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Using Nature to Heal your Emotions A 30 Day Meditation-Journaling Program

Other works by this Author:

Cory Ian Shafer-Dreams, Sessions and Observations: Poetry from Therapeutic Sessions 2013

Using Nature to Heal your Emotions A 30 Day Meditation-Journaling Program

Cory Ian Shafer LPC

Psychotherapist & Educator

Cory Ian Shafer LPC Psychotherapist & Educator

2014

Copyright © 2014 by Cory Ian Shafer

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except

for the use of brief quotations in a book review or scholarly journal.

First Printing: 2014


Kingston, Pennsylvania

www.coryianshaferlpc.weebly.comcom

Dedication

To my Wife, the Kid, Family, Friends and the Animals

Contents

Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. Method of Use and Examples…………………………………………………………………………………….…………………………….2

1. On the Nature of a River

2. The Movement of Birds

3. The Physicality of a Mountain

4. The Emptiness of the Desert

5. The Energy of a Garden

6. The Cycle of the Seasons

7. The Wisdom of a Turtle

8. The Sleekness of a Fish

9. The Openness of a Meadow

10. The Strength of Rock

11. The Beauty of a Flower

12. The Way of Water

13. The Power of a Tornado

14. The Brightness of the Sun

15. The Fluffiness of a Cloud

16. The Nourishment of Rain

17. The Twinkle of the Stars

18. The Buoyancy of an Iceberg

19. The Gracefulness of Snow

20. The Sorrow of the Wolf

21. The Mystery of the Trees

22. The Stillness of a Pond

23. The Roaring of the Rapids

24. The Depth of the Canyon

25. The Web of the Spider

26. The Immensity of the Ocean

27. The Anger of the Volcano

28. The Voice of the Earthquake

29. The Up and Down of the Ocean

30. The Necessity of the Oasis

Acknowledgements

The Whole Human Race, The Planets And The Universe We Live With For Forging Me Into What I Am

Foreword

The Idea of this workbook was born from a kind of self-experiment that I worked on in June of 2013 and in the beginning of that

summer I felt that I needed to look at things a little differently, I needed a de-programming, I needed to empty my head and start fresh. So

I came up with the idea of mediating on thirty principles or concepts of nature and I would try to imagine myself in connection with this

concept. I would ask myself questions such as:

How am I like the river?

How am I like the negative aspects of the river, flooding, tragedy, drying up?

How am I like the positive aspects of the river, such as bringing life, following a flow, etc?

What characteristics do I share with a bird?

How do I mimic the behavior of that Bird?

Why do I spend time alone just like the Lone Wolf?

How am I like a tornado?

When I look at the clouds what do I see in them?

How does my behavior resemble the roar of the rapids?

Nature flows, it all flows together as one, the human race fights against the flow, both individually and as a group, when we learn

to flow with nature we feel as though we are less tense, anxious and depressed. We, as humans are living the wrong way, we are fighting

nature’s course, we are devoting to much energy to the material, the job, the career, all that stuff that doesn’t matter, we are directing out

energy in the wrong direction. Using this 30 day program allows the person to think in new directions and with new connections; it lets

them know themselves a little bit better, we realize that we are constructed of concepts just like nature, we like nature has a positive and

negative side, once we understand them we can accept them just as nature does, it accepts both sides and balances them out naturally.

To experience what truly matters imagine you are much older, nearing the end of your life, you have 60 seconds left to live, 60

seconds left to think, what will be the last moments that you think of, your bank account, the money you leave behind, work on Monday,

that project that is due, you prized car you won’t drive anymore, no, you will not think of any of these because they do not matter, what

you will find yourself thinking of is your family, friend, the warm sun on your face, sleigh riding in the winter, swimming on a hot day,

your children, your grandchildren, your wife or husband, brother or sister or mother, or the birds chirping on a summer day, this is stuff

that matters, and in that last 60 seconds of your life you’ve realized you directed your energy in the wrong direction, for all those years.

This book is designed to let us think according to nature and nature’s rules, it lets us find our flow, our direction, each and every

one of us needs to find our direction, then when we become a species moving the right direction, what great things may happen then,

when all of our energy is directed in the same direction, humans might just reach the next stage of their evolution, something I’ve termed

Homo-Luminous, the enlightened being.

Methods of Use and Examples

Now that you have this book in your hands how do you use it? I envisioned this book over the course of a few day in the early summer of

2013, that very next month I used this program on myself to help me gain insight into my own life. After a month of forcing myself to compare

myself to the natural surroundings I began to fell more connected and less disconnected. Disconnection is one of the majors factors in our fall,

our troubles as both singular people and as society as a whole. Using this program enables to undergo a paradigm shift in the way we think, op-

erate and behave, it helps to heal emotions and provides a sense of balance in ourselves and our lives.

PART 1: We start off with a small section of prose that yields a small description into what we are comparing ourselves to, after reading you

are encouraged to add lines that you see fit that I did not use. I purposely used as little as possible to allow you to add your own information to

what is already on the page.

PART 2: There are three questions that you should answer, you should answer these with as much information as possible, this is an

opportunity to allow yourself to express yourself in writing by answering these questions. You are encouraged to add your own questions as

well. Answer these questions with as much depth and honesty as you can, no skimping on the answer, no one sentence responses, the answers

you give should be a dialogue with yourself.

PART 3: This part allows you to work on drawing the picture of the concept you’re learning about, no one has to be an artist to accomplish

this, what it does take is persistence and honesty. This part should be a moving meditation, drawing the concept such as a “river” while mediat-

ing and thinking “how am I like this river”. When I did this I sometimes spent an hour meticulously drawing my picture of my nature concept.

PART 4: In this part we make comparisons of ourselves with the concept that we are mediating on, for each label you put in your category

or in the nature column we must correlate it with something about ourselves. The first column is for the nature concept, for example you would

write observations of “a river” if that is what you were mediating on, column two is your column, ways in which you are like a river, now re-

member for each point you add in one column you need to add another in the opposing column. If you wrote in the “nature” column, the river

floods over and over again, you would need to follow that up with how that information relates to you, maybe you would write, “I become so

emotional I tend to swallow up everything around me”. I sometimes ended up with 20 correlating facts about nature concepts and myself in

each column.

So this is not rocket science, it is seeing yourself in nature and nature in yourself, one is not independent of the other, they dance together

always, dependent on one another, one feeding off the other. When we begin to see ourselves not as independent from the life around us but in-

tertwined we begin to feel connected again, alive, moving with our surroundings. Nature is the best teacher and it is all around us, we just need

to look and learn from what we see and how we see that in us.


March 5, 2014

And on the next page IT begins

1. On the Nature of a River

A shimmering snake glides through the topographical map, winding its way through the valleys and crevices, reach-

ing for its ultimate goal, freedom into the all-encompassing gulf of transcendence. As humans, we can learn much by

looking at nature, we can view nature as our teacher. A river is the simple notion of movement, and as such we must

always move, we mustn’t remain stagnant, we have all seen water that is stagnant, that doesn’t move but stays in one

spot, it loses its clarity, becoming cloudy and murky. Just such a thing can happen to the human mind; we can be-

come stagnant and murky, unable to function in everyday life.

When we think of the movement of the river and how we can replicate that movement, we mustn’t become locked in-

to a notion of physical movement; we are talking about movement with our psyche or our mind and thoughts. We

shouldn’t harbor on certain thoughts but rather let them come and go just as the log passes by in the river as we stand

on the bank. When we learn to let our mind flow as water flows we will be free and in the moment.

1. In what ways have you been stagnant in your life?

2. What has kept you from letting yourself flow?

3. How will you keep yourself in this moment from this point on?

Take some time and use this as a moving meditation, draw the part of nature that you are comparing yourself to, that

you are seeking insight from, that which you are using as a guide. Draw it slowly, take time use many colors, it should

be a slow picture, the best you can do, some of us are not artists, but that does not matter, do the best you can and medi-

tate on the process of drawing it. When you are complete, ask yourself, why did I draw this, what does this mean to me,

where am I on this picture, analyze the picture according to your life.

Observation of _________________________

Observation of myself

Notes:

Notes:

2. The Movement of Birds

Birds are majestic creatures that soar high above us in the sky but remain rooted with us on the ground when not fly-

ing, Birds can reach amazing heights, even hundreds of feet in the air, and they have a clear picture for miles below

them and therefore have a much better view than other animals.

Besides soaring and seeing, birds remain rooted with the Earth and must succumb to its force after their flight. On the

ground birds are consummate home builders and spend much of their time looking for items to build their nest, every-

thing they need natures provides for them.

They keep their young warm and tend to them night and day; searching for food to help them grow so they can leave

the nest and continue the cycle. When the time is right birds may push their young out of the nest to enter the next

stage of their life, that of flight.

1. Do you find yourself soaring or sinking with your thoughts and feelings?

2. In what ways have you tried to make your home stronger, stronger emotionally?

3. Explain what you will try to teach your children or the children in your life?


you are seeking insight from, which you are using as a guide. Draw it slowly, take time, use many colors, it should be a

slow picture, the best you can do, some of us are not artists, but that does not matter, do the best you can and meditate on the

process of drawing it. When you are complete, ask yourself, why did I draw this, what does this mean to me, where am I in

this picture, analyze the picture according to your life.

Observation of _________________________


Notes:

Notes:

3. The Physicality of a Mountain

It rises out the depths of the terrain reaching skyward; it is strong and old, wise and ancient, it can teach many secrets.

When we look at a mountain it is much more than just dirt and rock and tectonic movement, it is strength and majes-

ty.

For many years people have been trying to conquer the mountains with little to gain other than its secrets teachings.

Humans tend to look at mountains as powerful places, full of life and wisdom. People of the old times once thought

gods and goddesses lived within the mountainous peaks. A mountain is a bridge from the lower level of life to the

higher level of life; it signifies a spiritual journey that we must all undertake.

1. In what ways have you been strong in your life?

2. In what ways have you been weak in your life?

3. What is your sense of spirituality that guides your life

Take some time and use this as a moving meditation, draw the part of nature that you are comparing yourself to,

that you are seeking insight from, that which you are using as a guide. Draw it slowly, take time use many colors, it

should be a slow picture, the best you can do, some of us are not artists, but that does not matter, do the best you can

and meditate on the process of drawing it. When you are complete, ask yourself, why did I draw this, what does this

mean to me, where am I on this picture, analyze the picture according to your life.

Observation of _________________________


Notes:

Notes:

4. The Emptiness of the Desert

Parched for thirst, the hard sun beats down on the lifeless sand; the wind howls as it blows ripples in the

land, those who live here call it harsh, but also admit it radiates a certain beauty and simplicity. There ex-

ists hardness with softness, doesn’t that sound similar to what we experience in life.

If the void can be seen in form, than it is the desert, the void is harsh and unforgiving, but in that harsh

emptiness we see limitless potential, for as dry as the desert can be, vegetation sometimes blooms here and

some creatures even call it their home. The desert teaches us that beauty, simplicity and hope reside in even

the bleakest of places.

1. In what ways has your life appeared bleak, unforgiving and empty?

2. What has that feeling of emptiness taught you?

3. What are you going to do from this moment on to turn your desert into a garden?

Observation of _________________________


Notes:

Notes:

5. The Energy of the Garden

A collective thrives; many plants and flowers share the same ground, needing only a gentle touch from caring

hands. A garden is a thriving collective, many parts that make the whole, each living next to one another in rela-

tive peace and harmony. A garden is a small scale ecosystem; many parts of it are symbiotic with each other,

different plants grow and produce flowers that mystify many as to their perfect nature, flowers play a dominate

role in human thought from Buddhism to Christianity as a symbol of love. Gardens and flowers are embedded in

the human psyche, even though winter comes to destroy, it “springs” back to life each year.

A garden requires soft and pliable soil for anything to grow, if it is hard and out of balance nothing will thrive ex-

cept emptiness. The gentle gardener is one who takes care of their own area, caring for all within it. Weeds will

grow and threaten the other plants if not taken care of daily; it is the gardener’s duty to pluck the weeds out by the

roots so they will not damage the garden.

1. Who and what resides in your “garden of life”?

2. In what ways have you not been taking care of yourself?

3. From this moment on how will you begin to cultivate your life?

Observation of _________________________


Notes:

Notes:

6. The Cycle of the Seasons

What can we learn from the changing of the seasons and the perpetual cycle that keeps going and going and going.

Spring is full of vitality and rebirth, summer is the mid-life, fall the decline and winter, its death. However a pecu-

liar thing always happens, spring always returns.

Change is the only constant a wise man once said, no matter what, all things will change; you cannot step twice in

the same piece of water. This being said, we learn from the seasons that no matter how bad it may seem in your

short life, things will change, change always occurs whether we like it or not, secondly we should cherish each

moment because as it passes, it will NEVER come again.

1. How many times in life have you been stuck, resisting change? Write them down, explore them.

2. In what ways has your life changed? From good to bad and bad to good?

3. From this moment on how will you embrace change and move with the flow?

7. The Wisdom of a Turtle

The Turtle is an amazing solitary creature that exudes independence and exhibits great patience, a turtle moves

slow but with purpose, teaching us that speed is most of the time not the essence of what life is about.

The turtle also has its own armour or “thick skin” that protects it from the elements and from all threats on the

outside. The turtle will climb into its shell and will wait for the danger to pass and then will resume his slow but

purposeful journey in life.

Sea turtles make spectacular journeys, sometimes thousands of miles, but always, in the end, they come back to

their point of origin to complete their part in the cycle of life.

1. When you move through life do you go as fast as you can? Or do you slow down to experience life?

2. Do you have your own armour? How do you use it in a time of crisis?

3. You like the turtle will come full circle in life, back to your point of origin, what does that mean to you?


you are seeking insight from, which you are using as a guide. Draw it slowly, take time, use many colors, it should

be a slow picture, the best you can do, some of us are not artists, but that does not matter, do the best you can and

meditate on the process of drawing it. When you are complete, ask yourself, why did I draw this, what does this

mean to me, where am I in this picture, analyze the picture according to your life.

Observation of _________________________


Notes:

Notes:

8. The Sleekness of a Fish

Beneath the liminal boundary it glides through a subterranean other world, below the depths of what is visible.

They reside in a world where we don’t belong, where we can only visit for short times. They are sleek, gliding

through the dark, like a bullet in the darkness.

They are also maximizer’s, jumping at almost every opportunity when the hook presents itself, sometimes leading

to its own demise. They sometimes swim in large schools, large collectives of fish which have a sense of commu-

nal behavior.

Fish, although they reside in darkness, have an eye that appears to be all-seeing, glancing in wide swaths as it

swims along in its short life.

1. Just as a fish resides in the symbolic depths, what do you keep buried deep inside you that keeps

haunting you in your life?

2. Just as a fish will continually bite the same hook, do you find yourself grasping for needless and con-

fusing goals in your life?

3. How will you learn to glide in your own life just like the fish that glides through its own murky

depths?

Take some time and use this as a moving meditation, draw the part of nature that you are comparing yourself

to, that you are seeking insight from, that which you are using as a guide. Draw it slowly, take time use many col-

ors, it should be a slow picture, the best you can do, some of us are not artists, but that does not matter, do the best

you can and meditate on the process of drawing it. When you are complete, ask yourself, why did I draw this, what

does this mean to me, where am I on this picture, analyze the picture according to your life.

Observation of _________________________


Notes:

Notes:

9. The Openness of a Meadow

A meadow is open, open for all to see, it is not closed, and it lies under the sky, baring itself to the world. All one

needs to do too enter the meadow is to simply walk out of the forest, crossing that boundary from dark to light.

A meadow represents clarity in your vision, to be who you are truly meant to be. There is no camouflage here, just

nakedness. There is nowhere to hide; you are visible to everyone who can look in on you.

The only way you can hide is to bury yourself underground, and why would you want to do that when the wisdom

of the turtle taught you that you have your own personal armour.

1. Are you an open or closed individual, Why?

2. How long have you been wandering around the forest, scared to enter into “the open space” where eve-

ryone can see your true self?

3. How many times have you tried to bury yourself “underground” to hide in fear or embarrassment?

Observation of _________________________


Notes:

Notes:

10. The Strength of a Rock

When we look at a rock, do we see its true nature or can we see past the obvious, to its spirit and learn from

what it represents, a rock celebrates strength, standing straight in adversities face. Rocks are old and have

been on earth for millions of years, a testament to their strength and longevity.

Rocks, as strong as they are, do break down over time, showing that even strength must give way to time

and nature. Water, over time, shapes and cuts solid rock, even though cut, it seems to operate in some paral-

lel with the water allowing it to cut new paths.

Wind can form rock; showing even though there is strength, there is also a sense of flexibility in even the

strongest substances.

1. A rock is strong, how would you describe your strengths? Where does your strength come from?

2. Based on the simple truth that nothing lasts forever, how are you “mentally and emotionally” preparing

for the end of your life?

3. How will you display your strength from this point on?

Observation of _________________________


Notes:

Notes:

11. The Beauty of a Flower

A flower can tickle the senses, it can rise above the waste and reach upwards and presents something dis-

cerning to the eye. Flowers have been used for millennia and are symbolic in many ways, red roses are

given on Valentine’s Day, and flowers preside over funerals and also weddings.

As the flower rises in beauty from the earth and opens itself to the sky, how do we do the same? The lotus

arises out of the murky depths to show us it true self; the Buddhist’s praise this flower and say that we too

can arise out of the waste and the murk to show our true selves.

A flower that is not taken care of by either human hands or nature itself can become brittle and dry and will

eventually wither away, a testament to how we must nurture ourselves and provide the needed nutrients to

make our life rich and fertile.

1. How will you rise above your current understanding of how you’re living your life?

2. How will you or how do you show your true self and your own beauty, just like the flower?

3. Do you take care of yourself and others? How will you from this moment start to take care of yourself

better than you ever have?

Observation of _________________________


Notes:

Notes:

12. The Way of Water

Water, H20, DiHydrogen Oxide, the necessary medium for life. Without water we would not be here, wa-

ter is cleansing, refreshing, it can provide a cooling on a hot summer’s day. Water quenches our thirst

when we are

dehydrated. After our day of hard work there is nothing quite like a shower to clean of the memories of the

day.

Water is so subtle and can be melded into any shape but yet is strong enough to cut rock; there is a

lesson of flexibility in meditating on the nature of water, could we be more like water?

Water must keep moving or it becomes stagnant, the constant movement keeps the spirit of water alive,

when water becomes stagnant is becomes murky and dark.

1. How do you keep moving in a positive way in your life to avoid becoming stagnant?

2. Describe how you are or will be more flexible in your thoughts, action and behavior?

3. In what areas of your life have you been stagnate and unable to move forward?

Observation of _________________________


Notes:

Notes:

13. The Power of a Tornado

Tornado contain extreme power, exhibiting viciousness and natural aggression, they strike out of nowhere, some-

times with no warning whatsoever. They can cause emotional and physical pain, as well as loss.

Just as they contain negative notions a tornado can also be symbolic of renewal, just as any storm destroys the old

allowing the new to be built. A tornado touches down from the heavens, releasing raw power onto the earth; the

earth embraces the tornado and holds it in its embrace for the length of the storm, there is a connection from the

low to the high, from heaven to earth, a connection of strength.

1. Do you become angry with people or circumstances? What is the outcome of your anger?

2. You have unlimited power in your life, how are you using that power now?

3. Is there a connection between yourself and your “higher self”?

Take some time and use this as a moving meditation, draw the part of nature that you are comparing your-

self to, that you are seeking insight from, that which you are using as a guide. Draw it slowly, take time use many

colors, it should be a slow picture, the best you can do, some of us are not artists, but that does not matter, do the best

you can and meditate on the process of drawing it. When you are complete, ask yourself, why did I draw this, what

does this mean to me, where am I on this picture, analyze the picture according to your life.

Observation of _________________________


Notes:

Notes:

14. The Brightness of the Sun

What is the sun other than a ball of active, synthesizing elements, it is ripe with alchemy, almost a kind of mag-

ic that is displayed up high in the sky. It is hard to look at the sun without the aid of some kind of filter, it

brightness penetrates our eyes, our skin and indeed it is a necessary object for life to continue on Earth.

The sun also teaches us about death and life, each night it dies, only hours away until it rises from its death

each morning. Does anything really ever die? Or is it a cycle and transformation? Indeed the sun will stop heat-

ing the earth but it will not disappear into the void, it will change into another form, itself, but yet different. For

centuries,

people old and new, worshipped the sun as a life giving force, they were not wrong in their assumption and

beliefs, they even attributed gods and goddesses to the sun, even prescribed it a gender in some cultures. The

sun is indeed a powerful symbol that we can learn from just by watching, understanding and correlating what

we learn into our own lives.

1. When you think about yourself, do you emit radiance or do you cast too many shadows?

2. What is the cycle of your life?

3. Do you nourish those around you, just as the sun nourishes the earth? Give an example of how

you nourish someone?


you are seeking insight from, which you are using as a guide. Draw it slowly, take time, use many colors, it should be a

slow picture, the best you can do, some of us are not artists, but that does not matter, do the best you can and meditate on

the process of drawing it. When you are complete, ask yourself, why did I draw this, what does this mean to me, where

am I in this picture, analyze the picture according to your life.

Observation of _________________________


Notes:

Notes:

15. The Fluffiness of a Cloud

They look like wisps of cotton hung high up in the sky, the white color meshing with the blue background;

they form and dissipate, appearing to vanish into the blue. Clouds can be some of the most beautiful objects

our planet can offer us, and one of the most overlooked. Clouds can forms pictures or ideas, they function as

a sort of projective test, when we see clouds we can ourselves and our thoughts in them, we “project” our

emotions and ideas onto them. We see animals and objects in those clouds which are pictures for understand-

ing ourselves. Clouds can also bring about change in the form of storms and snow, “the clouds are rolling in”

some of them say, we can see the front moving in bringing with it rain or snow, vital rain or snow, the clouds

are the seeders of the earth, the watering can for the crust, just as they are seeders, they for us, are messen-

gers into understanding ourselves.

1. When was the last time you spent a few hours trying to see what the clouds are telling you? What

did you see in them, what do you see in yourself?

2. Just as the clouds appear and disappear so will you, how do you feel about that?

3. If the clouds are water-bearers for the Earth, what are you trying to seed and grow in your own

life?

Observation of _________________________


Notes:

Notes:

16. The Nourishment of Rain

The earth needs to drink just as much as you and I, it needs nourishment for growth and for life. When we look

at rain we can find it relaxing or we can view it as a nuisance, getting all our clothes wet when we don’t want to

be wet. We need to mimic some of its attributes, for it is rain that teaches us to nourish all things in our life.

Rain falls from high up in the sky, it is a part of a large process and cycle intended to replenish the dried out

earth, sometimes we can have too much rain and areas can become flooded, however the flood always recedes,

sometimes leaving the land changed.

1. How do you nourish yourself and the people around you?

2. Have you ever failed to provide for yourself or someone in your life, why?

3. Have you ever given so much of yourself that it had negative consequences?

Observation of _________________________


Notes:

Notes:

17. The Twinkle of the Stars

When we look into the night sky it is not completely black, punctuated here and there are the twinkling of the

stars, ironically, the stars in the night sky in all their glory resemble the nature of our mind. Each star could be a

neuron, connected, involved in a great complexity that we can only imagine for now.

There is hope in the darkness, there is light where there is dark, we can understand that although the darkness is

ever present there is a spark of light that is available to all who want it.

At this point in our time we are polluting not just our land and air, but also our night sky, there are too many

lights. The sky for most people does not hold the same power it once had; most of it is invisible to us, quickly

receding from our minds under the glow of our night city lights.

1. How often do you shine as the complete person you are?

2. Have you ever felt surrounded by darkness on all sides?

3. All stars will fade away, just as all humans will die, how will you live fully until you “fade away”?

Observation of _________________________


Notes:

Notes:

18. The Buoyancy of an Iceberg

It can weigh tons, but yet floats and does not sink; the iceberg is a floating chunk of ice meandering throughout

the earth’s oceans. Seamen would desperately set lookouts for icebergs; they deemed them deadly, the Titanic

lies at the bottom of the ocean partly due to an iceberg.

One element of an iceberg is that it is broken from its larger piece, it once belonged to something greater, and

through warmer weather patterns it fell from its mother piece and floated away, Millions, perhaps billions of

years from now it will rejoin its lost part, somewhere, somehow.

An iceberg is also an analogy of our mind, part of the iceberg is above water but as much as 90% is below the

water, hidden from view, most our or mind, the unconscious is hidden from us as well, our fears and anxieties

get pushed deep under the surface, where we “think” they are safe.

1. Have you ever felt that were going to fall and something stopped you from hitting rock-

bottom?

2. What do you keep below your visible surfaces?

3. An iceberg will not last; it will disappear over time, where does it go? Where will you go when

you disappear, will you return to “something”?

Observation of _________________________


Notes:

Notes:

19. The Gracefulness of Snow

Stepping out from your home on a snowing winter’s day can be magical; the snow falls in varying sized flakes

from the sky, floating down to the earth. When it is snowing the noises around you are muffled, you notice it is

quieter, the sound waves compete with the snowflakes to reach your ears.

Snowflakes are never the same, so they say, no two are identical, this is in fact true, but are they not similar?

Snowflakes are much like people, different on the outside, mostly the same on the inside, the same basic make-

up exist across all humans, and although we are different we are also the same.

1. Do you devote parts of your life to quiet and ease or are you loud and tense?

2. How are you the same as those around you? How are you different?

3. When you shovel snow, do you become aggravated? Remember the average person will shovel

snow only 500 times in their short life?

Take some time and use this as a moving meditation, draw the part of nature that you are comparing yourself to;

that you are seeking insight from; that which you are using as a guide. Draw it slowly, take time use many colors, it




Observation of _________________________


Notes:

Notes:

20. The Sorrow of the Wolf

The image of the wolf howling before the moon, standing on an outcrop of rock conveys in us a sense of loss,

or being alone, perpetually looking for something. What is it that the wolf is looking for? Most likely it is look-

ing for its pack or where it belongs.

A wolf also conveys a sense of a deep primal urge inside of us; indeed history abounds with the notion of a

transmutation of man into werewolf or wolf-creature. Is it that man always contains the beast inside of him and

must always wage some internal battle against those base primal urges?

1. Have you ever felt alone? What time did you feel most alone in your life?

2. How often do you “run with the pack” or spend quality time with your family and friends?

3. What is the animal part of you? What is the part that is animalistic? How do you act when that

animal is in control?

Observation of _________________________


Notes:

Notes:

21. The Mystery of the Trees

Without the tress we would most likely not be able to survive on the earth, for their waste is our gold, they emit

a byproduct known as Oxygen which is essential for our survival. Even though we know the importance of the

trees, we still devastate their numbers across the globe.

A tree, interestingly enough, if you turn it upside down and then mentally split it in half, is identical to what our

lungs and esophagus look like. Ancient cultures have stated that trees have spirits or Manitou’s inside them just

as we have a psyche or soul.

Trees are also important for the land; they keep the land stable and keep it from eroding away; there is a certain

strength and power to be found in trees as well as mystery. What mystery lurks inside the trees is for you to

find out.

1. What keeps you rooted to the ground?

2. What do you provide to the life around you?

3. Have you ever listened to the trees and the wind? Imagine they are saying something to you, what

would they say?

Observation of _________________________


Notes:

Notes:

22. The Stillness of a Pond

As you stare out over the pond- the water is as still as a mirror, reflecting back to you whatever is on or in your

mind, this is the mirror to your soul, to your inner being, the child within, or for some the cowering individual

who has succumbed to too much in its life. In Greek mythology, Narcissus feel in love with himself when he

looked at his reflection, and he became fixated with himself forever.

Water for the ancient Greeks was a most magical place, marked by the habitation of water nymphs, or magical,

spiritual beings. Water for many ancient cultures was a sacred substance, however today not many of us take

care of our waters. Much of our water is becoming polluted in our current day. Water is—essential to our sur-

vival and without it we would not survive.

1. How many times throughout the day does your mind feel like a still, calm pond?

2. How can you increase your ability to calm your mind throughout the day?

3. What do you see as you gaze into a calm pool of water, who is looking back at you?

Observation of _________________________


Notes:

Notes:

23. The Roaring of the Rapids

In juxtaposition to our calm pool of water, the rapids portray a sense of vigorousness, an unyielding aspect of

nature; the rapids can be very dangerous. They can be dangerous not just for their ferociousness on the surface,

but what they can hide underneath their turbulent face.

It is safe to assume that if you fell into the rapids you would quickly lose your sense of control and be unable to

guide yourself in any particular direction. Their notion implies a sense of power outside of ourselves, some-

thing we must not succumb to.

The rapids are synonymous with life at its most turbulent of times, everyone can recall some period of their life

where they felt out of control, perhaps you felt as though you were just along for the ride during your most tur-

bulent time.

1. When was the last time you felt out of control, feeling unable to help yourself?

2. How much of your life is in your control and how much is out of your control?

3. If you think back to the most turbulent time of your life, what or who pulled you out of your “rap-

ids”?


that you are seeking insight from, that you are using as a guide. Draw it slowly, take time use many colors, it should

be a slow picture, the best you can do, some of us are not artists, but that does not matter, do the best you can and

meditate on the process of drawing it. When you are complete, ask yourself, why did I draw this, what does this


Observation of _________________________


Notes:

Notes:

24. The Depth of the Canyon

When we look at a canyon, what do we see? A crack in the earth, a separation of two distinct parts, a deep

abyss, all of our descriptions that we use convey a sense of depth. But what exactly is in those depths. As peo-

ple, we all have our “canyons” or our “deep abysses”, what do we keep down in those depths? What pains,

sorrows and

disappointments lay at the bottom of our canyon.

For as deep as a canyon is and for all the hurt that may lie at the bottom, there is life down there, sometimes,

every so often we may have to traverse to the bottom to “deal” with some of our negative experiences and emo-

tions.

When we are at the bottom we need to realize that the elements that we throw in there, as negative as they are,

are still a part of our life. The negative parts of our life are just as important as the positive aspects of our life,

for with the negative we would not be able to distinguish the positive.

1. How deep is your canyon or your abyss? How many fractures do you have? How much “stuff” did

you throw to the bottom?

2. Why is it easier to stay the same rather than to change?

3. List a few things that you need to deal with properly in your life? You need to solve problems not

just throw then down a hole.






Observation of _________________________


Notes:

Notes:

25. The Web of a Spider

“Oh what a tangled web we weave” someone once wrote, they saw webs as perhaps sticky situations of our

own making or perhaps another’s web that we walked into, someone else’s tangled mess of a situation that we

became stuck in for a while.

In the child’s story, Charlotte, a spider, spun a web which had a message embedded into it, implying that within

the web we can find not only trouble but also meaning. Through trial and hardships we can find meaning, by

being in the web perhaps gives us some meaning of life.

The ancient peoples and cultures of the world believed in a web of inter-connectedness in the world. That all

things regardless how trivial are connected, the smallest thing is related to the most magnificent, indeed, in

modern times the “World Wide Web” is attempting to connect and tie the world together. Webs like all con-

cepts and notions have two opposite poles, negative and positive.

1. What kind of webs have you woven in your life?

2. When was the last time you felt stuck in a web? Why were you stuck there?

3. All things are inter-connected, all things come from “one thing”, do you understand?

Observation of _________________________


Notes:

Notes:

26. The Immensity of the Ocean

I once heard that we are like a wave in the ocean, we are this little thing happening in the immensity of the wa-

ters of the earth. We are just a part of something bigger, a small function of a larger dynamic. The ocean

contains life-giving properties but also can contain a destructive element, such as typhoons, hurricanes and tsu-

namis.

The ocean hides many things below its surface; myriad forms of life perform their daily dance under the glass

sheen of the ocean. No matter how turbulent the surface may be in storms and tempests, underneath is always

calm, it hidden nature is that of softness.

Gods once resides in the ocean, Poseidon once ruled the ocean, oceans contained the power of these old gods,

the waves still crash with power on the shore, bringing loud sounds and frothy foam, but if we stand and watch

they always recede, engaging in this perpetual cycle.

1. You as a person are both creative and destructive, which do you do more, destroy or create?

2. How does it feel knowing that you are a small part of something larger that is going on in the

universe?

3. How do you crash with your own emotions and behaviors?

Observation of _________________________


Notes:

Notes:

27. The Anger of the Volcano

Volcanoes contain destructive power; it is an outpouring of earths “emotional” energy. The earth, like people,

can only store so much energy, before they “blow”. There is a substance of smoke, ash and lava that pours out

after an initial explosion.

Volcanoes have been known to destroy whole cities, such as Pompeii in Italy, laying waste to homes and fami-

lies, lives that were taken by the power of this destructive force. Just as when “people explode”, when they

can’t

contain their negative energy anymore; they can be a destructive force as well, damaging family, home and life.

People need to not be like Volcanoes, people need to let their ‘emotional energy” out in more appropriate ways,

and in smaller amounts, we can’t bottle it up anymore, and it does no good. If you explode what might you

destroy?

1. Have you exploded in the past? How and who did you affect with your anger?

2. What is underneath your surface, what lies at your bottom?

3. How will you from this moment on let your emotions out in a more appropriate way, a safer

way?

Observation of _________________________


Notes:

Notes:

28. The Voice of the Earthquake

Voices tend to communicate with us in some way, when we think of an earthquake we can imagine if we use

some creativity that the earth is telling us that it is in still in charge, no matter how savvy we become as people,

it is still our master, and we, its children.

Like earthquakes, our own bodies send us messages, sometimes in the form of anxiety or depression, these

messages are good for us; they let us know that something is amiss in our life and that we need to change some

factors about ourselves or our lives. Imagine driving around a town with no signs to guide you to your destina-

tion, how would you find your way?

The problem is that when we receive “quakes” from our bodies, we tend to want to medicate them to make

them go away, never listening to them and what they are trying to tell us. We need to stay in that “quake” to

learn from it, but most of us have lost the power to “stay in that feeling”.

1. What messages has your body and mind been sending to you? Why have you ignored

them?

2. How will you start attending to and learning from these messages?

3. What will happen to you and your life if you continue to ignore these messages?

Observation of _________________________


Notes:

Notes:

29. The Up and Down of the Ocean

Watch the ocean or any body of water for that matter, what do you see? You see an undulating motion, a

movement that cycles from up to down, from low to high, this action constantly occurs. All things on the water

bob up and down; similarly, in life we move up and down as well, we go up and down with what life gives us

or takes away.

We as people, associate the notion of up with feeling good, with pleasure, with feeling ecstatic, happy with

ourselves and our life. In reality the truth is that life is never a bed of roses, we are guaranteed to experience

“the down” many times in our life.

The problem is, is that people sometimes choose not to look at the big picture, they fail to see the downs in re-

lation to the ups, it is like looking at a picture but only seeing a small piece of what that picture is. We need to

understand that up and down go hand in hand, they are forever intertwined, just as tall and short, night and

day, dark and light, we cannot have one without the other.

1. How has your own life been like an up and down wave? How has it been “up and how has

it been down?

2. How are you going to cope with all the down times in your life?

3. Think about this, If you did not have “down times” how would you identify “up times”?

Observation of _________________________


Notes:

Notes:

30. The Necessity of the Oasis

The oases, the necessity in the desert, were it not for the oases of the desert many would have died, dehydrated,

laying in the sand, the wind covering them over. We trek through the desert all the time whether it is at our job,

in our home, or some other part in our lives that is filled with pain and heartache.

The oasis tells us that not all will be bad, there is a shimmering in the distance that offers some salvation, some

hope, we need to focus on moving from one oasis to another, for this is what makes life bearable, the ability to

stop and nourish and to rest ourselves after our hardships and our traumas.

Sometimes an oasis can be an illusion sent forth by our mind to trick us, do not follow illusions, for illusions

are not real and never will be and all humans know at their core what is an illusion and what is not.

1. How long have you been walking in the desert or your life without nourishment?

2. Oases are sometimes illusions formed out of the delirium of the heat of the desert what does

that mean to you in your “real” life?

3. Why do we all need to be replenished after tough times in our life?

Observation of _________________________


Notes:

Notes:

The End of Part One

using nature to heal your emotions · your children, your grandchildren, your wife or husband,...

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