We know in an intuitive way that nature is good for us. If we don’t know it intuitively, then we know it from the army of philosophers, poets and scientists who have made their case for nature’s therapeutic effects and curative powers.
It started with Cyrus the Great, who some 2,500 years ago built gardens for relaxation in the busy capital of Persia. 900 years later, Paracelsus, the German-Swiss physician, famously wrote, “The art of healing comes from nature, not from the physician.” In 1798, sitting on the banks of the River Wye, William Wordsworth marvelled at how “an eye made quiet by the power / of harmony” offered relief from “the fever of the world.” American writers such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and John Muir shared this outlook and built the spiritual and emotional case for creating the world’s first national parks.
There wasn’t much hard evidence linking nature and happiness then—but there is now. According to Florence Williams’ engaging new book, “The Nature Fix,” it turns out there’s a heap of fascinating science behind our deep, cranial connection to natural landscapes.
This is what she has to say: “We evolved from outside. We are built to look at elements of nature. We are designed to interpret information from vegetation, from water, from the soil. We put ourselves in these urban and indoor environments, where information comes at us in a much more rapid way, and this takes a toll – on our nervous systems, our attentional systems and we become overtaxed and tired.
“Studies have shown that when we go into a natural environment we do feel more relaxed and cognitively alert. But the science is tricky. It is hard to know exactly why it is good for us. Is it the absence of noise and air pollution? Or is there something in the environment that is doing something to our brains?”
The Nature Fix has a simple but powerful message: “Go outside, often, sometimes in wild places – and breathe.” ©Duncan Thomson
Nature researchers, Rachel and Stephen Kaplan, spent many years trying to answer this question resulting in their Attentional Restoration Therapy. “What they found is that when we go into natural environments we rest the attentional aspect of our brains; because there is less to interpret, then we can begin to relax,” explains Florence.
There are also studies that claim the odours we encounter in nature are key to the nervous system response. “When we smell something, it is like there is an automatic highway to our brain. In a society where so much information is delivered visually, the ability to smell has been lost. Yet when we encounter certain odours, it is possible our stress levels can reduce immediately.”
Sound, too, can affect us in ways that we may be surprised. “Positive nature sounds – such as running water – can make us feel great!”
The visual component is also important. “Cognitive scientists have tried to break down the visual landscape and find out what it is that our brains find comfortable and those that we find jarring. For example, studies have shown our brains love green and blue. Perhaps because they imply safety, food and water – the things we need to survive.”
She adds that straight lines such as a downtown intersection make us feel uncomfortable while fractal symmetry or patterns, think waves or fern leaves, nurture alpha waves that make us feel calm but alert.
While some of this may sound a little “new age” (cue: tree hugging), the benefits of nature have been taken seriously in Singapore and Japan. In the latter, scientists have found that even short walks in nature can reduce blood pressure, change heart rate variability and stress rate profile.
“The Japanese have taken it so seriously that they’ve now designated 48 forest therapy trails, and on these trails people are really encouraged to go out and do ‘forest bathing’. It does not involve taking off all your clothes but it does just involve cueing in to all five senses and really paying attention to where you are.”
While this all sounds great, what about the many people in the world do not have access to wilderness? Florence says science shows these people can be benefitted from micro experiences with nature. This might be a rooftop garden, vertical garden in your business space or home, or local park.
Or you could reach for your tea…
Earlier this year, Taiwan-based Zen Monk Wu De visited New Zealand, Australia and the U.S. with a view to educating novices about the connection between tea and nature.
For Wu De, tea leaves are earth, soil and rock, wind and water. “Plants don’t have a feeling of separation or disconnection from their environment: they breathe in and out, take in the rain and sun, minerals and energy. It all flows through them. And so, they connect completely to the life that surrounds them.”
“Tea offers us this connection. As we drink in this herb, we slowly become one with nature.”
Wu De teaches that humans must learn to once again become one with the natural environment, as our ancestors did. He encourages way-finders take their tea out of doors and prepare it with intention in the traditional way (cha dao or “way of tea”), which is based around awakening our mind to the five senses; sight, sound, hearing, taste and touch.
Everything and everyone around us matter – all are equal.
“If you go back to your childhood, you will remember that you lived in a world that was very much alive and society has conditioned that out of us,” explains Wu De.
“If you tell a three-year old child, ‘Go speak to that stone over there,’ that child will go and say, ‘Hello Mr. Stone.’ The distinction between organic and inorganic, intelligent and unintelligent is not real. By nurturing the nature connection through tea, we see that the world is made of energy and we begin to change our perspective.”
Wu De prefers bowl tea above other complicated brewing traditions. “Anyone can brew bowl tea. People have been doing it for 10,000 years. For a short time, life becomes very basic: the only decisions you might act on are as uncomplicated as how long you’ll remain where you are, tasting tea, listening to the wind, and observing the small things living all around.”
Albert Einstein once said, “Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.” For Wu De, a tea bowl just might be sufficient. ©Felicia Stewart
Vermont-based self-confessed tea hermit, Ben Youngbaer, is one of a new generation of enthusiasts who – like Wu De – actively seek out opportunities to connect with nature through tea.
“There is an old Chinese saying,” Ben says, “’Tea brings Nature to society.’ When we interact with tea in a tea shop somewhere in the city, we are injecting a bit of nature in the concrete landscape. Tea can transport us through the sensory journey that it offers.”
However, he says, it is still a fish out of water.
“When we drink tea in nature – be it mountain, stream, field, park or just our backyard – we are allowing the leaves to take us home: to the wild. The birds, wind, water, plants and trees all play a role in our tea experience.” They are the characters that bind us to reality, he says, as well as invoking ‘soft fascination;’ a beguiling term for quiet contemplation during which direct attention is barely called upon allowing the brain to reset.
Ben is such a firm believer in the benefits of drinking tea outdoors he built his own tea house (named Setting Sun Tea Hut because it faces west where the sun sets) in Plainfield with views over the green mountains of Central Vermont. Here, his sole ambition is to honour the roots of tea culture.
“In classical paintings from the tea lands, everyone is outside. They are tending fires to boil water and sharing tea outside surrounded by stands of pines and mountains. These humble depictions of ancient tea can still be achieved today,” he says.
“When guests join me, they get a glimpse of what makes tea and tea culture so special. Preparing tea in the traditional way close to nature is a humbling yet powerful experience.”
Setting Sun Tea Hut: When we get closer to nature, we do our overstressed brains a favour. ©Ben Youngbaer
Ben has a challenge for readers: “Go outside and prepare tea. Then imagine an old tea sage sitting in the same spot – but 500 years ago – enjoying tea in a similar way. See if you can feel the energy of nature in your cup. After all, you are drinking history with every sip.”
Tea meditation: Using five senses
First: Sit comfortably. Focus your mind, empty it of chattering. Breathe through the nostrils feel the cold air in breath warm air on the out breath tune in to your breath.
Sight: Inspect the tea leaves – what is the colour and texture? Watch the kettle boil, steam rise in the air. As the water bubbles see its bubbling laughter, joy and anticipation. Watch the flow of the tea into the cup, note how it swirls around. See where the steam goes. Let your thoughts and baggage drift away with the steam. Look for reflections in the tea.
Hear: Listen to the stillness in the air. Listen to the silence. Listen to the kettle bubbling. Listen to the sound of the liquid being poured into the cup. Listen to the peripheral sounds – birds, wind.
Touch: Feel the cup, its shape, texture curve of the handle. Feel the warmth of the steam and liquid travelling down your throat to your stomach. Feel it nourishing your soul, the essence of who you are.
Smell: Be aware of the aroma of the tea, what does it smell of? Is it refreshing, calming, soothing? Smell the environment around you – can you detect the aroma of forest floor or the beach?
Taste: Experience the taste and savour it. What does it taste of? is it warm? What taste buds are triggered – sweet, bitter, umami, sour, salty? Is there an after-taste?
Six things to do outside
Look for natural patterns: Our eyes evolved to interpret information from trees, clouds and moving water. Patterns like fractals help trigger relaxing, alpha brain waves. Looking at ocean waves might have a similar effect on us emotionally as listening to music.
Listen to the birds: For millions of years, birdsong was our natural soundtrack. Science shows it makes us feel more alert and more relaxed. Try seeking out 20 minutes of birdsong to recover from daily stress.
Find some awe: Once a neglected emotion in the field of social science, awe has recently been shown to make us feel more generous, happier and more connected socially. Awe doesn’t have to be dramatic – it can be quiet and slightly wondrous, like a fiery sunset, the milky way or a perfect dragonfly. And it’s an emotion we can cultivate, with the help of being outside more often.
Seek out wild spaces: When we are fortunate enough to spend several days in the deep forest or wild country, our brains change a bit, says U.S. neuroscientist David Strayer. The so-called “Three-Day Effect” helps us relax our exhausted frontal cortex and re-examine our life goals, relationships and place in the universe. We engage parts of the brain associated with reflection and creativity.
Take your kids for a hike: Kids these days spend 6.5 hours on digital devices. But when they go hiking, they learn to connect with nature and to each other, as well as learning about techniques for survival.
Or at least take them outside: When siblings play outside, they fight less. Girls tend to run around, climb trees, build forts and in general get as much exercise as boys outside, improving their large-motor skills as well as their metabolic health. Often kids find comfort in nature, forging a relationship to last a life time.
(c) Felicia Stewart, 2017
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