S1 EP18: Nature isn’t outside you, it’s who you are

In this episode of School of Shamanism, Giada shifts the focus to one of the most essential yet often overlooked elements of the spiritual path: nature.

Following the exploration of identity and the outsider experience, she invites listeners to reconnect with a deeper truth; that if you’ve never quite felt at home in human spaces, it may be because your connection to nature has always been stronger.

Giada explores how modern life has distanced us from the natural world, creating a sense of disconnection, anxiety, and imbalance. She reminds us that we are not separate from nature, we are part of it, shaped by the same elements, rhythms, and cycles.

From a shamanic perspective, nature becomes more than a backdrop. It is where the visible and invisible worlds meet, where intuition sharpens, and where healing naturally occurs. Through forests, rivers, mountains, and the elements, nature offers guidance, reflection, and restoration.

The episode also dives into the teachings embedded in the natural world; cycles of change, patience, interdependence, and how reconnecting with these can shift the way we live, make decisions, and understand ourselves.

Ultimately, this is an invitation to step back into relationship with the Earth, not just as a place we visit, but as the very source of who we are.

Because when we remember that we are nature, everything begins to realign.

Connect with Giada Gaslini:

• Website: www.schoolofshamanism.co.uk
• Instagram: @‌schoolofshamanism
• Facebook: School of Shamanism
• Youtube: School of Shamanism

About the Host

Originally hailing from the vibrant city of Milan, I’ve spent the past two decades traversing the globe in a quest for spiritual and personal growth and combined with 25 years of international corporate work experience. From navigating the vast landscapes of Australia in a campervan to finding tranquility living in a Buddhist monastery in Nepal, my journey is nothing short of extraordinary. Along the way, I’ve delved deep into Buddhist teachings, yoga, and shamanism, becoming Shamanic Teacher,  Forest Therapy Guide, Esoteric Numerologist, Shamanic and Integral Yoga Teacher and Ikigai Coach. In 2013 I settled in Edinburgh, where  I founded the Art and Spirituality Centre, a social enterprise and the School of Shamanism, where I passionately help others on their own transformative journeys.

Listen and Subscribe
Apple Podcasts: Subscribe & Review
Spotify: Follow & Rate

Leave a review to help other spiritual explorers to enjoy the show
Turn on notifications for the new episodes.

Transcript

Giada 0:00

Nature is where the two walls actually meet. The visible world and invisible world are in completely separate, they overlap, they interweave. Last time we talked about identity, that feeling of not quite belonging anywhere to spiritual for the mainstream, to practical for the spiritual world, and how that outsider position, as painful as it can be, is actually a gift. And today I want to take you in another direction, somewhere that might be probably the most important place on earth, especially for shamanism, which is nature. Because if you have ever felt like you don't belong to human spaces, possibly you belong to nature. And you find very well by the sea, like I am, in the forest, on a mountain, under a tree. And uh, nature isn't just a nice backdrop for spiritual work. It's not just a place to relax or exercise or take pretty pictures or recording a podcast. For those of us walking between worlds, nature is essential. It's a medicine, it's home, because we come from the natural world. We were born in nature, and then we end up into the system. So, as I said, we are nature. We are not separate from it. We didn't arrive here from somewhere else. We grew up, uh we grew out of this earth, just like the trees and the rivers and the animals. And our bodies are made of the same elements. Our rhythms follow the same cycles, and we belong to this planet in the most fundamental way possible. But the modern life has made us forget about it. We live in boxes, we stare at screens, we eat food that comes wrapped in plastic from places where we have never been. We control our temperature, our light, our environment. We've built a world that keeps nature at a distance. Something to visit on weekends in our free time or if we have time. And then we wonder why we feel so disconnected, so anxious, so lost. We've cut ourselves off from our source, from the very thing that made us and sustained us and will one day reclaim us. So walking between walls means remembering this. Remembering that you are not just in nature, you are nature, and reconnecting with that truth is essential in the chalamic perspective. So, something that I didn't understand straight away, but after a while, nature is where the two worlds actually meet. The visible world and invisible world aren't completely separate. They overlap, they interweave, and nowhere is that more apparent than in nature. When you stand in a forest, you are in the visible world, trees, soil, light, sound, but you are also in the presence of something else, an aliveness, an intelligence, a spirit that you can't quite name, but can absolutely feel. And the Japanese is one of the things that I teach as well, they call it Shinri Myoko, no, the forest pathing. Science has shown it reduced stress, hormones, and boosts immunity, but the shamanic traditions knew this long before the studies. The forest heals because it's not just physical, it's spiritual. It's alive in ways that go beyond biology. And every tree is as a spirit, every river, every stone, every creature. The land itself is aware. Indigenous cultures have always known this. They don't see nature as a collection of resources to be used. They see it as a community of beings to be related to. So when you walk in nature with that awareness, you're not just getting fresh air. You are entering sacred space. You are stepping into an invisible world while still standing in the visible one. And that's why nature is so essential for those of us walking between worlds. It's where the veil is the thiniest. It's where we can practice perceiving what's beyond the obvious. And here is probably where nature comes as the teacher, or the best healer, as I always say, probably is the greatest teacher that we have. So if we think about nature, what it shows us when we go into a walk, or in general, also, it shows up in it shows us in cycles: birth, growth, death, rebirth. So nothing lasts forever, everything transforms. The seasons don't resist change, they embody it. Winter doesn't fight against spring, it surrenders. And from that surrender, new life emerges. How much easier would our lives be if we understood this? If we stopped clinging to what's ending and trusted the cycle. Nature shows us patience. Trees don't rush, they grow slowly, steadily, and according to their own rhythm. A seed doesn't panic because it's still underground, it trusts the process, it waits for its own time. But we want everything now, and definitely one of these people. Instant results, instant transformation, and nature reminds us real growth takes time. And that's not a problem. That's just how life works. Nature shows us interdependence, lasting exists alone. The tree needs the soil, the rain, the sun, the fungi beneath the ground, and the bee needs the flower. The wolf shapes the behavior of the deer, which shapes the landscape itself, and so on. And everything is connected. And so we are part of this web too. Not outside, we are woven to it. And when we remember that, our sense of isolation uh dissolves. We understand that we are not alone, never alone. We never were alone and never will be. And so, as I said, nature is the best healer, better than each practitioner because nature heals. Not metaphorically, but just literally, physically. So when you are overwhelmed, anxious, and spinning in your head, just go outside, put your feet on the ground on the earth, sit with your back against a tree, watch water move, let the wind touch your face, and there something shifts. The nervous system settles, the mind quiets, you come back to yourself. And this isn't imagination. The earth has an electromagnetic field, and when you are in direct contact with it, barefoot on soil, hands in water, your body synchronizes with it. Your stress hormones drop, your inflammation reduces, you heal. And in shamanic traditions, we work with the elements for these elements for healing to ground, water to cleanse and flow, fire to transform, air to clear and inspire. And these aren't just symbols, they are actual forces with actual fats. And when you're walking between worlds, you need this. You need regular contact with nature to stay balanced. Otherwise, the intensity of the past, the emotions, the energy, the constant bridging can overwhelm you. And nature is your reset, it's your recalibration, your medicine. And nature is also acting as a mirror. Because whatever you're carrying, nature will reflect it back to you. So if you go into the forest with a busy mind and you note, you will notice chaos. Every bird, every rustle, every flicker of light will pull your attention. Go into the same forest in a different day with stillness, and you will notice the stillness that was always there. The deep quiet underneath the sounds, because nature shows you yourself. When you are by the river and you need to learn how to flow, how to let go of resistance, the rivers can show you that. When you can go up a mountain if you need the capacity to endure, you can be in a forest in autumn when you need to grieve something. And it's just a beautiful connection with life. And the natural world is constantly offering teachings, but they are personal. What the oak tree has to say to you isn't what it has to say to me. That's why you have to develop your own relationship with nature, your own listening, your own dialogue with the land. Because then the divine always speaks through images, and in the same way, um nature speaks through images in the way it appears to you. And when we lose our this connection, we can feel anxiety, burnout, epidemic levels everywhere. People who have everything materially but feel empty inside, this culture in which we live, which are obsessing of accumulating more, of success, results, and there is a big unhappiness. We've forgotten where we come from, we've forgotten what sustain us, what we have traded real nourishment for artificial substitutes, and we are starving in the midst of plenty. And the earth is suffering too, because when we see nature as separate from us as a resource to exploit, we destroy it without realizing we are destroying ourselves. So walking between worlds means healing this rift, not just for your own well-being, but for the well-being of the whole. When you remember that you are nature, you can't harm it without feeling the harm in yourself. And you can't heal yourself without contributing to the healing of Earth, because it goes both ways and it's all connected.