Quick Ways to Connect with Nature at Home

Quick Ways to Connect with Nature at Home, by Jessica Marie Baumgartner

(Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal.)

The natural world thrives. It is balanced, clean, and wild. Humanity has lived at one with its surroundings before, and I believe it can do so again, but modern society moves so fast that many people find it difficult to connect with the land.

When we’re working to make ends meet, caring for family members, or looking out for friends and somehow trying to find our place in the world, life’s natural rituals often fall behind. We forget the birds’ song. The swish of the breeze in the trees doesn’t even register. The buzz of modern technology takes over that place in our lives and we must work harder to listen to the voice of creation singing through rain, snow, and hail.

It’s easy to feel left behind. Catching up sometimes seems impossible, but it’s not as complicated as climbing Mount Everest. We do not have to venture out into the wild for weeks at a time to regain our sense of self and reconnect with nature (though, if you ever get the chance, grasp it with both hands!).

The days of religious figures and mystics abandoning their people for the secluded voices of the gods/universe are past. Our power and energies grow best when we integrate that part of ourselves into society and live out our “holy” quests for meaning, purpose, and love in simple daily actions.

Some pray in temples, others travel great distances to find what is no further than their doorstep. Our connections to our existence are not only found under these special circumstances.

Not everyone has the means to give up everything and wander freely?especially with the recent events of the world. Getting “back to basics” is the perfect way to strengthen our spiritual ties. When bringing ourselves down to the earth and remembering to focus on the physical elements that make everything, our internal fires ignite passion and guide us through fate.

That is the entire premise of my latest book, The Magic of Nature: Meditations & Spells to Find Your Inner Voice. Nature gives us everything we need. It hosts the most powerful magic, but it is up to each individual to explore their relationship to that energy.

For anyone not knowing where to start, or those who are well-versed but just need more focus, support, and wish to expand on their practices, I developed this book from my daily and seasonal work. I was raised poor and pride myself on “making do with what I have.” Many of my exercises require little to no materials. It seems to me that ingenuity is more often found in resourcefulness than a cluttered altar.

However one works, I wish everyone all the best, and have included three simple practices that will not only strengthen one’s bonds to nature, but also to their inner-voice—that instinctual magic resting inside our subconscious.

Spring Window Meditation

1. Sit near an open window or sunbeam coming through the glass.
2. Feel the air’s energy?how it revives your skin and strengthens inner power.
3. Breathe deeply. With each breath, rock back and forth.
4. Relax your mind and close your eyes. Explore the images that materialize.
5. See yourself in relation to these visualizations. Where are you going? How far have you come? Are you sad or happy? What are you seeking?
6. Follow these questions through the trails of thought.
7. Let the air guide you. Remain conscious of yourself in relation to the light and air. Feel the pulse of life rushing through your body and how it matches the pace of your meditation.
8. Now, open your eyes and look out the window. Really see beyond where you sit and extend your energies.
9. Bow to the answers that greet you. Continue your day with a stronger purpose.

Porch, Patio, or Doorstep Greeting

1. Go outside and stand before your doorway. Doorways host a special power.
2. Turn and face the door as if you are a guest about to knock. Focus on the air surrounding you. Block out everything else.
3. Rest your palms on the door and closer your eyes. Think of what home means?how it protects, secures, and enhances life.
4. Visualize life without a home. How the land would look without the structure. Feel the energies that flow between yourself and your dwelling.
5. Now turn to face the outside world. Whether a road, garden, other homes or structures stretch before you, focus on the plant life and creatures that have adapted their wild ways to live alongside your domesticated structure.
6. Let their companionship strengthen your energies. Close your eyes. Feel the warmth inside and push it out into the surrounding area. Let the power grow, flow, and reach out.
7. Breathe deeply and bow your head. Now gaze back at the world ready for whatever the day brings.

Backyard/Garden Connection

1. Fill a bowl with water and bring it to your garden or yard. (If you do not have a yard or garden, do this at a park or common ground.) Sit on the ground or by a patch of flowers/plants with it. Place your fingertips on the surface of the water and feel its energy, its purpose.
2. Now, clear your mind. Focus on your life source. Where does it come from? The head or the heart are most commonly recognizes. Place your hand over that space and plunge the other hand fully in the water.
3. Focus on the link between life and water. Visualize your energies going into the water and returning anew with the ripples.
4. Now place both hands on the ground. Skim fingertips over the soul. Feel its energy, its purpose.
5. Again, clear the mind. Dig with both hands and cover the hand that went underwater as much as you can. Once more, place the hand that did not get submerged over your internal source of energy.
6. Focus on the link between life and the soil. Visualize your energies going into the ground and returning anew.
7. Raise your arms to the sky and close your eyes. Feel the powers combining. Think of your ancestors who lived closer to nature and how their spirits must have felt. Imagine a future where that connection is restores. Visualize your place in that future.
8. Call upon the elements to aid you. Thank the gods/universe for the means.

Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal. Copyright Llewellyn Worldwide, 2021. All rights reserved.