Nature Awareness - Underwater Experience

I was speaking with a guy who attended one of my tracking courses; he was sharing with me his experience of diving in relation to nature awareness and peripheral vision.

We were working on a tracking exercise at the time which involves connecting with the track on an energetic level in other words sensing the energy of the person or animal that left the track. We also looked at concentric rings and the messages we send out to nature and that nature sends us and how we respond to that.

He was telling me that he feels very connected and is very much at home when he is diving and that he wanted to connect with the land as much he connects with the sea. He also said that when he is diving with his wife he is aware that she is able to see the marine life approaching in her peripheral vision were as he is not able to see them approaching.

So, why is this? Well to try and bring this into perspective let me make the following statement. 'Men are better drivers at night than women' the reason for this is simple, for example let's say that men operate in tunnel vision 70% and peripheral vision 30% of the time and that women are in peripheral 70% and tunnel vision 30% of the time (these percentages by the way are to just illustrate the point and are not completely accurate).

Men in the past were the hunters and therefore needed to see long distance were as women tented the village and needed to be aware of all round danger to protect their children and indeed they still use this awareness to this very day, that’s why women can sense when someone is starting at them from behind and then catch them when they turn around, what is happening is that they are picking up on the persons intent, be it good or bad.

Therefore at night men can see further down the road than women, there are of course exceptions to the rule, there is no right or wrong about this, it is just the way things are. However, men can achieve similar results as women in peripheral we just need to practise it a bit more; this is something I have personally observed when working with men in nature with exercises such as Meet a Tree, Drum Stalk and The Earth Tree and the Invisibles.

Natural Awareness Therapy Session Cornwall...

Below is a letter sent to me in which, a friend reflects on the experiences she encountered while out on a Natural Awareness session with me. 

This was a very powerful experience for both of us and helped me in making the decision to take Natural Awareness to the coast.

Down at the Rock pool with Geoffrey

Feeling blessed to be walking down to my favourite beach on the Cape of Cornwall at St Just; Geoff casually told me how he would thank the four directions at the beginning of a Natural Awareness Therapy session.

In my heart I affirmed that I was indeed calling in and thanking the directions and my spirit guides, as although Geoff put no pressure on me to do any work around my addiction recovery, I knew the opportunity was there and that I would probably grab it with both hands!

Down on the rugged beach, I chatted to Geoff about my Step 1 questions, about how my using had led to a loss of self-respect and I accounted one of those times. I just love the water, and had to roll up my trousers and get into the rock pool that was beside me. Geoff said that if I could connect with the emotions of that loss of self-respect and shame that my drinking had brought about for me then create a concentric ring in the water for those emotions, how would that be?

I picked up a stone and threw it into the other side of the pool. It was a hard throw, but not so much with anger as 'what's the point?' a kind of hopeless, numb, destructive out lash. Oh no! I had disturbed the pool, upset the balance, possibly frightened or hurt the little creatures which lived there, I felt sad, guilty. This was a very accurate representation of what was going on inside me when I was drinking. I was hurting myself, and then feeling guilty.

Geoff asked me to stay with the emotions, go right into it, then make another concentric ring for those emotions. I felt guilty; I wanted to make it all better now, so I crouched down and gently, softly, stroked the surface of the water, as one would comfort an injured child.

Then Geoff said he was going to leave me alone for a bit so that I could now tap in to how I want life to be, what do I want to create for my future? Then create a concentric ring in the pool for how I would like it to be. I sat at the edge of the pool and thought for a moment. I wasn't sure if I wanted to create any concentric rings at all as calm, stillness felt like something I would like to experience and create in my future. But then I thought that there was probably a good reason that Geoff had said to make a concentric ring so I ought to do what had been suggested.

I went into the water and started to move my hand in a slow but definite and smooth flowing motion towards a large heart shaped stone covered in soft fluffy green seaweed which represented for me the heart centre, and here I filled up on self-love and energy from here I swam hand out to various aspects of the pool, representing projects I would like to achieve, creativity, loving relationships and I also swam through some dark areas, knowing that I could trust to go into these dark unknown areas and come out the other side.

I took a stone to represent my sexuality and put it in a 'good place' to honour that part of myself. Always returning to the heart centre in between these journeys, a shrimp came towards my hand and I put my finger out to him, he came right up and touched the end of my finger with his little shrimp whiskers! I ended the journey at the heart centre. Geoff then asked me about the journey and asked some questions. He said its funny, I thought you were going to sit on the edge of the pool and not create any concentric rings! 'I was' I said, and in this moment I realised something very profound. I had always been looking to others to tell me what to do, or asking others if my judgement was right. I had never trusted myself and had been living through what I thought I 'should do' or what I thought, that other people thought I should do!

I realised that I had created this whole 'story' in the rock pool, that was quite complicated and not very 'in the moment', this was all based on a decision that I ought to do something because someone else said I should. I shared this with Geoff and his reflections and questions helped me to crystallise what I was learning. I really felt like I was getting somewhere. At this point I needed to have a pee! So I went behind a rock out of sight. Whilst I was doing this I heard an unfamiliar bird call and Geoff, who was out of sight said "... look it’s a Chough!"

The Chough is Cornwall's National Bird; it was the first English cough that Geoff had seen and my first ever! This was really nice because it was a real treat for Geoff and I felt really happy that nature had brought him a ;little gift of thanks giving for the work he was doing with me, which added to my rust in the process Geoff was guiding me through - we were both chuffed! When the excitement of this moment had passed Geoff invited me to take tree stepping stones back into the rock pool, affirming them as Steps 1, 2 and 3 of the Twelve Steps! I was a little hesitant here as I was only just beginning Step 1 with mu sponsor.

Geoff re-assured me that it was ok, it was just an exercise not necessarily me actually doing the 12 steps. It is my feeling, firmly, that my place I the fellowship + my relationship with other alcoholics and my sponsor is the primary foundation of all other work I do around my addiction. So, I took Steps one, two and the into the pool, the Geoff asked me to connect in again with the original emotions from the start of the exercise, at the Stone I had originally thrown, and then thanked them for all that they ha d brought me in my life and affirm that I no longer need concentric rings. I stood and watched the still surface of the pool, and as I did another really profound thing happened.

I saw that the pol had its own concentric rings, created by the wind and other beings that lived in the pool. In moment L felt spirit move through me, a voice inside said - life makes concentric rings anyway - people, places and things that you have no control over. You can trust! You can accept life on life's terms, you don't have to try and control everything any more, you can surrender! This felt amazing and a great sense of calm and deep understanding swept through me. I went to the place where I had originally picked up the stone that I threw to connect in with those initial emotions and thank and release these also, without making concentric rings in this place. As I was doing this, I became aware of the sound of the great ocean next to the pool, I looked up into the vast wild sea outstretched before me, crashing against the rocks, felt the wind in my hair, the sunlight on my skin, the smell of the ocean, the birds soaring out across the coast.

Suddenly, the rock pool seemed so small - it seemed like just the complicated, self-obsessed, try making part of my mind - and I felt like I had stepped out, out into the world!!! Leaving the waters of the pool calm and clear, It's not that the things I had wanted to create in my future, in the pool, were bad things, it's just that, knowing myself, I saw that it is all a lot of mind stuff - thinking all the time about what I 'should' be doing, and getting caught in the stagnation of my mind, forgetting to use my body, my senses, my relationship to the world, and action.

What a relief then, to realise that no longer need to suffer the pain of separation of the mind and self-obsession, worrying what others think and trying please everyone. What a relief to feel like part of the world, part of something far greater than myself, trusting that it can do for me, what I cannot do all by myself.

I would like to thank Geoff from the bottom of my belly for guiding me to achieve this process and for holding the space and reflecting so beautifully.

Working with Energy

I recently had the opportunity to work with a young man taking him through the process of self-awareness out in nature, it was great because he was open to expanding his experiences of life, and this allowed me to move him further along with his awareness.

I used two items to help illustrate to him that there is more to experience than people realise. Without him actually knowing I first placed a stone in his path which he had to walk towards. He was instructed to stop when he felt it was right to do so. This he did, stopping right on top of where the stone was placed.

In the next exercise we worked with a stick, which I had marked with a knife and again without him seeing where I had placed it, he was asked to walk towards me and again to stop when he felt it was right to do so.

The interesting thing about this exercise was that he did stop, but on the spot where I had first marked the stick with my knife. I asked him to carry on; he then stopped some twenty feet further on. I asked him to stand still while I reached down to the front of his feet and pulled a stick out from the ground which I had buried there, it was of course the stick I had marked. While seeming far-fetched this is not the case, it is something we can all do, if we but open ourselves up to it. 

Sensing energy can help us in many ways, for example:

Working with addictions
Helping to find someone who may be lost
Helping us to sense danger

The main thing is that by becoming aware of greater events taking place around us, we become open to other possibilities. Here is what the young man had to say about his experience of Nature Awareness and his awareness of himself in nature.

“I think it has made me realise that you can be in tune with yourself and nature and that the idea of doing so isn't actually that absurd as many people think today. I think if I applied the concept of what we were doing to everyday life I could be a better person whose awareness is heightened thus for example enabling me to see situations as they are.

The skills you taught me are very valuable and could save my life Geoff, and I'm grateful for the times we had. One thing that you ‘opened my eyes to’ was that many people are closed off from the natural world and I think that if you are someone who enjoys nature and respects it then in ways you are rewarded in life, like having a peace of mind and being able to deal with situations in a positive way.”

When asked how he felt about the exercise this was his response...

“I still remember that purely, just because of the sheer bizarreness of the situation. You really freaked me out that day and opened my eyes when you hid the stick and did that thing with the stone. Huh...
I was just so freaked out like, no... That did not just happen. You know what I mean! Pretty cool stuff!”

This is a video I did called 'Spot the Thread' using some thread to demonstrate energy tracking.

The fox cub learns to hunt through play

There is research on the experiences of disaffected adolescents, and on how not being in nature affects our children however, there appears to be none on the experiences of adults.

Many consider nature a facilitator for change; without doubt it’s an integral part of our development in building relationships both as children and adults. In Maslow's hierarchy of needs the first line reads; shelter, fire, water and food, this is about our innate relationship with nature. In relation to our growth play is important because it gives us positive and negative experiences, the latter ultimately being positive if we learn from them.

In play we learn about our boundaries and capabilities, it builds lasting social bonds and attachments. Young animals put in place behaviours needed to survive as adults through play i.e. ‘Predator Avoidance Strategies’. I am wondering we play in nature at an early age, would our strategies be put in place?

In nature nothing moves without affecting everything else, all things are connected just like a spider is with its web; when something gets caught in it, it is not just aware of the vibrations, it can pin point where the disturbance is on its web. These vibrations are sent out like concentric-rings, much like dropping a stone into a still pond; first there is a splash then the waves created spread until they fill the entire pond, and upon reaching the edge, the ripples start back. You only have to look at the concentric-rings to know where the disturbance occurred.

Children are very creative; a work colleague told me he bought his grandson a Tonka truck for Christmas, his grandson played with it for a short while, but for the rest of the holidays he played with the box, it was a racing car, a plane in fact it was anything he wanted it to be but, the Tonka toy will always be a Tonka toy. I expect you remember finding creative ways to play in nature, with your family and friends.

Here’s a game I use in my work. Collect free sample paint cards, with your children cut them out and place them into a container. Now go to your local woods. Ask your children to pick a card. Just like the playful fox cub go hunting for the colours in nature; once you have found them; encourage them to talk about where they found it, how it felt, what happened on the journey to finding their colour. Did they see any animals or birds? And what effect did their concentric-ring have on the web of life? Try it; write in and tell us how you got on.