Journey to the Wild: Reclaiming the Wild Self in Nature
January 1st, 2010 by info
Journey to the Wild: Reclaiming the Wild Self in Nature
When is the last time you recall being so immersed in a natural area, such as a forest footpath, that you lost track of time? Better yet, got lost altogether? One of the most profound experience we can have is understanding our wild nature, while in nature. Rediscovering the playful rivers that instinctually run through our veins that include walking in sloppy mud, hopping rocks, skimming stones, hugging a tree, or sitting beneath a veil of branches lives the wild self. Our true energy thrives in the moment, and nature draws out this ‘now’ experience like no other.
It is hauntingly true that centuries of nature disconnection stories told to us, that suggest such nonsense, the darkness is scary, creatures in the forest are dangerous, strangers will hurt us, the basement of nature’s floor is covered with harmful, biting insects, and that the world out there is our possession, or resource, and we own it, have been damaging to the sacred nature that lives in us all.
It is a testimony to the human spirit that we are witnessing at this great time of change a resurgence to belong again with nature, to follow the call to return to our sacred union with our living earth. Thoreau captured the self divided from nature in many of his works. He noticed the “nostalgic longing” when we stray to far from listening to a flock of birds, witnessing a sunset, smelling rain, trying to catch a snowflake; the divided self.
As a Reiki healing agent, and counselor, I have witnessed the puddles of lost joy from aching hearts filled with illusions that if they could just find that one right relationship, job, place, or possession, the world would be fine. The missing piece for most was the daunting self-realization of a gap between the authentic self, and the mask worn for everyday life. The distance between the gap, over time, creates a form of self-alienation, where one no longer recognizes the whole self, and lives a fragmented existence. A fragmented self serves the ego in that it avoids full psychological, emotional, and spiritual contact with the world. It is a form of self-betrayal in which one has negotiated self power to be accepted, to be “normal.” This is what depression, and anxiety are; just fears that have manifested as a result of separating from the natural self, the wild self, the self in nature.
The mask we sometimes wear is a perfectly natural way of protecting oneself in the world. We wear masks of pride to hide vulnerability, and fears of humiliation that have little to do with the authentic (real) self at all. Masks are worn to cover pain, hide fear, and protect wounds we perceive others to have done to us. When we discover that masks no longer serve us, because if we maintain this protective barrier there can be no liberation, just a continual shackling of the soul bound by the ego, we can let go.
Nature can assist in mask removal and reclaim the free spirit self, because nature doesn’t judge, evaluate, compare us to another, or remind us of our mistakes. It beholds symbolic and sacred truths, such as a raven’s song, a tree’s stamina, the stealth movements of a coyote, tall inviting grasses, our own breath on a cool day. This is the vibrant pulse of nature, and how we recover our wild self. Time in nature builds the interior self with loving acceptance, nourishment, and insulates one with the unconditional reminder that we are apart of a larger seamless world.
There a few ways to practice being home in nature. 1) Go out and explore a natural area. Don’t think about your destination, or even staying on a path. Go with whatever feels like it is speaking to you. For instance, if it’s a snowy day and you spot fox tracks, just follow them. You will fee like a detective on the scent of a nature mystery, and you will shed your outer layers as you become like a fox. Use your wild imagination to wonder what does a fox do, where does it go, and how can I surrender to this call of a fox track? Explore a stream and where it leads, or a deer path. Just let yourself wander. 2) Try some meditative walking. This method involves settling into your physical body and connecting your body with the earth. As you walk focus on your breath. Connect your breath with the ground beneath you. Feel the cyclic nature of breath. Sense the breath of nature around you. Imagine yourself in synchronicity of breathing with all that’s around you. Now, feel your feet as they strike the ground. Feel the lightness and deepness of each foot. Looking back, see your footprint, if you can. If you cannot physically see your mark, imagine that you are leaving a trail of flowers where you have walked; a gift you are giving back to the earth. 3) Go to a natural area that attracts you. This can be sitting next to a rock that, or under a tree, or lying in an open meadow. For 30 minutes sit in silence, and listen. At first you will hear with your ears, but allow yourself to drop deeper and listen with your heart. What do you notice about yourself and your surroundings? As you settle and let go, you will begin to feel an awe, and a sense of Oneness.
Wild Journeying involves a profound understanding that you are a part of a larger cosmic map, and that your presence by means of your birth, is a significant landscape on this map. When you allow yourself to be in nature, a union that dissolves the separate self will emerge. Take part in this journey and reclaim your wild self.