Integritus Prime

Recently, I attended a workshop at the Bioneers conference in which I learned a new tool for being present. I already was aware that breathing would bring more mindfulness. That was the first step. We were asked to breathe and center ourselves.

The second step was a use of Nature in a way I had not experienced before. We were asked to grab an herb from the front of the room. I had picked a sprig of parsley, and my friend had picked some rosemary.

The task was to engage with our herb using our senses. To see, smell, touch, listen to, taste and touch the herb. As I did this, I began to notice things about myself.

First, I began to feel tired. My body told me how tired it was from flying to California, co-facilitating a workshop the night before, the cold, the time change and all the activity I was engaging in within the conference.

Secondly, I started yawning. I yawned three times in succession. 

I began to surrender to how tired I was and I verbalized it to acknowledge it. After a few minutes, I felt better and continued to engage in the workshop. While this may sound very simple or subtle, it was a clear insight for me: engaging with my little sprig of parsley had brought me into the moment and allowed me to be as I was: weary.

The lesson for me was two-fold:

1. It is important to pause, notice, acknowledge and surrender to whatever we are feeling in any given moment. This grounds us in our current reality, so we should do it often.
2. Nature helps bring us into our present reality, and we can use any object from Nature and engage using our five senses.

The next time you’re feeling scattered or disconnected, try engaging with an item from Nature. It will help bring you back to the here and now, where life is happening from moment to moment.