In Erika’s book (she is my daughter), Where the Wind Meets the Sky, she has this to say about planning and belonging.

When you have time to plan out your life, you will notice that you are not really on your own. Your life is not yours, it is only a part, you belong to the world, to the trees, to the stars. They protect you and guide you, they fill you up with life. So listen to them, ask them, let them fill you up with love. They will protect you and guide you and fill you up with life and with love and with endless comfort and wisdom. Bow down and be humble and find your sweet voice, be patient, be prepared, and come up with a plan. It is one with all nature, with the world and beyond. Just ask and be guided to find your new plan. 

We human beings are, by our nature, social beings. We exist and thrive in connection. We are not meant to be alone. We can connect with the natural world, to the invisible world, to other human beings, and to our own higher self. Disconnection (feeling alone in the world) is the reality of our egos, but not our higher self. The higher self always feels connected. Feeling connected brings all plans into fruition. Being disconnected, feeling alone, lonely, is where plans go to die. Do not plan your life or even a trip until you feel like you belong. Disconnection is mental illness.

These are some of my fundamentals for meditating in nature. You can do this in your garden as well. I like to do it in the forest, but some people do it in water or in more arid regions.

1. Set you intention before you begin your hike/walk. Your intention is an unanswered question that you have about yourself, about the direction in which you want to take your life, or a specific problem you are trying to solve.
2. As you are walking through nature, your higher self will find something that it is attracted to like a particular plant or rock or tree or even a view. This is because the higher self is connected to the positive energy that exists in all of creation. It won’t necessarily be something dramatic like sighting a bear on the trail.
3. When you feel the attraction, then you can stop and be with the object in nature. Ask it what it has to communicate with you. It will start the process of revealing answers to your intention. You will be guided.
4. Act on the guidance with confidence.

It can be somewhat strange to engage in this kind of process, especially when we all like in world obsessed with materialism. I like to think of the trees in the forest as my friends. It is as if you are going into an inner world, as if the hike or walk were a dream.