As I walk, the universe is walking with me.
In beauty it walks before me.
In beauty it walks behind me.
In beauty it walks above me.
In beauty it walks below me.
Beauty is on every side.
As I walk, I walk with beauty.
~ Navajo Prayer
Sunrise, Hunts Mesa, Monument Valley, AZ – photo by aiisha, bigstockphoto.com
There was a time when the distances between our world and those we considered “imaginary” were no further than a bend in the road. Each cavern and hollow tree was a doorway to another world. Humans recognized life in all things. The streams sang and the winds whispered ancient words into the ears of whomever would listen. Every blade of grass and flower had a tale to tell…There was life and purpose in all things and there was loving interaction between the worlds.
~ Ted Andrews
Cave Hole and Tree – photo by pedphoto36pm. bigstockphoto.com
And so it is this, we might say, that defines a shaman; the ability to readily slip out of the collective perceptual boundaries that define his or her culture—boundaries held in place by social customs, taboos, and especially the common language—in order to directly engage, and negotiate with, the multiple nonhuman sensibilities that animate the local earth.
~ David Abram
Great Egret – photo by tomado98, bigstockphoto.com
What we do not attend to cannot reach us. If we don’t know to listen, we cannot hear. But the animals are calling us. It doesn’t matter what animal it is or where we are. Any of us can experience this. It is our heritage and it is inherent in the nature of Life if only we realize the possibility and open ourselves up to it. When you go into nature, tune in more deeply. Life is calling to life.
~ Susan Eirich
Puma Portrait – photo by TamiFreed, bigstockphoto.com
I do believe in an everyday sort of magic — the inexplicable connectedness we sometimes experience with places, people, works of art and the like; the eerie appropriateness of moments of synchronicity; the whispered voice, the hidden presence, when we think we’re alone.
~ Charles de Lint
California Redwood Forest – photo by Virrage Images, bigstockphoto.com
…for thousands of years as we walked the Earth, sang Her songs, learned to pray in a variety of ways. We were all a part of One Living Being that spoke and sang in innumerable voices.
But then, gradually, for the majority of humanity we forgot. We forgot this primordial covenant. We forgot how the patterns of creation were woven both into the Earth and into our own souls. We forgot how we are all a part of this One Living Being, both whole and holy. We began to walk our own path, thinking, believing ourself separate from the world around us, from the ground under our feet. We even believed that we were superior, apart from nature—that we had “dominion over” the Earth. Gradually the light from above and the light from within the Earth no longer met and danced, no longer united within our hearts and souls…
~ Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee
North Coast of Kauai, Hawaii – photo by Natalie Thackston, bigstockphoto.com
The spirit of a time is an incredibly subtle, yet hugely powerful force. And it is comprised of the mentality and spirit of all individuals together. Therefore, the way you look at things is not simply a private matter. Your outlook actually and concretely affects what goes on. When you give in to helplessness, you collude with despair and add to it. When you take back your power and choose to see the possibilities for healing and transformation, your creativity awakens and flows to become an active force of renewal and encouragement in the world. In this way, even in your own hidden life, you can become a powerful agent of transformation in a broken, darkened world. There is a huge force field that opens when intention focuses and directs itself toward transformation.
~ John O’Donohue
Yangshuo Gulin, China – photo by kenny001, bigstockphoto.com
I wish I could show you, when you are lonely or in darkness, the astonishing light of your own being.
~ Hafiz
Sunrise, Dominican Republic – photo by Iakov Kalinin, bigstockphoto.com
Our individual spiritual journey is part of the world’s journey. To deny this is to live inside the illusion of separation. A simple awareness of oneness unites us with all of life, with every stone, every insect, every dream almost lost before waking. We are life itself, breathing, suffering, rejoicing. We are the pain of the sick and the laughter of the child. We are neither better nor worse than any particle of creation.
~ Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee
Grand Canyon Sunset – photo by pxhidalgo, bigstockphoto.com
To be alive in this beautiful, self-organizing universe—to participate in the dance of life with senses to perceive it, lungs that breathe it, organs that draw nourishment from—is a wonder beyond words.
~ Joanna Macy
Waterfall in Sunlight, Thailand – photo by kam684, bigstockphoto.com
Here is one way to look at yourself through spiritual eyes: you are a message. When you wonder what existence is all about, when you ask about your purpose in life, or when you feel small in comparison to the troubles of the world: remember that you are a message sent by Spirit into creation. What you say, what you do, how you think and feel: your whole life is a long and sustained message for others to encounter, experience and receive. You are a living message: sent to touch more lives than you can imagine.
~ Steven Charleston
Lotus – photo by kenny001, bigstockphoto.com
This is the Hour of Land, when our mistakes and shortcomings must be placed in the perspective of time. The Hour of Land is where we remember what we have forgotten: We are not the only species who lives and dreams on the planet. There is something enduring that circulates in the heart of nature that deserves our respect and attention.
~ Terry Tempest Williams
Linden Tree, Estonia, Europe – photio by Artenex, bigstockphoto.com
The Universe has expanded, but it originates from the same source. We were made from the same energy that created the stars. You are not your name, your resume, your accomplishments, or your ethnic background; you are a part of the whole Universe, just as a wave is a part of the ocean. You breathe without effort, your cells function independently without your control, your mind functions naturally, you are more than just an identity; you are the Universe.
~ Joseph P Kauffman
Milky Way and Stars Above Monument Valley – photo by RusianKphoto, bigstockphoto.com
This world, in which we are born and take our being, is alive. It is not our supply house and sewer; it is our larger body. The intelligence that evolved us from stardust and interconnects us with all beings is sufficient for the healing of our Earth community, if we but align with that purpose. We are as intrinsic to our living world as the rivers and trees, woven of the same intricate flows of matter/energy and mind.
~ Joanna Macy and Chris Johnstone
Yosemite National Park – photo by Andrushko Galyna, bigstockphoto.com
While psychotherapy offers a practice of healing for the dissociation from self and other humans, the practices of ecopsychology seek to repair a lost connection with the rest of nature in the hope of healing the body–mind, retrieving the soul and restoring the earth.
~ Mary Jane Rust
Sunset, Meteora Valley, Greece – photo by Lhboucault, bigstockphoto.com
