Posted on by

Nature as Supernatural Aid

nature as supernatural aid

Last week we discussed Supernatural Aid. This week we’ll talk about Nature as Supernatural Aid. While there are many forms of Supernatural Aid an ecospiritual seeker could rely on, nature is one of the more convenient ones, since most of us have the opportunity to experience nature in some form.

I grew up on a 400-acre farm in the 1960s and 1970s. Back then there were no video games, and the television only had three channels, and that was if the wind was blowing in the right direction. My best friend lived five miles away, and if we wanted to visit each other we had to ride our bikes or walk. Our afterschool entertainment consisted of building forts in the woods, taking hikes, fishing, or collecting plants and animals. Growing up this way not only allowed me an opportunity for fresh air, it also stimulated my imagination and curiosity. The mythology of my time consisted of stories from my Scots-Irish great-grandmother about Native Americans, faeries, and Celtic lore, and Christian tales from my Scottish grandmother about the biblical patriarchs.

I was never much interested in Christian mythology, as it mostly seemed to consist of people getting zapped by God for doing things in a way that displeased him. And he seemed to be displeased quite a bit. The Native American and Celtic lore were much more alive to me. Those stories were not black-and-white moral tales, but puzzlers where the right answer was often difficult to find. The more I studied these stories, the more I gained insight into myself and the world around me.

As I became much more acquainted with mythology and learned to interpret it not as literal stories, but as teaching metaphors, fables, and parables, I returned to some of those Bible stories and got a lot more out of them the second time around. If you look at those stories as teaching tools and not as literal textbook descriptions of actual places and people, they become useful again. They come alive again. The secret is to focus on the message and not on the messenger.

Nature as Supernatural Aid: The Power of Myth

This poetical use of story and myth can also extend to nature. It is possible to use the wilderness as a metaphor for spiritual growth. In fact, many religious mythologies do just that. When Jesus asks us to, “Consider the lilies of the field’ which don’t toil or spin, yet they’re complete,” or when Buddha tells us that, “The Way lies in the nature that surrounds us,” these spiritual teachers are using nature as a training manual.

A lot of the great enlightened teachers began their spiritual journeys by going off into the woods. Buddha did it, Jesus did it, Mohammed did it, Moses did it, the Native Americans did it, and so did most of the great spiritual masters throughout history. There is something about seeing the wild places firsthand that awakens our deeper, more intimate, and more personal levels of awareness. It is a rite of passage that uses nature to give meaning to our lives while returning to our most primal instincts.

Science in recent years has begun studying the psychological aspects of wilderness experiences. In a 2005 study, van den Berg & Heijne researched some of these characteristics. The study, Fear versus Fascination: An Exploration of Emotional Responses to Natural Threats, explains that there are two basic types of attention: focus and fascination.
Focus is the type of attention we experience most often in artificial environments. Human hands make most, if not all, of the things we see indoors. Since we evolved in the wilderness, but have only been living in increasingly artificial environments for a few thousand years, our brains are wired to be on guard in unfamiliar surroundings. The more primitive parts of our brains recognize artificial places as somehow alien. Because of this, we tend to use more energy to focus our attention while indoors to avoid these man-made distractions.

Fascination is the type of attention we experience more outdoors. The deeper, older parts of our brains recognize natural environments as something familiar, so we tend to use fewer mental resources for focusing attention. This means that more mental energy is available to generate more meditative states. So unless a bear is chasing you, you’re calmer and more relaxed in the woods or on a beach than in an office or classroom. Such serenity is a prerequisite to spiritual events, so experiences in nature are highly conducive to developing more spiritual awareness.

Such ecospiritual awareness, enhanced and induced by nature, is not about a particular religion. All religions contain aspects of nature, and all religions, when understood properly, hold a deep reverence for the natural environment. Ecospirituality is about fostering a spiritual connection by using nature as a tool to experience those awe-inspiring moments that make life worthwhile. When nature is experienced in this way, it is Nature as Supernatural Aid to the seeker. Sitting or hiking quietly in the woods or in another natural environment will allow your own inner wisdom to come forth. This Supernatural Aid will help you to find your own fires of inspiration when you walk the ecospiritual path.

Posted on by

Ethics and Ecotherapy Webinar

ethics and ecotherapy

This Ethics and Ecotherapy Webinar covers some of the common ethical challenges unique to the practice of ecotherapy. Ecotherapy usually includes doing therapy outdoors. Therapy in non-traditional settings presents unique ethical challenges. These ethical issues are not usually covered in therapy or counseling graduate school programs. In this course, we will discuss how to address some common ethical issues for therapists and counselors that are unique to the process of ecotherapy.

  • Target Audience: Mental Health Professionals
  • ONLINE Continuing Education Hours: 2 (Two)

Ethics and Ecotherapy Course Information Packet

CLICK TO PURCHASE

Ethics and Ecotherapy Course Objectives

After taking this course the student will be able to:

  • Discuss and describe confidentiality and informed consent issues common to the practice of ecotherapy
  • Discuss training recommendations regarding the practice of ecotherapy
  • Discuss assessment and client safety issues common to the practice of ecotherapy
  • Discuss and describe what constitutes dual relationships in ecotherapy
  • Discuss and describe values conflicts in ecotherapy settings
  • Develop a sense of self-awareness for counselors and therapists practicing ecotherapy

Ethics and Ecotherapy Course Instructions

This is a LIVE WEBINAR continuing education course that will be held on Tuesday, October 1, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time.

PLEASE NOTE THE TIME AND THE TIME ZONE.

Once you have purchased the course, course documents will be available for download. You will also have access to the Zoom conference link, which will be embedded in the lessons for the course. Use that link to attend the live conference.

Upon conclusion of the webinar, you will have access to a brief course review and a link to the final exam. When you have completed the webinar and the course review, take the final exam. You have three attempts to pass the final exam with a score of 80% or higher. Once you have passed the final a certificate of completion will be generated in pdf format for your records.

Be informed when new courses are added –

subscribe to the Mindful Ecotherapy Center’s monthly newsletter.

Click here to read our refund and return policy

Click here to read our Privacy Policy, Terms and Conditions, and Program Policies

Posted on by

Supernatural Aid

mindful walking the coyote walk

Supernatural Aid is a necessity when answering the Call to Adventure. Let’s resume our story with Brother Coyote and his Call to Adventure…

As he arrived at his den, Brother Coyote thought about what Brother Eagle and Sister Cougar had said. He thought about how it had been getting colder with each passing day. He remembered their words that the People and Chief Buffalo did not know if the Sun would ever come back. He thought about how disappointed Chief Buffalo had been with him. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became.

“Why should this be my responsibility?” he cried, “I didn’t ask for this burden! I just want to play in the forest! I don’t want to go on any journey!”

As he thought about it, he grew angrier and angrier. He became so mad that he began to chase his tail. He ran around and around in circles on the ground. The faster he chased his tail, the faster it ran away from him, and the more frustrated he became.

Thus preoccupied, he didn’t notice at first that a mysterious white substance had begun falling from the sky. It fell thicker and thicker around him until finally he could not help but notice. Puzzled, he caught a flake of this stuff on his tongue and found that it was cold and tasteless. As he watched, the snow covered the ground, obliterating the dying plants as it fell. The air around him grew colder and colder.

Shivering, Coyote curled himself up into a ball to stay warm as the snow continued to fall.

As lay there on the ground tucked into a ball, watching the snow, Coyote began to think that it would never stop.
“Truly this is the end of all things!” he thought to himself, “I might as well just lie here and freeze to death!”

Soon the strange white stuff completely covered Coyote. Lying there buried in the snow, he had begun to compose his Death Song when he saw a faint light shining in the distance. As he watched, it grew closer and closer. He eventually saw that the light shone from atop a stick being held by a woman dressed in the color of the snow that surrounded her. The light on her stick looked like a miniature sun, and she was bringing it towards him. He was frightened but also cold. If that miniature sun gave off heat as well as light, how he wanted to be near it! So he did not run away but waited patiently as the woman dressed in white approached and sat next to him.

“Greetings, Brother Coyote,” she said, “I am White Buffalo Woman.”

Coyote was usually wary of strangers, but something about White Buffalo Woman put him at ease. She seemed wise and kind, so he greeted her and began to tell her his story. He told her that the People were frightened because of the cold and that they were worried that it might never be warm again. He told her that the People wanted him to go on a quest to find a new place for the Tribe to live, but that he was afraid to go.

“It is wise that you are afraid,” she told him, “Only fools are fearless in the face of the unknown. But that does not mean you shouldn’t go.”

As they talked, White Buffalo Woman gathered sticks and twigs and began arranging them in a pile in front of Coyote. When the pile was big enough, she touched her glowing stick to the pile, and it blossomed into heat and light. Almost instantly, Brother Coyote felt himself begin to thaw. The heat spreading across his body was almost magical.
“What is this strange thing?” he asked.

“It is called ‘fire,’” said White Buffalo Woman, “If you have its secret, your People will not have to move away to a new place. With fire, you may stay warm through the winter until the spring comes again.”

“What is ‘winter’?” asked Coyote, “and ‘spring?’”

“Winter is the reason it is cold now. It is a time known as a ‘season.’ Spring is also a season. Winter is a time of cold, decay, and death, and spring is a time of warmth and rebirth. Seasons come and seasons go, but when the time of winter has passed, the spring will return again. Fire will help you make it through the cold and dark of winter. Until then, you must be vigilant and wait for spring’s return.”

Coyote was amazed at the magical power of the fire. He was also glad to know that spring would come again, but if the People did not have this magical thing to help them through the winter, they may not live to see it.

Coyote and White Buffalo Woman sat warming themselves by the fire and talking. White Buffalo Woman told Coyote that the fire had come from a sacred village in the mountains to the North, where it was guarded by a greedy witch who wanted to keep it for herself. She told Coyote that if he followed the North Star he could find this village, and claim some of the fire to call his own.

“But why can’t I just have some of your fire?” Brother Coyote asked.

“Because each person must find his own fire, and this fire is mine,” replied White Buffalo Woman, smiling enigmatically. “It would not work for you because it is my fire. You could not make it burn.”

They talked for half of the night until White Buffalo Woman lay down in front of the fire to sleep. Coyote tried to sleep himself, but after hearing of the village of the Fire Tribe, the fire, and the witch who guarded it, he was more frightened than ever. Yet he knew that he was the only one who could make this journey. When he had resolved for himself that he must be the one to go, he finally fell asleep just before dawn. When he awoke the next morning, White Buffalo Woman was gone, and the fire had gone out.

Just as Coyote began to grow cold and numb in the snow, when we deny our emotions we open ourselves up to the process of emotional numbing. We kid ourselves into believing that certain emotions are “wrong” or “bad,” and we hide them away. We don’t want to own these parts of ourselves. Sometimes emotional injuries can lead to this state of numbing as well. The feelings are so powerful that they become overwhelming, so we learn to stuff them down and pretend they don’t exist so we don’t have to go through the pain of feeling them. Over time this denial of what we feel can make it difficult, if not impossible, to acknowledge our feelings at all. When this emotional numbing occurs, we have to actively work to “thaw out” our feelings. Sometimes we may do this by relying on our own Supernatural Aid.
To find your own Supernatural Aid, first ask yourself if there are there any fears that might have led to your own emotional numbing in life. Like Coyote, do you need to “thaw out” those feelings? How might the characteristics of a shaman help you to do so?

It can be difficult to answer the Call to Adventure. When our emotions freeze us into inaction out of habit, it sometimes becomes hard to choose a different path. When faced with the opportunity (or challenge) to discover new ways of being, our fight or flight response often takes over, and we remain stuck in the familiar. It can be scary to journey off into unknown territory, simply because it is unknown. But using mindful awareness in the present moment we can become aware that the unknown is just that…unknown. Dangers may lie ahead, but great rewards may lie ahead as well.

We only change when the pain of staying the same becomes greater than the pain of changing. Every action has a consequence, and answering the Call to Adventure is an action with unknown consequences. Answering the call means facing our fears. It means facing our pain. It is an acknowledgment that with great risk comes great reward. It is a willingness to risk it all in order to gain ourselves.

Ultimately, the Call to Adventure is about inspiration. Ecospirituality is all about finding that which is awe-inspiring in our own lives. When we find that source of inspiration, then the “fire” of our own Supernatural Aid comes to warm us. Your own Supernatural Aid will come to assist you when you realize that there are no other options but the path you’re on. All other doors have been closed to you, and from that point on the only choice is to heed the call.

Posted on by

Coming Soon: Sandtray Eco-Art Therapy

Sandtray Eco-Art Therapy

Sandtray Eco-Art Therapy is an innovative therapeutic approach that integrates the principles of ecotherapy with traditional sandtray therapy. Developed by Charlton Hall, PhD, this method utilizes natural elements in the sandtray, encouraging clients to engage with the environment in a creative and healing manner. In Sandtray Eco-Art Therapy, the client uses miniature objects, often made from natural materials, to create scenes or representations in the sand, which reflect their inner thoughts, feelings, and experiences. This process allows for a deeper exploration of the self and one’s relationship with nature, facilitating emotional expression and personal growth.

Sandtray Eco-Art Therapy allows therapists who may not have access to outdoor settings for ecotherapy activities to introduce the tools of Mindfulness-Based Ecotherapy into a more traditional clinical office setting.

Charlton Hall’s development of this method emphasizes the therapeutic potential of connecting with nature, both physically and symbolically, within the safe and structured environment of the therapy session. The approach is particularly beneficial for clients dealing with trauma, anxiety, or emotional blocks, as it provides a non-verbal and tactile medium for expression (Hall, 2025).

This certification course is scheduled to be available in early 2025.

About Sandtray Eco-Art Therapy

Sandtray Eco-Art Therapy has emerged as a unique and effective approach to emotional healing and personal growth. This innovative therapy, developed by Charlton Hall, PhD, integrates the principles of traditional sandtray therapy with the healing elements of nature. By combining creative expression with an ecological perspective, Sandtray Eco-Art Therapy offers clients a powerful medium for exploring their inner worlds, addressing trauma, and fostering a deeper connection to the environment.

What is Sandtray Eco-Art Therapy?

Sandtray therapy, a form of expressive arts therapy, has been widely used for decades to help individuals express emotions and explore personal narratives through the use of miniature figures and objects placed in a tray of sand. Clients create scenes that reflect their inner thoughts, feelings, and experiences, allowing them to communicate non-verbally and access parts of the psyche that may be difficult to articulate with words alone.

Sandtray Eco-Art Therapy builds on this foundation by incorporating natural elements into the sandtray process. The “eco” aspect of the therapy emphasizes the importance of nature in the healing process, encouraging clients to use objects found in the natural world—such as stones, leaves, shells, and twigs—in their creations. This integration of natural materials not only enhances the tactile experience of the therapy but also fosters a deeper connection between the individual and the environment.

The Benefits of Sandtray Eco-Art Therapy

  1. Connection to Nature: One of the most significant benefits of Sandtray Eco-Art Therapy is the connection it fosters between the client and the natural world. Research has shown that spending time in nature can have profound effects on mental health, including reducing stress, anxiety, and depression (Bratman et al., 2015). By incorporating natural elements into the therapeutic process, clients can experience the calming and grounding effects of nature within the context of therapy.
  2. Non-Verbal Expression: For many individuals, especially those dealing with trauma or emotional blocks, finding the right words to express their feelings can be challenging. Sandtray Eco-Art Therapy provides a non-verbal outlet for these emotions, allowing clients to communicate their inner experiences through the creation of symbolic scenes in the sand. This process can be particularly helpful for children, who may find it easier to express themselves through play rather than words.
  3. Personal Growth and Insight: The act of creating a sandtray scene encourages introspection and self-reflection. As clients arrange objects and figures in the sand, they often gain new insights into their thoughts, behaviors, and emotions. The therapist guides this process, helping the client explore the symbolic meaning of their creations and how they relate to their life experiences. Over time, this exploration can lead to personal growth and a deeper understanding of oneself.
  4. Integration of Ecotherapy: Ecotherapy, or nature-based therapy, emphasizes the healing potential of the natural world. By integrating ecotherapy principles into sandtray work, Sandtray Eco-Art Therapy offers a holistic approach to healing that considers the individual’s relationship with the environment. This perspective can be particularly beneficial for clients dealing with issues related to environmental grief, climate anxiety, or a sense of disconnection from nature.

Applications of Sandtray Eco-Art Therapy

Sandtray Eco-Art Therapy can be used with a wide range of populations, including children, adolescents, adults, and families. It is particularly effective for individuals dealing with trauma, grief, anxiety, depression, and relationship issues. The therapy can be conducted in both individual and group settings, providing a versatile tool for therapists across various disciplines.

In addition to its clinical applications, Sandtray Eco-Art Therapy can also be used in educational settings, community programs, and environmental organizations. For example, schools may incorporate Sandtray Eco-Art Therapy into their counseling programs to help students manage stress and develop emotional resilience. Environmental groups may use the therapy to help individuals process feelings of loss and grief related to environmental destruction.

Sandtray Eco-Art Therapy represents a powerful fusion of traditional therapeutic practices and the healing potential of nature. By providing a non-verbal medium for expression and fostering a deeper connection to the natural world, this therapy offers a unique and effective approach to emotional healing and personal growth. As more therapists and clients discover the benefits of Sandtray Eco-Art Therapy, it is likely to become an increasingly important tool in the field of mental health.

References:

Bratman, G. N., Hamilton, J. P., Hahn, K. S., Daily, G. C., & Gross, J. J. (2015). Nature experience reduces rumination and subgenual prefrontal cortex activation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112(28), 8567-8572.

Hall, C. (2025). Sandtray Eco-Art Therapy. Elder Grove Media.

Posted on by

Doing Mode to Being Mode

from doing mode to being mode

Moving from doing mode to being mode is how mindfulness helps you to deal with stress. When problems arise, they cause stress. When we experience stress the natural tendency is to try to do something about it. The problem with this is that if you could do something about the stress you would have already done so, and you would no longer be stressed.

By moving from doing mode to being mode, we are able to just accept what we feel, without feeling obligated to do anything about it. Stress is a natural feeling and a natural response to problems. To expect not to feel stress from time to time is not a realistic expectation, and telling yourself not to stress out is stressful in itself. Think of it this way: Suppose I expect the weather to be sunny all the time. I complain whenever it rains, and my mood becomes irritable because of the cloudy weather. If I have such an expectation, I’ve set myself up to be disappointed, because rain is a natural part of the weather. So by grumbling every time it rains, I’m complaining about something that’s a perfectly natural part of existence.

Now suppose I complain every time I stress out. Stress is also a perfectly normal part of existence, so expecting never to be stressed out is unrealistic.

The more I tell myself not to stress out, the more stressed out I become. Instead, if I learn to welcome the stress and simply allow myself to be with it until it passes it no longer has a hold on me. Note also that telling myself not to stress out is doing something, and not just being with the stress.

If I notice stressful events with the goal of “trying to relax” or “trying to calm down,” trying is doing, and not being. My goal is to be and not to do.

In being mode, we recognize that when we have strong feelings we don’t have to do anything about them. So if we find ourselves having thoughts of refusing the Call to Adventure, such thoughts are just thoughts. However, if we find ourselves wanting to act on those thoughts by refusing the call, we are engaging in doing mode. One way to escape the Refusal of the Call is to merely shift from doing mode to being mode.

The first step to leaving doing mode is to become aware of the ways in which we engage in it.

Think about how you slip into Doing Mode throughout your day. Doing Mode involves solving problems, figuring things out, and participating in day-to-day activities. Right now, make a mental list of a few of the ways you engage in Doing Mode.

We sometimes create unrealistic expectations for ourselves by assuming that stressful or depressing thoughts and feelings are somehow not “natural.” In fact, just the opposite is true. It is perfectly natural to have stressful or depressing thoughts and feelings from time to time.

Try this sometime: Ask everyone you know if they’ve never in their entire lives had a depressing or stressful thought. I’m willing to bet that you won’t be able to find anyone who would say that they’ve never been depressed or anxious. That’s because, like cloudy days, stressful and depressing feelings are a natural part of being alive.

If we can accept that we don’t have to do anything to fix cloudy days, we can accept that we don’t have to do anything to fix negative thoughts and feelings as well. Sometimes our attempts to fix such thought cycles could be the very thing that makes them worse. Here’s an example of how this process works:

Suppose I am prone to panic attacks. One day I find myself feeling anxious. I can tell by the way my thoughts are racing and by the way my body feels that my anxiety is rising. I know from previous experience that rising anxiety has led to panic attacks in the past. As I realize this, my anxiety increases even more because I’m afraid that I’m about to have yet another panic attack. So I try to do something to stop it by forcing myself to calm down. But “trying to calm down” is doing mode. The harder I try to calm down, the more I stress out about the fact that I can’t calm down. The more I stress out about the fact that I can’t seem to calm down, the more my anxiety rises, because I’m trying to do something to fix it, and what I’m doing isn’t working. The more I fail at fixing it, the more I stress out and try even harder to fix it. This cycle builds and builds until I have another full-blown panic attack.

What if, when I felt my anxiety rising, I was able to say, “Oh, that’s another panic attack that’s about to happen. I’ve had them before. Yes, they’re unpleasant, but I’ve managed to survive them. No need to try to do anything to stop it.”
In this case, I’m not trying to do anything. I’m not trying to stop the attack. I’ve consciously chosen to sit with it and be in the moment with the natural experience, paying attention to and describing the sensations to myself. Because I’m not engaging in doing mode by trying to fix something, I’m not adding to the anxiety. I’m just allowing things to happen in their own time, while I observe with my senses. From this perspective, even if I do have another panic attack, I’m being still with it and observing it rather than interacting with it. I know from previous experience that it won’t kill me, however unpleasant the experience might be. I’m engaging my internal observer to be with the experience without having to do anything about it.

This ability to pay attention to the present moment is the essence of moving from doing mode to being mode.

One of the most basic ways to engage in Being Mode is to simply start paying attention to the sensations you experience in the world around you. One thing you can always focus on is your breath. This is because your breath is always with you. Try this now by going outside and taking a few deep breaths while noticing the sensations you’re experiencing. What did you feel in your body? Did you notice any smells in the air? Were you able to taste anything in the air as you exhaled? What does your breathing sound like? What physical sensations are you experiencing?
Leaving Doing Mode and entering Being Mode can be as simple as paying attention to what your senses are telling you in the present moment. Think about some ways you can engage all of your senses. For example, you might light a scented candle or go outside and smell the flowers.

From Doing Mode to Being Mode

Now that you have a list of activities you can engage in when feeling tempted to engage in doing mode, you can choose to be with these activities instead.

The Refusal of the Call often manifests in a temptation to return to the way things have always been. Change is difficult, and setting out on a path of personal and permanent change for the better can sometimes be the most difficult life-changing experience of all. We feel tempted to tell ourselves, “Change is too hard,” or “I’ve always been this way, why change now?” or “People won’t like me if I change.”

We’re very good at coming up with excuses because if we don’t then we have to take responsibility for our lives. That can be a scary place to be for those of us who have never done it before. When we take responsibility for our own lives we have nobody else to blame if we fail. What we sometimes forget, though, is that if we take responsibility for our own lives, then we are the only ones who can take credit for our successes.

Taking the leap of faith required to trust ourselves is a major step in answering the Call to Adventure. Sometimes it helps to have a little Supernatural Aid. We’ll talk about what this aid might look like in future posts and how it might help you to move from doing mode to being mode.

Posted on by

Mindfulness and Ecospirituality

Mindfulness and Ecospirituality

Mindfulness and ecospirituality go hand-in-hand. Ecospirituality is the “what” and mindfulness is the “how.” This quote from Black Elk explains one perspective on this relationship:

“You have noticed that everything an Indian does is in a circle, and that is because the Power of the World always works in circles, and everything tries to be round. The sky is round, and I have heard that the earth is round like a ball, and so are all the stars. The wind, in its greatest power, whirls. Birds make their nest in circles, for theirs is the same religion as ours. Even the seasons form a great circle in their changing and always come back again to where they were. The life of a man is a circle from childhood to childhood, and so it is in everything where power moves.”

–Black Elk, Oglala Shaman (1853-1950)

For hundreds of centuries prior to the Industrial Revolution, people lived together in small tribes, whether in nomadic bands or geographically fixed in locations in villages or towns. Evolution wired our brains for nature. But with the advent of agriculture, we settled down more and more, and built cities. With cities came modernization. First, we built machines, then, with the discovery of electricity, we began to build electric machines. Thomas Edison’s invention of electric light forever robbed the night of its power to evoke mystery and terror by creating a perpetual electric twilight in our towns and cities, making more hours available to labor in the factories. The more domesticated we became, the more the wilderness retreated beyond the city limits. We ceased to mark time by the cycles of the seasons and began to keep time by the factory whistle.

Our modern, mechanized lifestyle has brought about many changes for the better. We live longer and more productive lives, but our hearts still long for the cry of nature. Our minds retreated from nature, but our bodies did not. Evolution programmed us to need nature, and our bodies and minds still respond to it.

What is the relationship between mindfulness and ecospirituality? Ecopsychology studies the relationship between mental health and the environment. This field of research views the mental health of humankind as a part of the geo-ecosystem that is the living planet we call Earth. If all life on Earth is interrelated, and human beings certainly are a type of life on Earth, then what happens to the rest of the planet affects us all. Ecopsychology recognizes that not only does the environment impact our physical health, but it also has a direct influence on our mental health. While artificial, stressful, polluted environments have the power to harm, nature has the power to heal, both physically and mentally.

From the perspective of ecopsychology, everything is connected to everything else. According to this paradigm, people don’t exist in a vacuum. They are part of the larger system of their neighborhood, of the even larger system of their particular societies, and ultimately the system of all life on Earth, circles-within-circles. Each of these systems communicates to us in different ways, and we interact with each of these systems. The individual is not only a part of a system of interacting human beings but also a part of an ecosystem. We interact with the environment, and the environment interacts with us. For those who know how to listen, the wind in the trees can sing. The view of a mountain range or a moonlit ocean can tell a story. The smell of the first flowers of spring can speak just as clearly as a loved one’s voice can. The touch of a ray of sun can be as powerful as a lover’s caress.

On the other hand, a crowded, polluted city street can communicate as well. The messages we get from our environment have an impact on us, whether or not we are consciously aware of that impact. This environmental impact changes our sense of self and our sense of well-being. If we could make a paradigm shift to a lifestyle that makes room for nature, what would that do to our sense of well-being?

Mindfulness and Ecospirituality: A Paradigm Shift

Such a change involves seeking inspiration (or spirituality) from the natural world. It is a solution-focused approach. It’s easy to go into panic mode when we realize what we’re doing to the environment, but such stress and anxiety don’t do anything to solve the problem. A solution-focused approach helps us to find positive solutions rather than getting stuck in ruminations about the negative effects we’re having on the environment. It’s easy to get caught up in the doom and gloom, but that doesn’t solve anything. What’s needed is an intentional approach that works.

Such an approach to saving the environment means a grassroots, bottom-up approach. It starts with the individual. The most effective way to change a society or a culture is mindfully, one person at a time, through ecospirituality. Ecospirituality is about spiritual connections to nature, to your own higher power if you have one, to others, and to your own sense of True Self. Nature is the catalyst for such connections, and mindfulness is the pathway.

Posted on by

Answering the Call

answer the call to adventure

Like Coyote in the story from last week, a person who refuses to answer the Call to Adventure has little or no confidence in themselves. When you have received the call, you stand at a crossroads. You have a choice. You are free to choose to continue to refuse the Call to Adventure. Such a refusal means staying in the familiar, but it also means accepting the status quo. It means surrendering to life as it is without considering the possibilities of future growth.

If you find yourself stuck here but wishing to answer the Call to Adventure, the first step is to ask yourself, “If nothing changed from now on, could I live the rest of my life this way?”

If the answer to that question is, “No,” then obviously something has to change.

To begin making this change is to begin trusting yourself. Out of the billions of people on this planet, the only person who is a true expert on you is you. You already have within you everything you need to know to begin the quest. All you have to do is to learn to trust your inner wisdom.

The path of ecospirituality involves following the Way of the Coyote. It is a spiritual journey…a hero’s journey with many signposts and crossings. Each one of these crossings represents a phase along the way to becoming a seeker and a seer of visions. When you have arrived at the end of this journey you will have discovered a new way of being in the world. The first crossing is to answer the Call to Adventure.

At this first crossing, we have to forge our will to commit to the path. When a vision seeker sets out on the path such a decision requires a firm and resolute will. The life of a shaman is not to be approached with an attitude of “I guess so,” or “I’ll do it when I have the time,” or “this looks like fun if nothing else is going on.” Such a path requires a complete commitment to the quest. Once you cross the threshold there is no turning back.

The journey of the vision seeker is one of lifetime dedication. If you’re saying to yourself, “I don’t have the time or the energy,” what you’re really saying is, “It’s not a priority for me.” If it’s not a priority, then you’re not going to put forth your best efforts, so it’s probably not the right path…or the right choice…for you at this time in your life. If that is the case, it’s better to set aside the path and return to it with a firm resolve when you are ready to commit to doing the work.

In many indigenous traditions throughout the world, the path of the shaman begins with a rebirthing ceremony in which the initiate is given a new spiritual name. This renaming signifies a person’s birth to the spirit world. The naming ceremony is the vision seeker’s announcement to the world that he or she has taken up the quest. Such a commitment is a death to the former way of being, and rebirth as a seer and a seeker of visions.

This rebirth depends upon conquering your own fears. Conquering fear doesn’t mean never being afraid. It means rising to meet the challenges of the Way of the Coyote in spite of the fear. It is the first landmark in the decision to become the person you were meant to be by embracing your True Self.

Answer the Call

As you contemplate answering your Call to Adventure, do any fears rise up in your spirit? If so, what is the nature of these fears? If you feel ready and unafraid to begin the journey, then think about what things might stand in your way in the future and use those things instead to answer the questions that follow.

  • What are your greatest fears?
  • How might you conquer these fears?
  • How might you forge your will so that you may take up the path of the vision seeker with a firm and steadfast commitment?
  • What Supernatural Aid might you require to help you succeed?
  • How might you strengthen your resolve to commit to the journey?
  • Which thoughts, feelings, and habits will you have to sacrifice to be reborn into the life of a seer/shaman?
  • What is your reason for seeking the path that leads to ecospirituality?

Over the coming week, contemplate your answers to these questions to determine if you’re ready to answer the Call of the Coyote.

What do you think? What would help you to answer the call to adventure? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Posted on by

Refusal of the Call

The Call

The Refusal of the Call happens when the pain of changing is greater than the pain of staying the same.

The People went in search of Coyote to ask him to go on a quest to find a new place for the People. Chief Buffalo sent Brother Eagle and Sister Cougar to find him.

They came upon Coyote playing in a field of fallen leaves and told him that Chief Buffalo had summoned him, so Coyote followed them back to Chief Buffalo’s lodge. When Coyote approached, Chief Buffalo greeted him politely.
Brother Coyote said in return, “Why have you summoned me here on this fine but chilly day, Grandfather Buffalo?”
Chief Buffalo spoke, “I have asked you here to request that you go on a quest for the People.”

“A quest?” Brother Coyote asked skeptically.

“Yes, a quest,” said Sister Cougar, “The days and nights are getting colder, and nobody can say whether they will ever grow warmer again. The People are afraid that the warmth of the Sun might never return, so we are asking you to go on a journey to find a new place for the Tribe to live.”

Brother Coyote loved to play tricks, but now he felt they were playing a trick on him. He felt the disbelief rising in his heart, and said, “You wish me to go on a quest? Are you mocking me? Surely this must be some jest! Brother Eagle, I do not have your keen eyes and ability to fly high in the sky, so I could not escape danger, nor could I see it coming ahead of time. Sister Cougar, I am no great hunter like you. If I were to go on such a journey, I would surely starve!”

Why not send Sister Doe, who can sniff out predators and run away quickly? Or send Brother Bear, who has great strength, so he could fight an enemy should one overtake him?

“Sister Doe is much too timid for such a journey,” said Chief Buffalo.

“And Brother Bear is sleeping and has been for many weeks. Nobody knows if he shall ever wake again.”

But Brother Coyote was not convinced. One by one he named all of the creatures of the People; but one by one Chief Buffalo gave him reasons why they could not go. He explained that if Brother Coyote could not go, it could be nobody else.

“I am not a warrior!” cried Coyote, “I am not a hero! I spend my days running through the forest, playing and joking with the People! I am not clever enough, or strong enough, or fast enough, or smart enough for such a journey! I cannot go!”

Chief Buffalo, Brother Eagle, and Sister Cougar looked upon Brother Coyote with sadness. They thought about pointing out all the ways that he was wrong about what he had said. They thought about listing all the strengths that Brother Coyote could bring to their quest, such as his ability to track, hide, and deceive a predator on the trail. But they had been down this road with Coyote too many times before. They knew that it would only lead to more arguments and more hurt feelings if they tried to talk him out of his decision. So instead they walked away with pity in their hearts.

As Chief Buffalo turned to leave, he said to Coyote, “I am disappointed in you. I thought you would be happy to help out the People, who have been victims of many of your cruel jests. I would think that you would like to make amends for your pranks. I can see now that I was wrong.”

And with that, Chief Buffalo walked away.

Of all the things Coyote had heard from the People this afternoon, the words of Chief Buffalo stung him the most. He had always admired and respected his Grandfather Buffalo, and it hurt Coyote deeply to see him so disappointed. But Coyote did not see what others could see in him. In his own eyes, he was just a trickster and a fool, incapable of great deeds.

With a sad and heavy heart, he walked away from the Chief’s lodge to return to his own den.
 


Answering the Call: A Change of Context

Change is scary. The comforting thing about the familiar is its familiarity; we know what to expect. This can even be true if the familiar situation is grim. Quite often we’ll stay stuck in a bad situation because the fear of the unknown can be worse than the current (known) situation. Such a sentiment is often expressed in the phrase, “Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t know.”

The familiar, however uncomfortable it may be, is at least familiar. We often choose to stay in a familiar, yet miserable, situation rather than to fly off to ills we know not of. When faced with the possibility of change in such a situation, an element of the unknown must be dealt with. We don’t know what to expect. What if, by acting, we make things worse? What can we expect to happen if we leave the familiar for unknown, unexplored territory? Sure, things might get better, but they might get worse too. When we let our fears of the unknown overwhelm us, it is easy to, like Coyote, refuse the Call to Adventure. It’s simply easier to stay in misery than to set sail on uncharted waters.

I was once traveling to a workshop on shamanism. This particular seminar was being held in a hidden-away corner of the Southern Appalachians. This was before the days of GPS, and I was having difficulty finding my way, so I stopped at a little country store to ask for directions. When I told the clerk where I was going, he jokingly replied, “You can’t get there from here. You have to go someplace else and start over.”

Of course, he was being facetious, but his answer was a great metaphor for the journey into the world of shamanism. If you plan to journey to the Otherworld which is the realm of the shaman, you can’t get there from here. This is one of the reasons for the death and rebirth experience so common to shamanistic paths throughout the world. The shaman must die to his old way of living and being in the world and be reborn into the life of the shaman. Sometimes the rites required to complete this task may seem odd or downright silly to modern eyes. Celtic shamans were required to stand on one foot like a crane, with one eye covered, while seeking visions or pronouncing prophecies. Some Native Americans stood for days with pebbles between their toes to keep them awake while seeking visions. Some shamans painted their naked bodies, lay down in boats at sea, ate special foods, slept wrapped in a buffalo hide, or engaged in drumming, singing, chanting, and a variety of other behaviors all designed to put the shaman’s consciousness in touch with the Otherworld.

So it’s pretty obvious that some of the rites, rituals, and tools of shamanism will feel weird at first. That’s okay. If they didn’t feel strange, you’d already be doing them. Given time you will become accustomed to these new ways of being and new ways of doing as part of your spiritual practice. If you cannot get past the unfamiliarity with drumming and chanting, wearing a feathered cloak, or performing rites, then you “can’t get there from here.” In such a case, you are not ready to enter the Belly of the Whale, and you are still in the Refusal of the Call. Answering the Call of the Coyote means setting forth with purpose, with determination, and with will. There’s no, “I guess so” on the Path of the Coyote. If you are not certain that you are ready, then you are in Refusal of the Call and are not ready for ecospirituality.

The way out of this Refusal of the Call is to trust the process. Trust your own instinct, and trust your own Supernatural Aid. Trust in your connections to others, to nature, and to self. Meditate on what your inner voice may be trying to tell you. The way to know if you are ready to take the call is to know with certainty that it can be no other way.

When you achieve this sense of certainty, you will be ready to die to your old way of being and to be reborn as a follower of the Way of the Coyote.

Posted on by

Characteristics of Shamanism

characteristics of the shaman shamanism

Shamanism is known throughout most indigenous cultures of the world. The word shaman itself comes from the Evenk language (Tungusic) of North Asia, and originally meant, “one who knows,” so a shaman is a wise person. The word itself is North Asian in origin, but most primal cultures had some sort of concept of the shaman, even though they might not have been known by that name. In ancient Scotland, they were called “taibhsear,” or “vision seekers.” In Lakota, they were called “Wicasa Wakan,” or “holy men.” In Hawaii, the word is “Kupuna,” meaning “Elder” or “Ancestor.”

There are nuances of meaning from culture to culture. Some cultures get offended when people use an Evenk word to describe their own shamanic traditions. Still, the word “shaman” has become ingrained in common usage to refer to anyone from any culture who practices a spiritual path with the characteristics listed below:

Ecospiritual shaman drumming
  • Out-of-Body experiences – These experiences are sometimes called “soul journeys” or “magic flights.” In such an experience, the practitioner’s soul leaves the body and travels to distant places and/or times to gather information for healing and other purposes. Most cultures that practice shamanism also have a belief that the shaman can visit the Otherworld; the realm of the dead that is the dwelling place of the departed Ancestors, and sometimes of the gods as well.
  • Chanting, drumming, and dancing – These rhythmic and repetitive sounds are specifically designed not for entertainment, but to induce a trance-like state that can then be used to journey to the Otherworld.
  • A codified system of training – This training system usually takes the form of an apprenticeship in which an experienced shaman trains a student in specific tools and techniques usually geared towards producing visions and otherworldly journeys.
  • An initiatory crisis involving a death and rebirth experience – This is usually a ritualized event in which the student or apprentice “dies” to the old way of life and is reborn to a new way of being in the world. It usually also includes a new way of seeing the world.
  • Gifts of divination, diagnosis, and/or prophecy – Shamans are able to see the future, diagnose sicknesses, and make prophecies. Divination and prophecy usually take the shape of journeying to the Otherworld and bringing back information, or consulting with the gods about the fate of a person or situation. The diagnostic aspect can incorporate basic medical skills but also moves beyond the physical to seeking diagnostic information within the spiritual realm.
  • Healing rites and rituals involving spiritual matters – Shamans from most cultures journey to the Otherworld to recover lost souls who may have left their bodies behind during a sickness. They may also recover spirits trapped in various versions of Limbo.
  • A belief that diseases are caused wholly or in part by spirits, witches, sorcerers, or curses – A modern take on this belief is the idea of doing energy work in order to prevent the influence of negative energies and to promote the influence of positive energies.
  • A belief in and interaction with totem animals and spirits – Most shamans have at least one totem animal, and many have more than one. Totem animals assist the shaman in spirit journeys, and in completing magical tasks. They may also watch over the shaman and people under her protection.
  • An ability to shape-shift into different animals – This shape-shifting doesn’t necessarily imply a literal transformation. It could be creative costuming and mimicry. Shamans from many cultures wear feathered cloaks because birds have the ability to shift between the worlds of earth and sky. By impersonating birds, shamans gain their powers and abilities. So by dancing like a bird, the shaman gains the power to travel between the worlds.
  • Ability to cast and cure curses – Shamans have the ability to see things others cannot. This means that they can recognize the influence of negative energies in the form of curses. They also have the ability to hurl curses at others using their own spirit allies.
  • Ability to perform hunting magic – Shamans have the ability to predict the movements of food animals, to bring them closer to the tribe, and perform rites and blessings of thanksgiving for a successful hunt.

Shamanism: Becoming an Ecospiritual Shaman

Looking over the list of the characteristics of the shaman outlined above, a modern spiritual seeker can readily identify with some of those characteristics, while others might be more difficult to put into a modern context. It’s easy to engage in ritual chanting, drumming, and dancing around a campfire, and to have a ritual death and rebirth experience (in a metaphorical sense, that is). It may be more difficult to cast curses or to engage in hunting magic in a contemporary urban environment.

What does it mean to be a shaman in modern times? How do we walk the shaman in an industrialized society? A redefining of the role of the shaman is necessary. The way to begin this redefinition is to first answer the call.

In the Departure phase of our journey to ecospirituality, we are leaving the familiar world to partake in a journey of self-awareness. We are learning a new way of being in the world and challenging our old assumptions and perceptions about the way the world works. We are allowing ourselves to awaken to a world of wider possibilities by being willing to do things in a different way. It may mean challenging the old dogmas by which we have lived our lives in the past. It may mean allowing Coyote to devour our sacred cows so that we can come to trust our own inner voices. It may mean learning to trust ourselves and our own supernatural aid enough to be willing to take that first step into a new reality.

The choices you make create that reality for you.

The Call to Adventure is the catalyst that sets the Hero’s Journey in motion. It could be an inner need to change one’s circumstances, or it could be an external event that triggers the journey. For Buddha, it was the inner desire to seek enlightenment. For Luke Skywalker, the Empire forced his hand. In either case, the hero recognizes that something fundamental has changed, and he/she can never go back to the way things were.

You may have received such a Call to Adventure. It is up to you how you choose to answer that call. In the coming weeks, we’ll be talking about how.

Posted on by

Creating Your Reality

creating your reality

Creating your reality is a process that happens on a day-to-day basis. We all create our own reality through our assumptions and our perceptions. Our assumptions about life influence our perceptions. Taken as a whole, all our perceptions add up to our own version of reality.

If your assumption is that the world is flat, how would that influence your daily perceptions and your daily reality? What if your assumption is that the world is round? Each of these choices comes with perceptions about the way the world works. If you assume the world is flat, how would you feel about sailing in a ship to the ends of the earth? If you assume that the world is round, would you feel the same way? What reality would you create for yourself in each of the scenarios above?

You create your reality through your assumptions and perceptions. To illustrate how this process works, consider for a moment that you have an assumption that “Everybody is out to get me.”

If your assumption is, “Everybody is out to get me,” then that assumption is going to set your perception filter in a certain way. With this assumption, your perception filter is set so that you only notice instances of behavior that confirm your assumption. If your perception filter has been set by the assumption that “Everybody is out to get me,” then you’re only going to notice when people act in a way that confirms your assumption, and you will ignore any behavior to the contrary.

If this is how your perception filter is set, then you are going to ignore it when people act in such a way that they demonstrate that they are not out to get you. Not only that but when people act in such a way, you’re going to take it as evidence that they are out to get you because you’ll think that the only reason they’re being nice is that they’re trying to get something from you.

Now this assumption and this perception will work together to create your reality for you. Here’s how it works: If you assume that “Everybody is out to get me,” and your perception filter is set only to see examples that confirm your assumption, how are you likely to treat people who aren’t out to get you? If I’m a person who’s not out to get you, and I’m doing nice things for you because I like you and want to be your friend, yet every time I do something nice for you, you treat me as if I’m up to something, how long do you think I’ll stay around?

If you treat everyone as if they’re out to get you, even when they’re not, you will eventually drive away anyone who’s not out to get you. At that point, the only people who are still in your life are people who are out to get you. So by choosing your assumptions and your perceptions about the way the world works, and by acting upon those assumptions and perceptions, you create a reality based on those assumptions and perceptions.

Let’s look at another example. If you are seeking to follow the path of ecospirituality, you are seeking to walk the path of an ecospiritual shaman. To walk in the path of a shaman is to interact on a regular basis with the Otherworld. Therefore to be a shaman, you have to have some concept of the Otherworld. It can be a real place, or it can be a psychological place, but it is a necessary place for shamanism to exist and work its magic. So if you seek to walk the path of the shaman, but your first assumption is, “The Otherworld does not exist,” then you are going to set your perception filter to only notice things that confirm your assumption that the Otherworld does not exist. As you continue to ignore all evidence for the existence of the Otherworld, it will retreat further and further away from you, until, for you, it does not exist.

On the other hand, if you assume the Otherworld does exist, even if it’s just the collection of archetypes that Jung called the ‘collective unconscious,’ then your perception filter is set to look for evidence that confirms this assumption. The more evidence you find to support this assumption, the more you make the Otherworld real in your own mind.

When considering the Otherworld, don’t forget that just because something is happening in your own mind, that doesn’t mean it’s not real. The Otherworld might be a real place, or it might just be a place of psychological processes lying between the conscious and subconscious worlds. In either case, if you experience the Otherworld, then it has become real for you.

I prefer to focus on the utility of these experiences instead of whether or not they’re happening in a “real” place. The more I use my assumptions and perceptions to create my own reality, the more real the Otherworld becomes for me.

In the coming weeks we’ll be exploring the concept of creating your own reality by visiting the Otherworld of the collective unconscious.