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"In high mountains and pure places, blissful experiences arise. I wear clouds as clothes and the wind as a belt. The warmth of my clothes is inexhaustible. During the day I roam on blue mountain peaks. In the evening, I soar and rest in the expanse of the sky."
~Gyermi Nyi Ö
Living Earthwise means to live from the interconnectedness of all things and the importance of cultivating relationships with nature, the land, with one's inner self, with one's ancestors, and with others. It's a way of reconnecting to the world that addresses the disconnection often experienced in modern life by seeking to foster deeper, more meaningful connections in the world.
We aim to protect the plants, animals, water, geological features, culture and history of our ecosystem. We continue to learn about nature and share what we have learned with others as we explore the wonders of nature. We practice to develop understanding and compassion in order to live peacefully and protect the lives of people, animals, plants, and minerals.
Living Earthwise is not simply to be in the forest or walk the trails. It is to become part of the living world, to walk with care and protection in your heart. We are not separate from nature, but are a listening presence within it.
We walk through the world as if every stone and tree were special. Every step is an offering of respect for the living Earth. We see nature not as a resource to be used, but as a friend to be listened to. The forest, rivers, birds, beaches, and winds are seen as parents, teachers, and friends we can learn from.
Just as we know the outer wilderness, we also explore the inner wilderness where all our thoughts, feelings, and emotions live. We are aware of their inner weather, and like the outer weather we know how to prepare and adapt for clear skies or stormy days. We do not turn away from discomfort. We look right at it. Sit beside it. Learn its shape, size, and color. We befriend our inner wilderness. We learn that to walk the wild outside, we must first befriend the wild within.
Teachings & Practices For Living Earthwise
Practices to renew, refresh, and heal through connecting with nature and the five elements. We connect with the earth to let go of the idea that we are separate and to remind us that we are the Earth and part of Life.
For those looking to set off on the journey to live Earthwise, please explore the following list of teachings and practice in order, as they each build off of the previous teachings and practices.
Outdoor Nature Practices
A simple grounding mindfulness practice that invites you to notice five things you can see, four you can hear, three you can feel, two you can taste, and one you can smell to bring your attention into the present moment.
Age-adapted mindful outdoor activities and sensory prompts to help people of all ages slow down, engage their senses, and deepen their curiosity, respect, and connection with the natural world.
Mindful walking practice inspired by the Greek tradition of the evening stroll, where each step becomes an opportunity for presence, connection with others, and embodied awareness of the here and now.
A mindfulness practice that uses slow, intentional steps paired with visualization of rooting into the Earth and drawing up healing energy to release tension, cultivate groundedness, and renew your connection with the natural world.
Uses the Floridian folklore figure of the Skunk Ape as a playful yet mindful nature-immersion practice that invites you to slow down, engage your senses, and deepen your connection with the natural world through deliberate observation, movement, and contemplative presence.
A mindfulness practice of bringing conscious breathing, calm awareness, and a light, pleasant attitude to everyday work—whether tending a garden, washing cars, or doing tasks at home—to link formal practice with daily life and deepen connection to the present moment.
Mindfully approach and sense a tree with curiosity and openness—observing its form, engaging with it respectfully, and deepening your connection through slow, embodied awareness and gratitude.
This practice guides you to encounter a distressed animal, imaginatively exchange self and other, inhale its suffering as black smoke to dissolve the ego’s boundary, and rest in the luminous, boundaryless clarity that remains.
Reconnecting with the Natural Elements
A mindfulness practice that reconnects us with the Earth, our spiritual and blood ancestors, and the interdependence of all life, helping release the illusion of separation and cultivate humility, stability, and compassion.
Explore the practice of ‘essence extraction’ from the Bön mindfulness tradition as a way to simplify consumption, deepen presence, and nourish body and mind from what is essential rather than from excess.
A mindfulness practice of examining how edible foods, sense impressions, volition, and consciousness nourish or influence our bodies and minds, and invites mindful, compassionate choices that support well-being and reduce suffering.
A mindfulness practice inviting you to recognize and connect with the five elements—earth, water, fire, air, and space—wherever you are in order to cultivate balance, presence, and wholesome qualities in body, speech, and mind.
Explains la as the essential life-force made of the five elements that underlies our capacity for groundedness, comfort, inspiration, flexibility, and basic human goodness, and describes how it can be strengthened or healed through mindful connection with the world.
A mindfulness practice of settling into stillness and consciously connecting with the physical earth beneath you to absorb its stability, groundedness, and support into your body, mind, and awareness.
Mindfully sit in the sun or by a fire and feel its warmth throughout your body, allowing that physical heat to cultivate emotional joy, openness, and energetic nourishment.
Mindfully connect with the air around and within you—feeling its movement in breath and wind, cultivating flexibility, freedom, lightness, and playfulness, and using gentle movement and breath to release constriction and uplift your body and mind.
Mindfully connect with the qualities of water—its fluidity, calm depth, and ability to soften and soothe—bringing those qualities into your body and awareness to cultivate ease, comfort, and peace.
Mindfulness meditation that guides you to settle into stillness, breathe into the vastness of space within and around you, and allow tension, constriction, and distracting thoughts to dissolve as you cultivate openness, peace, and spacious awareness.
Meditations that works with the five elemental energies—space, air, fire, water, and earth—symbolized by khandros (dakinis) to help practitioners connect with their inherent awakened qualities through visualization, mantra, and embodiment practices.
Mother Nature is presented as the Great Mother who continuously gives rise to, nourishes, and sustains all life, inviting us to recognize our deep interconnection with the living Earth and to respond with gratitude, care, reciprocity, and reverence for the natural world.
To live Earthwise is, at its heart, simply to acknowledge the wonder of the web of life. We are not separate from it, but an intrinsic part of it. When you look out the window and see the beauty around you, can you also turn and look within to see the beauty inside yourself? When you’re in the forest, by the beach, up a mountain, walking the city streets, or simply gazing at a sunset something may stop you in your tracks and fill you with wonder. In that moment, can you also accept that you are part of that same wonder? That in the same way you see beauty out there, you are wonderful too!
EcoSattva Vows
Based on my love of the world and understanding of deep interdependence of all things, I vow
To live in Earth more lightly and less violently in the food, products and energy I consume.
To commit myself daily to the healing of the world and the welfare of all beings; to discern and replace human systems of oppression and harm.
To invite personal discomfort as an opportunity to share in the challenge of our collective liberation.
To draw inspiration, strength and guidance from the living Earth, ancestors and the future generations, as well as siblings of all species.
To help others in their work for the world and to ask for help when I feel the need.
To pursue a daily spiritual practice that clarifies my mind, strengthens my heart and supports me in observing these vows.
Living Earthwise Enzo
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