Hanne Csanyi - Divination and Meditation as Paths to Enlightenment

Summertime is fast approaching and most people look forward to the time we have with the great outdoors. It is a time to connect to and be in nature, but many of us do not remember how to do this or question why it is that we feel renewed when we spend some time near a lake or in a forest or in the mountains.

The answer is simple, we allow ourselves to become one with all when we take that walk and just breathe in the life giving energy of these natural surroundings. We forget the worries and anxieties left behind in our every day circumstances and just are. Enjoying the “simplicity” and miracle of nature and life. In doing this we begin to feel the flow of everything around us and how we are all part of it and how it is all there for us.

If you cannot relate to these statement, how do you begin to encompass these into your life at this time? Ram Dass in his book Journey to awakening stated this way…

“There have been moments in your life when you were pure awareness. No concepts, no thoughts like "I am aware" or "That is a tree" or "Now I am meditating." Just pure awareness. Openness. A spacious quality in your existence. Perhaps it happened as you sat on a river bank and the sound of the river flowed through you. Or as you walked on the beach when, the sound of the ocean washed away your thinking mind until all that remained was the walking, the feeling of your feet on the sand, the sound of the surf, the warmth of the sun on your head and shoulders, the breeze on your check, the sound of the seagull in the distance.

For that moment your image of yourself was lost in the gestalt, in the totality of the moment. You were not clinging to anything. You were not holding on to the experience. It was flowing--through you, around you, by you, in you. At that moment you were the experience. You were the flow. There was no demarcation between you-sun-ocean-sand. You had transcended the separation that thought creates. You were the moment in all its fullness.

Everyone has had such experiences. These moments are ones in which we have "lost ourselves," or been "taken out of ourselves," or "forgotten ourselves." They are moments in flow.

It is in these moments of your life that there is no longer separation. There is peace, harmony, tranquility, the joy of being part of the process. In these moments the universe appears fresh; it is seen through innocent eyes. It all begins anew.”(1)

To help get the optimum out of your nature experience you may want to incorporate some of the following steps which will help you move into a meditative state and/or a state of awareness.

Begin this meditation while walking or find a quiet place where you can rest or sit, whatever is most comfortable for you. Take time to leave behind your thoughts, worries, joys, and schedules. Forget about the benefits of exercise, forget about how quickly or slowly you walk, forget your troubles, and stop thinking about what you need to do. Take time to be.

Listen to the sound of the wind, listen to the birds and the sounds they make, hear the crunch of snow under your feet or the breaking of a twig beneath your boots or shoes, feel the air blowing against your face. Become present to the Nature around you. Focus on all parts of Nature around you.

Connect with Mother Earth! Feel the rock you are sitting on. Touch a plant as you pass it. Stand by a tree and feel the energy it gives you, it has a very powerful energy field. Listen to the sound of the water. Take lots of time to slowly connect with the Nature around you and do this very slowly.

Connect with the Universe! Then slowly move your attention to the sky, perhaps a faint outline of the moon that you can still see up above, or the sun that is warming you. Look at the wonderful shapes of the clouds moving above you. Imagine the other planets circling around in such amazing precision. We are all connected. See yourself standing on Mother Earth as an essential part of this Universe.

Connect with the pulse, the heartbeat of Mother Earth! Bring your attention back to Mother Earth. Listen to hear the rhythm of the Earth’s heartbeat. The earth has a pulse, a rhythm unique in this Universe. If you listen in quiet and love, asking to hear the Earth’s heartbeat, you will hear it.

Give thanks to Mother Earth! Thank Mother Earth for the many blessings she showers upon us. Feel her strength and courage and become connected to these powerful emotions. Ask her forgiveness for our inability to look after her properly, for the many abuses we are heaping upon her these days. Ask her to show us the way to be more loving and caring of her.(2)

The essential skill of meditation is learning to concentrate, condense and compress your awareness to be totally focused on the very subtle object of your meditation. As your entire being becomes absorbed in meditation, every stress and strain of daily life will fall from your shoulders. In a few short minutes you will become rested and refreshed(3)

Enjoy this summer season and all that it offers you. Learn to appreciate and understand your connectiveness to the whole and accept the love and peace which is there for us all.

Through meditation and divination one can open up awareness to other realms of existence within and without of oneself – a journey which may ultimately lead one to enlightenment.