Nature Exposure

Walking through a forest feels different than staring at an open sky, sitting next to a stream, or gazing at the stars. Different natural environments influence experience in particular ways. So, what happens when we attune to an environment? How might practicing meditation in distinct natural settings further influence experience? Drawing from a historical meditation manual that prescribes coupling different environments with meditation for different effects, this study investigates how meditating in varied environments – natural, semi-urban, simulated, and artificial – affects attention, emotion, and overall wellbeing. While there is a rapidly growing body of scientific literature on how meditation can positively impact wellbeing, and research on how exposure to nature improves health, how environments influence meditation is little understood. 

Bringing interdisciplinary expertise in the Cognitive Sciences, Environmental Psychology, Landscape Architecture, Religious Studies, and Philosophy, this study inquiries the ways environmental settings can enhance or diminish experiences of naïve meditators. Through a multi-method experiment, we investigate neurophysiological and phenomenological effects of environments among young adults practicing an open sensorial meditation. We are interested to learn how environmental contexts influence naïve meditators, and in turn, how meditators experience their environments differently. Additionally, this study seeks to understand how a contemplative practice can facilitate felt connections with nature and mindsets associated with ecological belonging. We are specifically interested to learn how immersive and spontaneous experiences in environments relate to mind-wandering and can provide a model for how to harness spontaneity that has implications for creativity, relaxation, and mental health.

Collaborators

Morven Sustainability Lab, UVA Environmental Institute

UVA Faculty: Matthew Burtner (Music), Zachary Irving (Philosophy), Aaron Reuben (Psychology), Elizabeth Meyer (Architecture and Morven Farms), Jennifer Roe (Architecture), Willis Jenkins (Religious Studies), Karen McGlathery (Environmental Sciences)