What experiences help us connect with nature and understand our bodies?

You can walk in a park, look at flowers and trees, relax your breathing, and sense your relationship with the surroundings. I have experienced the energy of the earth and Earth Mother this way. That is my religious experience, not a feeling everyone must share.

The body changes too. When young, you may recover quickly from staying up late; with age, recovery may take longer. Having managed something before does not mean you can continue indefinitely now.

In discussing the Dao following nature through daily life, I hope people understand patterns and observe their present condition, instead of imagining today’s body only through past abilities. Closeness to nature is not a guaranteed cure. It offers a chance to become quiet and understand what is happening now.

When leading a spirit-led dance group early on, I once repeatedly played the same simple music while requesting the Supreme Earth Mother on everyone’s behalf. Yet the atmosphere I felt resembled spring, summer, autumn, and winter: life stirring in the soil, everything growing, then gradually gathering inward and becoming quiet. The music stayed the same while the feelings changed, which moved me deeply.

This brought to mind the earth’s changing seasons and life’s growth and decline. That was an insight in practice. Through plants, wind, and land, you too can gradually explore nature’s relationship with your own life, rather than only remember something I said.