The beauty of our world and it's healing properties

Any time I am feeling stressed, even before I was more aware of the world and the workings of the divine, all I had to do to find some peace was sit surrounded by plants. I have always used the energy of growing things to relieve stress and find calm. Have you ever noticed that after sitting on the beach and absorbing the calming and peaceful energy of the waves, things seem clearer and you feel more relaxed? This is the power of the world we live in. It is dynamic and growing and beautiful, even in her fury, mother nature inspires awe.

When I really feel overwhelmed by the events surrounding me or situations I seem to allow myself to get tangled in, then A short respite amongst the trees always restores me.

We are so incredibly lucky here in Australia to have every type of climate and landscape at our fingertips. Here in North Queensland I only have a short drive to be at the water's edge on a beach, or a short trip in the opposite direction to be sitting amongst the rainforest's or scrub.

There have been times though that I have been mired in the midst of a busy city where nature seems so very far away and I don't have the time to just go for a drive for a few hours to find the peace nature inevitably brings. Because of this, I began a life long habit of creating my own mini-environment. I mostly grow food plants and herbs (this is because I love cooking) however I have also used flowering plants and non-edible plants as well. It may be as simple as a heap of pots on a balcony, or a small vegetable garden outside the backdoor of a townhouse. No matter where I am living, I try to create a plant haven for relaxing and relieving the stress of my day when I need to.

Inside pot plants will work as well.

I think this is quite possibly one of the reasons the colour green represents healing to me. I have always found that surrounding myself with green, growing things has been soothing and calming...smile.

The next time you are feeling strung out and overwhelmed by negative energies or aspects of your life, try enlisting the help of mother nature to relive your stress and help you find a calm peace. Sit surrounded by green or moving water (preferably with your feet and hands both on the earth and visualise all those feelings just leaving your body and going into the ground through your feet and hands. Draw deep breaths from your belly in order to fill your lungs to capacity. Imagine those breaths are drawing in the healing quality of the air, the fresh oxygen produced by the plants and helping to push negative energies out through your hands and feet. You can also visualise strength from the very bones of the earth filling you up. This is a process I call grounding and I use it often to restore my balance and perspective.