About Mindful Ecotherapy Do you enjoy nature? Have you ever been camping, hiking or canoeing? Do you enjoy hunting and fishing? If so, you are probably already aware of nature's power to relax and heal. A large and growing body of research demonstrates that nature is good for us, not only physically, but mentally as well. Mindfulness is a technique that originated with Buddhist monks. The benefits of Mindfulness as a tool for stress reduction and self-improvement have also been researched. Mindful Ecotherapy (ME) is a blending of Mindfulness and Ecotherapy. ME uses nature to facilitate Mindful Awareness. ME is used as a framework for helping individuals and families to find deeper connections in their own lives, and to give more meaning and enjoyment to the activities of daily living. Some of the techniques of Mindful Ecotherapy (ME) include: Mindful Awareness Mindful Awareness is a way of tuning in to what is happening right now, at this moment. It is a shift from 'Doing Mode' into 'Being Mode.' Mindful Awareness involves the skills of Observing, Describing, Fully Participating, Being Non-Judgmental, and Focusing on One Thing at a Time. Mindful Ecotherapy teaches you these skills. Radical Acceptance Mindful Awareness teaches us the art of acceptance. Emotional reactions to our circumstances are natural, but that doesn’t mean that we have to respond to these emotions. The mindfulness skill of acceptance teaches us that we can experience these emotions without engaging in cycles of behavior that lead us to negative consequences. Acceptance teaches us that we are not our thoughts, and that we are not our emotions. At any time we can choose which thoughts and emotions we wish to respond to. If, at any time, we should ‘slip up’ and engage in thoughts and behaviors that lead to negative consequences, this does not mean that we have become ‘bad persons.’ This simply means that we are human beings, and as humans we are entitled to make mistakes. Each mistake is an opportunity for growth and learning. Forgiveness is a skill and an art. The place to start with learning the art of forgiveness is in learning first to forgive ourselves when we make mistakes. Mindful Ecotherapy teaches you the art of Radical Acceptance. Wise Mind When you are being logical, rational, and devoid of emotion, you are said to be in 'Rational Mind.' When you are allowing your thoughts to be driven by your emotions, you are said to be in 'Emotional Mind.' The idea of Mindfulness is to achieve 'Wise Mind.' The Mindfulness concept of Wise Mind is the joining of Rational Mind and Emotional Mind in perfect balance and harmony. It is a moving beyond opposites to a mindful state of acceptance. Mindful Ecotherapy gives you the tools to help you develop your own Wise Mind. Letting Go The art of Mindful Acceptance can best be described as the Art of Letting Go. Once you have done everything in your power to solve a problem, you have done all you can, so at that point worry and stress is counterproductive. Note that letting go of the stress and anxiety doesn’t necessarily mean letting go of the problem itself. For example, suppose you have a car payment coming up, and you don’t have the money to pay it. This would naturally cause you anxiety. If, after brainstorming for solutions, you find that you still don’t have the money to pay the car payment, then at that point you’ve done all you can do. So at that point, you let go of the anxiety associated with the problem. That doesn’t mean that you let go of car payments altogether. You’ll make the payment when you can. In this instance, ‘letting go’ just means that you won’t worry about not being able to make the payment. The energy you might have used worrying about the situation could be put to better use in trying to come up with solutions. Mindful Ecotherapy teaches us how to let go. Living in True Self Do you remember a time when you knew exactly who you were, what you wanted to be, and where your life was going? When you do something that isn't healthy for you, or make a mistake, which part of you is it that recognizes the mistake? What part of of you is it that holds the highest dreams and aspirations for your life? Mindful Ecotherapy recognizes that part of you as your 'True Self.' The ultimate goal of Mindful Ecotherapy is to realize your True Self, and to live in it. Living in the Now 'Living in the Now' means leaving Doing Mode and entering Being Mode. In Being Mode we learn that there is no past, there is no future. There is only this present moment. Living in the Now means allowing yourself to be in this moment…here and now. Mindful Ecotherapy teaches you the secrets of 'Living in the Now.' Centering Centering yourself is allowing yourself to get in touch with and be open to your True Self. It is allowing yourself to realize that you are perfect just as you are, even with your imperfections, because those feelings and desires are also a part of who you really are. If you accept your imperfections and integrate them into your way of thinking and feeling about yourself, you will obtain peace of mind, and you will be centered. Mindful Ecotherapy teaches you how to Center. Connecting Suppose you could take all the spiritual paths practiced worldwide, put them into a cauldron, and boil them down to their essence. What would remain? I believe that the common thread to all spiritual practices is a feeling of connection. Connection to others, or connection to the divine, or simply connection to nature and to ourselves. In short: Spirituality = Connectedness. If you think back on the spiritual experiences you’ve had in your lifetime, do recall feeling connected on some level? Many describe spiritual experiences as a sense of ‘oneness.’ Oneness implies connection to something outside ourselves. In this sense, even an agnostic or an atheist could achieve spirituality through connection. Mindful Ecotherapy can be one of the paths you use to re-connect. Nature as Metaphor Each of us lives in our own personal fairy tale called ‘my life.’ We all have good things that happen to us, and we all have bad things that happen to us. We create our own personal myths by choosing which things to focus on in our own lives. The good news about the myth of our lives is that we are the author. So if we don’t like the way the story is going, we have the power to do a ‘rewrite’ at any time. We can’t always choose the circumstances of our lives, but we can always choose the story we create about those circumstances. If you go out into the woods and start observing things, you will notice something begin to happen. You will begin to create stories about the events you observe there in the forest. These stories that spring to mind in the woods can tell you a great deal about what is going on in your own unconscious mind, if you know how to pay attention to them. Mindful Ecotherapy teaches you how to pay attention. Nature as Teacher Our ancestors knew hundreds of medicinal uses of local plants and herbs. They knew the seasons, when to plant, when to harvest, how to forecast the weather by the behavior of plants and animals, and a host of other things based on their observations of nature. The lessons our ancestors learned haven't gone away. They're sill there, waiting in the forest like an open book. All we have to do is to learn how to read it. Mindful Ecotherapy teaches us the language of nature so that we may read its 'book.' Nature as Nurture A large and growing body of research has demonstrated that nature has incredible healing powers. People who go into the woods become calmer, more relaxed, less stressful, and healthier. Mindful Ecotherapy can be used to tap into the nurturing power of nature. Nature as Healer Research continues to demonstrate the healing power of nature. People in hospital rooms that have windows overlooking a garden recover faster than those who do not. People who swim with dolphins recover from depression more quickly than people who take antidepressants. Children with ADHD who play outdoors regularly display fewer symptoms than those who do not. These are just a few examples of the many beneficial effects of the healing power of nature. Mindful Ecotherapy helps you to connect to this healing power. SUBSCRIBE TO OUR MONTHLY NEWSLETTER