Into The Wild - The Truth Of Our Nature

During this visualization practice by Insight Timer Teacher Christine Rapsys, we take a walk into the wild nature of the mountains. We learn to honor the suffering and truth of all that exists here on earth. We develop peace and gratitude for our part in the great circle of life.

Transcript

Hello,

Thank you for taking some time today to go on this journey with me.

It is a journey of nurturing our truth,

Our path,

And the healing gifts of nature.

Since life began here on Earth,

It's never been easy.

All living creatures have faced suffering,

Real battles to continue their existence.

As we set out on this healing journey,

Let us keep in mind that every being that exists is intertwined in this circle of life.

All suffering shall be honored,

Because just as the trees shed their leaves in the fall to make room for rest and regrowth,

We too need to shed past suffering to make room for rest and regrowth.

Find a quiet place to rest.

Close your eyes,

Relax your body.

Let go of any tension.

Open your mind and let's go now,

On a walk into the wild.

Standing at the edge of a path,

You see a mountain reaching towards the sky.

The dew of the morning still flickering on the leaves of the trees and the grass along the path.

You hear the sound of a stream flowing in the distance.

As you look around,

You see wildflowers in bloom.

Birds sing a morning song and the light of the sun pulls you towards it.

You set forth,

Walking,

Noticing all that surrounds you.

The sound of your footsteps on the ground,

The crackling of sticks and last year's leaves.

You take each step with curious joy.

You breathe in the cool mountain air.

It's springtime here.

Springtime in the mountains and it's bursting with life.

As you walk one foot in front of the other,

You can't help but think of the pain of yesterday.

It was a challenge to make it through,

But today is another day.

And this walk is exactly what you needed.

The peace you feel while walking in nature takes away all the hurts of yesterday.

Take in a deep breath.

The fresh,

Crisp air of the woods is so welcoming.

You hear the stream louder now.

You see it up ahead.

As you walk closer,

You see a deer and a baby fawn drinking from the stream.

They look up at you.

You move slowly,

Closer to them,

Trying to walk gently with each step,

Desiring to get close enough to feel their presence.

But they are wild and they run.

You smile at this because you understand.

Finding yourself at the edge of the stream,

You see the deer's footprints in the muddy water.

You sit down on a large rock and just listen.

A breeze gently touches your face.

The sun glistening on the water.

The sounds of nature singing you into harmonious reflection.

Taking a deep breath,

You stand up from the rock and continue your journey,

Deciding that today you're going to challenge yourself.

You're going to hike up to the mountain's peak further than you've ever gone before.

One foot in front of the other,

You walk.

The further you go,

The more you notice the changing landscape around you.

Just like your own life,

Nothing stays the same here.

The path becomes thicker with grasses,

And more trees cover the area.

You are entering into a forest.

As you walk into this forest,

You notice the sunlight gets dimmer.

Waves of light gently sneak through the treetops,

And you feel them on your face.

You enter this new landscape with curiosity.

Behind trees of different types,

Spilling as fresh as the morning.

Walking forward,

You see a large rock formation.

Walking past it,

You notice a family of squirrels playing in the gentle morning light.

And taking deep breaths,

You feel at ease.

As you continue walking,

You see up ahead that the sunlight is getting brighter through the trees.

You've reached an opening in the forest,

And you walk out into an open meadow.

The flowers cover the surface,

A rainbow of colours bursting from Mother Earth.

Smiling with delight,

You walk into the flowers.

You lean down,

Touching the petals,

Noticing the intricate details of their growth.

They are abundant.

You see the top of the mountain is closer now.

Again,

The sound of the stream comes into focus.

You see a waterfall flowing down out of the mountain,

Meeting the stream.

As you walk,

Listening to all the sounds around you,

Breathing in,

Settling into this walk with nature.

You notice a hawk flying above,

Dancing in the wind,

The sunlight shining down on your face,

The spirit and the truth of life right in front of you.

As you pass by the waterfall,

Walking with purpose,

Making your way up the mountain,

This part of the journey seems the most difficult.

You have to climb,

Using all of your energy to make it to the top.

But you continue,

Facing the discomfort with endless anticipation for what is to come.

You made it.

The view from the top of the mountain is everything you dreamed it would be.

The landscape more beautiful than anything you've ever seen.

With mountain tops lining the horizon,

The sky touching them as blue as the ocean,

And the trees and wildlife coloring the earth like all the stars in the sky.

In this moment,

You know that this is what it means to live.

If you didn't face the fear of the challenge,

You would have missed this.

To see the world as it is,

A place of survival,

Of instinct,

And also a place of peace.

For every being that exists here,

For the plant life that gives us oxygen to breathe,

The sunlight that gives us warmth to live,

The water that fills our cup,

All of this,

All of this faces challenges,

All of this faces suffering to survive.

And this suffering is not something that will ever cease to exist.

Instead,

We learn to honor it,

To embrace it,

To have gratitude for our place in this circle.

Just as the seasons will change,

Our lives will change too.

And as the leaves fall from the trees,

And the petals dry up and fall from the wildflowers,

Nature knows its need to make space for rest and regrowth.

We too need to shed the suffering of yesterday to make space for rest and renewal of our life.

Take in this image now,

At the top of this mountain.

Remember your journey.

It's not always easy,

But it's so worth it.

Walk into the wild nature of your life.

Do not hang on to the sorrows of yesterday or the fears of tomorrow.

Touch the spirit that gives you life,

The spirit of nature.

When you wake up in the morning and draw a breath,

Breathe in with gratitude.

For all the storms and all the joy of your life,

Walk with wonder into the wild truth of your nature.

Peace and goodwill to you.

Reviews

This is an inspiring reminder of how much we need and belong to the earth and the whole of nature.

Gentle guidance into the essential source of peace in this life: earth 🙏🏼

This was just what I needed to hear. It was an absolutely beautiful meditation. Thank you so much!

Thank you for sharing such a beautiful and meaningful meditation. It is one I shall return to often. 🙏🌻

Thank you for a magical and peaceful walk with nature.

What a beautiful and meaningful meditation! Our nature is nature...when we journey into the beauty of our earth, we feel the essence of who we truly our! Will listen again!

Beautiful and empowering meditation. Namaste.🙏🌲🌏🏞

One of my favourites. Bringing nature to life. Including the birds and water sound. Really nice voice. Thank you very much for this nice journey.

Very delicated and peaceful meditation. Thank you 🌸🌻🍃🙏🏼

This is a gorgeous meditation! I would love to learn how you do my meditations. I also have meditations here and I have to say that you have a lovely voice and your meditation is beautiful !

Thank you for an inspiring meditation time 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

Wow I listened to that while soaking in the tub and it was so relaxing and enjoyabl. So beautiful her voice, the music, and the imagery. Loved it.

I was clearly in two places at once, my body was in my bed, but I journeyed into nature just the same. I felt the soft earth beneath my feet and the progressed to the cool expanse of water as the journey deepened. Nature surrounded me. Thank you. This was what I needed.

I WAS WRAPPED ,&,CONTENT
THEN I HEARD
WILD PATH OF OUR
NATURE
BEAUTY LOVE MYSTERY
HELD ME IN A LOVING EMBRACE

Just beautiful. 1st review ive left in 3+ years of meditating.thank you x

Perfect meditation & beautiful words that lead me on this journey through the woods, up the mountain & the analogy to life was wonderful. Thank you ! Namaste!

Wonderful inspiring and enlightening thank you 🧚‍♀️💕🧚‍♀️

A wonderful journey! Until we meet again…namaste 🙏💗

I loved your voice and the analogy of the leaves on the tree. Nice description.

This is lovely, thank you! I appreciate the emphasis on uniting with nature and how automatic it can be - more “returning home” than “visiting a strange place” ❤️