Green in Spirit: Discovering Our Niche

As we settle into a regular mediation practice we begin to glimpse a part of ourselves that we likely haven’t experienced before and a whole new inner life opens up to us. At its center is the awareness that we are interconnected with everything and everyone, andgreen in spirit 3 each a facet of the perfection of everything that is. We feel expanded and in the flow. We are imbued with the life force and steeped in stillness. There is a timeless quality to our awareness.

Unfortunately this sense of illumination is fleeting as we get up and go about with our day. We return to our habitual existence of separation instead of interconnection. We move out of present moment awareness and return to seeing the world not as it is, but as we want it to be or how we are afraid that it is. Stress and anxiety seep in as our expectations and fears take over our thoughts. We lose sight of who we really are and our connection to the whole. Our habits distant us from our soul and clouds our sense of purpose. From a biological perspective we can say that we’ve forgotten our niche which is an ecologist’s way of saying our calling – our unique gift or offering to the world. The stress, anxiety, addiction, and even illness that arises in us is the result of losing track of our niche. Finding it will bring joy, flow and well being back into our lives. It changes us at our core and along with it our relationship with everything around us is changed.

But how can we best find our niche? We start by reconnecting, with ourselves, each other and the natural world. We let science inform us and use the principles of nature as a model to re-design our lives. This is the rationale underlying the four steps of the Fire, Wire and Inspire practice. We set our intention. Then renew our relationship with ourselves through meditation and other green in spirit 1contemplative practices. We open our hearts to others with the compassion response and then with an open heart we connect with nature.

There is plenty of evidence that meditation plays a powerful role in reducing stress and increasing wellbeing and this is because it guides us toward intimacy with our inner life. It spurs personal growth, teaches us to live in the present moment and makes us aware of the role of projection in our lives. Further we now know that we can change brain structure and improve its function through our thoughts and behavior. This empowers us to literally reinvent ourselves and move further along the developmental path to higher levels of our consciousness.

We also renew our intimate relationship with the natural world which has nourished us for thousands of years and, in modern society, is lost from our daily lives. We go for walks, hikes and bike rides in nature to connect and appreciate the natural beauty around us. We bring nature into our daily experience by creating bouquets for shear enjoyment and nurturing plants for food. As wegreen in spirit 2 restore our relationship with the natural world its mystical nature, and ours, reveals itself most unexpectedly: time stops, we see the world as it is. We are moved by wonder, beauty and awe the emotions we feel when we are touched by grace. Over time we find that positive emotions are stabilized and negative ones no longer rule our lives. We find ourselves living in the moment and in the flow without effort. Try it! On this wonderful spring day just open your heart and take a walk. Notice what is all around you. Appreciate the beauty and miracle of this moment.