Most of us have had experiences in nature like this: - Sitting on a beach, feeling the rhythm of the waves sooth and clear us in just the way we needed.
- Looking out at the stars, feeling the immensity of the universe, knowing our right place and how connected we are to everything.
- We’re distracted and upset as we walk along, and a hummingbird flits by, returning us to ourselves and a sense of grace.
- We walk under the trees, feeling their age and strength, and feel our own age and strength, too.
The way we talk about nature can sometimes sound trite, too easy. But there is now plenty of evidence that the anecdotal stories we share about how nature has touched and healed us is a real phenomenon.
There are many ways that nature has this affect on us: the soothing quality of so much of nature, the way it takes us out of the intensity of daily life, and the sheer beauty of what we encounter.
But there is one other aspect of nature that can be profoundly, if less obviously, healing: the way in which everything has its place, and the way in which disorder eventually finds its way back to pattern, rhythm, and order of a kind.
In the ancestral work that I do, we are always curious about how we can find our way back to “the good place” for us. Family Constellations is a powerful tool for helping us find that place in our families (no matter how difficult) and the world.
We also have a “good place” in the natural world, and when I’ve brought together nature and constellation work, I’ve discovered an amazing capacity for soothing our persistent human troubles and bringing them into better patterns.
As we gather for a Nature Constellation, we may notice:
- A bird flies into the circle: we suddenly feel lighter, or we notice the sadness that’s been left out.
- A gust of wind comes out of nowhere: we remember a lost relative that we loved and now feel close to.
- A branch falls out of the tree into the middle: a great truth feels healingly present to us.
These are examples of what can show up in a Nature Constellation, and this is what I will be doing toward the end of the month in Berkeley. I hope you will join (see more information at Nature Constellations Day).
If you can’t join us, I invite you to begin to notice the representations that our natural world sends us to complete the circles of our lives that had previously been ruptured.
What is your experience of healing in nature? Please share your experience, comments and questions on my blog here.
Out my window, half moon, hazy ring round it.
Always glad for reminders! Thanks!