Hi, this is Monique Rhodes. Welcome to the In Your Right Mind Podcast, where we're learning how to be happier by working with our minds.
If you’d like to know more about what I teach, come to MoniqueRhodes.com and try the Happiness Quiz. It’s a great way to see where you are in your happiness journey and how you can grow.
What Nature Does for Us
As someone who’s constantly experimenting with my own levels of happiness, one thing I’m very mindful of is the effect that nature has on us.
Most of you know that I grew up in New Zealand — a country filled with greenery and open spaces — and I’ve learned how deeply that has shaped me. That’s part of why I now live in Costa Rica, surrounded by jungle and close to the ocean.
There’s something that happens when you step outside.
You might not notice it right away, but slowly, something begins to shift.
Your jaw softens.
Your breath deepens.
Your shoulders relax.
And a quiet peace finds its way in.
Even if life still feels heavy, you somehow feel more able to carry it.
And that feeling isn’t just poetic — it’s biological.
We Were Designed for Connection
We were designed to live in close relationship with the natural world.
Our bodies evolved in response to sunlight, darkness, air, water, and sound — the rhythms of the earth.
But many of us have become disconnected from these natural cues.
We’ve replaced the wide horizon with screens and artificial light,
and in doing so, we’ve cut ourselves off from the very things that regulate our mood, soothe our stress, and bring us back to life.
Nature hasn’t gone anywhere — it’s still waiting, quietly, just outside the door.
And when you take even a few minutes a day to return to it, your body remembers.
Your brain remembers.
Something deep within you begins to reawaken.
The Science of Calm
Science is catching up with what our bodies already know.
When you spend time in nature, your brain releases serotonin and dopamine — the neurotransmitters responsible for mood, motivation, and pleasure.
At the same time, cortisol, the stress hormone, begins to drop.
Researchers studying forest bathing have found that time in natural surroundings lowers cortisol levels, reduces heart rate, and strengthens the immune system.
A University of Michigan study showed that just 20 minutes in nature can significantly reduce stress hormones and increase feelings of calm.
And time in green spaces even quiets the part of the brain linked to rumination — that repetitive, anxious thinking we often get stuck in.
So nature doesn’t just make you feel better.
It helps you think better.
Your Whole Body Benefits
It’s not just your mind that changes — your whole system does.
Your blood pressure improves.
Your sleep becomes deeper and more restorative.
Your digestion regulates.
Your creativity expands.
And your emotional reactivity softens.
And all of that can begin with as little as 10 or 15 minutes a day of being outside and paying attention.
That’s one reason people who come to retreats with me in Costa Rica shift so quickly.
The monkeys, the trees, the ocean — nature itself does half the work.
It regulates us back to balance.
A Story of Coming Home
I once worked with a woman who was completely exhausted.
She was juggling two jobs, raising three kids, and living with a constant, self-critical voice in her head.
She told me, “I feel like I’m on a treadmill that never stops. I don’t even know who I am anymore.”
We didn’t start with big routines or goals.
We started with one simple thing:
Go outside for 10 minutes every morning.
No phone.
No multitasking.
Just walk slowly and notice what’s alive.
At first, she resisted — she said she didn’t have time.
But she tried.
After a few days, something shifted.
She told me, “It’s like my body trusts me again. I’m not fighting myself anymore.”
Her life didn’t magically become easier.
But she became steadier, clearer, more herself.
That’s the gift of nature.
It doesn’t solve your problems — it reminds you that you can handle them.
Not with force, but with presence.
You Don’t Have to Go Far
You don’t need a national park or an epic hike to feel the benefits.
What matters isn’t the scale of nature — it’s your attention to it.
- Sit on your balcony with a warm cup of tea.
- Watch the light move across the leaves outside your window.
- Walk through your neighborhood without a destination, just awareness.
- Care for a houseplant — water it, notice its growth, appreciate its life.
Even small moments of connection make a real, measurable difference.
Because when you step into nature — even briefly — your nervous system says,
“Oh, I know this place. I can exhale here.”
Remembering Who You Are
To return to nature is to return to yourself.
You are not separate from it, even though modern life often makes it look that way.
So open the door.
Look at the sky.
Breathe deeply.
Let the world remind you of what’s real.
Because happiness isn’t always something you chase —
it’s something you remember by coming home to the most natural part of who you are.
Don’t forget — if you want to go deeper into your happiness journey, come and join The Happiness Club.
You’ll get to learn with me in live Masterclasses, join our Happiness Hour, and connect with an amazing community.
Come to MoniqueRhodes.com, click on Courses, and try it for one month for just one dollar.
As always, be kind, take care, and go gently in the world.
