Hiking and Mindfulness Go Hand in Hand
By: Jun Wu
Tags: Travel, Nature, Mindfulness, Meditation, Hiking

Hiking and Mindfulness Go Hand in Hand

Finding my third eye in nature while taking a trip up the mountain.

@avirichards unsplash.com

Have you ever danced in the rain? Have you felt the caress of the wind? Have you ever smelled the bouquet of spring? Have you ever sought refuge in the woods and felt its expansive arms hug you with vigor? I’d like to take you by the hand and walk you into the world that I often visit with my third eye. It’s a world where rebellion is treasured, vulnerability lauded and emotional wells refilled.

It’s nature in its true glory- cared for only by nature itself. The path up the mountain contains no trail markers. Instinct is all I have to travel this nature’s path. On this path, my body is but an instrument of movement.

The rhythm of its movement is the inhale and exhale of nature’s breaths.

With each breath, nature unties the emotional knots that prevent me from springing forth as a human being. With each breath, nature seduces me into taking off the masks, the clothes, the skins that I wear each day until I can feel my own nakedness in its presence. With each breath, nature guides my third eye to my most rebellious self and tells me that this self is the most beautiful.

Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better. — Albert Einstein.

There’s a hiking trail leading up to an unnamed mountain that I used to frequent with my dog before my son was born. The trail markers are of no use on this trail. In fact, there are so many trails, you are better off simply using your intuition to explore this mountain. I’ve been lost in this mountain. I’ve been bitten by insects. I’ve seen snakes on the paths. I’ve escaped falling trees narrowly on a rainy day. I’ve also fallen on thick ice in the winter.

But, I went every day without fail.

This trail approximates life.

The act of hiking contains ups and downs. When you walk up the mountain, you inevitably have to come down. People often put too much emphasis on the journey up. The journey down is actually one of familiarity and exhilarating. For me, it’s the journey down that actually refills my emotional wells and readies my nakedness to receive the new.

On this trail, rebellion is celebrated.

I’ve always had trouble with rebellion. I felt the lifetime of pain that comes with stifling my internal rebellions. Yet, I am afraid to give into the powers it might unleash if I surrendered to it. On this trail, I don’t tame the rebellious beast within. I let it loose. I let it wander. Just like my dog who deserves a good hike every day, my rebellious self needs to come out and play. I let my rebellious self think all those forbidden thoughts. I let my rebellious self take me down that winding path. I let my rebellious self walk the thin line between my own sanity and insanity. At the end of our hike, this rebellious self returns to me a blank canvas and the paint of creativity.

On this canvas, with this paint, I invent a new life from the old life that I know.

On this trail, nature is the pillow of my third eye.

When you close your eyes, you can often feel the third eye while your thoughts travel to the spiritual realm. On this trail, I don’t have to close my eyes. I feel the state of my third eye all around me. As I stop to smell the flowers, my third eye guides me to drink in the scent. As I climb higher, my third eye whispers truths in my ear with a new kind of crystal clarity. As I sit on top of the mountain, my third eye invades my mind entirely. The new thoughts, fears, loves, and ideas inundate my mind in the purest tidal wave.

My mind simply receives. It doesn’t ponder the origins. It becomes the third eye.

On this trail, nature’s love becomes my love.

When nature sharpens my senses, nature is giving me new gifts in life. I use my senses to tune into my environment. I use my senses to learn. Nature is the mother who holds my senses and breathes love into them. When the machinery of my mind clutters with too much sensory input, nature tells me to take my time. Today, there may not be an answer. But, tomorrow is another day. When I feel my emotions well up in nature, nature’s hand tells me to just let it all out. I can cry. I can laugh. I can feel the essence of my being laid bare.