5 Fun Activities To Enjoy Mother Nature

What is it about nature that lightens the mood and lifts the soul?

It is the connection to the Divine.

It is the miracle of life that surrounds you.

It is the full on sensory feast for your heart.

There is life all around you, life where you cannot see it. There is a part of you that can sense it and without you even knowing it you are able to connect to that life force and charge your battery.

Plug into nature and unplug from technology, stress, “shoulds” and “have to’s”. Spending time in nature is like a reboot for your soul.

Here are 5 fun activities you can try that will get you out and enjoying Mother Nature.

 

1. Go on a nature scavenger hunt. Get small. Look around for little bits you can collect and bring back to a sacred place in your home. Small pebbles that can be displayed together in a dish, sticks can be taken home and painted or used in your garden, and dried pods, seeds, or leaves can be collected and displayed. Swap out your mini collection each time you venture out into the wilderness.

2. Go on a photo safari. Take your camera or your cell phone out and see your surroundings with different eyes. Try to capture the mystery and beauty through the lens of your camera. Look for interesting angles, different shapes, or new worlds you may have missed if you walked through without your camera.

3. Explore during different parts of the day. You may live in an area that doesn’t’ have a wealth of natural areas to visit and going to the same place all the time may begin to feel monotonous but taking your excursions at different times of the day will create a different experience. Try dawn, early morning, midday, dusk and evening for unique experiences.

4. Take a sensory vacation. Sit in silence for as little as a minute or as long as an hour and allow your senses to be filled. Start with what you can see. Look at colors, textures, and pattern. Move onto what you can hear, what you can smell, what you can feel, and what you can sense? Soak it all in and take a moment to write down your feelings and experiences as inspiration at a later date if you wish.

5. Play! Remember when you were a kid and being outside was enough? You could create whole worlds and experiences for yourself. Go out into nature thinking like a child and see if it changes the experience for you. Run, jump, climb, wade in the water, stack rocks, play catch with another person. Be young and carefree and see how that changes the experience for you.

No matter how you interact with nature this summer, just go out and do it. Fill yourself up with the goodness and the magic of Earth’s energy and see what a difference it makes for you.


xo
Michelle

Are You Listening?

By Jill Marie (re-posted from my Journey To Empowerment Blog February 2012)

A bit back one of my friends/clients told me that while she was all tucked in  bed ready for a good night sleep she heard clearly…”go and check the windows” (or maybe it was close the windows.)  Her husband was out-of-town and she was home with her  young children.  Being tapped into her Intuition was not new to her.  Her connection wasn't as strong as it had been before marriage and kids but she was still pretty tapped in.  After having a few Reconnective Healing sessions and her Personal Reconnection she was having more and more experiences of hearing her Inner Wisdom.  But she was really comfy in bed and tired and decided not to get up and check.

The next day she remembered and checked the windows and sure enough three of them were unlocked so she locked them.  That night in the wee hours one of her dogs was barking which is unusual.  I think she also said she may have heard something outside.  Wow how wonderful that she listened and then took action…even if it was the next day!  I lovingly reminded her how important it is to listen to that inner voice.

Well…I might want to practice what I talk about in my own life!  I was in Target with my daughter picking up a few items.  I found myself in the lighting section looking at floor lamps.  I don’t know why…I was drawn to them like a magnet.  I thought I might get one for my daughter’s room even though she didn’t need one but then I started looking at the blue ones and thought of my son.  In fact he needed a new light for his room and his birthday was coming up in two days.  "No"…I thought,  that is a dumb present for an 18 year old!  But I still felt like I should get him a light.  Again I thought "no waste of money"…(something I am working on by the way...sticking to a budget).  That night it popped into my head to bring up a floor lamp from my workshop and put it in his room.  Problem solved ~ I don’t spend money not in my budget and he gets a light that he needs. 

 I got distracted and didn't do it.  I still had a weird feeling that I should do it…but I didn't   Two days later I was back in Target and again was drawn to the lights.  Now it was my son’s birthday and I was sure his light had to be replaced… forgetting that I would bring up one from the workshop I picked up the light  to put it in my cart…then a  flash of my workshop lamp came to mind.  I laughed out loud (thankfully nobody else was around me) and put the lamp down.  I was sure I would change lights when I got home as it must be really important that I do that. 

Yikes forgot again!  A few hours later we smelled a horrible smell coming from upstairs…my daughter was in the shower and I knew she had her iPod docking station next to the tub…I was afraid water got on it and there was a problem. Even as I went to check her I heard a voice say…”its the light".   The awful smell was coming from my son’s room and it was indeed his floor lamp.  I don’t know that it was smoking but it was hotter than the oven and the smell was literally making everybody feel nauseated and sick.  When I moved the lamp the light-bulb cracked but thankfully  it didn't shatter.

It took about 3 minutes to remove the light and bring up the other one.  3 minutes!  Instead of doing it when I was guided to…I kept pushing it aside.  Now we were all feeling ill from the awful smell albeit grateful that a fire didn't start or the bulb explode and hurt somebody.

How humbling!  How often do I tell my clients one thing and then not follow that in my own life!  Okay Inner Wisdom…I am paying more attention and yes I will take action! 

 Story not over though.   This past Sunday I went to an all day Wellness event.  I really felt called to go for several reasons.  The rational part of me said "No…waste of money",  but that Inner Wisdom was gently saying that I was supposed to be there.  I sent an SOS to two of my friends that are helping me not make purchases not in my budget.  I heard what they said and was so grateful for their insight and for a bit I was sure I would not go…but the feeling urging me to go was so similar to the light experience above.  I decided to follow my Inner Guidance and go,  and you know…it was AMAZING and just what I needed.  I met the most wonderful people, got a Chiropractic adjustment from a B.E.S.T practitioner, opened my Throat Chakra a bit more and loved the whole day!  I found out they even have Bellydancing classes!  Something I have jokingly said I wanted to do for the past few years but secretly really would love to do just for the fun of it 

How often do you hear that still small voice and then don’t listen?

How often do you hear it and listen and then take the action?

Let’s celebrate that Inner  Wisdom in all of us today and continue to make a conscious choice to listen more often and take the inspired action!