The Intersection of Nature Awareness and Spirituality
How the Senses Become the Gateway to the Sacred
Two Paths That Meet at the Same Trailhead
Two areas I return to again and again are:
Nature awareness,
Spirituality and the unseen world,
At first glance, these may appear to be separate trails. One teaches us how to observe the patterns of birds, wind, and weather. The other invites us to explore intuition, dreams, and our relationship to the Creator.
But the longer I walk in awareness, the more I see how these two paths are really one. Nature awareness, when practiced with reverence, awakens something ancient within us. It finetunes the senses, and those senses, when fully alive, become the very tools we need to see into the sacred.
This article is about that intersection. About how slowing down and paying attention doesn’t just keep us safe or informed. It opens the door to the holy.
Awareness Is a Spiritual Discipline
Let’s begin with a simple truth:
Awareness changes you.
It is not a neutral act. When you learn to notice the wind shifting direction or the sudden silence of birds or the way light softens before a storm, you’re not just gathering data. You’re stepping into a relationship with the living world.
And relationship is the root of all spirituality.
In the old ways, awareness wasn’t just a skill for hunters or gatherers. It was a way of staying in conversation with Creation. Every footprint in the snow, every flick of a deer’s ear, every breeze carried a message. Not metaphorically literally.
So the first truth is this:
Nature awareness is a doorway to the sacred.
But not the kind you find in stained glass windows. This sacred breathes. It watches. It waits for you to notice
The Supernatural Is Natural If You’re Paying Attention
When I speak of the supernatural, I don’t mean ghosts or fantasy. I mean the deeper, subtler layer of life which our ancestors simply called Spirit.
It’s the sense of being watched in a silent forest, but not in fear. It’s the dream that answers a question you never spoke aloud. It’s the deep knowing that rises from your gut before your mind can catch up.
These aren’t superhuman powers. They are original human abilities. Our birthright as humans.
Your body is wired to notice things modern culture has trained us to ignore. When you spend time on the land with intention, your senses recalibrate. The world quiets. The finer frequencies begin to hum.
Call it intuition, sixth sense, or gut feeling. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that it’s real and it’s a skill you can remember.
Ancient Skills Modern Soulwork
Many spiritual traditions speak of cleansing the doors of perception. That’s exactly what nature does, one sense at a time.
The scouts, healers, and seers of old didn’t just know the land. They listened to it. They fasted, they prayed, they watched with stillness. They didn’t separate survival skills from spiritual ones. Tracking a deer and tracking a dream were two sides of the same coin.
That brings us to a key practice in this path:
Inner Tracking
Inner tracking is the art of following your thoughts, emotions, and dreams, the same way you’d follow animal tracks in the mud, or across a snowy meadow.
It asks questions like:
What am I feeling right now
Where did that feeling come from
What is it pointing me toward
By learning to read the outer signs in nature, you sharpen the tools needed to read the signs within. This isn’t metaphor. It’s method.
The Bridge Between the Seen and Unseen
Here’s how I like to frame it:
Nature awareness sharpens your ability to see the visible.
Spiritual practice sharpens your ability to sense the invisible.
And the bridge between the two is attention.
Attention is sacred. It is the currency of presence. Where you place your attention determines what becomes real to you.
Try this the next time you’re out on the land:
Sit quietly without expectation.
Let your breath sync with the wind.
Soften your eyes and listen with your whole body.
Ask silently, “What am I not seeing?”.
Then wait….
You may feel nothing. Or……
You may feel a subtle presence rise around you. You may hear something without sound. You may receive a wordless answer.
That’s the mystery.
And that’s the gift.
Practicing Reverence in Everyday Life
You don’t need to be a spiritualist, shaman, or wilderness expert to walk this path. You only need to be willing.
Willing to listen.
Willing to slow down.
Willing to believe even for a moment that the forest is speaking to you.
Because it is.
Nature awareness isn’t just about paying attention.
It’s about paying respect, offering gratitude.
It says:
I am not above this world.
I belong to it.
I am not alone.
I am in communion with wind, water, wing, and root.
That’s real spirituality!
Returning to the Sacred Conversation
So the next time you step outside, don’t just look.
See.
Don’t just walk.
Listen.
Let your senses become the gateway. Let awareness pull you back into the sacred conversation between Earth and Spirit.
It’s not far.
It never was.
The deeper I go into the old ways, the more clearly I see this truth:
The supernatural isn’t out there.
It’s right here.
In the rustle of leaves.
In the rhythm of your breath.
In the knowing that rises when you slow down enough to listen.
And in that stillness, we remember who we are.
