Wild Spirituality
...all things unto me are spiritual… -D&C 28:9a Practices for Sacred Connection with Creation
Explore spiritual practices that help us slow down, pay attention, and reconnect with the sacredness of creation.
These practices are rooted in wild spirituality, and teach us how time in nature can deepen our awareness of God’s presence.
Try out the simple practices for yourself—using your senses, imagination, and attention—to engage with the more-than-human world.
These practices can be adapted for a variety of settings, from a wilderness trail to a neighborhood park or your own backyard. Come ready to explore, listen, and discover what creation might have to teach us.
Practices for Sacred Connection with Creation
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Reading a Tree
Look for a tree. Approach slowly and see if you can feel its energy. It is alive, just like you! We are all part of the interconnected web of creation.
Ask the tree, “May I approach?” If it feels off, go and find another tree.
When it feels right, walk closer. Closely examine the bark, and place your hands upon it. What do you feel? What do you see? What do you smell? Listen for any sounds in the rustling leaves of its canopy. Inspect a leaf very closely. Then, if you are able, get down low next to the roots.
How is this tree like you? Does the tree tell you anything?
Do you feel the Divine?
“…the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.”
R E V E L AT I O N 2 2 : 2
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Remove your Shoes
We usually think of ourselves as being in an ordinary world: this simple act of walking barefoot grounds us in a sacred reality.
It is vulnerable. It is honest. It is liberating.
As you walk without shoes, how does it feel different? What do you notice? Do your feet adapt over time?
Wiggle your toes, and imagine you are sending roots deep into the soil. Give your feet permission to relax. Let that relaxation spread upward: imagine peace moving up your legs into your hips and stomach and chest, into your shoulders and arms and head.
Be grounded in the peace of God.
“…Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”
E X O D U S 3 : 5
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Full Body Grounding
Lie down on the grass, on your back.
Stretch out your arms and legs.
Be still and breathe.
What do you feel? What do you see?
Watch the clouds in the sky. If any birds fly overhead, greet them.
If you’re lying beneath trees, take in how the canopy of leaves sways in the wind.
Ask the sky to heal you.
Ask the trees to heal you.
Breathe in their peace, breathe out whatever pain you carry.
God is healing you.
“But ask the animals, and they will teach you, the birds of the air, and they will tell you; ask the plants of the earth, and they will teach you, and the fish of the sea will declare to you.”
J O B 1 2 : 7 – 8
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Walk a Wild Garden
Find a wild garden or trail, like the rooftop prairie garden near the Temple labyrinth. Slowly walk and observe. Gently touch one or more of the plants. Breathe deeply. What do you smell? Imagine how this garden might look at your home. Reflect on how a garden is where nature and humanity meet. Gardens are tended and cultivated but long to be wild. A wild garden shows deliberate, careful, but minimal human input. Long grass is not ugly, but it lets the Spirit breathe, creating space for birds and insects. Native plants abound here, with no chemicals to pollute the soil. What does this wild garden tell you?
God walks here.
“They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze…”
G E N E S I S 3 : 8