Happiness Break: Experience Nature Wherever You Are, with Dacher (Encore)

Just a few moments of tuning into nature can make you feel more inspired, connected, and less lonely. Let us guide you through a five-minute noticing nature practice — you don't even have to leave your neighborhood.

Link to episode transcript: https://tinyurl.com/aj34s585

How to Do This Practice:

1. Find somewhere where you can focus on the natural environment, like your backyard.
2. Take a few slow, deep breaths. Close your eyes or soften your gaze.
3. Notice your belly and chest rise and fall as you breathe. Note the physical sensations of your breath.
4. If you closed your eyes, open them. Let your breath fall into its natural rhythm.
5. Look around you and let your eyes wander slowly through your surroundings: the plants, animals, and bugs.
6. Let yourself be curious about anything that catches your eye and moves you. Rest your awareness there. Pause to appreciate it, and let it hold your attention for a few moments.
7. Turn your awareness to your emotions. How are you feeling? When something you see evokes an emotion, take a mental photo of it. What about it captivated you? What did it make you feel?
8. Write that down in just a few words or sentences, or make a mental note of it. Let your gaze wander again whenever you’re ready, repeating these steps.

Today’s Happiness Break host:

Dacher Keltner is the host of the Greater Good Science Center’s award-winning podcast, The Science of Happiness and is a co-instructor of the GGSC’s popular online course of the same name. He’s also the founding director of the GGSC and a professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley.

If you enjoyed this Happiness Break, you may also like these Happiness Breaks:

Feeling the Awe of Nature From Anywhere, With Dacher: https://tinyurl.com/y4mm4wu9

How to Ground Yourself: https://tinyurl.com/2wv69kws

Check out these episodes of The Science of Happiness

Walk Outside with Inside Out’s Pete Docter: https://tinyurl.com/23vpuj8j

Why We Should Look up at the Sky: https://tinyurl.com/mpn9vj2t

How Birdsong Can Help Your Mental Health: https://tinyurl.com/3tey4rb5

Tell us about your nature experience! Direct message us or leave a comment on Instagram @scienceofhappinesspod. You can also e-mail us at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or use the hashtag #happinesspod.

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