In our modern world, so many of us spend a lot of time in a virtual reality. We connect via social media with inspiring people around the planet and this is useful and enriching. But we also can get easily distracted by all sorts of stuff – and this is no coincidence or entirely our fault.
Being conscious is not easy to be obtained. Most people are never really present in this very moment. Either our thoughts are lingering in the past, or strolling in the future. Our monkey mind is constantly producing new thoughts. For everyone who once started meditating, I am sure, you know what I mean! It’s an endless stream of all sorts of topics - important or not. It just does not stop normally. And we are used to a constant flow of information all around us. Keeping a focus is difficult in such a world. Smart phone and internet addiction are very common.
All of this is taking our mind off the material, physical world – the world our bodies are living in. But we are also connected to our surroundings – if we are aware or not: to the air, the sun, the land, the water, the animals, plants, trees and of course the spirits. This world is sacred and precious. The indigenous people know this very well and their way of living is a connected way. I often post things like “we are all connected” e.g. by Neil deGrasse Thyson. Modern physics might now prove truths, ancient generations have already known. You can find the elements and atoms in our bodies as well as in the universe. “We are made of stardust” is not a romantic quote, its proven fact.
But this also means that a connection is there - always and with everything. If we poison our world, we are poising ourselves. Nature can live without us, but we can’t live without her. And we are only keepers. We are souls on a journey through eternity and we must not subdue and exploit the earth – we are PART OF IT. As you know, many religious beliefs are fostering this idea and this is part of the problem we are facing right now.
We have lost this connection due to a long tradition of destruction and exploitation. An uncontrollable believe in endless growth accelerates the speed even further. Singles day on Nov 11th in China hit a new record high of USD 27 billion of sales in only one day. A Chinese woman said in an interview “they make people buy things they don’t need, for impressing people they don’t like with money they don’t have.” That really nailed it.
This kind of path will lead us directly off the cliff. But the real drama is – most people feel this loss of connection with ….yeah with what? They try to compensate the emptiness inside with all kinds of addictive behavior, hoping this will make them feel better. But it doesn’t work of course. That’s why they think more is more and keep on running on this destructive path!
The desire to belong is a need we feel deep down inside us since the day we are born. So re-connecting is what the soul needs - re-connecting with the sacred inside us and with the universe itself. Indigenous of all parts of the world say that spirit lives in everything. They are the keepers of this connection. They live in nature and with nature and understand that the inside is like the outside. You cannot have the connection with the sacred inside you without honoring the sacred outside of your body. Your soul is the connection and this is the only way to live a full life.
When I visited Iceland some years ago, I have felt this raw nature. The sea, the land, the fire, the water – the animals! And I felt the connection – I always do when I am in nature. We will never satisfy our desire to belong with consuming crap. We can only find it in ourselves and in nature. Nature is our home, the universe is our home and our soul belongs to the stars. Everything is connected. Separation is a cruel illusion to distract us from our soul’s path. The more we live in the present moment, the more we come closer to the sacred in and around us, the more we belong.
Re-connecting to the presence of nature is for me the most important way to wake up from the unconsciousness. It demands from you to be. This is the first step onto a new path - a path to your sacred self.