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Episode details

Radio 4,18 Jul 2026,2 mins

Natural Therapy

Prayer for the Day

Available for 29 days

Prayer for the Day presented by Steve Taylor. Good morning. There are many types of therapy – cognitive therapy, aromatherapy, massage therapy, and so on. I’m sure they are all effective to some degree, although they might involve varying degrees of effort and expense. But for me, the most effective therapy is free and involves very little effort. You don’t even have to make an appointment. It’s always available, for unlimited sessions. The most you might have to do is get on a bus or train or drive out of the city. But even in a city, a park will serve just as well. Even sitting in your back garden may have the same effect. Over the last few months, I’ve been regularly connecting with nature. I’ve felt its therapeutic power very strongly. It’s so calming to be surrounded by fields and trees, overlooking lakes and valleys, with the open sky above. Worries seemed to ebb away. Problems seem to lose significance. I find it difficult to feel depressed after a few hours in the countryside. The therapeutic effects of nature are now widely recognised. In psychology, it’s sometimes referred to as ecotherapy. Maybe you’ve heard about the ‘green prescriptions’ that some doctors now offer for some psychological conditions. As I have expressed it poetically: Nature awakens us to the present so that the past and future stop disturbing us. Her radiance spreads through our inner space so that shadows of fear and worry fade and love, hope and gratitude arise. And at the end of the day we are purified, refreshed reconnected to our source reattuned to natural harmony. So if you have a spare hour or two today, treat yourself to a session of natural therapy. I hope you’ll experience some degree of healing. Blessings.

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