The Synergy Of Nature And Meditation: Why Nature Is The Ultimate Setting For Awareness Practice

1. It enhances the benefits of meditation

Proven benefits of meditation include stress and anxiety reduction, emotional health, enhancement of self-awareness, increasing attention span, improved memory, generating kindness and compassion, help with addiction control, improve sleep, pain reduction and blood pressure reduction. Consistent practice leads to long-term trait changes and neuroplasticity. Interestingly, nature exposure has been found to elicit an almost identical set of benefits in which is now a fairly robust area of research.This leads me to wonder if there is not an overlapping set of mechanisms, i.e. meditation mimics nature immersion at least in some respects. I doubt there was a need for meditation prior to humans becoming separate from the natural world. And even if the mechanisms are not the same, it still shows that practicing meditation in nature means that you will receive physical and mental health benefits, regardless of whether you think you have meditated ‘successfully’ or not. It’s like an insurance policy.Research done specifically on meditation in nature is limited, especially in comparison to non-nature-based meditation. A meta-analysis done in 2019 on the effects of moving mindfulness training into an outdoor natural settings indicated superiority of the nature-based interventions.² But really, the scientific data is very preliminary.Also interestingly, there is evidence to suggest that nature-based mindfulness likewise enhances the benefits of nature exposure.³ So it really is a synergistic pairing. From reflecting on my own experience with it, there are a few things I would add in terms of personal benefits. Practice in nature very organically lends itself to developing different cognitive capacities and flexibility, the ability to move in and out of different states with ease because of the way our attention naturally dances with natural stimuli. I can attest to the effect on the functioning of the mind. After my first 28-day solo retreat in nature, I had some time off but after a couple of weeks I tried to ease myself back in to working on my PhD. I noticed something unusual. I seemed to be really struggling to read the document I had open on my screen. Then I realised, I was trying to look at the entire screen worth of text at once, rather than reading left to right. I had to consciously remind myself to read left to right. Because Nature is our intended environment, meditation in Nature more obviously correlates to the range of ways that human consciousness is meant to function. This also means that the practice more easily bleeds into ‘normal’ life; there is less separation between practice and living, so it is easy to carry over beneficial states from ‘the practice’ into life.Meditation in Nature helps deepen the sense of connection and unity with the rest of life. It is hard to put into words but there is a relieving of existential angst that goes along with the softening of the hard boundary the goes with the concept of ourselves as separate individuals. Big statement, I know, but I’d rather you give it go and understand it from an experiential point of view than me trying to convince you with words.2. Meditation is enjoyable and easier in natureNature is very supportive of meditative states because we are naturally more wakeful and relaxed in nature thanks to the effect of the stimuli present(4),  When you go into nature:

• the senses becoming sharper
• mind-body connection enhances
• everyday worries seem further away, stress reduces and presence increases
• ruminative thoughts decrease.(5)

Not least of all, meditation nature is lovely. We fully embrace our senses and sensuousness for meditation in Nature, which leads to experiencing beauty, awe and wonder. It is delightful and joyful, not a chore. Which is a benefit in and of itself, and it also helps us stick to the practice. Studies show that people wanting to learn to meditate stick to a nature-based practice better than a traditional mindfulness practice.(6)3. It is important to cultivate in nature considering the point we are at in historyBeyond the physical benefits, meditating in nature can also help to change our mindset and our relationship to the natural world.  Research suggests that “mindful meditation in nature can be used to reestablish or strengthen concepts of self-nature interconnectedness nature for urban adults.” (7)As we become more aware of the beauty and interconnectedness of nature of which we are a part, not only may we become more motivated to take action to protect the planet, but also come to a better understanding of how to do so by the kinds of ways of being and awareness that we cultivate.We develop the kind of consciousness that lends itself to ecological awareness of all kinds, from a love and care for other beings to an ecology of mind, a mind more adept at systems thinking, weaving the threads of awareness into an organic whole. The example I gave of me trying to read by looking at the whole page at once demonstrates this change in action. How we cultivate our consciousness matters. Really matters. I’ve learnt that ‘consciousness development’ is not a linear thing; there is more to it than simply going from ‘lower’ to ‘higher’ consciousness. Transcendent states have their place but trying to take the fast train out of this reality can leave a massive gap in awareness of this place, this earth, this lifetime and this humanity. Similarly I think there is a practical place between the Western concept of self that is centred around the individual self (the ego), and True Self (which is the ultimate goal of meditation, to move to identification with consciousness or Source itself). That useful place is the ‘Ecological Self’ concept where our sense of who we are includes nature. It is extremely difficult to remain in Source awareness, even for the most experienced meditators. A more immediately useful place, given current circumstances, would be to move through the world with a sense of unity for the rest of non-human nature.