TOUCH THE EARTH

Connect With Nature

VOLUNTEERING AT NIRVANA WELLBEING RETREAT

Celebrate your connection with the natural world with time in the garden.

Nature is autonomous. She lives, moves and grows without us being involved.
Almost everything that happens on our planet can happen without us being involved.
The trees will continue growing.
Animals and plants will continue breathing.
The grass in your garden, the shrubs in your neighbourhood, the mountains, the ocean, the food we eat: everything is and comes from nature.
And this is what ultimately connects us with our core.
Run some earth through your fingers.
Mix some leaves and twigs in the soil.
Think about what went into that branch, that leaf, the soil.
The leaf came off a tree, that needed soil, water to grow.
The wind blows through her connecting branches and her face touched the sun every day.
The tree needs the sun and the wind,
and everything that connects our entire planetary system to live.
It's as if you are touching a whole system, feeling it, observing it, understanding it, loving your relationship with nature.

It has been proven that there are numerous physical, mental, and emotional benefits from being in nature. It calms your nervous system, reduces stress, and boosts your immune system. Being in nature is a wonderful place to connect to your present moment experience in an expansive mindful way. The beautiful sights, sounds, and smells of nature provide many opportunities to practice mindfulness. It is a real gift to appreciate these in a mindful peaceful way. Proactive relationships, conversation, and experience with the natural world are truly transforming and healing.

Touch the Earth is a volunteer program that runs every Saturday of a scheduled retreat. (Find retreat dates here.)

Volunteers participate for an average 4-hour period in the garden. The day includes complimentary vegetarian lunch and Yoga Nidra. 

8:30 am - 12:30 pm + Lunch + Nidra

Cost: FREE

ALL ARE WELCOME. 

Please register before attending.
(07) 5531 0511 (Southport Office) or book@nirvanawellbeingretreat.com.au

Reminder:
Nirvana is a drug-free and alcohol-free, non-smoking, vegetarian sanctuary. We ask that you respect this.

  • SMELL
    There is always so much below the ground as there is above it. Walk through the garden, and pick and gently rub the fragrant leaves of some aromatics between your fingers and enjoy the fragrances. Rosemary, lavender, thyme, parsley, pineapple sage, several varieties of mint, coriander, Lilly Pillys, and even weeds such as Camphor Laurels can be appreciated for their aromatics. The leaves decorate the forest ground. Something in the earth’s scents commands the air.
  • LOOK UP
    What hovers right above you? What floats over your head right now? Take the time to notice the life in the forest canopy, the butterflies dancing, the vines intricately laced up among the branches and cobwebs, the way the sunlight trickles through the leaves, the birds… and the trees watching you.
  • SOUND
    Be silent. Sit still, close your eyes and listen to the chorus of living wood singing, bird calls, cicadas, the wind’s gossip, and forest talk which runs far afield. Don’t try to identify anything, just enjoy the changes in pitch, volume, and tones. Trees even further away join in. They listen to you. They hear you.
  • TOUCH
    Enjoy the love that is emitted by the tactile sensations of touching the different textures of native leaves that vary in their leatheriness, roughness, velvetiness, moisture, and so on. The air rains messages. Obviously, stinging plants are excluded here for good reason.
  • SWITCH OFF
    Turn off. Instead of noticing weeds that need to be pulled out, garden beds that need to be planted, and evidence of erosion and damage, take a step back and appreciate the beauty of nature without a critical eye.
  • DRAW
    Take some photos that you can sketch later on in the evening.

The earth is a living, conscious being. We call space, air, fire, water and earth sacred because nothing can live without them. To honour the sacred is to make life and love possible. 

Nirvana Wellbeing Retreat News

Live well. Get well. Be well. At Nirvana.