The following is an excerpt from my forthcoming book, Becoming Nature: Learning the Language of Wild Animals and Plants, scheduled to be released this upcoming spring with Inner Traditions.
When we Become Nature, we are at-one with our surroundings. We move among the animals and plants as if the forest were our home. Our sense of awareness comes from knowing ourselves as one part of an already-existing whole. There is no need for reaction or fear, as we are immersed in the flow of the life around us—we are in relationship rather than in tourist mode.
Yet if I were to walk down an unfamiliar city street at night, I’d be on alert. Everything would be unfamiliar and I wouldn’t have a relationship with those who live there. All I’d know about this city would be from the news reports of its decay and crime rate—secondhand knowledge that would have instilled fear in me. I’d peer into the shadows and tense up with every noise I heard.
Someone who had grown up in this neighborhood would likely be more at ease than me. She’d have relationships with those who lived here, and she’d be familiar with its sights and sounds. She’d know what constitutes a real threat, as opposed my imagined ones based on my fear of the unknown.
Whether we grew up in the city or in the wilds, it would be natural for us to base our perception of reality on our experiences, and on the beliefs we were taught. Beliefs can lead to prejudice and fear, which keeps us in ego-rational-mind consciousness. Although the ego mind can serve us well by keeping us safe, our ability to Become Nature is hindered when we keep ourselves separate from our surroundings.