In Search of Nature (Pillar #8)
Reconnecting with nature is the 8th pillar in the Elevate Your Vibrations series. Somewhere along the windy road of evolution, humans started cutting themselves off from nature. We build completely closed and sealed houses to protect ourselves from the natural world “out there.” We’ve created massive cities full of these closed and sealed buildings to eat and sleep and work from while sectioning nature off to a small corner we call “park.”
We transport ourselves through these massive cities in cars, trains, or buses, all closed for the most part. We don’t want to let nature in, because nature is messy and relentless. Once you let nature in the door, it takes over. Over the last 200 years, we have nearly perfected our devastating divorce from nature. Yet we are a part of nature, not separate. Humans are one with nature, not apart. All of nature is one, living organism. Humans are to nature as the microbiome is to the human body. Ken Wilbur calls it holarchy. Everything is a whole made up of parts. An atom is a whole made up of protons, neutrons, and electrons. Atoms combine to make molecules, which combine to make for cells, which combine to form tissues, organs, and muscles, that combine to make a body, which combines to make a family, which combines to make a community, which combines to make a region, state, province, which combines to make a country, which combines to make a continent, which combines to make a planet, which combines to make a solar system.
Being a clog in the machine of nature, we must do what we can to connect with it. There are oodles of ways to reconnect with nature, but I will focus on only 2 of the simplest and easiest to practice that will subtly improve your mental and physical health and elevate your vibrations.
Solar Beings
All living beings on planet Earth are solar beings, alive due to the sun. Without the sun the land and oceans would be frozen solid. The origin of life on this planet was due to the heat and light from the sun creating air, water in liquid form, and land. Earth is only hospitable due to the sun’s benevolent energy. The sun created an environment fit for carbon based life with its perfect process of making food for everything on the planet. Basically, plants and algae eat the sun’s energy and through the process of photosynthesis, use the power of sunlight to make food by changing water and carbon dioxide into sugar molecules. With these sugar molecules, plants can build other organic molecules. Everything on this planet is a plant or something that eats plants or something that eats the things that eats plants. Therefore everything on this planet depends on sunlight in the chemical process of food creation. Humans are no exception.
Invite the Sun In
With that said, how can humans get more sun into their lives? The sun is the most powerful force known to humans and therefore while highly revered, it should be highly respectful as well. Go out into the sun to allow the energy of the sunlight to pierce your porous skin and fill you with vitality. Let the sun soak your skin for a little bit everyday. Obviously, the power of the sun at or around midday in the summer is too much for humans, and that’s why it’s crucial to be smart about receiving the sun’s energy. Open the doors and windows of your house early in the morning to let the sun’s brilliance enter. Allow the sun to refresh your living space by filling it with vibrant color and heat. Make an intention to go outside everyday and search for a minimum of 5 minutes of direct sunlight. When creating a practice of daily intentional movements, do it outside under the morning sun. Again, it is prudent to respect the sun’s power by staying out of the sun during the hot midday hours. Pay attention to the plants around your house and see how they react to the morning sunshine. You will receive very similar benefits if you allow yourself to bask in the morning sun.
Fresh Air
An amazing advantage of going outside to take in some sunshine is that you will also be breathing in fresh air. We talked about breathing in the first pillar and mentioned how you can only survive for minutes without the intake of fresh air charged with oxygen. While sunlight is primordial to the survival of every living thing on Earth, fresh air charged with oxygen is primordial for humans and all mammals alike. In today’s technological age, many humans spend hours inside a closed room or closed office, with the air conditioning blasting, breathing stale and stagnant air. This can lead to subtle symptoms like headaches and fatigue.
Going outside to breathe fresh air and increase your oxygen intake has an abundance of benefits. The more fresh air you breathe in, the more oxygen you supply to your body. With the brain using about 1/5th of the oxygen that you breathe, the more fresh air you breathe, the better your brain functions. Also, the amount of oxygen in your blood greatly affects serotonin release. Therefore, the more fresh air you breathe, the better your mood will be. The reality is that increased oxygen improves the efficiency of every cell in your body. Therefore, breathing more fresh air literally helps the function of your whole body.
So Go outside
The human culture that has been created in today’s lightning paced world allows humans to spend hours, days, or sometimes longer indoors. We are not letting the sunlight warm our bodies nor fresh air stimulate our cells. This leads to lowered vibrations and a general lack of vitality. Spending time outside, under the sun, breathing in clean, fresh air guarantees to elevate your vibrations. If you work in an office, make sure you go outside on your breaks, even if it is only for 5 minutes. When thinking about a workout routine, include activities and sports that are practiced outside. Walk outside amongst the trees, swim in the oceans or seas or lakes or rivers, listen to the cacophony of birds in the mornings and evenings, pay attention to the life cycle of birth and death in plants and trees that are growing around you, get our fingers buried in the soil, experience sunsets and/or sunrises, and pay as close attention to the natural processes of Earth as possible. Do whatever you must in order to take advantage of as much outdoor activity as possible. This will invariably strengthen your health and elevate your vibrations.
