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Week Six - Force of Nature
Welcome back! Can you believe this is the start of our sixth week together? How are you feeling? Have you taken a moment to look back on your journey so far and appreciate just how far you have come?

This week takes us deeper into relationship with the natural world - the world that sustains us, delights us, and challenges us. We take pause and bear witness to the remarkable power, generosity, and beauty of this earth. We allow ourselves to be awed and humbled. We welcome a most natural gratitude that wells up within us in the face our of smallness and fragility.
How do you connect with Nature?
  • This home planet of ours, with all its richness, beauty, and resilience isn't something separate from us. We are part of it, we are of it. Appreciating our connection to every single thing in the natural world around us has an instantly grounding and humbling effect.

  • Our entire lives are sustained by the extraordinary level of abundance that comes directly from the natural world. Our food, our natural resources, our shelter - it is all made possible by the diversity and complexity of natural creation. 

  • We cannot help but be awed by the natural beauty of this world, and so we should be. Our ancestors worshipped in these places of beauty, calling them sacred. The human mind, body, and spirit is naturally attuned to this 'holiness'. What a blessing it is when we can let go of our egos and stories in the presence of Nature and just be.
Next Steps: Turn to page 71 and read the Week Six introduction. 
Guided Meditation - Connection and Peace
Before you start this guided meditation, take a few moments to turn to page 74 in your workbook and fill out the 'Before' section of Worksheet 33. You will need about ten minutes to listen to the audio and some time afterward for any reflections based on the experience. Remember to put away the distractions, give yourself plenty of time, and breathe!
Next Steps: There is no hurry to move on to the next step. Take some time for yourself and when you are ready, go to the 'Going Deeper' video in the section below. If this meditation resonated with you, feel free to revisit it as often as you would like.
Going Deeper
Take some time to watch this 'Going Deeper' video with an open mind and an open heart. There are powerful messages buried in these seemingly simple talks! This week's video draws upon themes from last week's exploration of the body and gratitude while presenting powerful images and meditations for our relationship with nature and the world around us. As the week continues, look for ways you can see these messages unfolding in your world.
Louie Schwartzberg on Nature, Beauty, and Gratitude.
Nature's beauty can be easily missed — but not through Louie Schwartzberg's lens. His stunning time-lapse photography, accompanied by powerful words from Benedictine monk Brother David Steindl-Rast (a voice we have already introduced in this course) serves as a meditation on being grateful for every day. Sit back and enjoy these beautiful images. 
Next Steps: There are many beautiful things to absorb from this video. Allow yourself some time to sit with it. When you are ready, turn to the Mid-Week Challenge on page 75 of your workbook.
Mid-Week Pick-Me-Up
Pictures are worth 1,000 words. Could there ever be enough photos or words to accurately capture the grandeur of this Earth?
Guided Meditation - Sunday Night Release and Re-Center
Before you start this guided meditation, take a few moments to turn to page 78 in your workbook and fill out the 'Before' section of Worksheet 34. You will need about ten minutes to listen to the audio and some time afterward for any reflections based on the experience. Remember to put away the distractions, give yourself plenty of time, and breathe!
Next Steps: Sometime between now and the start of your next week, complete the end-of-the-week  reflections in Worksheet 35 found on page 79 in your workbook. If this meditation resonated with you, feel free to revisit it as often as you would like. ​​