind did go walking in the field talking to the earth-voices there, I did follow her down the rows. I did have feels of her presence near. And her goings-by made ripples on my nightgown. (121)

ON STAYING INDOORS

Now I sit here and I print. The baby sleeps on. The wind comes creeping in under the door. It calls, "Come, come, petite Francoise, come." It calls to me to come go exploring. It sings of the things that are to be found under leaves. It whispers the dreams of the tall fir trees. It does pipe the gentle song the forest sings on gray days. I hear all the voices calling me. I listen. But I cannot go. (137)

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