Observing changes in our environment - internal or external - shapes our neurophysiological landscape, or the way we perceive. How often do you take time to quiet your mind and open your senses to your environment?

Everything in nature is always moving, always in a state of flux, change. Even those things we believe to be immobile or immoveable (such as the way we feel about something), are in fact part of much greater cycles of change. When we take the time to slow down and observe from a quieter place internally, we come closer to perceiving what is really there, beyond the overlay of our perceptions based on previous experiences.

When you find yourself somewhere you've been before, are you aware of what changes have taken place since you were there last? When we slow down in this way, we begin to notice subtleties emerge in our environment, especially if we are in contact with a natural setting. If we are patient and wait long enough for our nervous system to settle, we notice rhythmic movements around and within us, such as the flow of wind through the branches of trees in the distance, or the pace of our heartbeat. If we have been sitting quietly in the woods, we may begin to discern different bird calls and animal sounds. If we are looking at a track, we may begin to notice nuances of shape, texture, and pattern emerge, as well as how that track relates to the overall landscape and trail.

The key is to slow down. Not stop, but slow down. Stay with a place, such as a feeling in a single locus in your body, long enough for your nervous system to settle down. Pay attention in a relaxed yet engaged way, and simply observe (don't analyze). Continue to engage all your senses, especially your kinesthetic ones, and perceive/experience from there. Feel the feeling, don't think the feeling. Notice the changes that occur. Get curious like a child again! Can you (re)discover the joy of aliveness by interacting with your environment?

It is not uncommon for grief to emerge here. If it comes, allow it, feel it, do not judge it! Allow it to move you. Let it shake, rock, and roll through you. Be moved by it, and continue to interact in a dynamic way with your environment, even just by observing it. Move your attention inward, then eventually outward, then inward again and outward, ebbing and flowing like the tides.

When we allow our body to become an antennae and experience the raw sensory information in our entire body, we come closer to perceiving what is really happening around us. At the same time we develop range in our capacity to experience more fully the spectrum of life. We diminish our preconceptions, judgements, and reactions that influence our interpretation of what we perceive. In other words, we develop our resilience. From this place we then have 'raw data' that we can later analyze through skillful application of Questions.

If you would like to promote your own wellness plan to relieve stress, you can always book a massage or healing session with Arbor Vitae Wellness in either our Brunswick or South Portland location. We also offer outdoor meditation classes Saturday mornings in South Portland and monthly nature walks.

Hope to see you there!
Zeb Browne

Arbor Vitae Wellness is a place of healing. We help you make deeper contact with life through embodied connection in yourself. We address conditions such as chronic stress, muscle tension and chronic disease by providing massage therapies, integrative healing services and programs rooted in nature.

Our health and wellness is interdependent with the health of every ecosystem, internal and external.
Arbor Vitae Wellness encourages you to live an empowered life rooted in real peace,
deep love, boundless joy and meaningful purpose.

Find yourself here.

Arbor Vitae Wellness

Arbor Vitae Wellness LLC, 253 Main St., Suite #1, Yarmouth, ME 04096, USA

Perception

Find yourself here.

Arbor Vitae Wellness

Arbor Vitae Wellness, LLC

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