Intentionally Exploring Natural Spaces through the Seasons
Nature’s Way is a regular column by Envisage writer Taylor Bourassa, exploring eco-art therapy techniques to incorporate into therapeutic practices, and invites us to practice ways of interacting with, befriending, and enhancing our relationship with the earth.
Taylor Bourassa is a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) and art therapist with a private practice, Wellness Grove Therapy. She incorporates the environment into her practice through the use of natural materials, meditative practices that centre the earth, inviting the natural environment into sessions as a co-facilitator, and sharing the primordial knowledge the earth provides.
“This is an intentional slowing down, a calming of the nervous system, a re-grounding of the self, and a way to intentionally, and mindfully, slow down and notice.”
Reflecting on the theme “New Rhythms” I find myself noticing the newest rhythm in my life and my practice: slowing down. This is an intentional slowing down, a calming of the nervous system, a re-grounding of the self, and a way to intentionally, and mindfully, slow down and notice. Notice the self, the more-than-human world, and the interaction between the two. This invitation will invite you to do the same. Practice slowing down and leaning into intuition. Listen to the pulse of nature and how this can impact your life.
Invitation
Go out into the world today and let the earth guide you. Set out on a journey and follow the sounds of the birds, the push of the wind, the smell of the grass. Do not instinctually follow your feet. Where have you landed? You will know you have arrived if you listen to the pulse of the earth beneath you.
Take a deep breath and look around you. Explore this space with intention. Take note of where your eyes are being drawn to: the colours, shapes, textures. What are you feeling in this space? Find two to four parts of this landscape which pique your interest and curiosity. Is it a flower you have never seen before? Maybe it is a mushroom you are unsure is poisonous or not. Using your journal, sketch or paint what you see. Pay attention to the visual presentation of this piece of nature: what are its characteristics? Delve deeper and allow yourself to explore the unseen characteristics as well. How are you feeling as you explore it, what is its energetic force, its felt sense? Notice how it interacts with or shies away from the rest of the natural environment. Write about your immediate associations to it.
Exploring deeper, take the information home with you and continue to research about the plant, flower, or fungi. Research its name, its characteristics, all of its components, its growing pattern. Discover where it naturally grows, how resilient it is, what animals or plants eat it, how does it spread its seeds?
Through this deep reflective exploration of individual pieces of the natural environment you find yourself in, you can develop a deeper, richer connection to the individual plant and a greater understanding of the ecosystem it lives in. Mark down what you learn in your journal as an accompaniment to the visual depiction of the item. If you wish, and the environment is giving you the opportunity to, gather natural materials reflective of the item you are exploring (leaves, petals, stems) and press these in your journal next to your drawn or painted image. Listen to the earth and the atmosphere and you will know, through a deep feeling, whether it is right and possible to borrow natural materials from the space.
Continue this process each season. If you continue to explore the same natural environment you first found yourself in, you can learn about species variegation in the area, and develop an intimate knowing of the ecosystem you chanced upon. This process can help familiarize you with the area, and accessing the same natural environment can increase your ability to co-regulate and ground with nature.
Every time you leave the natural space, remember to leave nothing that does not belong there and take only where there is abundance. Exploring natural spaces in this way can enrich your life through learning and embodied sensory experiencing. Inviting curiosity into the space and deeply investigating a singular part of a whole environment can also help you to practice slowing down.