Living Simply and Identical with Nature
Margaret Schenkman, July 28, 2021
Adapted from an article published in the April, 2021 issue of Heartfulness Magazine
The fourth principle of Heartfulness states: Be plain and simple to be identical with nature. I puzzled over this Principle for a long time. What did it mean to be identical with nature? When I first started thinking about this principle years ago, I needed to renovate my garage and I wondered ‘Does that mean I can’t / shouldn’t put in an automatic door opener”? I didn’t think that was what this principle was suggesting, any more than that I should live in a tent in the woods. But I wasn’t entirely sure.
I had always been attracted to nature. Growing up, I loved being outdoors – rolling in the grass, climbing trees, even playing in the mud. When I was about six, my brothers and I tried to dig to China – what a mess that created! When I was about 13, my family moved to a small farm where we grew almost all of our food. I milked cows, raised sheep, and worked in the gardens. I spent hours outdoors, learning to recognize the different trees by their leaves as well as the flowers and insects that inhabited the farm. As years passed, I became an avid hiker, often hiking barefoot; because I loved the feel of the earth. All in all, I could have described myself as a nature lover. Despite my love for nature, I didn’t have a clue what it meant to live in such a way as to be identical with nature.
Over time, I realized there is an ‘internal nature’ that was different than the ‘external nature which I had so loved. The exploration of my ‘internal nature’ has led me on a fascinating inner exploration. Through experiencing this spiritual journey and reading what my teachers have said, I have begun to appreciate the role of vibrations in nature, the relationship between nature and vibrations, and the manner in which together they can lead to ‘oneness’ amongst all people. I have come to appreciate that it is through one’s vibratory state that one can be simple and identical with nature. And further, I recognized that to be in tune with that vibratory state requires a lot of internal work – getting beyond all the vibrations that daily life in the 21st century entails.
This idea of a vibratory state was alien to me when I first began exploring my inner nature. Gradually I came to notice that the vibratory state can be appreciated when one walks into a room in which people have been arguing – many can feel the heaviness that the vibrations create on the atmosphere of the room. Think of the familiar adage ‘You could cut the tension with a knife’. Conversely, when one walks into the home of someone who lives a peaceful lifestyle, many feel that peace pervades. Whether one is aware of another person’s state consciously or unconsciously, that awareness it is there.
The philosophy behind Heartfulness Meditation, and indeed behind all spiritual meditation, practices comes from an understanding of our ‘original state’ as one of a very pure vibration, that gradually became more and more dense with heavier and heavier vibrations. Our likes and dislikes bring heaviness to our vibratory state, along with other tendencies such as prejudices, anger, fear, and jealousy. I began to understand that if I wanted to be identical with Nature, somehow I needed to lessen my desires so that my vibratory state came closer and closer to that of Nature. I needed to let go of anger, prejudice, fear, jealousy ….
Over the years of my spiritual journey I have begun to see that I make choices every day, some of which lead me further away from Nature, and some of which allow me to flow in a natural way. When I observe the unfolding over years, I can see that those choices that lead me away from Nature make my life even more complicated. I can almost always get what I ‘want’ if I try hard enough. For example, in my teens my brother had taken up working in gold. He made some lovely earrings and a pendant for my mother. I was jealous and desperately wanted him to make something for me. He had made a small figurine of a man playing the violin – small enough to wear on a chain around the neck. I badgered him until he gave it to me. To this day, I have it but can’t wear it – perhaps in shame at having insisted that he give it to me. (I asked him to take it back many years later, but he would not). It is patently clear to me now how far away that behavior led me from Nature’s vibration.
Looking back on the incident of the pendant, it clearly was not directed by that higher vibration, but rather by a desire, originating from a world view created by my own mind. I can find instances throughout my life in which I powered through to get what I wanted, without considering whether it was what I needed; I can find a myriad of judgmental behaviors, of thoughtless acts. In each instance, I pursued that which was contrary to the subtle vibration of Nature. I can also find instances where my decisions appear to have been more in tune with Nature’s plan for me; decisions that led to actions which flowed easily and filled me with great satisfaction. My choice of career was one such decision. After many years of education in one direction, dictated by my parent’s choice or at least by their value system, I began a new course of study on what seemed like a whim but which actually took me in a natural direction for my aptitudes and interests. My parents were horrified at the choice. I have found over the years that when the improbable calls clearly, I should listen. It never lets me down. But here’s the dilemma – what is clearly? When am I hearing a vibration from my heart and when is it from my mind, my thought?
I have found through my spiritual journey that one way to truly hear the subtle vibration of the heart is to engage in each of the practices of Heartfulness meditation. Several aspects of the Heartfulness practice have helped me greatly: Meditation, Cleaning (or Rejuvenation), Cooperation, and Loss of Fear of ‘losing myself’.
First, the initial meditations with my spiritual teacher, who was himself deeply connected to this oneness, began to open an awareness of the vibrations of the heart. This connection with my heart helped me to develop an awareness of my inner nature. A second tool in the path to identicality with Nature is the process of cleaning or rejuvenation which helps to remove impressions created through the experience of living, the ‘letting go’ that I wrote about in the third blog in this series. By cleaning the impressions away each day, I am increasingly able to appreciate life’s experiences without the narrow perception of my ‘self’ and of the world in which I live. And, importantly, I can better connect with the vibration of Nature, within. The next critical component is cooperation and the related aspect of letting go of fear. These topics are so big and important that they will be the topic of a future blog.