– Heartwood Path Waypoint 1.19 –

Spiritual Practice

Undertake Practices That Lead To A Sense Of The Whole
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Spiritual practice begins in awareness –– a self-sensing of objective reality –– and leads to consciousness –– the “very substratum of all existence” (Paul, 2004, p. 214). Awareness pin-points an object, bringing it into one’s perception. Consciousness
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“is complete and inclusive; it is a sense of the whole . . . Spiritual practice (ought to) always be undertaken on behalf of the whole. That is why the systemic development of consciousness is essential to spirituality” (Paul, 2004, pp. 214-215).

Doing spiritual practices in the midst of everyday life is too full of distractions. That is one reason why we will be asking you to find an attractive natural being and, even better, an attractive natural being surrounded by an attractive landscape or seascape, free of unsettling artificial distractions. This finding will reveal that your deepest roots are in nature. 

Connecting with your natural roots satisfies essential needs.  Fulfilling these needs are reason enough to search for and connect with a natural being and its nourishing realm, as you will be directed to do over and over again along the Heartwood Path. “Whether you’re aware of it or not,” writes Charles Cook, “you still have a vital need for regular, meaningful contact with this nourishing realm” (2001, p. vii).

Do not miss an opportunity to actually visit a natural being as you conduct Heartwood Path activities. Do not try to save time by being an armchair course participant.  And do not try to avoid the tribulations of being exposed to nature. 

Remember that the tragedy of your life will not be about what makes you pass out.  The big mishap of your life will be about what you pass up. Don’t let nature be among these.

“ . . . it’s difficult to stay stressed out or maintain a negative mood while quietly focusing or meditating on nature  . . . troubles shrink to more manageable sizes while you are away, and you can later view them ‘through fresh eyes’ from a more balanced perspective affected by your experiences in nature . . . (Cook, 2001, pp. viii-xv).

For these reasons and more, the Heartwood Path will help you develop a meaningful and lasting personal relationship with nearby natural beings and their natural surroundings.
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“When you begin weaving more of nature into your everyday existence . . .your sense of life may open up to encompass the much richer, more complex, more communal, and more timeless universe that you’re actually part of . . . What we have to gain from our efforts is no less than the preservation of life on this remarkable planet” (Cook, 2001, pp.255-258).

​Armed with these motives, the following activity offers some tips you can use for tracking down an attractive natural being.

To Your Activity Partner...

​HumaNatureConnect Activity
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If this is not a day when you prefer to spend time in nature without an agenda, do the following activity:
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Start-up Protocol
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• Read The Text — Use your literary sense, your mind sense, and your reason sense  to read your way towards happiness and sustainability but do not just be an arm-chair traveler. Use your other natural senses as you also spend healthful, fun, and productive time in nature on your way to Gladandgreen Junction.
• Attractive Natural Being — With pen and journal in hand, go to a natural area and look around to find a natural being that is attractive to you.
• Appreciation and Gratefulness — While admiring your chosen being, appreciate it with your inhalations and give it gratitude with your exhalations.
• Consent — Once you find an aspect of nature that is attractive to you continuously for at least ten seconds, think of your continued attraction as your consent to have a connection experience that will lead to your optimal functioning.
• The Natural Senses — After gaining consent to enter into a connection experience with the natural being, have available the list of Natural Senses. Mix it up by using at least one radiation sense, one feeling sense, one chemical sense, and one mental sense, to widen your perception, and add variety to your experience.
• HumaNatureConnect Activity — After reading the text, finding a natural being, appreciating it, gaining its consent, and scanning the list of natural senses, use your heightened awareness and nature-induced optimal functioning to do the following activity and engage in as many follow-up components as you see fit.

Tracking Down An Attractive Natural Being
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For this activity, do the following: Find an attractive non-human partner for this activity. Use what you learn here for future activities, as well. Clear your mind. Forget time while looking for a natural being. Linger where you feel comfortable. Let go of worries. Be quiet while in nature. Do not try, just be. Forget identifying or naming the things you encounter. If you choose to write about them, describe them without naming them. Look for uniqueness, without analyzing. Follow your heart into the wild. Do not worry what others may think. Like myself as a child, immerse yourself. Jump into the swamp, stand chest deep in murky water, look at the snake eye to eye, and lye down with the turtle. Or climb the tree, secure yourself in a safe spot, and meditate. To find animals: look where they would find food, water, cover. Search in areas where the terrain or vegetation changes.  Consider the seasons and the time of day. To see nature: look at unfamiliar places, adopt the point of view of various animals, look wide but also up close, frame your viewing as a photographer would do. To hear nature: open your ears and close your eyes, cup your ears with your hands, and listen in concentric rings away from you. To smell nature: get down on all fours, pick up and view things while holding them close to your nose, close your eyes. To taste nature: sample the paw-paws, catch and grill some fish, and pick blackberries. To experience nature, combine all of the activities mentioned above.

​​​​Follow-up Protocol
Natural Systems Reflection Process
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     For best results, write down your impressions of this activity in your journal using as many of the following components as you see fit, afterwards, share your interpretations with others.
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Journal Components
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• General Description — writing a general description of how you did the activity and what happened.
• Freeform — writing, in freeform, what you found attractive about your natural being.
• Three Qualities — writing down three qualities you found most attractive about your natural being.
• Three Learnings — writing down three things you learned from this activity.
• Self-esteem & Trust — writing down how, if at all, this activity changed your self-esteem or trustfulness of Nature.
• Changes To Self — writing down what aspects of your self, if any, were changed by this activity.
• Honor Yourself — praising yourself and your commitment to making another stop along the Heartwood Path good for yourself and the world.
• I’m A Person Who . . . — writing down three different so-called “G/G Statements” using the following format: “This connection experience tells me that I am a person who__________.”
• Feelings If Activity Taken — writing down a sentence about how you would feel if you lost your ability to experience this connection.
• Two-Word Summary — writing down two words that summarize your response to this activity.​

The Heartwood Path Exchange:
Swap Your Ideas, Impressions, Photos, And News With Others
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• Post your impressions and photos in the Comments at the bottom of the page
• Engage with others in your Heartwood Path course or salon
• Create your own salon that meets regularly online, by phone, or in person
• Discuss your impressions with trusted family members and friends
• Post your impressions and photos in our EartHeart Networking Forum
• Post your impressions on this specific waypoint on our Facebook Page
• Join the broader conversations on our Facebook Page
• To see what conversations you can inspire, share your photos and impressions about anything pertaining to your journey down the Heartwood Path on your Facebook page, on Instagram, and on other social media accounts. If you like, include “#heartwoodpath” and “#waypoint(insert waypoint number here)” wherever pertinent

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Your input is vital. Enjoy sharing!

Heartwood Path Axioms: 
Key Assertions From Waypoint 1.19

1.19.1.
Spiritual practice begins in awareness –– a self-sensing of objective reality –– and leads to consciousness –– the “very substratum of all existence.” 

1.19.2.
Connecting with your natural roots satisfies essential needs.

1.19.3.
Remember that the tragedy of your life will not be about what makes you pass out but it will be about what you pass up.

Nocturnal Pilgrimage 1.19:
Tend To Your Dreams Before Heading To The Next Waypoint

Sleep. Dream.  Look for guidance in your dreams. Your connection experiences in your waking life may leave you with bits and pieces of signs and symbols in your dreams.  Prepare yourself for receiving guidance, information, and healing from your chosen attractive natural beings by moving to the next waypoint: “Now What.”
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EartHeart Tips:
Don't forget to bookmark your current location along the Heartwood Path for easy return.

Click here to go to 
the next waypoint:
"Now What"

You have now completed 19 out of 117 waypoints in Kosmos.