The interactions and impact effect that the various aspects of immersing ourselves in nature have on us are very complex. They cannot just be put down to the impact of the various colours we encounter, the sounds we hear, the smells we take in and the range of electromagnetic radiation we receive from multiple sources but there are an infinite number of other aspects that create both psychological and biochemical interactions in the body. One of the healing aspects that is very subtle comes through the way that our vision interfaces with perceptions of depth and colour. To 'gaze' means to "look steadily and intently, especially in admiration, surprise, or thought" and there are many theories in the discipline of pyschoanalysis as to what brings about the feelings we feel when we gaze as well as what are the dynamics of the relationships involved. One particularly interesting theory relates to how the act of gazing helps the viewer to bring about a more real sense of who they are in perspective to the reality around them. Gazing in nature is particularly useful in this regard because it becomes an act of grounding and centering ourselves with the beauty and wonder of the natural world acting as the balancing forces to facilitate this act.
