Nature’s Medicine by Minnie Kansman

Nature Connections

Nature's Medicine

by Minnie Kansman

As I write this, much of the world is reeling with change and in lockdown due to the Covid19 virus. This virus is a part of Mother Earth, just as we are. It is here to teach us something. I am not positive what that lesson is, though I have some theories.

One is our connected relationships with each other. This sickness is not discriminatory; it afflicts old and young, rich and poor, and is found in every location that people are. I believe it is our wakeup call to see what we are made of.

How will we react under pressure? Will we flourish or fail? In order to flourish, I also believe Mother Nature holds many paths to assist and support us. She wants to “ Give us her Medicine,” as only she can.

The first step to receiving this medicine is to strengthen your relationship with her. Our busyness in the world with jobs, money, competition, politics, and greed have allowed us to lose focus on that relationship. We lost having enough time to take a Nature walk, follow the moon cycles, or even just gaze out a window. We stopped growing our own food and flowers, relying on some other business to do that for us. We stopped getting dirty, placing our hands in the earth, and smelling her fragrance. We started labeling soil as smelly and muddy and gross.

We rarely walked on bare ground. Choosing the cleaner, flatter, easier route of the paved sidewalk and covered airway bridge. We closed our windows, turned on the air conditioning, and lost our screen doors.

This mandatory pause now, in our lives everyday structure, allows us the time and space to make this connection a priority again. Now is the time to go sit on the ground and hang out with a tree. Her medicine is there for the taking, offered to us every day when we allow ourselves to receive it.

I know many are in city communities that do not have rich forests available to you. But you may have a city park with some large trees, and perhaps a small stream or river running through it. I live in the city of Loveland, Colorado, and there are not abundant forests like those found in the farmlands of Michigan, where I moved from.

This means I have to go searching for “wild places.” I have found such wildness in a city park, called Fairgrounds Park, in my community. It is surrounded by soccer fields, planted green spaces of picnic areas and playgrounds, and busy roads, but the Big Thompson River runs through it. With the main sidewalk above the riverbank, most walk on that and never venture down to the wildness at the water’s edge. But someone or something has, as there always seems to be a narrow dirt path following the rivers or lakes I have explored. Get yourself down that bank and find that “wild path,” the one, the deer and kids, use.

Next, walk along until you find an open space or large rock or log, and then create a Sit Spot area for yourself. Then sit still and just BE. By be-ing, I mean be there with ALL of your senses. Watch the unending flow of the water current, see the grasses nod in the breeze, and the critters that show up when you finally stop your movement. Place your hands on the earth and smell the soil beneath you and the air around you. Tune into your heartbeat as it mimics the heartbeat of Mother Earth. Feel the sunlight on your face, close your eyes, and listen to this place.

Yes, there will be manmade sounds, but there are also earth sounds, together making up the chorus of your life. Your breathing adds to this symphony, and after 20 minutes in this place, your inner world will make a shift. It has been proven that spending time in a natural setting will physically lower your blood pressure, decrease your heart rate, lower cortisol levels, and boost your immunity. So search for the wild spaces; usually, it is with a grouping of trees or large boulders. It is always off the sidewalk and hidden in the undergrowth.

Even looking and interacting with Nature through a window can bring on the same effects. My favorite window invitation is to watch what is in motion in your outdoor world. Somehow sitting still to focus on the swaying tree limbs, dripping raindrops, or feeding birds slows us down even more. What is important is that you stay focused on the outdoor world, concentrating on what is in motion and not on your inner dialogue. Keep returning to the prompt, “What is in Motion?”

There have even been studies of patients in hospitals healing faster and feeling happier when they had an outdoor window view rather than a brick wall view. Even artwork depicting Natural elements has been shown to have positive benefits for our health and well-being.

There is so much Gaia offers us to help us create balance and wholeness in our lives. During this time of uncertainty, go for a walk, it is guaranteed to help you feel better!

About Minnie Kansman

Minnie Kansman and her business Eco~Balance Humanity in Harmony with Nature have assisted others with Feng Shui, Sacred Space Clearing, and Nature Spirit Connection since 1994.

A certified Master Feng Shui Consultant and Educator and Nature and Forest Therapy Guide, Minnie lives lightly on the land and honors the power of Spirit in all things.

The author of Spirit Gardens: Rekindling our Nature Connection, and Missing Nana: Lessons from the Nature Spirits, a playful children’s story about the afterlife based on love, available on her website.

Minnie’s next trip with Nature Travel Adventures is to the Scottish Highlands— scheduled for September 14-26, 2020. There are a few spots left. The Nature Spirits of Findhorn, the Callanish Stone Circle, and Isle of Skye and Isle of Iona are all part of this Sacred Journey. The full detailed itinerary is now posted on her website www. minniekansman.com.

Join Minnie for her Nature Connections live stream the fourth Weds. of the month at 4 pm ET.

Contact her for long distance and on-site Feng Shui Consultations and Space Clearing Ceremonies. Check out her website for a Forest Therapy walk near you.

www.minniekansman.com

ecobalance99@gmail.com

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