10 Ways to connect with the Earth

This blog post is about how to connect with the earth.

Have you ever just longed for nature and greenery, especially when you have been indoors for many days or been in an urban area for too long? If so, it may be a sign that your body is longing for connection with the earth.

Nature has the power to lift our moods and improve both physical and physiological health. If I feel sluggish and tired one day, going for a walk in the forest, spending some time at the beach or just taking a small walk around the block always instantly lifts my mood. If your think about it, it’s not hard to see why.

The earth is our home. Without the earth we could not exist. She sustains all life, feeds it, provides water to drink and air to breathe. However, many of us are totally disconnected from her. We live our modern lives without giving a thought about how we, just as all other living beings on this planet, are dependt on the health of the earth for survival. Therefore feeling connected to the earth is not only important for our health, but also reminds us to take care of her because her health equals ours.

If you long for a deeper connection, want to improve your health and well being and learn practical ways on how to connect with the earth, then keep on reading!

Feeling disconnected from the earth

The earth is our home. Yet we treat her with utter disrespect. We quickly grab whatever she gives us, until the soil is barren. We milk her from riches until the last drop. We place ourselves above other species. We think that we own her, that she is ours by right. We take and take and give nothing in return. Instead we pollute the earth with plastics and toxins, thinking more about convenience and making profit than to care about the impact of our choices.

And yet we wonder why we feel so disconnected from the earth. Why we feel unsatisfied with our lives, floating around in our heads, disconnected from our bodies and surroundings. Why we feel so tired, drained and are always running, doing and being productive.

If you have been feeling:

• Anxious or stressed
• Tired and unsatisfied
• Disconnected from your surroundings
• All up in your head and not in your body
• Easily overwhelmed by life

It might be a sign that you are disconnected from the earth and by that, from life.

Why do we feel disconnected?

When society modernized, it also grew away from nature. What happened to the communities living in harmony with the earth? They became cities with no greenery in sight. With getting your food from local farmers nearby? To getting food from the supermarket shipped from somewhere across the world. From getting fresh fruits and vegetables? To getting mass produced vegetables sprayed with pesticides to keep fresh when they’re transported over-seas.

From being self-sufficient to being totally reliable on society to sustain ourselves. From getting our medicines from plants in nature to getting chemical substitutes from the pharmacy. From working outside all day to sitting inside in front of a screen the whole day. From following the seasons and natures rhythms to going through the same rushed productive phase every day of the year. From talking face to face with each other and share stories around campfires, from mostly talking to each other through a screen.

✧ Read: What is Natural Living? The Complete Explanation

So many of us are totally disconnected from our natural way of being. And so we feel like something is missing in our lives. This can make us feel stressed, anxious or even depressed. Before it was obvious that we followed nature and its rhythm, as our survival depended on it. But now when we are sustaining ourselves more artificially, an unbalance is created and a certain connection to life is lost.

Have we forgotten where we came from? What we are living on? What actually is sustaining us? Maybe it’s not about connecting, but about REconnecting with the earth.

The Benefits of Connecting to the Earth

Connecting to the earth brings a lot of benefits. Here is a list with some of the benefits from connecting with the earth.

• Improves your mental and physical health.
• Reduces stress and inflammation.
• Improves the immune system.
• Brings calmness and clarity.
• Recharges your energy.
• Feeling grounded and secure, which is a good foundation to have in life.
• Makes you feel embodied, taking you out of your head and into your body.
• Restores balance in your life.
• Feeling more connected to ourselves (as we are part of nature).
  
• Makes you more conscious of the impact of your choices.
• Makes you present, alert and aware of your surroundings.

How to connect with the earth

Now lets get into practical ways on how to connect with the earth!

1. Spend time in nature

The first and maybe most obvious thing you can do to connect to the earth, is spending time in nature. You can do outdoor activities, go for a walk in the park or simply just be in nature. For example hiking in the forest, swimming in the sea or a lake, climbing a mountain or sitting amongst flowers or against a tree. Another thing you can do is taking your daily activities outside! You could move your workout outside, your mindfulness practice, reading, eating meals or even cooking outside if that’s possible for you. Just simply being in nature already makes you more connected.

2. Live with the seasons

Another thing you can do to connect with the earth is living with the seasons. Intentionally take notice of what season the earth is in right now. How is nature behaving? Is it beaming with growth and energy or slowly surrendering to the calm and stillness of winter? By being aware of your surroundings and also present in the current season, you are connecting yourself to the earth.

Now ask yourself: Are you living a life of eternal summer, always expecting to grow and flourish and never allowing yourself to rest? Because that may result in an unbalance in your life, energy and makes you feel unconnected to the earth. By being aware of the seasons and observing the changes, we can align ourselves to them, create a more balanced life and feel more connected to the earth as a result.

✧ Read: How to Live with the Seasons

3. Walk barefoot

When was the last time you walked barefoot on grass or the earth? It is something we don’t do often, especially not if you live in the city and are surrounded by pavement. But walking barefoot is a great way to physically connect to the earth! With your bare feet planted firmly on the ground, feeling its foundation you are literally exchanging energy with the earth. Let me explain!

The earth has an electromagnetic energy field and so do we. When we walk barefoot on the earth, we attune our electromagnetic energy field to the one of the earth by exchanging electrons. This is called earthing or grounding. Earthing has multiple scientifically proven benefits like better sleep, reduced pain, stress and inflammation.

In today’s modern world we always wear shoes that acts as a physical barrier between our bodies and the earth, making the exchange between electrons ineffective. We are also surrounded by electromagnetic fields from various electronics, which are disturbing our natural energy field instead of balancing it. By taking the time to stand or walk barefoot on the earth 15-30 minutes every day, reconnects us to the earth both energetically and physically.

✧ Read: 15 Ways to stay Grounded in times of Stress

4. Gardening work

A great way to connect to the earth is by doing gardening work. The physical act of putting your hands into the dirt and handling life is very connecting. You are also taking part in and seeing the cycle of life by following the process from seed to fruit and finally withering of the plants.

Put your hands into the earth, learn how it is to grow something and reap the benefits of homegrown veggies and herbs and connection to the earth. If your don’t have a garden, you can grow herbs in pots on the balcony or even by the window sill. As a bonus you will also be able to use homegrown herbs while cooking your meals!

5. Be present in nature

Simply being in nature will connect you to the earth. But to make the practice even more powerful, be intentionally present. By actively noticing your surroundings, observing wild life, taking deep breaths of fresh air and feeling the wind blowing through your hair, you are connecting to the very essence of life on earth.

You can practice being present by focusing on what you are experiencing right now. Firstly, what can you see? Do you see the light hitting the leaves of the tree or notice the beautiful patterns in plants and moss?

Secondly, focus on what you can hear. Do you hear birds singing? Can you hear rustling leaves? A streaming river nearby? Thirdly, focus on what you feel. Do you feel the sunshine warming your body? Or raindrops splashing on your skin? Do you feel your feet on the ground?

Then focus on your sense of smell. Do you smell damp autumn leaves, sweet meadow flowers or the crisp cold air in mid winter? Finally focus on your sense of taste. Do you sense the sweet aftertaste of a wild berry, a sip of herbal tea you just took or simply nothing?

By focusing on the senses you are anchoring the mind right into the present moment. Not only will you get more connected to the earth but you will also attain a lot of other benefits from being present! Read the blog post below to get to know more about that.

✧ Read: 10 Tips to Become more Present

6. Protect the earth

The earth sustains all life living on her, including us! We should not take that for granted. The least we can do is treat her with respect. You can do that in many different ways. For example, you can live more eco-friendly, buy organic or local food, shop second hand or go toxic free with your self care products.

You could also go trash picking along the beach or take more responsibility for the trash you create. Another thing you can do is reducing your plastic consumption! Which I have a whole blog post about here.
Taking care of the earth by taking responsibility for the impact your life has on her, will be a great way for a deeper connection to the earth.

7. Go camping

Not many activities are more connecting to nature and the earth than camping! To set up your camping spot, cook your food over open fire, eat around a campfire and sleeping in the middle of nature just makes you feel part of the earth.

It is so relaxing for the mind to intertwine your life with nature like that. This was the way humans were living a long time ago. It almost seems like our body remembers it in a way, recharges us and brings peace to our minds.

8. Go foraging

Foraging is an amazing activity to connect to the earth! To go foraging you will have to go into nature, notice the season to know what’s growing at the moment, actively look around you to find what you are looking for and also get your hands on the things your are gathering. As a result you will learn more about nature, what is growing in your area and what you can eat or use!

Nature sustains us with all we need, and by being curious and respectfully sourcing what she has to offer connects you with the earth! Also it is fun and rewarding to eat what you have gathered later. Some examples of things you can forage are berries, herbs, plants, mushrooms, flowers, nuts or even decorative items for your home.

✧ Read: How to make Chaga Tea [Complete guide + Recipe]

9.Watching the night sky

Watching the night sky has the power of putting things in perspective. When you gaze up into the bright full moon or are watching the twinkling stars, you realize how you are just a speck on the earth in an unbelievably big universe full of other galaxies. You realize that you are part of a bigger whole. This in turn can make you feel connected to everything around you, including the earth.

Watching the night sky can also be inspiring and make you reflect on life on earth. Are you happy with how your life is right now? What would you like to change? How can you make a positive impact on the earth? Not only does this work with watching the night sky! You can also watch sunsets, sunrises or observe the figures of the passing clouds for the same effect.

10. Soak up the sun

The existence of almost all life on earth is made possible by the sun. In fact the rotation of the earth around the sun is what creates the different seasons. This realization makes you see the importance of sunlight for all life, including humans!

Spending time in the sun is super beneficial to our health and well being. A big reason why is because of vitamin D, which is an essential vitamin that we mainly make in our skin through exposure to sunlight. By letting the sun shine on your bare skin (no sunscreen) and letting it work its magic on you, you are connecting yourself with the earth through nature.

✧ Read: 10 Ways to get More Energy Naturally

However, be sure to use a good natural sunscreen if you plan spending a long time in the sun, to protect your skin from burning. Here’s a blog post all about non-toxic sunscreen if you’re interested!

Last thoughts on connecting with the Earth

It is not uncommon to feel unconnected in today’s fast paced life. We work a lot, feel stressed and over-consume to fill an emptiness we are feeling inside of us. We have lost our natural way of being.

But something that will make us feel more whole and alive, is connecting ourselves to the earth. Nature has the power to lift our moods, improve our health and well being and make us feel connected to life itself!

Connecting yourself to the earth will not only have benefits on both your health and well-being, but also remind you that you are a part of nature. It will furthermore motivate you to take care of the earth because her health is closely linked to the health of humanity.

Reconnecting with the earth also reminds us that nothing lives forever. Each year flowers grow, bloom and wither. And the same is true for us. We are mortal and should not take one single day of our lives for granted!

I hope you found this blog post inspiring <3
If you want to start living in harmony with the earth, you will find a blog post full of information on how to do so below!

✧ Read: What is Natural Living? The Complete Explanation

By Bo Smit

Sources:

• Earthing: Health Implications of Reconnecting the Human Body to the Earth’s Surface Electrons
• The effects of grounding (earthing) on inflammation, the immune response, wound healing, and prevention and treatment of chronic inflammatory and autoimmune disease