Walking the Fort River Sanctuary in Hadley, MA—the air felt like early spring not late winter.
Walking Fort River 02.21.2016
ecopsychology
Facilitated Walk 06.05.2013
Photos from the Unwind in Nature Facilitated Walk on 06.05.2013.
Facilitated Walk 05.29.2013
Photos from the Unwind in Nature Facilitated Walk on 05.29.2013.
Starting with some open blue sky above us, we ended with spellbinding light as the sun began to set off to the West.
Dramatic Landscape Transformation in Hadley 05.15.2013
A nine image photo set showing the transformation of the landscape over a one hour period while on a facilitated walk in Hadley May 15, 2013, 5:30–6:45PM.
Winter Fog – Land and Sky as One
A commuter’s moment that got me to stop and spend a few unexpected minutes taking in the fog.
Feeling the cold air I let myself get lost in the enveloping light. Even the rising sun was veiled in the luminous density this morning. I only wish I could have spent more time witnessing the transformation of light and landscape as the fog lifted.
First Snow—Merging of Earth and Sky
I am a quite excited to explore the white world of winter and to see what new understandings develop as I open my awareness to this new landscape. The first full covering of snow on the ground with the monochrome white sky created a world where only the horizon offered much indication of division between heaven and earth.
Dramatic Sky Trumps Dull Light on the Ground
The light on the ground during early afternoon at Wentworth Conservation Area could best be described as flat, cold and a little bit depressing. How much the sky seemed to be the opposite. Though a steel gray, I found the dramatic clouds, which were moving rapidly, created a very dynamic luminous visual field. This kind of contrast just reinforces my belief in the importance of taking control of where you put your visual attention. Learning to look up is one way to discover that what might be initially disappointing can, with a shift of attention, turn into something quite remarkable.
Intentional Seeing–Openning the Eye-Mind Connection
The act of consciously using your visual focus for increasing awareness in nature is one of my core practices. There is great power in training the mind to both choose what one looks at, and how to use what one seees. For example if I choose to keep my focus on the sky without breaking my attention I have a experience that is informed by the continuous unbroken and constant fluidity of the clouds or perhps the vast unbroken field of blue if a cloudless day. I can then choose how I want to relate to this visual experience. If the sky is a very complex cloudscape I might choose to look at the complexity in a very detailed fashion, focusing on the dynamic variations found within the cloud field. Following the edge of one cloud and how it flows seemlessly into what feels like another cloud, slowly getting lost in the layerd billowing flow. This type of looking often leads to a sense of awe and wonder at the profound creativilty expressed in the formation of clouds.
If the sky was an cloudless blue sky I might choose to relax my attention and let my eye-mind rest in the open empty field. The later encourages very soft open mind that is excelllent for releasing the hyper focus tension filled mind many of us operate out of for many hours a day.
Both methods can lead to very profound mind state and are supportive of self-discovery and opening the creative channels.
Learning to control one’s visual attention is one way to train the mind as a type of meditation. Similar to focusing on the breath, you can always return to focusing the mind on a particular visual point of attention.
Beautiful Cold & Rainy Monday 12.17.2012
Today was cold, raw and icy. I only got outside for a few moments to capture some of the qualities this rainy day offered as I drove from place to place. Just enough to remind me to stay connected and relish the diversity of our New England weather. See post from a week ago, Dropping Deep in Hadley 12.10.2012, where the rain and fog created similar conditions.
The color of the grass covered in frosty ice felt strangely luminous.
The dark light, strong winds and falling rain reminded me of the raw power of December weather.
The gray light is tough but I do love it!
Sky Mirroring in Hadley 12.13.2012
Midday along the Connecticut River.
The deep translucent blue of the sky reflected in the river offered a great opportunity to meditate and experience clear light throughout my body. Also meditated on the way the sky above is also the water below. Confounding the natural logic of earth below and sky above is always a mental treat.
Chris Page 