Articles tagged with: nature

Transcendental or Spiritual Experiences

Experience Spiritual Moments Through Meditation and Nature

by Curt Remington

Meditation, and connecting with nature, can lead to wonderful  transcendental experiences, moments of awe when we briefly sense our connection to everything around us. The type of transcendental experiences I want to focus on here are those magical moments when the spiritual realm sends us a physical sign, to get a message across. In my experience, the more that you work to have the first kind of experience, the more you build spiritual connections and have the second kind of experience.

Maybe the message is as simple as a reminder that you have guardian angels or spirit guides looking out for you. That message reached me loud and clear during my encounter with a wolf in the middle of town.

Nissan GT-R

Nissan GT-R

The message might be that the Law of Attraction really works. That seemed to be the case, when I got my kayak. That may be the message I received last weekend too. On Friday night, I scanned Craigslist, watching for a bargain car for one of my daughters. The ad that caught my eye was for a Nissan GT-R. This definitely would not be a practical car for my daughter. The reason it caught my eye is that they’re quite rare and very fast. I’d only read about them and had never actually seen one. The GT-R makes the list of fastest accelerating production cars, at #6. It will do 0-60 in 2.8 seconds, with a top speed just shy of 200 mph. For cars on this list, it’s not terribly exotic looking, and it’s quite a bargain, at less than $100,000. It’s still way out of my price range and too fast to be practical, but it is fun to dream.

All right, back to transcendental experiences. Saturday morning, the day after contemplating a GT-R, my wife Mary, Riva (our dog) and I set out for the mountains to hike a loop trail in the North Cascades Mountains. By dropping Mary and Riva off at Artist Point and driving down to the national forest visitor center, I could save the last 1000 feet of grueling climbing to get back to our car. All I had to do was hitchhike a couple miles back to Artist Point.

Riva at Herman Pass w/Mt Shuksan in background

Riva at Herman Pass w/Mt Shuksan in background

The first three cars, each with a vacant passenger seat, drove right by my upraised thumb. The fourth car pulled over and believe-it-or-not, it was a beautiful Nissan GT-R. After the driver briefly explained how to open the door, I got a thrilling ride up one seriously scenic section of mountain road, with hairpin curves and stunning views. This experience may have been the work of my spirit guides or an incredibly fast example of the Law of Attraction in action. Either way, it served to remind me that we are eternal spiritual beings having a temporary physical experience. Meditating at Herman Pass, in the middle of our hike, was another spiritual experience.

If you’d like to have more of your own transcendental or spiritual experiences, I encourage you to meditate, get out and connect with nature, and communicate more with your guardian angels and spirit guides. My book, Simple Meditation, can help you with all three of these suggestions.

Simple Meditation

Simple Meditation: A Spiritual Connection for Transforming Your Life

by Curt Remington

Introduction

Simple Meditation- front cover
Simple Meditation- front cover

 Have you ever felt as if there should be more to life? A deeper meaning or greater purpose? Less stress? More happiness? Maybe more of a spiritual connection?

I’ll bet you’ve even had moments when you experienced this spiritual connection, times when you were fully involved in what you were doing, blissfully happy and thinking of nothing else. Maybe you were sitting on a beach listening to waves roll into shore. Or you may have been in the mountains, gazing in awe at a spectacular view. Maybe you were looking into a crib, watching your baby sleep.

Wherever you were, it was a moment when your thoughts got out of the way, so you could experience that deeper, inner part of you, the spiritual part that is naturally calmer, wiser, and happier, the part that understands all things are connected.

In the pages of this book, you’ll find the information and tools you need to experience more of that spiritual part of you, the part that can let thoughts go and be fully in the present.

Tuning into the details of nature is a wonderful way to let go of other thoughts and to start meditating. You could sit calmly in the woods, listening to the birds sing or the wind blow through the trees. Spending this time in nature puts you in a healthy environment, connected to the energy of a beautiful place.

Such escapes to nature kept me sane during the 1990s, while I worked seventy-hour weeks running a real estate appraisal business. Eventually, I started to learn and develop meditation techniques that went even further than connecting with nature, and I could do them without leaving the comfort of home.

Although we spend our days rooted in the physical world that we can see, we are part of a vast field of quantum energy that we can’t see. The chapter on spiritual connections provides insight into those unseen, heavenly aspects of our universe that affect our lives every day. By understanding and working with the spiritual realm, we can improve the quality of our lives on earth.

Many of the exercises in the following chapters use the power of visualization to tap into this unseen energy, using it to access information or to release blocks to your emotional, physical, and spiritual well-being. One of the easiest ways to release these blocks is through an exercise that runs more energy through your system, keeping it clean like a mountain stream.Relationships are a key factor in the quality of our lives. Meditation can help you let go of anger, resentment, and fear, blocks to great relationships. Not only will this improve your relationships, but improving those relationships will make it much easier to meditate.

Chapter 9, on walkabouts and vision quests, suggests a trip into nature to tie this all together. Your trip doesn’t have to be a rugged wilderness outing. It could simply be a weekend dedicated to following some simple steps to connect with nature, meditate, review your life, and use the tools you’ll learn in this book to examine your life’s purpose. It can be a powerful and life-changing experience.

Throughout this book, I will also share some of my own experiences in my quest to find my purpose in life. I have not always been an avid meditator, at least not officially. Much of what held me back was a set of preconceived notions about meditation―what it is and what it isn’t. If I’d understood the vast variety of techniques, the benefits, and the bliss of meditating, I would have started much sooner.

The exercises in this book are so simple and effective that you will start seeing results quickly, even if you’ve avoided formal meditation until now. Don’t wait any longer. As you read this book, take the time to try the meditation exercises that you’ll find throughout the chapters.

Welcome to an important next step on your spiritual journey.

Simple Meditation- back cover
Simple Meditation- back cover

Table of Contents

Introduction 11

 1 – The Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How 15

Very Simple Meditation Exercise 16

 2 – Connecting with Nature 25

Tune into Nature Meditation 33

Nature Photo Visualization Meditation 34

 3 – Spiritual Connections 41

Relaxation Exercise 50

•     Past Life Meditation 51

 4 – We’re Connected to One Another Too 67

Connected to Others Meditation 75

Cooling-Down Visualization Meditation 81

Releasing Perfect Pictures 85

Improving Relationships Meditation  89

 5 – Grounding and Neutrality 91

Grounding Meditation 97

Grounding Your Environment 98

Staying Neutral Exercise 100

  6 – Running Your Energies 105

Exercise for Running Your Energies 107

Reading and Releasing Energies 109

Powerful Being of Light Visualization 111

 7 – Energy Healing 115

Performing the Healing 117

Simplified Healing 118

Healing Visualizations 120

 8 – Getting Answers 127

Connecting with Your Higher Self 129

Contacting Spirit Guides 131

Reading & Releasing Energy with a Rose 134

 9 – Walkabout or Vision Quest 141

Inspirational Venturing Out Exercise 145

Finding Your Path Meditation 151

10 – Transform Your Life 165

        Transform Your Life Meditation 169

Bibliography 175

Index 179

About the Author 185

Praise for Simple Meditation

“Curt Remington has written an inspiring book that goes far beyond the joyous benefits of meditation alone. Simple Meditation: A Spiritual Connection for Transforming Your Life will assist you in experiencing the direct divine connection that is your birthright—right here, right now—within your everyday reality. The insights offered in this beautiful and transformative book will propel you onward and upward on your path!” ~Annie Burnside, author of Soul to Soul Parenting

 

“Curt, your nature photography is absolutely stunning and your meditations simply wonderful. How lovely that you have combined all of this beauty with your personal journey and translated it into book form to help others. You are a gift to the world. I cannot wait for your new book to come out. Wishing you and your readers so much love, peace, joy, beauty and Spirit all around. Namaste.” ~Lori Boatman, author of  Reannce and the Fifth Dimension

 

“Brilliant insights about blending the spiritual practices of life with heart, nature and the sciences. Provides matter of fact, simple steps to improve you health and happiness. Awesome!” ~Joy Gilfelen, president of Uniting Creatives and producer of Flipping the Joy Switch dvd

 

“You are an excellent writer, the best I’ve had all year. It was a great pleasure to work on your manuscript.” ~Arlene Prunkl, PenUltimate Editorial Services

“Through meditation, you can learn to think more clearly, work more efficiently and let go of stress. Whatever form your practice takes, let it be a part of your daily life. It is time well spent and the rewards are limitless.” ~Dawn Groves, author of Meditation for Busy People

 

“As Curt describes in this book, a vision quest trip can be a life-changing experience.” ~Darcy Ottey, executive director of  Rite of Passage Journeys

Simple Meditation is now available through your local bookstore or online at a variety of sources, including Meditation Resources,  and Amazon. It is also available as a Kindle eBook for Kindle, iPad, Blackberry or your computer.

The Zen of Nature Photography

The Benefits of Nature and Photography

by Curt Remington

Spending time in nature, keenly aware of your environment, can give you a whole new perspective on life. You might get caught up in a stunningly beautiful scene or the details of a flower or bug. If you go out in pursuit of nature photography, you’re likely to pay more attention to the details. As a bonus, you can capture an image to experience and share again and again.

Dragonfly on Flowers

Dragonfly on Flowers

Arctic Wolf

Arctic Wolf

I had a new perspective, after a day at the Vancouver, BC Zoo, which is spread out and more like a wild animal park. I visited on midweek, in the middle of winter and saw only a handful of other visitors. At the Arctic Wolf display, the dominant wolf walked laps around the enclosure. Once he noticed me, he walked over and looked up, holding my gaze. I felt an incredible connection, as we psychically communicated. He posed for a few pictures, then trotted 50 feet away and began howling. Soon, the other Arctic Wolves joined in. Shortly after that, another group of wolves (Vancouver Island Wolves) joined in the chorus from a quarter mile away. They all continued with their song, as if they were sharing their love and longing for the outdoors, especially the wild places. Not only did I have an incredibly memorable moment, but I got some great pictures, one of which is on the back of my business card.

Howling Arctic Wolf

Howling Arctic Wolf

Spending time seeking photos in nature is a wonderful form of mindfulness or meditation, which basically means to reach a calm state as you find something in the present to gently focus on, letting all those other thoughts go. This can help you relax, think more clearly, let go of stress, improve your health, have fun and create artistic photos. With all those benefits, you’d think everyone would be outdoors with their camera.

Of course, you can get a lot of these benefits by just going out and tuning into the details of nature. But, if you do so with a camera in hand, it may be a more focused experience, and you can come home with beautiful images.

With a camera you may work harder to find beautiful places and go when the lighting is best. Early or late in the day tends to have warm, soft light and saturated colors. Mid-day light can be harsh with washed out colors and difficult highlights and shadows. It also makes people squint.  The soft diffused light of a partly cloudy day works well for people, flowers, wildlife and many other subject’s. If you find a good subject, consider returning when the lighting is ideal. Sitting and waiting patiently for the changing light of a sunset can pay off in the meditative state you reach and in the images you capture.

Matia Island Dock, Washington

Matia Island Dock, Washington

Composition can dramatically affect a picture’s impact. Simple is usually better, so try zooming or changing angles to eliminate clutter. Be sure to scan the viewfinder for unwanted items and to check that the horizon is level, especially with pictures of water. Some pictures look best in a vertical format, so try turning the camera sideways.

Balance is an important element of composition, one which I look for in nature when taking pictures. In the photo of the dock and island, the two subjects balance each other. That photo is also an example of the rule-of-thirds. By placing your subject(s) a third of the way over from center, and a third of the way up, you have a more dynamic picture. When you offset your subject, your eye tends to travel around the picture.

Park Butte Trail, Washington

Park Butte Trail, Washington

To add depth to a picture, you can include foreground details. A path, road or creek that lead your eye into a picture also give a sense of depth. This is especially effective if you find one with s-bends.

Father & Son at Sunset

Father & Son at Sunset

The absolutely best pictures capture a feeling or tell a story, so watch for such opportunities. Pictures of people or animals work well for this.

There are great subjects for pictures all around us. If we pay close attention to our environment, we can find beautiful pictures that we might have walked right by. You might get creative and try a close-up of pebbles or insects, maybe try night photography, clouds or fascinating patterns. And of course, there’s landscapes, seascapes, wildlife and flowers.

As to gear, there are a lot of good cameras out there, depending on your needs. If you’re not making big enlargements, a point and shoot digital might be best. They’re very compact and lightweight. I carry heavier Nikon digital single lens reflex gear, like the Nikon d5100, with an 18-200 lensKenrockwell.com has excellent reviews on a variety of cameras and lenses. Digital editing software, like Photoshop, can vastly improve photos. You can adjust contrast or color, darken a sky, sharpen a photo or remove imperfections. There is reasonably good software on the internet for free.

The best piece of advice is carry a camera often. The more pictures you shoot, the more instinctive it becomes. This makes it easier to let go of your thoughts and really get into the moment. Using some simple techniques, you may come home with some spectacular photos. Please be sure to visit my photo gallery for picture ideas.