The Weather Station

This is a Nature Connection practice, but is a great alternative to a mindfulness body scan. The intention of this practice is to use your body, especially your senses, a bit like an instrument for gauging the weather. I used to work on a farm and it would amaze me how the woman I worked with could tell what the weather was going to do in the near future with surprising accuracy. At the time it seemed a bit like a superpower, but I have come to understand that we all have this ability but are often out of touch with it. Just by being more aware of our bodies and the world around us and becoming more familiar with weather patterns that are associated with these experiences, we can tap into a superpower of our own. You can try this practice indoors, but obviously, it is one you will benefit from most by trying it either from an open window or, better still, outdoors.

Transcript

So inviting you to get comfortable.

You can be seated,

Standing or lying down.

You might like to start with your eyes closed if you're in a place where you feel safe to do so.

Otherwise you might like to lower your gaze and just bring your attention to the sensations on your skin.

Just noticing where the air meets your skin.

What do you notice here?

We're just starting by seeing what the dominant sensation is.

Perhaps making a note of where on your body you're focusing.

Is it your arms or your hands or your face or somewhere else?

You might like to bring your attention to another part of the body just to see what the dominant sensation is there.

Do these sensations tell you anything about the weather?

Perhaps how hot or cold or humid it is.

It might be that they're telling you something else.

For instance if there's any itching or soreness or tension in your body.

And if that's your experience that's okay too.

This is just what is arising now.

Can you be with whatever you experience with a kind and gentle curiosity?

Just seeing if you can befriend your body and your experience in this moment.

So if it's accessible to you,

Perhaps seeing if you notice any movement or stillness in the air around you.

Noticing if this is associated with any sounds or lack of sounds.

Is there a sense of the energy or the quality of the air in this moment?

Don't worry if you don't have words to describe it.

This is just an opportunity to notice what is here.

And you might notice there are thoughts or feelings or stories and analysis that are stirred by this experience.

Perhaps anticipating something changing or judging it to be different from what you feel it should be or would wish it to be.

And if that happens just noticing that tendency and then seeing if you can welcome whatever your reality is in this moment.

Just knowing that everything is exactly as it should be.

There's no need to do or change or fix anything.

So now let's just focus on the quality of the light if that's accessible to you.

Even with your eyes closed you might have a sense of whether it's bright or dull.

Whether the light is coming from a particular direction.

Whether it's diffuse.

Where is the Sun at this moment?

Is it high in the sky or low?

Or is it nighttime?

And what about our experience of the temperature?

You might like to do a quick scan of your body.

Just noticing any areas that feel warm or cool or in between.

Noticing too if it feels dry or humid.

And if it rains as you do this practice you could get curious about that too.

How quickly do the droplets fall?

Are they big splats or fine drizzle?

Or something else?

What are the sensations?

Maybe noticing what happens with the movement of the air in this as it rains.

Whether it's rainy or fine.

Here's an invitation to explore what your felt experience is telling you.

So imagining that you don't know what time of day it is.

Does your felt experience give you any clues?

Perhaps the sounds help you to answer this question.

What time of day is it?

What time of day does it feel like?

What about the season?

Can you get a sense of what season it feels like?

And it could be that the way it feels is at odds with what the calendar or the clock might say.

So just letting the answer come and not worrying at all if you feel unable to pinpoint it exactly.

It might be easier to say it doesn't feel like winter.

Or it could easily be either dusk or dawn but I couldn't say which.

It's not important to be accurate.

This is all about practice and building your connection with the elements.

It's not a test in any way.

So finally you might like to reconnect with your sense of vision if that's available to you.

See whether what you see matches what you felt.

Perhaps noticing the sky,

Any clouds,

Maybe the wind moving through distant trees.

Just coming back to those questions of the time of day and the season.

And you can come back to this practice at any time.

I recommend trying it at different times of the day and throughout the year.

You can see if you can get a sense of when it feels like it's going to rain or if there'll be a thunderstorm.

Or even if it will be a flying ant day or some other animal event that's triggered by the weather.

I really hope you enjoy exploring this practice and do share it with your friends.