HEALING & AWAKENING – Prescription: Immersion in Nature

A reflection on practice by Marcia Rose

The blessings of Autumn are unfolding here in northern New Mexico as is currently happening in many places around the planet. This time of year, the natural world all around us offers abundant Dharma practice opportunities in ordinary & profound ways.

Here in my garden, the huge & magnificent Chinese lilies whose intense smell was permeating their nearby environment have now all fallen off their sturdy stems. Pea vines, finished producing the sweet pea pods they offered all summer, are withering & turning brown. The prolific peach tree has given up hundreds of peaches to the birds, squirrels & humans fortunate enough to eat & pick them off its laden branches. The air is cooling. I have donned a sweater for the first time in many months.

In this fall season, we see the undeniable workings of Anicca/change/impermanence… the basic unpredictable & uncertain details of its timing and the challenging & beautiful ways that it relentlessly shows up. Bringing a deep interest & opening our heart/mind in the midst of this process is an incredible practice opportunity. The nature of life & death is clearly & obviously revealing itself again & again as we mindfully observe, acknowledge & accept what we are sensing & seeing… letting it all in without resistance, judgment or criticism.

Human cultures & organizational structures wherever we may live, like the structure & cultures underlying all natural life forms… animal and plant, are rooted in the processes of Anicca/change/impermanence. Our bodies, our ideas, likes & dislikes, our emotions… our very life is basically grounded in these same processes that underlie how the natural world shows up & expresses itself. Can you even imagine what it would be like if there were no change? In truth, without Anicca/change/impermanence there would be no life.

Through our practice we can learn to meet this perfectly natural process of change, impermanence & uncertainty with acceptance rather than resistance. Instead of reacting to manifestations of Anicca with anger, fear, aggression, pretending, clinging or hiding, we can learn to respond with clarity in appropriate, helpful, compassionate and wise ways.

Fall is the perfect time to make a resolve to go deeper in our practice, as we explore opening to, observing & accepting Anicca… in the world around us & within our own body, heart & mind. Orienting & rooting our Autumn meditation practice in the world of nature, especially during these challenging times, helps to reduce stress & anxiety, offering moments of quiet presence, calm & healing.

As a prolific gardener & one who spends as much time out-of-doors as possible, I love the lessons this time of year offers me. In its natural & simple way, it profoundly helps to put everything into perspective.

With love, Marcia