What can nature gift to you?

This blog was written from a transcript of the Misfit Squad Podcast, where Trina Rice and Kim Lucien invite you to embrace your difference and turn what is wrong about you into what is strong about you! Go HERE to check it out.

Between our phones and tablets, laptops and TV, there's a lot of screen time happening lately. Especially during the quarantine and COVID, where we have been required to spend a lot more time at home. What occurs if you take time to unplug and head out on an adventure in the great outdoors? What energetic messages does nature have for you I wonder?

Today we want to talk about nature and energy, and what nature actually contributes to us if you're willing to listen. So there's this thing that the other day just popped up out at me, Trina, and I'd like to share it with you. We often talk about being space on the show, and what that means, so I’ll share this and then we’ll discuss how it relates to being space. Self-care is usually one of the last items on our very long to-do list, and it grows longer and longer. So we often don't care for ourselves. So that's why we're talking about being out in nature today. If we can't find and care for ourselves and be loving or gratitude for ourselves, how can anyone else have that for us? I thought this was kind of cute the way she wrote this. The author put only her first name, Patel. This is how it goes.

“The stars we see shining above us are far away but they still rise with us in the early morning. When night fall shrouds us with a heavy cloak, they glitter and remind us that there's light in the darkest of places. Stars are composed of various elements - carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur, and phosphorus - that are all held together by their own gravity. Like stars, we are each held together by our own describable forces. Any little beacons of light that glow within us making us who we are: one-of-a-kind beings that are privy to a spectrum of emotions, ambitions, and dreams. So when you realize this, it becomes impossible to wish that you were anybody else. In a world that continually tells you to change who you are, it becomes much easier to be honest and intentional to be exactly as you are. Feeling connected to the world begins by nurturing the connection that you have with yourself. And as you continue to know and understand yourself more clearly, you'll recognize a tiny piece of yourself everywhere. In the plants, and the animals, and the people around you, and on the darkest nights, even in the stars.”

So it's basically saying connect with yourself and connect with nature, because actually nature is in you - you are nature. Nature is all of us. So connecting this to space, if you break us down to the smallest particles of our bodies, we're made of atoms of nitrogen and oxygen, just like stars. We're all made of the same stuff as the stars. At the lowest level, we're all the same, not separate. To carry on from what we talked about last week, about why our dogs make us feel better or why animals make us feel better, it's a really similar thing with nature. I've already lost count of the number of shows we've talked about being more space and that's the number one thing - one of our first tools is “Be more space.” Going outside and being quiet with nature is a great way to start getting familiar with the space, because essentially the plants and the trees on the outside, they are space, the way that they be in the world creates that peace and ease in that space. Even if you can't go outside and be quiet, just go for a walk, or go out and look at the plants in your yard. Be willing to take deep breaths and calm your rhythm down just a little bit so you can start to sense the difference of how you feel. When you're inside your house or inside your car or rushing around, nature starts to give you an idea of what it feels like to be space, because the contrast between rushing and nature is so obvious.

It's part of the reason that for 99% of people certainly, probably even 100%, that listen to the show, you feel better when you're outside, right? Nature doesn't judge and nature doesn't judge you.

It’s interesting living in these times because a lot of people are freaking out because they haven’t been able to get a haircut or go to the hairdresser and are feeling self-conscious. Do you feel comfortable with yourself regardless of that? Because it’s not like the birds don't sing if they have a bad feather day. Even if their feathers aren't fluffed the right way, they don't stop singing. When do you feel the most connected to the world, and when do you feel the most alive? It's different for everybody but for us, nature really helps us clear our heads and connect more back with our bodies. Again, nature doesn’t judge like people do. The apple tree produces apples regardless. Sometimes the apples are nice and shiny, and they're plump with no wormholes. You can pick them right from the tree. Other times, the apples fall from the tree and they get rotted and all molded on the ground. But the tree always produces fruit. It doesn’t have any points of views. It produces fruit whether you come and pick it or not. If you don’t, the apples will degenerate back into the earth and the cycle starts again.

The point of all this is the earth is always willing to give and contribute, and gift to us if we're willing to take the time and the space to actually listen. Everyone has different preferences too. For me, Kim, I enjoy and prefer connecting with nature by being in the water, particularly in the ocean. I also like to touch the leaves. There's something for me about feeling a leaf that gives me more or different information and sensations about being outside. For you, it might be touching your hand on the bark or sitting in the shade of a tree, or smelling the roses or fresh-cut grass, or lying in the grass. It could be feeling a gentle breeze. 95% of the time, I, Kim, am cold, but I actually really love it when it's a little bit windy. There's something about the movement of energy and space when there's a breeze and wind. I really like riding horses too, which is also in the wind. Although, the wind is usually not as fun on horseback. It's a funny combination.

If you haven't really spent much time paying attention to that, tune in and see what you notice. There's a lot of information there. Have the willingness to perceive what's going on, because when the breeze blows, it's always constantly changing, just like Earth is constantly changing. Even standing and looking at a tree, the perception can be different. How is it blowing in the wind? Look at all the veins and the roots, branches, and leaves. It's just amazing when you take the moment to admire the intricacy of nature.

So often we're really good at knowing what other people desire, require, and want that we forget what it is that we actually desire or require. So when you're out around in nature and not around a bunch of people, take a moment to connect and get more clear on what is it that creates more for you in your life. What do you enjoy doing? Do you feel like you always need to do something rather than just simply be? If you're willing to acknowledge that it's there and receive from it, what gift can the burning bush on the corner be? It’s just being present. So if you’re out for a walk and you see a dandelion growing out of the concrete, you can take a minute and be like, “Wow, look at that weed. How amazing it is that it's growing through the concrete like that?” What can you receive from nature? And what if it’s simultaneously your acknowledgement and receiving from that acknowledgement?

Another tool you can use is to say, “Show me something beautiful today!” when you go outside. See if just paying attention changes anything for you. Maybe it will be in your body or how you feel. Play around with it and see what changes and what shows up.

Plus, if you are interested, there is a thing called the meditation walk. It's to experience becoming more present with yourself and with nature. You can go as long as you want, but usually it’s an hour to walk a hundred feet. You don’t have to move, but you can, and the goal is to be observing and being aware of everything around you, and to get you present with every moment, every second, throughout the entire hour. This means the blades of the grass, the bark on the trees, the insects, the sky, the clouds. And, you're not supposed to talk to anybody or look at anybody. So it’s best to do it when it’s just you out in nature.

If you like stillness, this exercise is for you. For others, that stillness is a huge challenge. An alternative of that exercise is you don’t have to focus on just the 100 feet, but you be present and walk with complete intention. Feel your feet touching the ground and moving through space. This is a way to bring your awareness to everything around you. So if you like to move more in the stillness, where moving in such a small space would be challenging, try the meditation walk where you’re intentionally paying attention to everything you do. Ultimately this is also to help you have more ease with the intensity, presence, and awareness of the space of you and what we call “being space.” It goes back to what we were talking about, the willingness to be space. If you do these things, what you'll learn is what space feels like for you. Then you'll be more aware and familiar with it so when you need it, but you can't get outside, you can call that energy up and access it. You can get the release that it gives you without having to go do it outside. For example, let's say you're sitting in a meeting or you're in a class and you’re totally fried after a long day. You can get some peace by bringing this energy into the classroom or board room.

It is easier in the beginning to do it outside, though, to be really familiar with it. Then you always have it. And nature, Earth, they exist everywhere. It’s not just being outside. If you’re willing to perceive nature’s energy and that space, you could be standing in the midst of concrete and still receive from nature. Even when you’re standing on concrete, you’re still touching the Earth. When I, Kim, was in Venice a few years ago for two weeks for seminars, there were a lot of people who were like, “Oh my gosh, I can’t touch the Earth!” And they were completely freaking out about all the water and about the fact that their feet weren’t actually on the ground, the dirt ground. Sometimes spiritual people will talk about “being grounded” and putting your feet on the Earth, which is valid. But I thought the whole time, “What are you guys talking about? You’re still on the Earth, you’re still touching things of the Earth!” For example, the marble in Venice is gorgeous, and Venice is covered in beautiful stone. It goes back, again, to all those particles, everything that is made out of hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, phosphorus, etc. We all are the particles and everything on this earth is made of those particles, so we can be willing to receive from everything - the animate, and the inanimate objects. This allows you to have space everywhere you are.

About a year ago or more I, Trina, was at my parents’ house. They live by this lake, and there was a huge almost tornado, like a wind gust, that twisted a lot of the trees and took a

lot of stuff out and down. There's this one tree that was just the trunk and all the

branches got cut off. Now, the tree is growing all these little branches with these tiny little leaves and stuff are coming out of this massive trunk. When I saw it I was like, “That is such a message of in the midst of turmoil and in the midst of darkness that you can still grow, that you can still change, and you can come out of it with more greatness.”

At the same time I saw that, there were geese flying all over. Out there, white geese come even in the winter time. There was also this white, total oddball duck. Talk about not fitting in - he did not fit at all. There were no other ducks and he would hang out with the geese! What happened his wing got injured and he couldn't fly, so he couldn't migrate with the rest of his crew. He stuck around all throughout the winter. You'd see him walking around with his like limped wing, but he still kept going. It was interesting because he stayed really far away from the geese for quite some time, almost a whole season. Then they allowed him in, he got closer, and you would see him out on the lake with the geese. They would all be floating on the lake and then there was this duck a little bit farther away, but he was always engaged with them. It was very cool observing nature like that, and even the willingness to accept those who look different. To me it was meaningful, and really great to watch. It reminded me of when you feel like you don’t fit in, but you still find your place.

That was an example of when I felt most connected to nature. So ask yourself, when do you feel the most connected to the world and when do you feel the most alive? What if you could go out, take some time this week and spend a few minutes just observing? See if you can watch the insects or look at the bark on the trees. Did you know the bark is different on all the trees? What do you notice? Sending you all the space and ease of nature! <3

Trina Rice & Kim Lucien created the Misfit Squad (TM) & the Energetic Signature Formula (TM) to help the different ones, the misfits, the highly energetically aware and those who may be "on the spectrum" who are tired of feeling anxious, stressed and misunderstood how to embrace who they are, identify their strengths, get empowered and feel amazing. Their target is to make your awareness easy to use, to use your awareness for you and not against you and to acknowledge the power of not fitting in & promote empowering dis-abilities into abilities and capacities.

Trina Rice, OTR/L, MBe., CF is the Co-Creator of Energetic Signature Formula. A Master Facilitator & Coach and Best Selling Author. She has been an Occupational Therapist for 25 years working with children, young adults and professionals & is the owner and founder of Harmony Therapeutics, LLC, a successful therapy business for over 15 years.

Kim Lucien is the Co-Creator Energetic Signature. A Conscious Business Extraordinaire. Intuitive Animal Lover, Coach and Best Selling Author. Kim has been working with kids & adults on the autistic spectrum for over 25 years as a coach and includes working with horses to create a greater connection with client’s bodies, surroundings, intuitive awareness & communication. Together they address the energetic connection that exist with awareness to help make ‘sensitivities’ easier to manage and flip what may be thought of as a wrongness into a strong-ness.

www.EnergeticSignatureFormula.com

The Misfit Squad Podcast