Reconnecting and Recommitting to Mother Earth

The countless challenging issues facing humanity today can feel heartbreaking and overwhelming. Nonetheless, we’ve come to a point in history when it’s imperative for each of us to discover the most powerful and sustainable ways we can contribute to healing our world. As Debra Silverman, a wise therapist and master astrologer points out, “It won’t matter to the Earth whether humans wake up with a soft touch or not. Evolution will march on without us, as it did with the dinosaurs, indifferent to our pain.”

Clearly, it’s up to us to determine our future, and there is no time left to waste.

Humans have abused our planet for far too long, and the impact has become impossible to ignore. If we don’t change directions now, we’re headed towards an increasingly bleak future. While it’s more comfortable to ignore our perilous situation and simply continue to live the resource-intensive lifestyles we’ve grown accustomed to, our hearts remember that this would mean leaving our children and grandchildren to suffer the consequences of an overheated and over-polluted planet. We know we must face our fears, shake off our inertia, and get to work.

Thinking About the Earth for the Next Seven Generations

Silverman reminds us that the elders of American Indian and Chinese cultures looked seven generations ahead as they made their decisions. “We have neglected such wisdom, living more from what will make us happy today, rather than what will bring peace to our great-great-grandchildren and their grand-children.”

In her book The Missing Element—Inspiring Compassion for the Human Condition, Silverman reflected on the uniqueness of this modern era. “Never before could we read the news with the touch of a button. In the past, a ship sailed across the ocean with a message that was no longer news. Yet we are walking toward failure. … One of our biggest problems is that as a modern species we’ve become addicted to comfort and convenience. We do not want change and yet we must. We can’t continue to live on this gorgeous rock like it’s a hotel and the staff will clean up after us. We are the staff!”

Silverman believes that a large part of the problem is how disconnected we’ve become from nature. “We have left behind our relationship with the basics and lost our connection not only with the elements of the natural world but also with our ability to honor this life as a sacred experience.”

Cain Carroll—a master teacher of ancient self-healing arts—says that since the industrial revolution, our civilization has lost touch with the fundamental patterns of nature and much of what it means to be human. “Almost every sector of our life has become mechanized, and our collective materialism has contributed to a crushing sense of isolation, disconnection, and confusion. The impact of our past choices has come to a head. We are at a fork in the road.”

None of the ancient traditions Carroll studied viewed the individual as an independent entity. “When I talk about the body,” Carroll explains, “It includes its relationship to family, ancestors, community, the entire human race, and even to the larger natural patterns of the earth—the sun, moon, stars, and the whole living tissue of nature itself. Everyone and everything are always connected.”

The Power of Grounding

So how can we personally rediscover this sense of connection? Hilary Nicholls, an energy healer who does nature-based Circle of Light guided meditations, says the first step is to realize that we are acutely overstimulated. “Through the technology that has become such an essential and intimate part of our lives, we are getting bombarded with information that leaves us buzzing with anxiety, and these stresses accumulate within our systems. A daily practice of reconnecting with nature in any way possible can help us release this energy and come back into balance. Even if you live in a high-rise apartment, you can open the window and look outside. You can also commune with a pet or a houseplant, or even reconnect with nature through your imagination.”

In addition to walks in nature, Nicholls encourages us to find a spot where we are struck by the beauty around us, and then take off our shoes to feel the sand, earth, or grass under our feet. We can also take a seat and place our palms on the earth while we take deep breaths and imagine absorbing the healing energy as if we were a sponge. When the weather doesn’t permit, this can be done effectively through visualization.

“Nature is where it is safe to be open and receive. When we carry anxiety, our body clenches and closes up, but when we tune into nature—to the energy of the trees, rocks, plants, and sky—we can let go of the burdens we carry and get the nourishment we need to regenerate and come back to a more peaceful, loving state.”

One of Hilary’s simplest exercises to help us attune to nature and come back into balance goes as follows:

• Find a place in nature you love—either in the real world or in your imagination.
• Place one hand on your heart and the other on your belly. As you breathe in, feel yourself filling up with the beauty of nature.
• As you breathe out, say “thank you” to Mother Earth with a heart full of gratitude and love.
• Repeat three to five times.

“Feeling into your gratitude for the beauty and energy you are receiving helps you reconnect with both nature and yourself,” Nicholls says, “This will help you move through your day with more grace, making wiser choices that will serve everyone and our beloved planet.”

For further relaxation and to ground yourself in nature, enjoy Debra’s Silverman’s guided journey through the four elements that create and support all life: Water, Air, Earth, and Fire.