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"Who looks upon a river in a meditative hour, and is not reminded of the flux of all things?" - Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nature
How is walking meditation enhanced by being in a natural place? Many studies confirm the benefits of walking as a form of communing with nature.
Kaplan (1995 ) has maintained that being in a natural surrounding restores a sense of "undirected attention", sometimes known as "fascination". In modern society, too much focus on particular technologies can lead to "attention fatigue", which comes from excessive concentration on one or two platforms or problems to solve. Kaplan maintains that the ability to focus softly on a mildly stimulating environment can overcome difficulties in concentration , the latter of which can lead to irritability or failure to draw on directed attention (p.172).
Studies have also shown the following benefits of walking in nature:
- Improved ability to cope with depression with increase in positive mental well being (Korpela, Jussila, Stegard, 2016)
- Increased connection with life. Ward (2014) notes that natural elements can "absorb negative energy" as well as provide a sense of connection to the living world without being emotionally demanding or draining
- More focus on external world and less on internal rumination
- Walking in nature can induce meditative states (Aspinall, Mavros, Coyne, Roe, 2015)
See below for a guided meditation inspired by Emerson's famous "transparent eye-ball" metaphor
Exploring Nature Walk From Two Sources:
Exploring Nature Walk From Two Sources:
Let's read the following passages, one from the American philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson and one from a contemporary Chan (Chinese Zen) Buddhist Monk, Ven. Master Sheng Yen.
While reading, consider the following:
- what benefits does each thinker express about walking specifically in natural places?
- under what conditions do you think people would most benefit from walking in nature?
- are there any drawbacks to walking in a natural area, or cautions to be aware of? What parts of nature might be overlooked in these articles?
The Link to the Emerson chapter, "Nature", can be found on the Freeditorial website. Link: https://freeditorial.com/en/books/nature
The Link to Master Sheng Yen's chapter is at http://chancenter.org/cmc/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/TeaWords_I.pdf. Read "Opening Up to Nature" (pp.33-35)
Write a short reflection on what you learned from Emerson and Sheng Yen.
References
Aspinall P, Mavros P, Coyne R, et al The urban brain: analysing outdoor physical activity with mobile EEG British Journal of Sports Medicine 2015;49:272-276.
Kaplan, S. (1995). The restorative benefits of nature: Toward an integrative framework. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 15(3), 169-182. doi:10.1016/0272-4944(95)90001-2
Korpela, K. Jussila, P, Stengård (2016). Nature Walks as a Part of Therapeutic Intervention for Depression Ecopsychology Volume 8 , Issue 1 , pp. 8 - 15
Ward, D. (2014). 5 Ways Walking in Nature Benefits Sensitive People. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/sense-and-sensitivity/201404/5-ways-walking-in-nature-benefits-sensitive-people
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