Guest Post: "A Pause in the Rain: Exploring the Soul of Nature"

I am excited to share our second ever "Guest Post" here on the Zen Blog! By "guest post" it's more, I was shared this awesome write up and asked if I could share it with our followers 😄... To which our friend of Zenergy, Samantha said "Yes!".

Samantha Wells, just finished her first year at Ottawa University. She is currently working towards her Bachelor's of Science in Statistics (whoa!), and a minor in Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies. She recently joined her mom in our weekly meditation group and was sharing some things on her Religious Studies courses. One thing she shared was a project they were tasked with in the class "Mysticism and Spiritual Experiences". I was immediately excited about the project as it 100% relates to our conversations in our meditation group surrounding mindfulness and mindfulness meditation! She shared the details of what she did for her project and then gave me her phone to read her final report. Within the first paragraph I said, "This is awesome! Would you be ok with me sharing this on the blog?" ... And the rest is history folks. 😉

Please take a few minutes to read Samantha's fantastic write up. This is SO NEEDED to not only hear, but practice by people of all ages and her observations and wording are simply amazing!! Interestingly, when I mentioned that it must've been a real challenge for University aged students to NOT entertain themselves / compulsively check their phones, she mentioned that many did struggle. This is our modern world. The unfortunate reality is that this is NOT just related to young people; People of ALL ages need to be aware of the negative impact on their deep health that their compulsive behaviours with technology are having.

(Ok - enough from me - got a little ranty... Sorry... 😄)

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A Pause in the Rain: Exploring the Soul of Nature

Experiment in “The Everyday Mystical” Assignment

Prof. Anne Vallely

SRS 3354; Mysticism and Spiritual Experience

By: Samantha Wells

Parliament Hill has always drawn me in, perhaps because it represents the perfect

blend of society and nature. When tasked with selecting a natural setting for this assignment, I immediately knew where to go. Upon arriving, the toughest decision was where to sit and what to focus on. Eventually, I chose a spot across the street, where I could gaze up at the

Parliament buildings and admire a beautiful tree. Just as I was about to begin, the rain started to fall. At that moment, it became clear what I would focus on: the rain itself.

My reflection spot

As I watched the rain and how everything reacted to it, I noticed that the rain truly moved at its own pace, unaffected by anything. The wind tried to control it but could not change its path, as it continued falling and hitting everything within its reach. Over the 30 minutes I spent there, I observed how man-made objects, like sidewalks and statues, seemed

to react rather “poorly” to the rain, appearing drenched and miserable. Whereas, the natural elements (such as leaves, trees, grass, and leftover snow) seemed to flourish in the rain. The rain also seemed to cool the air, making people move faster while forcing nature to slow down. The leaves and branches barely moved in the wind as the rain fell.

Sound was a difficult part of this experience for me as I am hard of hearing and can struggle to hear the sounds of nature on a good day. As I sat there, I reflected on what noises I thought were happening, knowing I truly couldn’t get the full extent of it. On my walk home,

I messaged my closest friend and we discussed what sounds the objects around me would have been making. I’ve concluded that while I was sitting there, there was a light exhale of wind with the small taps of rain on the concrete. She explained that the rain makes minimal

noise on the nature around me, with only man-made objects seeming to disrupt its quiet presence.

My time spent observing the rain was a truly fascinating experience, I enjoyed the ability to pick up on the small nuances that were occurring around me, like the small movement of a leaf in the wind or the way that the old snow beautifully absorbs the rain. Being alone without my headphones was a unique experience. I usually wear them in the city,

which creates a barrier between me and my surroundings, but this time, I was fully present. I became more attentive to the rain, noticing its every movement. It was fascinating to see how rain moved completely at its own pace, regardless of what the human world was doing

around it. It didn’t care that someone was wearing fancy clothes or the fact that an 18-year-old girl was sitting just watching its presence.

This experience truly left me with more care and compassion for the natural world. I found myself pondering thoughts like “ I wonder if the tree wants to see other parts of the world” and “I wonder if the rain can sense I’m watching it”. It was very interesting to have those types of thoughts in my mind as I have always seen myself as a black-and-white

person, but through sitting in the presence of nature for only 30 minutes without distraction, I could imagine and feel that everything around me had a presence or even a soul. I truly believe that this project allowed me to have more of an appreciation for nature and changed my inner thoughts about the natural world that exists around me.