We Westerners live in a world that continues to keep us busy in a world of distractions and repetition. We get up every morning and have the same routine of listening to the news, having a healthy (hopefully) breakfast, drive the kids to school, go to work, buy groceries, purchase christmas gifts early, and so on. The list of things-to-do never ends.

When you go for a walk in nature or go camping with the family you immediately get a relaxed feeling. Instead of the internal chatter in the mind you’re able to relax and finally feel at ease. You can put your worries aside for a couple of days and feel like yourself again. In this relaxed state, it has been proven, is a space for healing and recovery from illness and disease.

The Indigenous World

As I sit with Indigenous people I realise how fast my mind was going. How many thoughts I had compared to them. How much I needed to DO all the time. White man’s world really trained my mind to go fast and focus on doing more and being better.

Now there’s another part of me that I really enjoy and that’s when I sit in a state of silence. I became familiar with this state when I was a little girl – I would sit in nature quietly and then heard these amazing voices in my head. These voices always offered wisdom and feelings and love and peace so I knew them as a really good friend of mine.

When researching the internet I found some blogs that talk about Dadirri which is said to be an Indigenous word for “inner, deep listening and quiet, still awareness“. It is a tuning in experience where you are quiet in the mind and body and listen to the deeper understanding – what I’ve become familiar with as the DREAMING.

When I’m in the white man’s world I feel the pressure to be busy busy busy – and with that comes stress, anxiety and worries. When I’m in the bush with the Indigenous people I feel myself breath a deep sigh of relief as peace and serenity and the deepest love I’ve ever experienced wash over me. I feel an allowance to just BE.

I find myself wondering what it would be like to spend a few months or even a few years sitting with the Indigenous people and living their culture and way of life. I think I wouldn’t want to come back to this busy world.

[NOTE from 2021: I crave the depth of silence I felt in India!]