Take a look outside from wherever you are reading this. Allow your eyes to gaze just for a moment on something natural, the green of your garden, the sky in its shifting landscape of colours and moods, a bird, your cat or even a houseplant.
Nature. Earth. She is present with you. We in fact don’t live on the earth - we live in the Earth; she is all around us - everything we have is made from her body. We are living, breathing and an intrinsic and inseparable part of her being and landscape and being.
This is an irrevocable fact that we cannot separate ourselves from the very thing that we come from, that we are. Formed as earth, water, fire, metal, wood, we are electrical beings, made of pure energy, lifeforece and the elemental forces of nature - we are nature. We cannot separate ourselves from this, no matter how much we concrete we pile on our driveway - the earth will and still dose resound underneath and most deeply in our own hearts.
“The Earth is bigger than you, you may as well co-ordinate with it,” says Nancy Stark-Smith, a dancer and co-founder of Contact Improvisation - a dance form that works with the laws of gravity and spiral to move in ways that seem impossible; to find fluidity, flow, fluctuation and flight amongst the restrictions of life on earth.
So we must find a way to coordinate with nature, and in turn nature gives us everything we need to thrive, heal, live and love effectively. Living within her laws of ‘ayni’ (or reciprocity), everything that we take, we must return. Or from the opposite angle, everything we give returns to us somehow. What goes up - must come down.
So, what are we giving and what are we taking? And is there a balance? These are questions to continually ask ourselves as we humans do this earth dance. It’s a reciprocal relationship and all relationships take time, connection and deep listening - they are not a one-way street.
Our bodies work best when we are connected to the earth. Science acknowledges that even sitting or lying on the earth for 20 minutes reduces inflammation in your body and re-sets your nervous system. This is now the phenomenon called ‘Earthing’, although let’s face it, the Earth has always been here and it’s taking a while for science to catch up on the benefits of why we should cultivate this reciprocal relationship.
Plants are also hankering to help us heal. Most weeds in your garden are edible and hold the highest minerals and nutrient value, more than any cultivated plants. It’s time to tune into your lawn before you mow it, say hello to those nodding daisies (very good for toothache), tune into your heart and into the support and ground underneath you - do yourself a favor, get your bottom on the grass (or the beach). Mama earth is always available. Wilhemeena is a deep transformational healer and an international leader in wellness facilitation. Her clinical practice includes Biodynamic Craniosacral therapy, massage, movement therapy, energy (qi gong) healing, shamanic healing, plant medicine and spiritual mentorship. She has worked with a multitude of clients both online and in-person and brings her wide knowledge of the sacred healing arts and somatic movement arts to her practice.
This article was written for JUNCTION Magazine and published in 2023