Human beings are created as both spiritual beings, and as creatures of the earth.  We need to nurture both aspects of ourselves in order to be balanced.

If you are suffering from excessive worry, or you have difficulty regulating your emotions; If you have been dieting and exercising, but you cannot lose weight; if you have tension  headaches, or if you are often irritable-then consider the possibility that you are out of synch with your own natural rhythms.

If you are out of synch with your own natural rhythm, then you are likely out of synch with nature herself.  There is a subtle link between our spiritual essence and our body.  When you consider what you are made up as a human being, it is helpful to consider yourself as “graduations” of awareness.

This awareness is the essence of you.  It contains spiritual, emotional, mental, psychological and physical expressions, or graduations.

With that said, the laws of physics and quantum physics demonstrate that everything in the universe, the world, and earth is an expression of energy.  That which holds the universe together is the same “stuff” that your own thoughts in your mind are made of.

Humans in Harmony with Nature

Nature expressed as energy is a perfect system operating with and through us and all that there is, holding us together, and helping us to differentiate. Harmonize with this principle, and you will harmonize with nature.  This is a path to wholeness.

When we pray, we are synchronizing our spiritual self with this principle. We are quieting our mind, regulating our emotions, and engaging our physical bodies so that we can bring all aspects of our self in synch with the earth, universe, and Allah Himself.

Prayer is a way to momentarily transcend our environment.  To complete our existence, we also need to ground our self in healthy ways to our environment. Most of us are forced to live unhealthy lives, with overwork in artificial environment, and depending more and more on technologies that remove us from the direct experience of the natural environment.  Because of this, we need to make a conscious effort to reconnect to the earth and sky and universe that is actually a part of who we are as human beings.

When we are disconnected with nature, we become disconnected with our own being.  So, even if we are praying faithfully, we might not feel connected to Allah, because we are so disconnected with our self.  How can we bring our self (soul) to Allah in prayer, if we are so disconnected?

Here are some tips to help you get started with the connection to nature that we must revive within our self in order to live holistic lives that we can dedicate to the sake of Allah.

By integrating these simple practices into your daily life, you will integrate your own self with the source of your being, and this will greatly reduce stress, regulate emotions, and re-balance your energy system and alleviate many physical and emotional manifestations of imbalance such as headaches and states of irritation.

How to Connect with Nature?

First, set your intention to connect with Nature for the purpose of receiving healing and to rebalance for the purpose of extending this healing energy to others and the world as an integral part of nature yourself. You can set your intention by affirming it and asking Allah for help and allowing yourself to become His instrument.

Once you have set your intention, and you are consciously aware of your absolute integral part of nature, and thus your connection to nature, put yourself in a natural environment and feel your oneness with nature.

Balance

If you are feeling unbalanced, and unfocused, take a walk in an open area.  If there is any grass or dirt and weather permits, take your shoes off and feel the ground beneath your feet.  If you can, actually lay down on the ground and spend some time experiencing being with nature.

Purification

If you are experiencing emotional upset and an inability to regulate your emotions with a lot of negative runaway thoughts, get yourself into water.  If you can swim in warm ocean water, this is excellent.  If you can find a river or a lake, this is good.  If you can find privacy for modesty, it is really helpful to be able to wear thin clothing or a suit that allows the water wash your skin.

By doing this in nature, you feel the sky, the wind, the sun, and the water and this will truly rebalance your soul.  If this is unavailable, but you have access to a shower, then take a very long shower or bath and then take a long walk afterward.

Daily Regeneration

Take a walk for 30 minutes or more every day.  At the beginning of your walk, set your intention. When you walk, consciously focus on your environment.  Look at the sky, notice where the sun is. If there are clouds, look at them and take note. Feel the cold, or the warmth or the wind about you.

Look for flowers, plants, animals, birds.  Even in urban areas, you will see all of this if you look.  Feel what it is like to be part of Allah’s creation. This kind of walking is different than walking for physical exercise.  You don’t need to be in a hurry.  This is not the walk that you use to process the thoughts in your mind.  (Although this is good also).  But the regeneration walk is one in which you quiet your mind and practice the art of mindfulness.

Pay attention to your body and your stride.  Pay attention to your breath.  Develop thoughts of thankfulness to Allah for His beautiful creation and for your own being, and existence within it.  If you do this three to six days per week, you will be surprised to see how your effectiveness with your personal world of family, relations, and work will increase and you will begin to feel more harmonious in your “human” environments.

Transformation and Maintenance

One of the most effective efforts you can do for the purpose of connecting to and remaining connected to nature, is to synchronize yourself with nature’s patterns.

Do this by decorating your environment so that it synchronizes with the outdoor environment.

For example, if you are in the mountains and you have four seasons, change your home according to the seasons and bring in items (gifts) from outdoors.

In the fall, bring in pine cones and colored leaves etc.  If you live by the ocean, walk along the beach and find natures treasure of sea shells and driftwood.  This really helps a lot and it does not cost any money. You will be surprised how beautiful your home or work environment can become with just a few touches from your own backyard.

In addition to this, Muslims have the added benefit of tuning into the energy of both earth and universe by following the Islamic calendar and remaining consciously in tune with the phases of the moon.

Increase your awareness and pay attention to the night sky.

First published: August 2015