International Forest Day Live Impro session on Zoom
The first Contemplation of Nature Zoom session took place on Saturday, 21st March 2026, on International Forest Day. 76 people gathered across geographies to sit together; not in a forest, but to contemplate nature through an accessible, open-eyed meditation.
It was simple in form. A shared Zoom space, a gentle guiding voice, and the low, resonant presence of double bass. A temporary ecology of care, held between sound, attention, and the more-than-human world. The session opened with live music, followed by a minute’s silence for the immense unfairness and suffering taking place in the world at this moment. A short haiku marked the convergence of the Spring Equinox, Eid, the end of Ramadan, Nowruz, the Iranian New Year, and Navratri; a celebration of the Divine Feminine.
Our hosts were ecologist Ajay Rastogi and double bass musician Paul Erhard. Ajay Rastogi is an ecologist and founder of The Foundation for the Contemplation of Nature, based at the foothills of the Himalayas in India (foundnature.org). Paul Erhard is Professor Emeritus of Double Bass at the University of Colorado and has been playing since the age of 12 (timeartspaceart.com).
There was no demand to close the eyes. Instead, the invitation was to remain connected with the visible; to soften the gaze and allow attention to rest on what is already here. For some, this was unfamiliar, but the response was positive. The music carried the session; words and double bass moving together. Paul’s improvisation, in response to Ajay’s voice, was emotional, but also restrained and grounded.
The session moved between spoken word, silence, and improvised music; at times voice alone, with space to breathe. The meditation felt like more than a mindfulness technique. It felt relational; between each other, the nature we brought into attention, and the shared act of sitting together.
The meditation itself lasted around 30 minutes. Afterwards, participants were invited to share a few words in the chat about how they felt.
Many spoke of calm and warmth. A settling. A sense of being more grounded and centred. For some, it felt like a reset; the nervous system finding its way back to ease. Others described a softening. The mind felt less tight; awareness opening rather than narrowing. A few named a kind of emptiness; not absence, but spaciousness. A fullness that did not need to be filled.
The word connection appeared again and again. Connection to nature, even through a screen. Connection to something shared; a field rather than an individual experience. Some said simply that they felt part of nature again; not observing it, but within it. There were small, precise moments too. Someone noticing an antler. Someone feeling held. Someone arriving at a sense of home without needing to define where that was.
Gratitude moved through many responses; sometimes quiet, sometimes overflowing. People felt touched in ways they had not expected. The combination of music and meditation seemed to open something gently; grounding without force. One person spoke of a deeper appreciation for the natural world, as if stopping allows reality, and its beauty, to come forward.
There was also curiosity. The open-eye practice stood out; unfamiliar, but accessible. Not something to master, but something as simple as resting. No performance, no need to be perfect. And alongside this, a practical observation; some felt the session could have been longer. As it ended, people did not immediately leave. They stayed, sitting together a little longer in shared reflection.
This first session was not a finished form. It was an improvised beginning. What is taking shape is a small ecology of collective attention; somewhere between practice, spoken word, music, and ecological awareness. Light enough to enter, but grounded enough to hold.
It is possible, even through a screen. That is reason enough to continue.
Reflections in the chat:
Calm, joyful, grateful
Soft, still, easeful
Connected, calm, reset
Relaxed, refreshed, renewed
Centred, grounded
Warm, calm, soft
Balanced and grateful
Peaceful, calm, thankful
At ease
Refreshed and thankful
Reflective
A little softer
Empty, in a spacious way
Flowing; rich, full and empty at once
Energetic yet settled
Soul-soothing
Happy, grateful, blessed
Appreciative; a sense of arrival
Feeling part of nature
Connected to nature in a direct way
Inspired by small details; even an antler, even the near-at-hand
Contained, held
Grateful and connected; many feelings at once
Loved and grateful
Home
Deeply touched by the experience; more than expected
Grounded and softened; mind quieter, attention more open
A deepened appreciation for the natural world
Grateful to have been invited into the experience
A few threads emerged from the responses:
The combination of music and voice created a distinct texture; grounding without being heavy or difficult to “do”
Open-eye nature meditation felt fresh and new and unexpectedly accessible
The pace allowed for settling, though some wanted more time to deepen
The experience of connection; to nature, to self, to a shared field
If you would like to join the next meditation please watch this space….
We hope you enjoy practicing! Most of us spend our days surrounded by screens, walls, notifications, and noise. Yet just outside the door there is another world quietly continuing; clouds drifting, leaves moving, water reflecting the sky.
Ecologist Ajay Rastogi has developed a meditation called the Contemplation of Nature that he has introduced to people around the world. It is a simple meditation practice that begins in the here and now, with what is in front of you – regardless of where you are.
The Contemplation of Nature introduces an easy and accessible eyes open meditation technique to help us cope with the stresses of everyday life our move towards greater inner resilience.
Instead of closing your eyes, this method invites us to rest our attention on something in front of us that brings our attention back to Nature; a tree, a stone, a plant, a leaf, or a stretch of sky. You simply notice what is already present.
For many people, this small shift makes meditation feel natural again. Traditional meditation instructions often ask us to close our eyes, and observe our thoughts. For some people this works well, but for many others the mind does not respond kindly to being forced into darkness; Intrusive thoughts can appear, or unpleasant memories, or even visual patterns that can lead to a feeling of vertigo. The body becomes restless and focusses on physical pain. Attention jumps around and can move towards panic.
This is especially common for people who are living with trauma, grief, neurodivergence, or who are highly sensitive (HSP).
The mind wants something to look at. It is naturally curious about the world around it. So focussing on something “real” can help calm the nervous system. The Contemplation of Nature works with this tendency rather than against it.
Instead of withdrawing attention from the world, the practice allows the living world to become the anchor for awareness- and when you can do this for a sustained length of time, the nervous system calms down and other physiological things happen that bring a spaciousness to the mind. When this happens, the mind can move from the never ending loop of reactive thoughts, to deeper and more authentic insights about reality.
All you do is sit quietly and observe something from nature; perhaps a tree, water, clouds, or a single leaf. With a soft gaze you notice colours, textures, movement, and light. When the mind wanders, you gently return to what is in front of you, considering how everything in the world is interconnected, and interdependent.
Over time this quiet attention allows the nervous system to settle. Research into the relaxation response suggests that when the mind rests in calm awareness, the body begins to regulate breathing, heart rate, and other physiological processes more effectively.
You create a way of noticing that is calm, open, and kind; both toward the world and toward ourselves.
Perhaps most importantly, the practice reminds us of something easy to forget. We are not separate from nature. We are part of the same living system. Sometimes all it takes is a moment of rest and quiet observation to remember this.
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Attached are two zines for you to download. One is black & white for home printing on both sides of two A4 sheets of paper. The other is in colour for digital use and sharing.