Undeniably, something wondrous, something mystical, something spellbinding happens to people when they are in the presence of great natural beauty. Just what is that?

                                 

                               The best and most beautiful things in the world
                                     cannot be seen or even touched: they must
                                         be felt with the heart. - Helen Keller

It is as if one slips, as the Celts have so long said, through a thin veil and into a state of deep knowing; into another land of sweet reverence and an overwhelming connection to a pulsing energy; to something mystical; to something larger than oneself.  In these precious moments one slips into a state that can last for but a moment, but whose indelible effects can be felt for a lifetime. The experience becomes as a lodestone that one touches now and again for the sweet effects of union with All of Life that it provides. Once visited, it can change the way one looks at the world forever.

But how, if we have not visited this wondrous, mystical and enlightening state of mind, do we get there?

                          The Green Earth sends her incense up
                                                             From many a mountain shrine;
                                                            From folded leaf and dewy cup
                                                                 She pours her sacred wine.
                                                                  - John Greenleaf Whittier

Great, silent, sweeping vistas, tranquil forests fresh with unfolding life or ocean shores pulsing  with the thunder of crashing waves...all these are as natural cathedrals: special sacred spots that can take us back to the primordial and life-giving mental environments from which we one day emerged: places that still resonate with the older more central parts of our brains. These wild and wondrous places  touch us, speak to us, awaken us in a way busy, densely civilized locations cannot.

Sedona, Arizona (click to enlarge)

While such spaces are ideal for quiet contemplation or meditation, they offer something more to those who remain open to their allure and this is transcendence.

Transcendence is defined as an unusual and overwhelming feeling of awe, or connection or wonder that occurs when one is in the presence of something latently and profoundly magnificent, such as a beautiful woodland scene, a starry sky, an unfolding flower or some such natural wonder.  Transcendence is a state of mind above or outside the range of normal perception and surpasses everyday emotions in expanse and intensity, is generally quite unforgettable and often life-altering.

This state of transcendence can wash over one, unbidden, but is unmistakably recognizable by the eye-opening, ecstatic state of mind it produces. It often comes to those who seek it, but can also catch one quite by surprise, especially if the concept lives "back of mind," after one has read about such a thing and then forgotten about it.

What is vital is that one be in tranquil place where one can relax comfortably into a state of openness…and that is the operative word…open to the communion, with the mind empty and still, body sitting quietly, breathing deeply,...just being in the moment, the mind as an open vessel, ready to accept the "sacred wine." 

It is quite glorious, really. 

So find your special, comfortable, peaceful place and then sit quietly: empty your mind of all thoughts, breath deeply, rest easy and open to what may follow...

                   One minute of patience; ten years of peace. - Old Greek Proverb

Opening the Mind to Communion
 (Setting the stage)

Opening the mind...

First, before you embark on your journey, think deeply about your surroundings.

While a quiet country setting is the best place to experience the transcendent embrace of the natural world, for our purposes we will choose here to illustrate the point (so we might be inclusive of our city dwelling friends) with a flower. Flowers are little cathedrals unto themselves.

For flowers, looked at in a certain way, have a transcendent charm and allure, and have, for that reason, been a point of contemplation for enlightened people for centuries. (Think of the lotus). Here’s why.
`

                             Day Lily (click to enlarge)

Simply stated, the unfolding flower invites you, by virtue of its genuine and resonant beauty, to enter into a state of awe of its unfathomably complex, mysterious and exquisitely organized structure.

It is a holy thing.

Just look closely at the lily above and ask yourself a question:

One can easily slip from that casual pondering into a state of deep awestruck wonder, of a sweeping, comforting mindfulness: one finds oneself present in the moment, a moment born and steeped in the magic and majesty of the natural world, of the Great Oneness of All Things of which we are, all of us, unquestionably a part.

               Every time you smell a flower
                         or eat a berry                  
                        or even inhale,
        you are entering into a molecular dance:
                      a holy communion
               with our mother, the Earth.

   Close your eyes and think about this.

   At the scientific level, the point of molecular exchange, this intimate union is absolutely, provably true. At the spiritual level, it is as if the flower opens direct lines of communication between you and the sizzling, swirling, divine E.O.S. or Energy of Spirit that gave it life.

You see, the flower, (or a landscape ) is not merely something you look at, it is something  of which you are intimately a part: it is a moving, pulsating, vibrating, growing, changing thing with which you are intimately engaged at levels both molecular and spiritual...every time you inhale.

                                                                Sunset Indian Harbour, Nova Scotia (Click to enlarge)

So any flower with depth and character will serve our purpose here: a day lily with its wild, dancing array of stamens and pistils: or a beautiful bearded iris with its alluring, deep and dark, mystical depths: perhaps a daffodil, or a rose. Even the common dandelion has something profound to say to us.

Now after considering and steeping yourself in the above, try to empty your mind of everything you have just heard or considered.  Just sit quietly, and stare without thinking into the depths of your flower. (or at a neutral point in the scene before you, if you are fortunate enough to be in an open, natural location). Thoughts will arise, as thoughts continually do, but cast them up and away with the promise to think of them later, and return as best you can to a state of emptiness. This is your goal. It may take a bit of practice, but be not discouraged: what you seek is a comforting, neutral and natural state of mind, long forgotten by many, but sacred ground to which we are still able to return.

If you find you need a neutral distraction as a focal point, try concentrating on your breathing. Close your eyes if this is more comfortable. Continue to cast away arising thoughts and seek a state of emptiness, of openness.

Do this for 10 minutes or so and relax into whatever happens.

Rest easy...

As an old and wise monk said to a novitiate who asked the monk where he could find spiritual answers, "Go back to your cell, my friend. The answers are all there."

"Spend time with me," said the flower. "And I will teach you."

Through the Doors of Perception
  (awakening to the light within)

So, you have been sitting there for several sessions and nothing has happened.
Well, there are no guarantees here, but come a little further and consider what follows.

For starters, this is a game you cannot lose. For at worst, you might be pleasantly surprised to find that much of the shrapnel and smoke of the day's ongoing information assault will slowly begin to lift, and you will begin to see, with clarity, how much of our lives, perceptions and world view are driven by the hidden persuaders of our media, and the general information overload that engulfs us all, this at the expense of those things in life that really matter.  Like love. Like truth. Like the beauty of family and friends and the natural world around us.
 
We live, indeed, in strange, tumultuous  times.

On the positive side, what is likely to happen, if you are patient, is that without fanfare or notice, when you least expect it, very particular feelings will suddenly arise; touch you, warm you, wrap you in that same mystery from which you once emerged, the Great Oneness of which you are, to this day, a part. You will be touched by it with a feeling that will wrap mind and heart in a blanket of understanding and appreciation you can carry with you for the rest of your life.

But worry not if this state of mind does not make itself known to you, even with a modicum of practice. For the time you spend in quiet contemplation in the natural world will, like any other form of exercise, establish patterns; actual neural pathways and predispositions, such that one day, when you least expect it, the feeling of transcendence might suddenly arise and then take you unawares, quietly, sweetly washing over you, as might the random thought of a very good friend.

It is, you see, only after you have spent intimate time with your Mother, the Earth: only after you have reopened the intimate relationship you once had with her; only after you have reconnected to the Miracle of All that Is, only after you have become conscious of the cosmic energies that keep our world in beautiful balance and you see yourself as the  divine spark of life that you are: only then will you see every drop of water, every grain of sand, every other human being as sacred and holy. Only then will you see your place in the universe and, with thankful heart and open mind, and a comforting sense of belonging proceed into a much more assuring, more welcoming future.

Only when you absorb this idea at the deepest level will you come to understand at depth the need for the awakening of our entire planet.  Only then can you recognize that the awakening must start with you.  With your family, and your friends. With me and with mine. With everyone. Only then can you understand the divine and noble role we can all play when we do "small things with great love."

It is as simple as that.  Come…return to the garden…bathe in the beauty… explore these ideas…for the sake of the world. For your own sake. For only in making that intimate connection to something greater, something infinitely more majestic than ourselves, something infinitely beautiful, and only in holding values of love, truth and beauty before us, can we begin to address our most pressing issues, our needs, our aspirations...our gift to future generations...that which could be your and my Great Legacy. 

The door is before you.  And the future calls…

"Come," said Tennyson. "‘tis not too late to make a better world. "