Meditating in Nature

In this 2024 conversation with Travis Glen Sebera, Coleman suggests that we take our meditation practice outdoors. This can move us from an interior-focused self-referential world to one of connecting with the living web that is our ecosystem. After traveling to India and spending many years experiencing the contemplative tradition, Coleman discovered that meditation in nature reconnects us with the world around us, enhancing the spaciousness of our awareness. He often asked his students: How does the Earth wish to move through you? How is the earth moving through you? And, as you are a part of the Earth, what is an effective way to live your life that's an expression of care for the Earth, which is yourself? He acknowledges that there is much competition for our attention and suggests that going outside moves us from a self-referential world to one of being part of the living web that is the ecosystem.
Mark Coleman's books include:
• Awake in the Wild: Mindfulness in Nature as a Path of Self-Discovery (New World Library 2006)
• Make Peace with Your Mind: How Mindfulness and Compassion Can Free You from Your Inner Critic (New World Library 2016)
• From Suffering to Peace: The True Promise of Mindfulness (New World Library 2019)
• A Field Guide to Nature Meditation: 52 Mindfulness Practices for Joy, Wisdom and Wonder (Awake in the Wild 2022)
Interview Date: 3/6/2024 Tags: Mark Coleman, mindfulness meditation, meandering, John O'Donohue, inner presence, nature, the natural world, Redwoods, silence, eco crisis, attention economy, Buddhism, Meditation, Personal Transformation, Ecology/Nature/Environment