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Happy Hour: Nourished by Nature

Introduction

Hello and welcome formally to everyone to this Happy Hour. The theme for our practice today is what I like to call "nourished." These practices of the heart that we engage in—mettā^[1], gratitude, generosity, and so on—are a way to support ourselves and others.

Oh, the sound went out. I got logged out! Wow, that was impressive, that had never happened before. I love it, you're all still here. Things are as they are, let's continue. Such is life.

Nourished by nature. With the category of "all beings," it's nice to actually intentionally include nature, leaves, living beings, trees, and flowers. Personally, the inspiration for tonight came when I went for a little walk earlier. Just looking up—again, it's an urban area, but there are trees, there's foliage around, there's some greenery—and just looking up, I felt so nourished by all the green I started to see. Then I started to see more and more because I was tuned to green, just being nourished by the green and by the sky. Then I imagined, what if this wasn't here? What if it was just asphalt and roads? My heart sank. There was so much gratitude for all the green, for all the nature that surrounds us and supports our hearts.

I want to share another motivation and image with you. When I was on retreat a few weeks ago, I went on a solo hike in a redwood forest. I just lay down there in the forest and looked up. For those familiar with redwoods, in a grove, there's usually a mother tree, and the mother tree spawns a whole circle of baby trees who grow up around it. So I was lying in this circle of beautiful, giant, tall, still redwoods, feeling held. I lay there meditating for 45 minutes and just took a photo as a memento to remind myself of the beauty and peace.

I want to bring that to this guided meditation: to feel held, whatever your version of the redwood grove is. To just be held, looking up at the sky and hearing the sound of birds. Lovingly held. Dear one, we're here. You're safe here. We're holding you. We're supporting you. You can be nourished. You can be nurtured in this moment. Your heart can be still.

You can borrow my image or have your own image of being supported and nourished by nature. With that as the setup, let's start our practice together.

Guided Meditation

I invite you to get into your meditation posture, landing in this body.

As always, we start with arriving in the body with the breath, inviting stillness. Letting awareness sense the breath in the abdomen being pulled in naturally, in and out by itself. You don't have to do anything; the breath is breathing you. Let it be natural. Let it be effortless.

Let awareness receive the sensations of the breath. The lower abdomen expanding, contracting, settling with each breath. Connecting you to your sit bones, connected to the cushion or the chair. There are stand-ins for Mother Earth. Feel as if you are connected to the earth. Your feet connected to the earth, the touch points. Sitting on the cushion, your entire underside rooted to the earth.

Noticing the breath moving through the abdomen and through the lower body. Expanding, relaxing, connecting sit bones, lower legs, and feet to the earth. As if your entire lower body is breathing the same way that trees and all the leaves breathe. The entire lower body breathing.

Letting the breath be sensed in your abdomen. Your chest expanding, making more space around your heart for whatever is happening right now. Holding spaciously. Holding emotions. Let the space show up freely in your shoulders and neck. The breath moving through your arms and hands. Relaxing, softening the hands. Let them drop.

The breath soothing, opening any contractions. The face and the head relaxing. The forehead, the eyes resting in their sockets. The cheeks, the chin. Muscles behind your eyes, your jaw, inside your head relaxing.

Let the breath be felt. Its movement is life-giving, enlivening, relaxing. Natural movement throughout the body. Wherever there is any contraction or tightening, with the out-breath, it's released.

And if thoughts are arising, it's okay. It's not a problem. That's what minds do; they think. No need to problematize what's natural. Simply notice spaciously that the thinking has arisen. And gently, ever so lovingly, just for the benefit of this moment's practice—not that there's anything wrong with thinking, but to settle the mind, to take refuge in quietness—with the next out-breath, gently release it. Thanking the thought, saying, "If you're important enough, please come back later after meditation. I'll be waiting for you."

Just here, just now. Feeling nourished by the natural breath.

And now, if you wish, I'd like to invite you to bring to mind a plant, a flower, a bush, something green that has brought you delight and joy in recent times. Maybe a flower you smelt, or a tree you sat in the shade of. This living being that you had a moment of a personal connection with. This plant, this flower. Maybe someone gave you a bouquet, or you gave someone one, making you both happy. Bright colors.

Letting yourself connect with that moment of relishing. Feeling nourished by nature. This plant, this tree, this flower. Noticing the sense of appreciation and gratitude for this particular instant. With each breath, as you breathe in, it is as if you're breathing in the nourishment of this plant, this flower, that moment of connection. Thanking this plant, this tree, this flower, the grove in your heart. Thank you.

Letting yourself expand from this instant, from this instantiation, more expansively. Feeling held all around. Feeling held by nature. It could be a favorite garden of yours, somewhere you've been, or a hike you've been on. Or, if you like, borrow the image I offered and settle in the middle of the redwoods. The grove of tall redwoods. Held in safety and care. Letting your heart settle and relax. Be nourished, be held. Nowhere to go, nothing to do, but to just be held by nature.

The green vibrancy of nature can be so healing. Let yourself receive it without getting in your own way. Imagine it's freely offered. Receiving it with appreciation, with love, maybe with a bow in your heart. Not taking for granted what's around you, what's about you.

Noticing that just as your heart can receive and be nourished by nature, you could also beam care, love, and appreciation for nature, for the trees about you, the green. So giving and receiving, receiving and giving with each breath. As if you were a tree. Receiving with each breath, giving with each breath. Spreading your care, love, appreciation, and gratitude for nature, for trees, for flowers, for greenery about you. Either physically where you are or in this vision that you have in the garden or in the grove.

For the last few minutes, what if you were a tree? This being, the tree in the grove with mother trees, or a flower, or a bush. Connected through your roots to the other trees and bushes. Sharing resources, sharing nutrients, sharing information, as we know now happens with other growth in the garden and in the forest. Part of the family. Receiving and giving, receiving and giving. And nourishing human beings who might come walk through the garden with shade and care.

A beautiful tree, well-rooted, tall, still. Part of nature. Nourished by nature. Part of nature. Nature inside, nature outside—it's all nature.

May we all wake up to our nature, our true nature. May all beings be happy. May all beings be free.

Thank you all for your practice.

Reflections and Q&A

Nikki Mirghafori: I'll change the settings for your reflections. You can raise your Zoom hand or type in chat. If you type to me privately, I won't say your name. If it's to everyone, I'll say your name. Ally, please.

Ally: This was just so powerful for me. I'm on a solo camping trip right now in Idyllwild in Southern California. I was here last year around this time, and I was having this really profound spiritual awakening, so there was just this real magical quality to it. When I got here last night, it was so hot, and the place I'm staying is so much different. It's not what I wanted, and I just had all these expectations rushing in.

Then this morning, I got to this place where I could say this prayer of, "Can I see what's beautiful here? Can I be with what's happening right now?" I was just so blown away today by all the beauty that I saw. What just kept coming to me in that meditation was that nature is never static, it's never the same—just like we're never the same. Can I bring presence to myself even when the climate or the conditions aren't preferable? Anyway, it was just really fitting and I just wanted to share that.

Nikki Mirghafori: Thank you, Ally. Thank you so much for sharing that. I'm so grateful that you dialed in from your camping chair! I love it. I am so touched and moved; here you are in the middle of nature. I'm actually getting goosebumps doing this practice. And yes, the conditions—it's too hot outside sometimes, and it's too hot inside too, the emotional temperatures. Can I be with this changing nature? Can I appreciate what is nature inside me and outside? Thank you so much for bringing that in. It's lovely. Of course, we planned this, right Ally? [Laughter] Just kidding, thank you. Other reflections please, person on the phone.

Michael: Hey Nikki, it's Michael. I had huge muditā^[2] when you talked about your retreat. Just you going on retreat warmed my heart, and then sharing under the redwoods, and prior to that you talked about your walk and seeing green. Green and nature are so healing, and I just really appreciate you bringing that up. I had very pleasant feelings through the meditation because I love nature; it's such a wonderful Dharma teacher. So, deep bows, and I'm so grateful that it's taped. I do have a question for you: where were you on your retreat, or would you like to share?

Nikki Mirghafori: I was in Scotts Valley, close to Santa Cruz, so close to the redwoods and close to the ocean. And thank you for your muditā, I feel it, Michael. It goes back and forth. My joy brings joy for you, and then I feel joy that you feel joyful about my joy. It's an infinite echoing and mirroring—it's a virtuous cycle. I so appreciate you speaking because, if I remember correctly, part of the work that you do is supporting nature in some way. The non-profit that you lead, do I have that right?

Michael: Well, I'm a huge gardener, surfer, plant-based vegan, sustainable... I'm fairly retired in this last chapter, but yes, you guessed it. I guessed you were at Land of Medicine Buddha because they have a magical forest there that's just delightful. Deep bows, thank you.

Nikki Mirghafori: Yes, that's right. I remember now, you're a big surfer. I remember your special connection with nature. Thanks for bringing that in. Nicholas, please.

Nicholas: I just remembered how nice it is to be in a forest and hear the rustling of the leaves, the creaking of the branches, the wind, and the shade shifting. Bringing that same kind of attitude to all the shifting sensations inside, all of the creaking inside, and all of the rustling inside. Something about the image really helped to just settle back into the flow of it all—the pleasant and the unpleasant. It's so natural for me to be in the flow of the shifting sensations externally in the forest, and somehow that was very supportive of settling in and being with the flow of sensations internally in the body.

Nikki Mirghafori: Nice, beautiful. "Oh yeah, it's nature, it's okay, it's just rustling outside. And inside, oh yeah, this is just rustling. I can be with this. It's not a problem." Beautiful synergy. Thanks for sharing that beautiful inside synergy that came up, Nicholas. And thank you, Mark, who says goodbye to us to have a great local sangha.

So dear ones, let's turn our attention and practice in a small grove of three. Maybe you're a redwood showing up with two other redwoods in this small grove, sharing your love for the other redwoods who support you, and you support them with each breath. We'll start with 30 seconds of silent mettā for each other, and then share as much or as little as you wish about your practice or whatever is coming up. I will create the breakout rooms now.

[Breakout rooms occur, then participants return]

Nikki Mirghafori: We have time for reflections. What came up for you? What did you notice? I would love to hear from you, especially if you haven't spoken for a while or if you're new. Let's see... there you go, Carol.

Carol: Hi. I got cut off in the group, but I was just commenting on what someone else had said in the group about how everything fits in nature. I think that's a really beautiful idea. I often feel like when I'm in nature, all of the ego-based, random, self-deprecating thoughts and negativity kind of fall away. I can sometimes really tap into being part of that, and I think that's one thing I personally find really healing. I really appreciated the other person, Anthony, in our group pointing that out because I really think it's awesome.

Nikki Mirghafori: That's absolutely awesome. Thanks to both of you for bringing that in. It's interesting, as I've been guiding this meditation, I realized, "Oh, I want to go for a hike this weekend. I want to be in nature." I have a desire for it now. What I did want to point out with this guided meditation is that there's nature outside and there's nature inside. We can always bring the nature in; we can feel as if we're immersed, like in this guided meditation. That sense of ease that Nicholas was talking about: "Oh yeah, there's rustling in the trees. Oh, there's a little rustling inside, that's okay, I can chill with that." I love what you've brought in, Carol and Anthony. Profound.

Thank you. Are there other reflections? You're welcome to raise your hand or type in the chat. Maybe something quick.

Well, maybe we only have time to dedicate the merit and close, which would be perfect. Thank you all for your practice. Thank you for showing up for yourselves, for each other, and for all beings whose lives you touch directly and indirectly.

May all beings be happy. May all beings be free. Thank you.