The Spirituality of Soil: How Gardening Rewires Your Brain for Peace
Getting your hands in the dirt may produce serotonin in the brain and combat depression, which would be no surprise to the monks and Zen masters of old.
What if the most potent mood-enhancing medicine was right beneath our feet, pulsing away unnoticed in the soil?
Mycobacterium vaccae is a non-pathogenic soil bacterium that has the potential to redefine our concept of how the earth affects human well-being.
A study conducted by Christopher A. Lowry, Ph.D., at the University of Colorado Boulder demonstrated that exposing mice to Mycobacterium vaccae led them to produce elevated levels of serotonin, which is the neurotransmitter that most antidepressants target.
The initial study was conducted on animals, but other research indicates that similar serotonin-producing effects happen in humans when we are regularly in contact with soil. The implication is fundamentally revolutionary. Just planting a seed, smelling dirt, or touching the ground with bare skin may create conditions that support the production of serotonin in the brain.
So every gardener who has ever whispered to themselves, Gardening is good therapy, was practicing neuroscience without realizing it.
Monks Understood Before Microscopes Existed
Long before Mycobacterium vaccae was discovered in laboratories, it was the basis of many ancient spiritual traditions that viewed gardening as a sacred practice or tradition necessary for bringing about inner peace.
Centuries ago, Zen Buddhist monks integrated temple gardening into their meditation practice. The karesansui (Japanese rock garden) was not created for decorative purposes; rather, these dry landscapes of raked gravel acted as forms of prayer expressed through a physical act repeated hundreds of times. Each stroke of the rake was made with full focus; in essence, the garden became a meditation area, the rake a bead, and the gravel a mantra written in stone.
Thirteenth century Zen master Dogen Zenji taught that any type of physical labor performed with full spiritual involvement is a great expression of practice. Therefore, the monastery garden deserves no less respect than the meditation cushion.
The Benedictine monks who followed the Rule of Saint Benedict adopted ora et labora, or “pray and work,” as their guiding principle. The monastery garden was not only a place to grow food but served as an outdoor cathedral, where soil-stained hands would worship the creator through labor. Every seed that was planted represented a leap of faith, while each crop that was harvested represented a blessing received.
Many indigenous cultures, including the Hopi people of the American Southwest and the Quechua people of the Andes, have considered cultivating the earth to be a sacred act of reciprocity—feeding the land that nourishes, paying tribute to the soil that holds the memory and spirit of one’s ancestors. These cultures considered planting to be a spiritual ceremony and harvesting an act of gratitude.
Your Windowsill Cathedral
A backyard isn’t required. A spiritual soil connection can take place in a very small space.
Start with a tiny pot.
This can be a single herb—basil, mint, or rosemary, for example—placed where it can receive morning sunshine.
Always use bare hands.
Skip the gloves—permanently! By placing your fingers directly into the soil, you will increase your exposure to good soil organisms like Mycobacterium vaccae. You will also be able to feel temperature, texture, and moisture through your fingers. Use touch as a form of meditative practice—a sensory meditation. (People with compromised immune systems or skin conditions should consult their physician before using bare skin in the soil for long periods.)
Create a morning routine.
Spend five minutes caring mindfully for your plant each day. Water your plant slowly. Delicately touch the leaves of your plant. Breathe deeply to smell the earthy scent of your plant’s soil. Set an intention for your plant that mirrors the lessons your plant has taught you through its silent growth—patience, resilience, trust in the unobservable.
Speak life into what you are nurturing.
Research in South Korea has suggested that plants respond to human voice frequencies and sound vibrations. Regardless of whether the evidence will ever be scientifically confirmed, speaking lovingly to what you are developing helps you reconnect with the nurturing instincts that have been lost in our fast-paced lifestyle.
Dirty Hands, Clean Soul
Our disconnect with living soil may be a contributing factor in our overall sense of unease more than we can grasp. We use antibacterial products, have sealed concrete, and live in climate-controlled buildings purposely designed to keep the human body separate from grounded earth. In these sterile environments, we have minimal exposure to the essential germs and microbes that help the brain balance emotions.
The solution to this problem is not very complicated.
Get your hands dirty. Grow something small. Explore the earth with your bare hands and an open heart every day.
You can turn your windowsill into a cathedral.
When you put your hands in soil, your body will know how to benefit from it. Your soul will remember even quicker.
by Tohid Hussain
