Later this morning I will be heading into the nearby mountains for my run. Sometimes when I am running on these trails I have to stop and enjoy the beauty and feel the sacredness. My church going time is spent in nature. The forests of the Pacific Northwest seem like the greatest Cathedrals there are on the planet. The Redwood forests are also incredible sacred and beautiful places to contemplate, pray and give thanks.

The trees and nature I will visit today inspire awe and wonder in me and always remind me to feel grateful. Standing on a beautiful vista, walking along a whispering stream, sitting on a bluff overlooking the ocean, hiking a trail surrounded by beautiful landscape all stir in me a greater sense of spirit.

When I stop and breathe in the scents, the fresh air, see the colors, shapes and exquisiteness of all I sometimes tear up in appreciation. Just to feel the touch of nature leaves me expanded as if I have stepped into a unifying field where the deep endless connection of all things is unquestionable.

What places in nature near you do you wander through and get an opportunity to be revitalized? Do you feel the sacredness of these places? I have been in many of the most amazing Cathedrals here in America and in Europe and all though they feel holy, they at best only equal the powerfully uplifting affects of nature’s holy places of forest, streams, mountains, open spaces and oceans.

You are invited to explore nature this weekend. Take the time to appreciate the place you go to and while doing so feel your body being alive and resonating with that space. Then tune in and feel your inner vibrations and notice how these vibrations align with the gentle buzz of the forests, the twinkle of the stars, the inhale and exhale of the waves, the hum of the stream and know that whatever is Divine is flowing through you and all of life.