Mother Earth
“One touch of nature makes the whole world kin”
I am currently reading a book entitled “Earth, Our Original Monastery” by Christine Valters Paintner. It was recommended to me by my friend, Annabel, who is the most voracious reader I know. Her book recommendations range from the entertaining to the informative, and often, like this one, life-changing.
I recently undertook training to learn reiki, and our reiki teacher (the wonderful and beautiful Ramona) always mentions meditating with Mother Earth. I’ve heard that term many times in the past, and as a child, I often thought of Mother Earth and Mother Nature as one and the same. In fact, I probably pictured them both as the sweet golden-haired character in the Rankin Bass animated classic, “The Year Without a Santa Clause.”
Mother Nature, from A Year Without a Santa Clause
She was nurturing and kind, but she did not take any guff from her boys, Snow Miser and Heat Miser.
(from left) Snow Miser, Mother Nature, Heat Miser
One of Paintner’s suggestions in “Earth, Our Original Monastery” is to spend some time each day “on a contemplative walk with an intentional and reverential heart.” This walk is not a fitness exercise to get your steps in, nor is it a slow stride on auto-pilot with your face buried in your phone. Paintners suggests taking off shoes and socks to feel the earth through your feet, then kneeling down to hold the earth in your fingers, engaging all senses as you reach out to feel the tree bark, plants, and leaves, to notice smells, textures, sounds, and even tastes that arise in your mouth.
Her best advice, and probably the part that is most difficult, is to let go of expectation of a specific kind of experience and sense your presence in nature without agenda or goals.
Easier said than done. But it doesn’t stop me from trying.
Engaging in this ritual walk often brings me to tears (despite my inability to release expectations), and I highly recommend giving it a go.
The video below is from one such walk on 11.11.2021. It was cold and I didn’t take my shoes and socks off, but I dipped my hands in the water and said a prayer. The light from the sun through the tree branches reminds me of sunbeams streaming through a monastery window.
Paintner’s proposal reminds me of a recurring theme on a radio show called “Get Real” with Alan Cohen. People would call in, asking for help with finding their life purpose, and Alan Cohen would ask them, “Well, what do you want to do right now?” They would often miss the point, saying they didn’t know, and that’s why they were calling. Inevitably, however, they would often respond as follows: “I just want to walk my dog in the woods,” or “I want to sit on the beach,” or “I just want to grow flowers in my garden.”
In each case, the caller thought that those activities were not productive, didn’t make money, and wouldn’t lead to life purpose. However, Alan Cohen would encourage them to listen to their intuition and get out in nature anyway, assuring them that the answers would come if they would just follow their hearts and take the next right step.
It never failed – the callers would call in to follow up weeks or months later, proclaiming that an epiphany came to them when they were walking the dog on a trail, or after three days sitting on the beach, they achieved a level of clarity and then knew what steps to take to follow their life path.
I think they were going to pray for guidance in the monastery we call Earth, where God always answers prayers. Thanks to Christine Valters Paintner for making the connection!
Do you have a favorite place in nature? Does it change with the seasons? When is the last time you took off your shoes and felt the earth beneath your toes? Let me know, and if you take a contemplative walk in the original monastery, please leave a comment!
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