NatureConnect Programs for Wellness in Blue Mountains National Park | Medical and health

NatureConnect Programs for Wellness

Locality: Blue Mountains National Park

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25.01.2022 Encountering insignificance of ones self can be enlightening, in a literal sense. I found myself under a tall tree the other day while walking to connect. Meandering in silence within a soundscape of birdsong and rustling canopies, such a blessing and relief. It was, as ever, a wonderful feeling to feel so small and insignificant, a state that even my ego self did not complain! I felt safe, held in its magnificent space knowing I was embraced within its aura. Here is my reflection while there. Can you relate to these feelings of blissful insignificance? https://vimeo.com/416645714

24.01.2022 The world is changing, sliding into systemic breakdown. In a world of beginnings and endings, in this uncomfortable space of transition, one of many important questions arise: how can we experience inner peace and stability in this degenerating world? Perhaps a more preliminary question revolves around the idea of resilience, how to fortify ones capacity to adapt coherently and successfully to the disruptive forces behind the oppressive events we see on our screens. Read more: https://natureconnect.com.au/our-broken-wholeness-making-s/

24.01.2022 As relevant an insight then as it is 170 years later, even more so. If our use of tools such as our smartphones and investments are an extension of our values, our identity, our level of consciousness, then they can turn into a dependency or disconnecting way of relating to our co-created world. The dependency and abuse of technology can become hindrances to generative relating and inner growth.

21.01.2022 My 9 yr old son said to me one day while bushwalking that this life felt like a dream and that perhaps we lived in one big dream space. I responded that perhaps it was not so different from the vivid dreams we have which are all to real too. When I look back on both dreams and awake events they both have a dream-like feel to them. I said to him that perhaps when we pass from this world to the next that our lives, however long, may feel dreamlike too. Its a provocative insigh...t from my little boy and goes to the heart of my decades long curiousity about the nature of reality. The most basic and fundamental insight into reality, at least for me over the years of reflections, has been that what we perceive out there is real yet an illusion, it is neither solid nor static nor fundamental. Science and spiritual wisdom concur with this. An interesting question that arises from my sons insight is what makes both the vivid dream world and the realness of waking reality so similar? The basic commonality between both realities is my consciousness in its various states or perspectives. I agree with my son that life could be a dream - a creation of our inner drives and consciousness - and our challenge is to awaken into this dream in a way that makes conscious our fundamental nature. It is all real in terms of the experience yet both are co-creative constructions that are not what they seem. Gotta love the innocent and insightful reflections of wise little people-in-becoming! See more

21.01.2022 You could paraphrase this - societies that destroys ecological systems undermines its own future and right to exist. I fear that when things get back to normal, the new normal will be much like the old normal which undervalued nature, community and equality. For those societies that have been battered by the virus, there will indeed probably be some fundamental changes, if the resilience of people and communities survives intact. Time will tell but I sure as hell want a new normal of connection and equality and community resilience.

21.01.2022 NatureConnect Reflection: Dealing with anxiety - most of us live lives of busyness and fragmentation, mind and body always in motion. Most of us are anxious about the future and the collapse of the climate, economy, relationships and our own health. As a result we forget to tap into the foundation of some aspect of me that is beyond this sense of fragmentation, beyond the turmoil of anxiety. This aspect could be labelled wholeness which is simply a feeling of the unfoldin...g oneness of life, of being deeply aligned with your unique life purpose of learning and service. Being and becoming whole is a recognition that the darkness and lightness in your life are the paint strokes upon the canvas of self-understanding. It is recognising the joy of intuiting the dance of the ego and soul. This journey requires becoming more conscious of the inner and outer forces that fragment your thinking, your sense of self, and moving to overcome them. This is an important aspect of connecting with nature and the sacred, and our deeper nature. In large part it is about being authentic to who you really are..and self-understanding is the hardest question of all!! Who after all is the one observing your awareness of perceptions, thoughts and feelings? Your unbroken Awareness. Certainly not the you you think you are...... See more

20.01.2022 Guided visualisations are an important part of my NatureConnect sessions, primarily to help elevate or move the energy or chi up the body via the energy centres or chakras. It expands awareness of the energy body and its role in connecting with other beings. Experiencing this embodied flow helps to feel connected to Earth and Universe and enter into a deeper state of consciousness. You can download my recording when you visit the website: www.natureconnect.com.au

20.01.2022 Hello. Im developing a 21 Day Online/ Distance Program to Inner Stillness, based on my face to face contemplative nature based program Ive run for 10 years. This is to reach people who cant make my experiential sessions yet who love being in nature and/or doing contemplative practices. I need volunteers to help me pilot this Program, for free of course. In a nutshell, here is my pitch: The journey to cultivating inner stillness is a challenging but a worthwhile one. It ca...n take you from where you might be now, constant busy mind, regular feelings of anxiety and despair, frustration with life or yourself, to a more connected state of inner calm and stillness. This Program provides structure and guidance to your longing for more inner calm and groudedness with an easy to follow and read workbook, 3-4 weekly emails of instructions, insights and tips (including audio/video resources) and cheat sheets to take with you for easy clear instructions. Feedback to me and advice is also offered. If this sounds useful, then please let me know. This free Program will be available for the first 5 volunteers only. Regular Program price expected to be $88. Please share to your friends who may find this helpful. Contact me if you need further info. Thanks See more

20.01.2022 Have you ever imagined the flow of water streaming through you while sitting by a waterfall? If not, try it. Imagine the crystal clear cool water falling into your crown chakra and flowing down your body cleansing and aligning your body energy centres and clearing your mind. Imagine it flowing out your feet and continuing on down the creek having cleansed and refreshed your being. Try it!! Do this for five minutes and feel the difference. Im lucky, Im surrounded by waterfalls and do this several times a week. When the lockdown is over, come up to the Blue Mountains and I can show you some lovely falls. Hope your doing ok....

19.01.2022 A break from the misty rain of the week today was welcome. I walked one of my favourite tracks in the Mountains - Junction Falls, Lawson. Highly recommend it. I regularly visit it for my NatureConnect walks. Easy to access, easier to let go of the baggage of life, the challenges of the world and get connected with the beauty and sacredness of the forest and falls. Wonderful to sit next to the falls and meditate on its splashing songs. It washes the debris from my mind. Hope you can do your walk in nature soon

17.01.2022 Do you ever feel discombulated? Weird word I know, it means to be disoriented or befuddled, not quite sure what to do or how to make sense of a situation. Ive felt discombulated for a long time. In my latest blog, I try to explain why its natural to feel this and suggest one way around it. Not an easy ask I know but succumbing to discombulation is not a happy place. Do you ever feel discombulated? Read more: https://natureconnect.com.au/nurturing-resilience-in-these/

16.01.2022 Hey hope everyone is surviving the current pandemic okay and getting prepared to go into social isolation some time soon (dont bother going to Woolie for loo paper!!). As if there isnt enough disconnection in our communities and societies! An unseen virus can disconnect us like no other threat. But of course amidst the viral pandemic we have the on-going and much less noticeable plastic pandemic that is destroying life in our waterways and oceans. All that nano-plastics ending up in animal and human tissues causing harm. My latest blog looks at the symbolic aspects of the plastic pandemic, a disturbing distraction from the real pandemic. Worth a squiz and share https://natureconnect.com.au/we-are-all-made-of-flesh-and-/

15.01.2022 Looking out at the impacts of this pandemic and the plight of millions of people facing financial hardship, hope can be a difficult commodity to rustle up from the undergrowth of pessimism and despair. Yet if we can find meaning in our life, in the demise and transformation of our out-of-date civilisation then perhaps that is the kind of hope we must embrace, the hope of letting go and letting come into the emerging future.

15.01.2022 I escaped lockdown the other day with my son and dog and went into another world of mist and ancient valley and thick forest at my local walk. I came across a newly constructed path through hanging swamp, sandstone blocks acting as stepping stones across wet ground. I couldnt but help but see them as they are and their symbolism. While they act as stable platforms to help people across the wet, slippery shifting grounds around them. This is what I and most people need in these discobobulating times, a strong inner platform that can stabilise our journey through the shifting grounds of our restricted lives. My son and my nature connection are my outer platforms that ground me, the inner stability comes from the presence of spiritual community I feel into during meditation. What is your inner path that grounds you in these uncertain times?

15.01.2022 Weekly Tip for Enhancing Connectedness - Expanding your perspective I am so blessed to be in COVID lockdown in such a beautiful and serene landscape of the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney. There is a variety of bushwalks to walk along with bubbling creeks, gushing waterfalls and melodious birdsongs echoing through the forest canopy. As I looked out across the Jamieson Valley this morning (see the image beneath), I recognised an important perspective towards life and dealing wi...th the emotional clutter of our troubling times. From my perspective from a lookout over the valley, I could not see beyond the horizon of the cliff tops and plateaus. The horizon represents a real yet artificial boundary between the observed and the hidden and it can shrink or expand with any shift in my viewing height, my physical perspective. Similarly, we all have lines of horizons within the landscape of our psyche that we cannot see beyond from our normal perspective. Sometimes these lines are created by unconscious shutting off from past trauma or shame or other painful experiences. Sometimes the lines limit our perception of our blindspots, something about our personality or life we wouldrather not admit or deal with. The point here is that horizons change in nature and within the psyche as we shift our physical/mental perspective and awareness and the process of re-perspectivising will connect us to new sights and insights about the worlds we inhabit. Tip: next time you have an encompassing view of a scenery such as an ocean, beach, valley, harbour, streetscape, still yourself in body and mind and focus your sight on the horizons that encircle you. Become familiar with their character, their shape and imagine how this horizon would change if you heightened your position. Imagine what would reveal itself to you, even if you are unsure what lies beyond. The imagination doesnt just allow you to create a mental picture but it more importantly helps you to connect to the landscape you are immersed within, the line of horizon that encircles you, that creates the boundary between the earth and the sky. Reflect on the artifical nature of the boundary line and allow this perspective to stir up any insights about any self-created boundaries. Perhaps the insights can stir up the longing to step beyond and above the horizons that limit your (in)sight. What do you think about this opportunity? https://natureconnect.com.au/

15.01.2022 Our ecosystems may be resilient to fire but they are threatened by increasing intense fires and warming climate and may become extinct like the current 700 species susceptible to extinction due to the massive fires. We are all poorer for this loss

15.01.2022 Given the attitude I heard today from a Chinese official saying that the wet markets werent the transition to humans point, I suspect that it will be business as usual v shortly, and of course only a matter of time until the next, more virulent virus hits. As a species and civilisation, we can be stupid and arrogant, just look at our environmental impacts

14.01.2022 Thoreaus insights into the human-nature relationship informed my PhD and continues to confirm the importance of connectedness. To walk along a street, or bush track, or crowded mall and be able to direct my inner "atmosphere" towards mindful stillness is a skill that allows me "to affect the quality of the day" and be at peace, so important in these disruptive and uncertain times.

14.01.2022 As we all know regular contact with natural spaces is important for a childs development and confidence in being in out and about away from domestic comforts. Alot of research backs this up finding that childhood experiences in nature were very influential in an adults connection and respect for nature. Environmental activists had close connections with natural spaces as children. I take my son out for nature walks every other day and once there he has fun and I enjoy his beautiful company. Such a wonderful learning and creative space but especially here in the Blue Mountains where the ancient rugged landscape provides many habitats for exploration and fun. Here we are at Wentworth Falls in February. No time for my usual mindfulness practice, just being presenced by my son

14.01.2022 This is the mushroom, Fly agaric (Amanita muscaria) at one of my favourite meditation spots in Wentworth Falls. I cam across it while doing a mindfulness walk. Its a native throughout the Northern Hemisphere and was introduced in Australia and elsewhere with the establishment of pine plantations. It is now found around exotic trees such as pines, oaks and birches. Im sure you wouldve seen one if you visit parks in autumn with these trees. It has been used as a ritual drink... over thousands of years to create euphoric, hallucinatory states. Dont eat it! It causes a range of effects, from nausea, twitching and auditory or visual hallucinations to severe gut pain and death. But its a beautiful mushroom and symbolic of new life. The vivid red represents for me the courage needed to face the destabilisation and threats of the pandemic. Sitting by the creek meditating on the gurgling creek, the birdsong was uplifting and stilling, another wonderful NatureConnect session and a welcome break from domestic lockdown. Thanks to my mushie friend for its colourful presence. Hope you have your nature spot to become still within. https://natureconnect.com.au/ See more

14.01.2022 The bad news keeps rolling in, this time its the Fed Govt action to undermine environmental protection even further and increase the extinction rates of our biodiversity. The ecocide underway is further encouraged by ScoMo. What unethical, pathetic humans the people promoting this environmental vandalism. Wake up Australia

12.01.2022 Deepen your sense of connectedness by focusing attention on your energetic state. I explore this approach to connection in my latest blog that explores the fact that we are always connected with the world we inhabit, usually unconsciously so. Our challenge is to become more conscious beings engaging more consciously so we may expand concepts of realtiy and self. https://natureconnect.com.au/energetic-connection-is-our-i/

12.01.2022 An important question we can reflect upon, especially in an increasingly divided and inflammatory world.....

11.01.2022 More than ever we need the healthy and calming space of natural places to get away from the physical and emotional challenges of the pandemic. I feel a quiet acceptance of what is happening but also very discombobulated with the overwhelm of coronavirus effects. I also feel a certain bleakness about how this pandemic will unfold and this challenges my capacity for inner stillness. So I tap into the stillness by walking each day along one of the beautiful tracks here in the Blue Mountains. When I drop into the peacefulness there, I tap into the inner stillness through mindful practice and gratitude, two of which are part of my upcoming new online course. So to help deal with the social isolation and angst of the unfolding pandemic, I recommend getting into nature and stilling the mind and heart. I hope you can get there...

11.01.2022 Tree scars are a reminder of an event such as a bushfire that inflicted damage to the tree, physicalised expressions of a traumatic event long passed. I stood in front of a eucalypt tree the other day, it was wounded with a substantial cavernous gouge in its trunk at head level. It was black charcoal inside and dead and rotting wood at the base. It was a reminder of past damage and now its is held within the embrace of the trees living tissues. It reminded me that I have my ...inner scars that indicate past trauma or pain. As I responded with the tree, I too acknowledged and accepted my scars as part of my journey but stopped at defining myself by these scars. As I stood in front of the tree mindfully observing it, I can likewise observe my and anyone elses scars with empathic resonance and enter into a holding space that allows what is to be acknowledged. The thing is the trees scar is held by its living tissues and is part of a healthy tree. Life continues with its inherent potential for growth. Its an important insight for all of us who have not looked into and accepted our own scarring. Trees offer opportunities for transforming our perception and understanding of our inner and outer worlds See more

11.01.2022 The nature of reality has been a fundamental question I have returned to many times in my life. From my early adulthood, I asked basic questions such as: what is so physical about physical reality? Given that we associate physicality with dense matter we cant see/ walk through etc, and that objects are 99.9999% empty space, are physical objects enfolded within an infinite spiritual spectrum? So now 30+ years later I consider asking these kind of questions fundamental to e...xploring the depths of nature connection. Who am I beyond this body, this personality, even this consciousness? My experiences over the years of altered states of consciousness associated with connection or meditation has provided the portal to answering these questions. Connection is much more than embodied nature connectedness, its a lifelong journey of asking the right kind of questions, maintaining the patience to not leap to abstract answers, and that stimulates immersive and contemplative enquiry that allows me to intuit into the possibilities. See more

11.01.2022 New On-line Course now available: Cultivating Inner Stillness: taming the wild mind. For those interested in a nature-based contemplative approach to dealing with personal and global challenges and improving mental and spiritual health, my first on-line course is completed and ready for you. I provide easy to understand, comprehensive and downloadable audio instructions to guide you into the inner stillness. Please share this with your network for those looking for guidance in these challenging times. https://natureconnect.thinkific.com/courses/inner-stillness

10.01.2022 I enjoy hugging trees. No social distancing needed. Great way to get rooted

09.01.2022 Ive just read a review published in March 2020 that looked at over twenty international studies into the psychological impact of quarantine. Its relevant to the COVID quarantine and to a lesser extend the general public lockdown here. Not surprisingly the review found that all studies found a wide-ranging, substantial, and possible long-lasting effects of quarantine. The negative impacts from separation from loved ones, loss of freedom, boredom and frustration included subst...antial increases in post-traumatic stress, confusion, depression, anger and frustration. Nothing too surprising here but its a reminder of the importance of maintaining positive mental health and to be proactive about it if you are feeling down. There are many offerings out there of course and I have my offering with my Cultivating Inner Stillness on-line course (natureconnect.com.au/programs) recently launched. If you know of anyone finding it difficult adjusting to the lockdown, encourage them to get help, and at the least, get some nature therapy See more

03.01.2022 As someone deeply reflective about connectedness, one question that regularly arises in these social distancing and self isolating days is how to experience connection in these times of disconnection. We have a civic duty to disconnect from social gatherings. In a time when balance is so important, how do we maintain connection while balancing this with our necessary disconnection? https://natureconnect.com.au/realising-the-importance-of-c/

03.01.2022 My latest blog deals with dealing with dark emotions that arise when were affected by events around the world. If we are to find sustenance in these challenging times we must examine our engagement with living in a way that unfolds deeper meaning and the unbreakable communion of spirit-in-life. Read more: https://natureconnect.com.au/we-must-be-still-and-still-mo/

03.01.2022 Your guidance for inner calm & meaning: Cultivating Inner Stillness: taming the wild mind After six weeks of the COVID lockdown, how are you coping with the restrictions to your lifestyle? For most people I suspect, like most other challenges, its a case of swings and roundabouts. I think most people feel in limbo, a bit cooped up and varying degrees of anxiety about the future and impacts of COVID. I feel these at times. So how is your mental and spiritual wellness holding up? Im promoting my new on-line course as an activity you can do at home and during your nature walks. Please find out more now https://natureconnect.thinkific.com/courses/inner-stillness

02.01.2022 The COVID pandemic and US riots are two obvious, well reported events (if often biased) that are uncovering and publicising the blatant systemic discriminations and inequalities, the destruction of ecological and life support systems and the erosion of social trust and cohesion. We have lost our moral and spiritual compass. Read more: https://natureconnect.com.au/our-broken-wholeness-making-s/

02.01.2022 NatureConnects tip for Connecting Friday: Walking in the rain keeps me sane Im just back from a slow meandering walk in my local bushland reserve, enjoying the rare rainfall falling softly on the thirsty land. This is a rare event that I soak up and allow to wash over me, cleansing and stilling. Do you go into natural spaces for exercise, to explore and learn, to get space away from domestics, to look at the flowers and birds or to feel deeply connected? Whichever reason, th...ere is compelling evidence of natures lasting beneficial effects on our health. Studies from around the world indicate the effect of nature time, even viewing images of natural landscapes, on our mental and physical health. In some countries such as Scotland and some Scandinavian countries health practitioners are referring their patients to the great outdoors as a health intervention. How do you allow nature to become your wellness intervention? How does it feel? See more