THERE ARE MANY KINDS of medicine, but most medicine only eases the suffering in our bodies and minds temporarily. It doesn’t heal the source of our illness. Mindfulness, however, is a truly healing balm that can help put an end to our sense of alienation and help us heal both ourselves and our planet. If we can ground ourselves, become one with the Earth and treat her with care, she will nourish us and heal our bodies and minds. Our physical and mental sicknesses will be cured, and we will have well-being in body and spirit.
THE FOUNDATION OF HAPPINESS
Mindfulness is a nonjudgmental awareness of all that is happening inside us and around us. It takes us back to the foundation of happiness, which is being present in the here and now. Mindfulness is always mindfulness of something. We can be mindful of our breath, our footsteps, our thoughts, and our actions. Mindfulness requires that we bring all our attention to whatever we’re doing, whether walking or breathing, brushing our teeth, or eating a snack. When we concentrate on our breath and the steps we’re making, we can see the beauty of the Earth around us more clearly. We can take each breath and each step with awareness and gratitude.
We need to know how to generate joy and happiness in our daily lives as well as how to recognize and deal with our pain and suffering. The practice of mindfulness helps us to deeply enjoy every moment of life that’s given us to live. If we practice mindful breathing and mindful walking, we can connect with the wonders of our body; when we can connect with our body, we can connect with the Earth; and when we connect with the Earth, we can connect with the whole cosmos. The practice of mindfulness helps us to touch Mother Earth inside our bodies. The healing of our bodies and minds must go together with the healing of the Earth. This kind of enlightenment is crucial for a collective awakening. To be mindful is an act of awakening. We need to wake up to the fact that the Earth is in danger and that all living species are in danger, too.
Mindfulness and a deep awareness of the Earth can also help us to handle pain, difficult feelings, and emotions. It can help us heal our own suffering and increase our capacity to be aware of the suffering of others. With awareness of the Earth’s generosity, we can generate a pleasant feeling. Knowing how to create moments of joy and happiness is crucial for our healing. It’s important to be able to see the wonders of life around us, to recognize all the conditions for happiness that already exist. Then, with the energy of mindfulness, we can recognize and embrace our feelings of anger, fear, and despair and transform them. We don’t allow ourselves to become overwhelmed by these unpleasant emotions.
When we practice mindfulness, we naturally become more attuned to the planet. When we’re able to listen to ourselves and each other with mindfulness and compassion, we increase our ability to listen to our planet. Practicing compassionate listening to the Earth, we hear that the planet desperately needs us to reconnect with her, and with each other. There is no difference between healing ourselves and healing the Earth.
Whenever we do something in mindfulness, we connect more deeply with our planet. Getting in touch with the Earth is what will heal our suffering, our depression, our sickness. When we eat a piece of bread mindfully, we see the Earth, the sun, the clouds, the rain, and the stars in our bread. Without these elements, the bread wouldn’t exist. We see that the entire cosmos has come together in this one piece of bread.
ENJOYING OUR TIME HERE
Many people shorten their time on this beautiful planet by consuming such things as alcohol, cigarettes, toxic media, or too much food in order to cover up what they’re feeling. This kind of behavior damages our health. We can instead lengthen and enrich our lives by encouraging ourselves to be aware of every moment.
We’re living on this planet Earth together. The Earth is like a giant bird and we’re going on a wonderful trip. The Earth is supporting us and transporting us, traveling around the sun at a speed of over 100,000 kilometers an hour. We should put on our seat belts. We should enjoy every moment. In each of these moments, we can be in touch with the wonders of life. We don’t need to run away from or cover up our painful feelings or try to forget unpleasant memories. We don’t need something to help us to forget. We only need to know how to remember; we need to know how to create moments of joy and happiness, how to water what is nourishing within us, and how to become aware of the wonders of life around us.
When I’m mindful, I enjoy everything more, from my first sip of tea to my first step outside. I’m fully present in the here and now, not carried away by my sorrows, my fears, my projects, the past, or the future. I’m here, available to life. Then life is available to me. Every moment can be a happy moment. You can set an example for others by being mindful and generating awareness and happiness. This will help others be able to do the same for themselves.
In order to enjoy our time together on this flight toward the future, we have to put on our seat belts of mindfulness that will keep us right here in the present so that we can experience life deeply each moment. Mindfulness can anchor us in the present moment so we don’t lose ourselves in the future or in the past. Every one of us comes equipped with this seat belt, but we don’t always use it. Now is the time to fasten it.
Every second of life is filled with precious jewels. Those jewels are our awareness of the sky, the Earth, the trees, the hills, the river, the ocean, and all the miracles around us. We don’t want to kill time. We want to profit as much as we can from the time that is given us to live. Each morning when we wake up to life we see that we have a gift of twenty-four brand new hours. If we have mindfulness, concentration, and insight, we can live those twenty-four hours fully and joyfully. In twenty-four hours, we can generate the energy of understanding and compassion that will benefit us, our planet, and each person we come into contact with.
When I wake up, I take a moment to enjoy washing my face. In the winter the water in my hut is very cold, so I only open the faucet a little bit, allowing the water to flow out drop by drop. I put my hand under the faucet and really get in touch with the feeling of cool water. It helps me to wake up. It’s very refreshing! I take some of these drops of water and gently lift them up to my eyes and feel the refreshment in my eyes. I enjoy it so much. I’m not in a hurry to finish. I enjoy opening the faucet; I enjoy feeling the water on my face. I don’t think at all. I just enjoy being alive. I take the time to really be aware of the pleasure I feel from the drops of water. Mindfulness, concentration, and insight help me to see that this water has come from very far away: from high up in the mountains and from deep down in the Earth. The water comes from so far, all the way to my bathroom. Seeing this, I feel happy right away. With mindfulness, every moment I’m alive is a jewel, every moment can become a moment of happiness and joy.
BREATHING WITH THE PLANET
The foundation of all mindfulness practice is awareness of the breath. There is no mindfulness without awareness of our in-breath and out-breath. Mindful breathing unites the body and mind and helps us to become aware of what is going on inside us and around us. In our daily life, we often forget that mind and body are connected. Our bodies are here but our minds are not. Sometimes we lose ourselves in a book, a film, the Internet or an electronic game, and we’re carried off, far away from our body and the reality of where we are. Then, when we lift our head out of the book or look up from the screen, we may be confronted with feelings of anxiety, guilt, fear, or irritation. We rarely go back to our inner peace, to our inner island of calm and clarity, to be in touch with Mother Earth.
We can get so caught up in our plans, fears, agitations, and dreams that we aren’t living in our bodies anymore and we’re not in touch with our real mother, the Earth, either. We can’t see the miraculous beauty and magnificence that our planet offers to us. We are living more and more in the world of our minds and becoming increasingly alienated from the physical world. Returning to our breathing brings body and mind back together and reminds us of the miracle of the present moment. Our planet is right here, powerful, generous, and supportive at every moment. Once we recognize these qualities in the Earth, we can take refuge in her in our difficult moments, making it easier for us to embrace our fear and suffering and to transform it.
Awareness of the in-breath and out-breath first of all calms us down. By paying attention to your breathing, without judgment, you bring peace back to your body, and release the pain and tension. You can say,
Breathing in, I calm my body.
Breathing out, my body is at peace.
Breathing in, I take refuge in Mother Earth.
Breathing out, I release all my suffering to the Earth.
When our minds and bodies have calmed down, we begin to see more clearly. When we see more clearly, we feel more connected to ourselves and to the Earth and we have more understanding. Where there is clarity and understanding, love can bloom because true love is based on understanding.
We may think of the Earth’s problems, or our own personal problems, as overwhelming and we may feel helpless. But just by paying attention to our breathing, we can bring about a clarity that will give us insight into what we can do to help ourselves and to help our world.
There are people who have asthma and other lung conditions that make it very difficult for them to breathe. But if our lungs are healthy and our nose is not blocked, we can breathe easily. We should appreciate this ability and savor each breath as a miracle. Each breath contains nitrogen, oxygen, and water vapor as well as other trace elements, so each breath that we inhale contains the Earth. With each breath, we’re reminded that we are part of this beautiful life-giving planet.
DOING NOTHING IS DOING SOMETHING
To meditate is not to run away from life but to take the time to look deeply into ourselves or into a situation. Meditation is an opportunity to take care of our body and our mind. That is why it’s so important. We allow ourselves the time to calm our thinking, to sit, to walk, to breathe—not doing anything, just going back to ourselves and what is around us. We allow ourselves time to release the tension in our body and our mind. Then we can take time to look deeply into ourselves and into the situation we are in.
If we feel helpless or overwhelmed, if we have anger, fear, or despair, then no matter what we do to heal ourselves or our planet, it will not succeed. Meditating is the most basic, crucial thing we can do. To meditate is to give ourselves a chance to free ourselves from despair, to touch non-fear, and to nurture our compassion. With the insight and fearlessness born from meditation, we will be able to help not only ourselves, but also other species, and our planet.
When you practice sitting meditation, the first thing you do is to bring peace to your breath and to your body. Pay attention to your in-breath and out-breath. Your breathing will naturally become more peaceful and smooth and it will also become very pleasant. Sit solely for the joy and nourishment of sitting.
Stop thinking and just be with your breathing. Breathing mindfully brings your mind home to your body. Bring your awareness to your body, relax your body and release any tension that is there. Your body is a miracle. When you can touch the wonder of your body, you have the opportunity to touch Mother Earth within you as a wonder, too, and healing begins straight away—we don’t need to wait ten years for healing to take place. Many of us have become sick because we’re alienated from our body and from the body of the Earth. So the practice is to go home to Mother Earth to get the healing and nourishment we so desperately need. Mother Earth is always ready to embrace us and help nourish and heal us. And as we heal, we’re helping the Earth to heal at the same time.
We tend to think that we have to do something to heal the Earth. But sitting with mindfulness and concentration is doing something. We don’t have to fight in order to feel the benefits of sitting. Just allow yourself to sit quietly. Allow yourself to be yourself. Don’t do anything. Just allow the sitting and the breathing to take place. Don’t strive; relaxation will come. When you are completely relaxed, healing will take place on its own. There’s no healing without relaxation. And relaxation means doing nothing. There is only breathing and sitting. Don’t try to force your breathing. Just allow it to follow its natural rhythm. We just enjoy our in- and out-breath. Healing begins when you aren’t trying to do anything. This is the practice of non-practice.
If we know how to take refuge in Mother Earth, we can experience healing through sitting, walking, or simply by breathing. We can feel her solidity under our feet; we can see her majesty in high mountain peaks and lakes, in the vast blue sky, winding rivers, and deep oceans. If we truly believe in the planet’s power to heal herself, we know she can also heal us. We don’t have to do anything at all. Just surrender ourselves to Mother Earth and she will do everything for us. We are the Earth. The Earth is us. We can allow this process to happen by itself.
As we sit, we may become aware that outside, up in the sky, there are so many stars. We may not be able to see them, but they are there nevertheless. We are sitting on an amazingly beautiful planet, which is revolving in our galaxy, the Milky Way, a river containing trillions of stars. If we’re able to have this awareness when we sit, then what else do we need to sit for? We see all the wonders of the universe and of our planet Earth very clearly. When we sit with this kind of awareness, we can embrace the whole world, from the past to the future. When we sit like that, our happiness is boundless.
THE GIFT OF FOOD
The food we eat is a gift from the Earth. When you take a bite of bread or a sip of tea, do it with awareness. Your mind shouldn’t be somewhere else, thinking about your job or planning for the future. Looking deeply into the bread, see the golden wheat fields and the beautiful countryside around them; see the labor of the farmer, the miller, and the baker. The bread doesn’t come from nothing. It comes from the grains, the rain, the sun, the soil, and the hard work of many people. The whole universe has brought this piece of bread to you. When you stop thinking and bring your mind home to the present moment, you can look deeply into the piece of bread and see this. A few seconds is all it takes to generate mindfulness and concentration, which lead to the insight that the piece of bread in your hands is a real miracle, containing the whole universe; you see that the bread is an ambassador of the cosmos. Without mindfulness, we can still derive some nourishment from the bread, but when we’re truly, deeply in touch with the bread, we’re nourished by the entire universe. We receive the body of the cosmos in every mouthful of food we eat.
To sit with friends and practice mindful eating together can bring a lot of joy. When you chew, be aware that the whole universe is miraculously coming together wonderfully in your mouth. Don’t ingest your worries, your anxiety, or your plans. Open your eyes, look at the people around you, and smile. Be present with the food and the people sitting around the table with you. See that you are one with the universe and that you and your friends are supporting each other. Everyone will profit from the collective energy of mindfulness, peace, and brotherhood and will be nourished in a way that enables healing and transformation to take place.
When you’ve finished eating, take a few moments to see that your bowl or plate is empty and your hunger is satisfied. We’re filled with gratitude when we realize how fortunate we are to have nourishing food to eat, supporting us on the path of understanding and love.
THESE STEPS WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE
Mindful walking is a wonderful practice to help us receive nourishment and healing from the Earth. When you open the door and go out into the fresh air, you get in touch with the air and the ground and all the elements around you. Each mindful step taken with awareness is a step taken in freedom. Every step is an opportunity to celebrate the miracle of life. Every step can put us in touch with body and mind. Both body and mind have to be there when we take a step. We have to be fully present. Every step placed softly, gently, and mindfully on Mother Earth can bring us a lot of healing and happiness.
When we walk, we know we’re not stepping on something inanimate. The ground we’re walking on is not inert matter. In every speck of dust or grain of sand there are countless bodhisattvas. When we walk mindfully, we can be in contact through our feet with the Great Bodhisattva Mother Earth.
Understanding the Earth in this way, we can walk on the planet with as much respect and reverence as we would walk when in a house of worship or in any sacred space. We can bring our full awareness to each step. Steps like these have the power to save our lives. They can rescue us from the state of alienation we’re living in and bring us back to a place of true refuge, reconnecting us with ourselves and with the Earth. Walking with one hundred percent of your body and mind can free you from anger, fear, and despair. While walking, you can say,
With each step, I come home to the Earth.
With each step, I return to my source.
With each step, I take refuge in Mother Earth.
Each step can express your love for the Earth. As you walk, you can say,
I love the Earth. I am in love with the Earth.
Walking mindfully means walking with full awareness of this love. Filled with love and understanding, we can become deeply aware of every single thing on this planet. We notice that the leaves on the trees are a startling light green in spring, a vibrant green in summer, a rich yellow, orange, and red in autumn, and then in winter, when the branches are bare, the tree continues to stand tall, so strong and beautiful, harboring life deep inside. Mother Earth receives the fallen leaves and breaks them down to create new nourishment for the tree so that it can continue to grow.
When you walk, don’t think about anything else. Most of us have a radio constantly playing in our head tuned to the station Radio NST, Radio Nonstop Thinking. Most of this thinking is unproductive thinking. The more we think, the less available we are to what is around us. Therefore we have to learn to turn off the radio and stop our thinking in order to fully enjoy the present moment.
When walking you just walk, giving one hundred percent of your awareness and attention to your walking. In this way, you will be present for the ground beneath your feet, for the plants in front of you, the clouds above you, and the people around you.
When we walk, we’re not walking alone. Our parents and ancestors are walking with us. They’re present in every cell of our bodies. So each step that brings us healing and happiness also brings healing and happiness to our parents and ancestors. Every mindful step has the power to transform us and all our ancestors within us, including our animal, plant, and mineral ancestors. We don’t walk for ourselves alone. When we walk, we walk for our family and for the whole world.
When we walk mindfully, gathering nourishment from the Earth, we have the opportunity to practice inclusiveness. With each step, we can vow to protect all species on Earth. With each step, we can say,
I know the Earth is my Mother, a great living being.
I vow to protect the Earth, and the Earth protects me.
Every step taken in mindfulness brings us one step closer to healing ourselves and our planet.
MINDFUL LISTENING
The Sanskrit word sravaka usually means “disciple.” Literally it means “hearer.” A sravaka is one who learns by listening to teachings. Each of us can be someone who knows how to listen deeply. We can practice listening deeply to ourselves, to others, and to the Earth. When we practice mindful listening, we listen in order to understand and to relieve suffering. We all have suffering within that we need to take care of and not run away from. We listen in such a way that we’re able to gain wisdom and cultivate compassion. But before being able to listen to others, we need to know how to listen to ourselves first. We need to restore communication with ourselves and not to run away from ourselves or try to cover up unpleasant or uncomfortable feelings inside us.
In fact we have to be there for ourselves in order to understand our suffering and our difficulties. The first thing we should do is to recognize and admit that we suffer. If we can acknowledge the fact that we’re suffering, then we have a chance to transform that suffering. The second step is to have the courage to look deeply into it, to listen to it and to embrace it, in order to understand the nature of our suffering. Many of us do everything we can to avoid going back to ourselves, because we’re afraid that if we come home and touch the suffering inside it will overwhelm us. That’s why we need to train ourselves in the practice of mindfulness, of breathing, of sitting, and of walking, because doing all these things in mindfulness we generate an energy that can help us be strong. Without mindfulness, we can be overwhelmed. But with mindfulness we can be active, we have a chance to do something.
We have a chance to understand our suffering and to see the way out. When we understand our suffering, it transforms.
We can speak of the “art of suffering.” We can learn to make good use of our suffering in order to create happiness. We can learn a lot from our suffering. We know that understanding our suffering gives rise to compassion for ourselves; compassion is essential for our happiness.
When we know how to listen to our own suffering with compassion then we can listen to someone else with the same compassion, to help the other person to suffer less as well. But we can’t help others if we haven’t recognized the suffering in ourselves first. That’s why listening deeply to our own suffering is crucial. Then compassion will arise in us and we will suffer less and be able to help others more.
When we see that another person is suffering, compassion is born in our hearts and we want to do whatever is in our power to help the other person suffer less. Because we see and understand their suffering, we don’t blame them for their behavior. We only want to help them and bring them relief. We can do this by listening deeply with compassion and without judgment.
RESTORING BALANCE
Once we know how to listen deeply, with mindfulness, we’re able to listen to the Earth and hear her suffering. The Earth is out of balance; as a species we have not given back to the Earth as much as we have taken from it. We have exploited the Earth’s natural resources and polluted her environment. When we upset the balance of Mother Earth, it leads to a lot of suffering. Listening deeply we will see what she needs in order to regain her natural balance.
The Earth has already experienced a lot of suffering in the past from which she has managed to recover. She has experienced natural disasters such as collisions with other planets, meteorites, and asteroids as well as severe periods of drought, forest fires, and earthquakes, and yet she has been able to restore herself after all these events. Now we are putting so much strain on the Earth, by polluting the atmosphere, warming the planet, and poisoning the oceans, that she can’t heal on her own.
The Earth has lost her equilibrium. The fact that we have lost connection with Earth’s natural rhythm is the cause of many modern sicknesses. Some people believe that God is punishing the planet but in fact we all have to accept responsibility for what is happening to the Earth. We have to see our role in this process and know what to do in order to protect our Mother Earth. We can’t just rely on her to take care of us; we also need to take care of her.
Unless we restore the Earth’s balance, we will continue to cause a lot of destruction and it will be difficult for life on Earth to continue. We need to realize that the conditions that will help to restore the necessary balance don’t come from outside us; they come from inside us, from our own mindfulness, our own level of awareness. Our own awakened consciousness is what can heal the Earth.
There is a revolution that needs to happen and it starts from inside each one of us. When we change the way we see the world, when we realize that we and the Earth are one and we begin to live with mindfulness, our own suffering will start to ease. When we’re no longer overwhelmed by our own suffering, we will have the compassion and understanding to treat the Earth with love and respect. Restoring balance to ourselves, we can begin the work of restoring balance to the Earth. There is no difference between concern for the planet and concern for ourselves and our own well-being. There is no difference between healing the planet and healing ourselves.
Suddenly, from behind the rim of the moon, in long, slow-motion moments of immense majesty, there emerges a sparkling blue and white jewel, a light, delicate sky-blue sphere laced with slowly swirling veils of white, rising gradually like a small pearl in a thick sea of black mystery. It takes more than a moment to fully realize this is Earth . . . home.
—Edgar Mitchell, Apollo 14 Astronaut (1971)