In Ayurveda everything in the universe is held together at a basal level by a field of pure energy. Quantum physicists call this the unified field. Thousands of years ago Ayurveda called it the Universal Consciousness.
The 5 elements of Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Space are born of this field of pure energy and by interacting with each other create all Life.
It follows that we are affected by our environment. Peaceful, natural surroundings cradle us in beauty and let us find the Life balance that Ayurveda teaches is Health.
It is easy to say that we should hold peace within ourselves…and it is true this should be the goal we try for.
But for most of us loud angry voices, crowded bustling spaces, urban squalor and concrete jungles create disharmony and leave us feeling jangled and stressed.
Ayurveda encourages us to feel the connection which exists with each other and with Nature. In a beautiful environment Ayurveda asks us to open all our senses and absorb what comes as healing from the Panch Mahabhutas (the 5 elements that make up the world).
This is where Meditation is an inextricable part of the Ayurvedic Way of Life. Surrender to the powers of Nature, accept the interconnectedness, feel the stillness at the core of the Universe. This lets Life Energy flood through every cell of one’s Being. This is Health.
Today we walk for exercise…often with headphones clamped on our ears and fitness-meters strapped on our bodies. We do not take in the minuteness of Nature around us, we do not walk in awareness of the Natural World. This is no doubt good for physical fitness. But Fitness of the Being needs you to walk through Nature, part of it, aware of it, letting it flow gently through you. As you register perhaps a field of flowers swaying in the breeze, perhaps the sound of water flowing, perhaps birdsong at sunrise, the space to heal expands in you. This is the Meditation of Nature. It should be done ideally every day.
In silence and Natural beauty exists the space to self-heal.
Go for a walk anywhere beautiful. Don’t talk to anyone, don’t listen to music, set yourself no goals.
Watch everything. Try to focus on individual bits of Nature- a leaf, a flower, a stone.
Feel the texture of a plant or bark of a tree, hold a shell or a stone, stroke a flower or a fallen feather.
Drink a spray of dewdrops, eat a berry from a tree or a leaf of tulsi or mint you come across.
Breathe deeply the scent of flowers and water and leaves.
Hear the sounds of Nature: birds singing, the soughing of the breeze, the sound of water flowing.
Try and hold each sensation in your consciousness.
After the walk, go and sit alone somewhere, close your eyes and try and relieve each moment: visually, touch-feel, taste, smell, hearing.
Flow with the sensations. Surrender to them.
Lastly write down what you experience.
Ask the Doctor