Being Outdoors and Hope?

Posted on February 14, 2021 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

The second most snow on Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea since record keeping started

Good Evening, God

So….I had just started to do my Centering Prayer this afternoon when I realized that I hadn’t put down my Earthing Mat. The idea is that Earthing Mats connect us to the earth — with her negative charge — and help us rebalance our body’s electrical charge. I like the idea. But, I haven’t ever noticed anything when I do this. However, this afternoon, right after I put my feet on the mat, I noticed an upwelling of HOPE!

HOPE? I had never considered that a lack of hope might be partially a result of a deficiency of outdoor time!!! A brand new idea! And a FUN one. What might be related? I considered the idea of Seasonal Affective Disorder. My mother suffered from depression linked to living in low sunlight regions — like the years we lived in the fog bank south of San Francisco. She clearly needed the benefits from sunlight.

Then there is this new idea — about the benefits of Forest Bathing. This practice started in Japan in 1982 and was intended to reduce the stress level in the general population. I haven’t tried it. But, when my wonderful husband, Kit, and I go for a walk up our valley, we do feel better afterwards. And we aren’t even practicing mindful sensory awareness — I just take photos of beautiful flowers, etc.

Another clue? Kit said that when he attended Punahou — from four year old kindergarten on — all the students had to go barefoot until the seventh grade. Hmm. I wonder what the school knew? I alway gave poi the credit for Kit’s wonderfully strong feet, bones, and teeth. But who knows? Maybe going barefoot helped too?

I do have one tiny bit of research. This is from Explore magazine: Integrative and lifestyle medicine strategies should include Earthing (grounding): Review of research evidence and clinical observations. Cimone Kamei, who is our acupuncturist, was one of the research participants. And they have photos showing better circulation after earthing.

I just wanted to say THANK YOU, God! I feel that new perspectives are really good for my brain. And why not PLAY with ideas!