Video and Audio

Opening My Heart to the Flow of Nature

Nayaswami Ananta
February 11, 2014

By listening and watching in the stillness of meditation with love, Nayaswami Ananta, founding member of Ananda and Ananda Farm, opens his heart to the flow of nature and Spirit.

Transcript

Nayaswami Ananta

Meditating Benefits and Joyful Pastimes

My favorite quote about plants is from Luther Burbank, who said that the secret of improved plant breeding (apart from scientific knowledge) is love.

I've been meditating for over 40 years, and I meditate twice a day. I always meditate before I come to work on the farm. Meditation is a time each day where I stop thinking and rest in the Spirit. I watch and listen to the Inner World, which is the connection to the great flow of nature, the flow of Spirit.

So I meditate because it's a big help in being sensitive to the rhythms of the farm. I think that connection with the plants is really important. And I think meditation is a major exercise in keeping the heart open. Not carrying over day by day, week by week, the emotional play that is human existence.

Meditation has become a very enjoyable pastime. I would probably do it even if it didn't help me because it's fun. I think it's important to come to work with the heart open, ready to feel and enjoy the wonder of 10 acres of plants, trees, and fruits, whether they're blossoming or getting rained on, or just shimmering in the sun. I think it's important to be in that place. I like to be in that place every day.