Look Again: A Mindful Observation Journey

In today's lesson, you'll begin your mindful observation journey with a simple leaf. Slow down, engage your senses, and look beyond your first impression as you explore its shape, structure, colour, texture, patterns, and tiny details. Discover what you might normally overlook when you give one small object your full attention. Before pressing play, have a leaf handy. It can be from outside or even from a houseplant. Also find a piece of paper or a sketchbook and something to draw or write with for the creative practice portion of the lesson.

In today's lesson, you'll explore a rock through mindful observation, slowing down to notice its weight, temperature, texture, shape, colour, and unique markings. As you explore the rock with your senses, you'll consider what it means to feel grounded and supported, while noticing how a simple object can bring your attention back to the present moment. Before pressing play, have a rock handy. It can be any size, shape, or type of rock that feels comfortable to hold. Also find a piece of paper or a sketchbook and something to draw or write with for the creative practice portion of the lesson.

In today's lesson, you'll slow down with a flower and practice appreciation by noticing its colours, shapes, textures, fragrance, and tiny details. You'll explore what happens when you stay with something beautiful a little longer, including its imperfections and the changes that remind us to appreciate what is here while it is here. Before pressing play, have a flower handy. It can be from your garden, a wildflower, a houseplant, or a bouquet. Also find a piece of paper or a sketchbook and something to draw or write with for the creative practice portion of the lesson.

In today's lesson, you'll slow down with a feather and explore its delicate details, lightness, texture, and movement. You'll notice how the smallest breath can set a feather in motion, while using that movement as a way to explore your own attention, noticing when your mind wanders and gently bringing it back. Before pressing play, have a feather handy. It can be one you find outside on a walk, in your backyard, or somewhere nearby where birds gather, or one you already have at home. Also find a piece of paper or a sketchbook and something to draw or write with for the creative practice portion of the lesson.

In today's lesson, you'll slow down with a twig and explore the marks, textures, cracks, bends, and other details that reveal its journey through time. You'll consider how weather and the natural world have shaped it, and how its role can change as it moves from a living plant to something that continues to be part of the natural world. Before pressing play, have a twig handy. It can be one you find in your backyard, on a walking trail, in a park, or beneath a tree. Also find a piece of paper or a sketchbook and something to draw or write with for the creative practice portion of the lesson.

In today's lesson, you'll explore a shell by changing the way you look, move, listen, touch, and even smell. Turn it, tilt it, look inside, get closer, step back, and discover how much can change when you approach the same object from a different perspective. Before pressing play, have a shell handy. It can be a shell from a beach, your garden, or somewhere else at home. It can be a seashell, a snail shell, or any other shell you have. Also find a piece of paper or a sketchbook and something to draw or write with for the creative practice portion of the lesson.

In today's final lesson, you'll choose a natural object of your own and bring together everything you've practiced throughout the course. You'll follow your attention, explore your object with your senses, change your point of view, and let curiosity guide you without a checklist or a “right” way to observe. Then you'll transform one of your discoveries into something completely new through a creative practice. Before pressing play, have a natural object handy. It could be a piece of bark, a seed, a bird's nest, some soil, a pinecone, moss, an acorn, or even a fruit or vegetable. Also find a piece of paper or a sketchbook and something to draw or write with for the creative practice portion of the lesson.