Mindfulness in and of Nature and Land

One feature of contemporary mindfulness is that it is increasingly practiced in urban environments, in small rooms in big cities. This tendency has contributed to a form of romanticization of mindfulness in nature, as though practicing in a beautiful natural setting is somehow better or more ‘pure.’ We will see that this romantic view is not new at all, and also that it hides a much more complicated and subtle form of relationship between mindfulness and the natural world.

In this module, we’ll explore some of the pros and cons of practicing in nature, as well as some of the myths about it. We’ll even learn a new meditation that is specifically designed to help us feel our place in nature.

At the same time, as soon as we accept that the practice of mindfulness takes place in real locations (on particular territories or pieces of the earth), then we’ll see that we also have to accept that mindfulness is not free of questions of land politics and colonialism. What does it mean to practice mindfulness in a way that respects the land?