Connect With Nature Through Photography and Meditation

by Curt Remington

Connecting with a detail of nature is a wonderful way to meditate. You can tune into a sound, a scene or some other aspect of a beautiful place, allowing your thoughts to slow so your mind and body can relax.

When the weather isn’t cooperating, or you don’t have the time to go out into nature, you can use a beautiful picture to help you meditate and tune into the energy of a place. The technique is similar to a “Connect with Nature” meditation I wrote, except you can do this in a comfortable chair at home. This is a good first step into visualization meditations, which can be powerful and fun. Practicing this exercise, and improving your visualization skills, will improve the power of other visualizations we’ll use for healing or accessing psychic abilities.

Nature Photo Visualization Exercise

Park Butte Trail, North Cascades, WA

For this exercise, choose a picture of a place that appeals to you. If you don’t have such a picture at home, there are plenty in the photo gallery on my website at curtremington.com. Sit down and take a good look at the picture you choose, visualizing the entire place, not just what you see in the photo. What details would you find in that place that you might tune into? If it’s a beach scene, there might be waves lapping at the shore. Are there woods, with wind rustling through the trees? Is there sun that would be warming and soothing?

When you’re ready, close your eyes and imagine that you’re in that scene. Feel the energy of the place surrounding you. Visualize the scenery as clearly as you can. Try to add other senses to your visualization. Is the air cool or warm? What scents does it carry? Do you hear birds? A babbling creek?

Once you’ve created your scene, tune into a detail to focus on. For instance, if the picture is of a beach, imagine the constant sound waves would make as they roll into shore. If it’s a wooded scene, what would the wind sound like, rustling the leaves? Focusing on such an aspect will allow you to let go of your other thoughts. Enjoy this beautiful place for as long as you’d like. Ten minutes is a good goal to start with. When you’re ready, take a deep clearing breath or two, open your eyes and return to the comfort of your home.

As you practice visualizations, it will become easier to add more of your senses and more details, like a foreground, middle and background. Adding movement can also intensify your images. Try changing angles or visualize the rolling waves, swaying trees or whatever might be moving in your scene.

This meditation was created by Curt Remington