Everything in nature is alive. Take a look inside your artificial house. You live in a coffin.

[InfinityTruth]

Nature insight.

 

Tree, plants, animals, bugs. The only thing that is not 'alive' in nature is rocks, and even rocks when naturally (not placed) in nature give off a certain vibe.

 

Everywhere you go in nature there is some kind of animal or bug. Individuality is prevailant and cherished.

 

Her music is effortlessly unceasing day and night.

 

Ever been in your house and thought it was just too eerily quiet? The sound of the walking dead.

 

Joy and playfulness seem to be everywhere in nature despite 'fierce competition' as it is said. Dragonflies dance from lillypad to lillypad. Birds soar overhead while diving, swooshing and chirping merrily.

 

Flowers of every color surround the prairie landscape. A splendor that is so effortless at being beautiful. I must have come on the right day that all the wildflowers are blooming. I feel like I was given an exclusive invite to mother nature's party that foolishly no other humans attended.

 

In nature, I have never encountered zombie bickering, zombie gossip, zombie whining, or any of the negativity that seems to be so prevailant in a bored human society. No wonder nature is said to be such a powerful healant. I've walked out a happier/healed human.

 

My day in nature.

[C T]

Yes, being in nature often promotes inspiration, yet being inside a 'coffined existence' is what lends contrast, without which appreciation might be found wanting.

[laughingblade]

+1 nature is awesome.

 

OTOH my house is rocking full of smooooth qi energy and provides a safe and nurturing space for me and my loved ones to be ourselves however we need/wish to be.

 

If coming down from the mountain still brings you down then is further practise indicated?

[manitou]

I sort of agree with Infinity. If you take a look at the items inside your house most are dead items. Wood that has been cut down and turned into shelving. Elements melted down and made into glass. Metal mined from the earth and made into a computer table.

 

I have wondered if one of the reasons modern man has lost so much of our primary power (I think the early shamans had the owners manual on this 'living' stuff) is because we have separated ourselves more and more from nature. We no longer sleep on the forest bed. We now sleep in a house which is separate from the ground, either raised with a foundation or sitting on a slab. Then we carpet the floor of our homes. Then we put a raised bed on there. With sheets and blankets and pillows. We no longer walk down the street. If we do, we're often walking on pavement or sidewalk. We hurl through Time with encapsulated cars - no wind on our face, no rain on our head. We've created umbrellas to take care of that. Our cars and transportation disrespect 'real' time (the sun going across the sky) and we zoom around squeezing way too much into a day.

 

And then we worry about piling up potential energy - money - so that we can keep conditions exactly the same as they are - unchanging - or for a future plan to have more and more money and more Time (as in retirement). When in fact all we're really looking for is peace of heart, and we think that will be obtained if only we earn enough money so we can have a nice peaceful life when we're old. Does anyone really think 'retirement' is easy? That it's a given that your heart will be peaceful and satisfied once you no longer have to work? I think the happiest man may be the one chopping wood and carrying water.

 

It's almost as though we've created an entire system which encapsulates us FROM nature. We just have to take off our shoes once in a while, go stand out in the grass, look around, and say Hello. The connection must be maintained.

[laughingblade]

I agree too Manitou, and I'm grateful for the reminder to spend more time harmoniously in nature instead of merely making pension payments and racking up my CO2 footprint: the reminder that I ignore any part of me at my peril.

 

My point was Ram Dass' point - if coming back to the city 'brings me down', then I have further to go on the path until I can truly keep my heart open. And 'home' for me - after a lifetime of negative associations - is just now becoming a place of nurture.

 

 

I'll wager too that the old shamans, when not out shamaning, lived in huts made from dead trees and wore clothes of animal skins too. And of course there would have been only a few shamen among a much larger population who themselves would have been a little more removed from nature, being tied by need to home & sustenance, and having yielded a view of the divine to just those shaman-psychonauts.

 

So I get the benefit of modern technology to keep a roof over my wimpy body, the availability of high high teachings to free me and others, and the opportunity to (maybe) make a difference. I'm very grateful for those parts of our civilisation.

 

Rxx

[manitou]

I agree too Manitou, and I'm grateful for the reminder to spend more time harmoniously in nature instead of merely making pension payments and racking up my CO2 footprint: the reminder that I ignore any part of me at my peril.

 

My point was Ram Dass' point - if coming back to the city 'brings me down', then I have further to go on the path until I can truly keep my heart open. And 'home' for me - after a lifetime of negative associations - is just now becoming a place of nurture.

 

 

I'll wager too that the old shamans, when not out shamaning, lived in huts made from dead trees and wore clothes of animal skins too. And of course there would have been only a few shamen among a much larger population who themselves would have been a little more removed from nature, being tied by need to home & sustenance, and having yielded a view of the divine to just those shaman-psychonauts.

 

So I get the benefit of modern technology to keep a roof over my wimpy body, the availability of high high teachings to free me and others, and the opportunity to (maybe) make a difference. I'm very grateful for those parts of our civilisation.

 

Rxx

 

 

Wow! I love the immediacy of your voice. It emanates love and closeness as though we're sitting next to each other on a couch. Where the heck have you been?

 

I agree that the old shamans had the brains to get out of the rain too. But it just doesn't seem like perceived linear time has done much for us, other than increase the layers of protection to the point of absurdity. And we have so many layers of self-protection built into our society regulations. We're all protected from ourselves (and of course, any physical phenomena like gravity, which could serentipitiously hurl us over the edge of the Grand Canyon to our immediate death) unless we have that guardrail to show us where the edge is. (Okay, so I know I'm not popular with soccer moms...)

 

I'll wager back atcha. I think Ram Dass is right about that. In fact, I think it was even him that said 'all time and space is Mine'. When you figure out who Mine really is, it falls into place. Keeping this in the forefront of the mind seems to help any perceived discomfort I might feel whether in the city or the country. And I think your point about city dwelling being a measuring stick for your Love is right on (at the risk of dating myself).

[Otis]

Living in L.A., I have had to find how to be "in nature", even when there is no nature around. Thankfully, I have the beach and Griffith Park very near by, and I make it to one or the other, several evenings of the week. In particular, barefoot hiking in the Hollywood Hills has been important in keeping me connected to the earth.

 

Even though they are not alive, the stairs, rails, walls and features of L.A. have welcomed me to play and dance on them. The concrete jungle has become my jungle gym. I think it is important that we embrace our environment, even when it is not "natural".

 

[Friend]

Edited November 16, 2011 by Friend

[phore]

Another interesting thing about nature is that it naturally follows spiraling arcs and fractal patterns. Most human dwellings seem to be organized in rectangles. Its much easier for me to see the divine intelligence at work when its basic organizational pattern is not being obscured by humans.

Spirals and circles encourage the adventuring spirit. Squares have lots of sharp corners and encourage people to hide on their couches where its safe.

How many times did my parents encourage me to "settle down or take it outside" when i was younger. And of course our teachers always scolded "use your inside voice." I like my space to move speak and think freely.

 

I spent the morning out in a blackberry field.

 

 

I currently share my house with a horde of grass spiders. They seem like a very intelligent and peaceful lot. Especially the big ones.

[strawdog65]

Good OP!

 

Thank you for starting this thread!

 

Our dis-connect from all things natural is only increasing.

Technology, as useful as it is, will complete this dis-association.

 

Look at the behavior of the newest generation living in this world.

The lack of regard and concern for others is accelerating.

 

We all need to step back, away from the technology that we have become so

dependent upon. I notice it most when there is any forced separation from

technology, that people kind of "wake up", they seem to have a lost look on

their faces. For example, when we had some bad hurricanes here,

and the power was out for 5 days, it was like nothing I'd ever seen.

People were aimlessly walking around unsure of what to

do without their gadgets to occupy their time and minds.

The whole act of living was turned on it's head.

No power, no lights, no cooking food,

none of the things we take for granted.

 

For me it was just another sign of how dis-connected we have all become.

But I still will never forget how hapless people were.

So I strive to always be reverent of nature and all things natural.

 

Technology is necessary. It is useful. It is not going anywhere, and

in fact will become even more ubiquitous to our everyday lives, but we still

need to reconnect to things that are natural, and to actual people, face to face,

to interact with this world as humans always have.

 

Everyone.... connect to the green in your lives. Feel it between your toes,

breathe it into your lungs, and know you are ALIVE!

 

 

Peace!

Edited July 1, 2011 by strawdog65

[Adishakti]

InfinityTruth, lovely post.

 

But your house is bursting with a lot of Energy too. And the house takes it's Energy from you. You give it love, then the dead bookshelf made of wood will soak love and radiate love.

 

Off course you can't replicate the rawness of Nature, but houses and things which are seemingly dead are very, very alive too.

 

 

Nature insight.

 

Tree, plants, animals, bugs. The only thing that is not 'alive' in nature is rocks, and even rocks when naturally (not placed) in nature give off a certain vibe.

 

Everywhere you go in nature there is some kind of animal or bug. Individuality is prevailant and cherished.

 

Her music is effortlessly unceasing day and night.

 

Ever been in your house and thought it was just too eerily quiet? The sound of the walking dead.

 

Joy and playfulness seem to be everywhere in nature despite 'fierce competition' as it is said. Dragonflies dance from lillypad to lillypad. Birds soar overhead while diving, swooshing and chirping merrily.

 

Flowers of every color surround the prairie landscape. A splendor that is so effortless at being beautiful. I must have come on the right day that all the wildflowers are blooming. I feel like I was given an exclusive invite to mother nature's party that foolishly no other humans attended.

 

In nature, I have never encountered zombie bickering, zombie gossip, zombie whining, or any of the negativity that seems to be so prevailant in a bored human society. No wonder nature is said to be such a powerful healant. I've walked out a happier/healed human.

 

My day in nature.

[manitou]

Living in L.A., I have had to find how to be "in nature", even when there is no nature around. Thankfully, I have the beach and Griffith Park very near by, and I make it to one or the other, several evenings of the week. In particular, barefoot hiking in the Hollywood Hills has been important in keeping me connected to the earth.

 

Even though they are not alive, the stairs, rails, walls and features of L.A. have welcomed me to play and dance on them. The concrete jungle has become my jungle gym. I think it is important that we embrace our environment, even when it is not "natural".

 

 

 

Otis - that video was fabulous. I'm so glad you post them on TTB's.

 

Several things struck me during that city-dance. First of all, that you kept going back to the yellow phone, doing everything with it but holding it to your ear. As though you are pointing out a 'break' in communications. Perhaps a break in communication between that which is seemingly real and that which is seemingly unreal. It's as though you're an imp, flirting with communications between two worlds.

 

I also couldn't help but notice your attraction to the Enter and the Wrong Way signs being juxtaposed like that. It's like an acknowledgment that all paths, even if seemingly wrong, lead to the same place if we just keep walking.

[thelerner]

Otis - that video was fabulous. I'm so glad you post them on TTB's.

 

Several things struck me during that city-dance. First of all, that you kept going back to the yellow phone, doing everything with it but holding it to your ear. As though you are pointing out a 'break' in communications. Perhaps a break in communication between that which is seemingly real and that which is seemingly unreal. It's as though you're an imp, flirting with communications between two worlds.

 

I also couldn't help but notice your attraction to the Enter and the Wrong Way signs being juxtaposed like that. It's like an acknowledgment that all paths, even if seemingly wrong, lead to the same place if we just keep walking.

 

Otis inspires on many levels. Great video.