Short Walks 1

June-July 2023

I used to take off walking in Tortolita out my front door, roaming, quietly immersing myself, my body bare. Sometimes my feet were also bare. My intention was to adjust the intensity of my experience. As they say, “when walking bare in a prickly desert, you’d better stay on your toes.”

Staying in the moment, using a full spectrum of the possible awarenesses, there being a necessity, is also extremely healthy. If I want to experience myself as a part of nature and of its natural influence on the body, my best is to be in this state. I want to come into these amplified senses and reactions of where this body evolved from.

To watch my body’s complexities of motion is fascinating to the point of becoming a prayer of gratitude in the wonder of it all. These bodies are amazing and to be mindful with them in each step, getting to know them, can be hours and hours of stunning entertainment. It is also integration and a path to a heightened consciousness, which I believe to be a more true state of our nature. My experience has told me that after the practice of these activities, and frequency, that these states can be brought back to my daily experience. I become a more balanced, whole and spiritual person. This was also explained to me as a path to enlightenment in India and also from what I know of many Buddhist practices. The body and life is experienced, but there is an observer, that which lacks attachment, just be here now.

Such emersions are also a great way to start a new day.   

During our White Mountain retreat, we would find ourselves wandering off from camp, into the forest. DF liked to walk off in the mornings by herself. She would say hello to the familiar trees, stand in a field, arms extended, just feeling it all. Sometimes the sun would warm her exposure like a lizard’s daily air-bath. Often, I might catch a glance of her standing nude, moving to the stretch and rhythm of her chi gong moves.

One morning, she takes a morning stroll before the sun gets buried in the grey overcast. Upon her return, she smiles and reports a patch of dainty yellow flowers at the base of a tree. Complementing the arrangement, she found this populated by a small troop of tiny orange butterflies. There are little miracles out here, to be stumbled upon and then, appreciated. This complex planet, when uninterrupted, often presents stunning natural jewels around each corner of its ecological world.

Fascinating are the small wonders. She was surprised to see reflections glisten on tree bark. They danced like reflected creek water on rock faces might. This time, the flutter of aspen tree leaves would dance beams of light, creating the movement of light on the pine trees below.

She reports that the white jawbone that we discovered on the first day, still lies at rest undisturbed.

It is a common familiarity that we share, like taking a walk and noting the neighborhood’s changes and happenings. Our neighborhood here however, is a wonderland of sight, smell, sound, feel, caress, and intuitive impressions of energy. Familiarity eventually brings a sense of belonging, a part of and an enthusiasm for this place.

This has been a simple morning, well spent.

I’ve written a series of shorts, beginning with this.

I am on the forum of FreeRangeNaturism.com often, if you would like to converse.

© The owners of TheFreeRangeNaturist.org as of the year 2015 declare. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to TheFreeRangeNaturist.org with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.