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I've been practicing Yoga and Meditation for 12 years and I have an interest in Buddhism and recently, Sufism. I don't class myself as a Yogi, Hindu, Buddhist or a Sufi but there is no denying the deep effect the related practices can have on a person. Yoga brought me more in tune with my physical self, and then in turn meditation began to show to me my conceptual self and beyond that, the "I am" that observes everything which exists beyond thought and ego. Meditation though is seldom as powerful as when I do it in the woods or on a mountain or in some other natural spot away from where everything we see and interact with is created by the hands of man. I tap into something that defies explanation. It appears divine, all encompassing, loving, transformative. It has to be experienced to be known. I can't tell you what it is because I don't know. I don't know if I can fully know it as a human. I feel compelled to seek it out however.
I revere nature as an aspect of the sacred source of all things. When I place my hands on a tree for instance, in my mind I feel I am connecting with source, not simply a tree as a mundane, physical object.
As my practice has developed I began to feel a very deep and profound sense of connection to...well, everything and that rarely leaves me these days. This sense of connection made me a kinder person. A more patient person. It even led me to Veganism as a practice of active compassion towards nature.
Something that also grew inside me naturally was a deep sense of gratitude and this is something I practice daily. At the end of every day I say what I guess is a prayer to the universe. "Thank you for all I have received". I think it appreciates that. I will occasionally leave small devotive offerings in natural places too.
I realize I may sound like a pretentious fart-sniffer but my experience is what it is. For whatever reason, there's a mystical state of mind that humans can access.