This meditation feels especially powerful to me at sunrise. Sunset and moonrise are other auspicious times. Doing it at any time of the day is far better than never or rarely doing it because you can’t get outside at the ‘right’ time.
Steps for connecting with the Land.
- Walk out onto the land. Get your feet on natural soil – dirt, sand, or grass rather than concrete. If possible, take off your shoes and have direct body contact with the earth.
- Turn to face the rising sun. Alternatively, face anything meaningful to you. An interesting tree, rock, stream, mountain or view. Over time the object of your focus will take on and give back to you the energy of your practice.
- Greet the sun, wind, water, and earth. Feel each in turn on your skin. Say a few words, audibly or silently, welcoming them into your life.
- Imagine you have roots growing down through your feet into the soil. Imagine you are a plant, a tree, a flower and that you have roots connecting you to the soil. Imagine you have a stalk, a trunk, and leaves reaching upwards from your rooted connection with the earth upwards towards the sun. Feel yourself as a living being connecting to the earth and the sky.
- Ask for any blessings on projects, relationships, or work.
- Listen for any guidance from the earth. Intuition,, ideas, voices in your head, or hunches are all ways the voice of the land might speak to you. If nothing comes up in the moment, don’t worry. Sometimes insight doesn’t look or sound the way we expect.
- Thank the land, the elements, and yourself for taking the time to connect. If you’re feeling free and inspired you can add a bow or a dance to celebrate this time of connection.
- Leave respectfully and go about your day.
- Come back and do it again
This is one of my favorite daily practices and one I hope you’ll enjoy too. Please let me know what you do and how it goes!
For more inspiration to the land, I suggest you watch the movie Dirt. Here’s a link to the youtube video of the trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8_dN5YWnyc. If it doesn’t work, just type “dirt the movie trailer” into the youtube search box. Enjoy!
by Kassandra Brown, Parent Coach