I've hiked halfway up a mountain, and now sit perched on a bench looking out onto the ocean below. The silence disturbed only by the faint buzzing of hummingbirds and flies flying by, other birds chirping in the trees, the occasional roar of a monkey in the distance, and the breeze blowing through the leaves. I've always been one to bring, and listen to music wherever I go, but here, I have no desire to interrupt the natural symphony all around with my pre-downloaded playlist.

Furthermore, every sound I've heard offers inspiration to the music I’d like to create. I've been sitting here for nearly an hour now attempting to respond to the voices and energies that have nurtured me since we arrived here some five days ago. I sing out to the incredibly receptive audience that mother nature has provided here, and it feels absolutely incredible. To feel comfortable, and at peace with all that is; to sing unrestrained by discomfort or self-consciousness is...well there's nothing like it.

No one can hear me. There's no special attention paid to me. All the creatures are busily going about their work. I've never had a more wonderful audience. Singing seems to create a vibration on which I can connect to everything around me. It's like tapping into the natural channel...connecting with the music of what they here call "la pura vida” (the pure life).

There is a subtle hum that travels through the undisturbed essence of mother earth here in the mountains of Costa Rica. Singing creates a mode through which I feel the most incredible connection to that; to the oneness I've referenced in a number of my now seemingly repetitive articles.

Alright, I'll now attempt to make a novel point. Don’t get your hopes too high. I suppose you'll decide its value when you read it.

Right then, let’s see. Connect with nature, I guess. I invite you to go out into a forest, or something of the sort, and just be present to everything around you. Open yourself up to the vibrations of the earth, and be. I sounded like a hippy just then, didn't I…Well, there’s nothing wrong with that, and for the purpose of this article, I’m going to embrace it.

Now, I probably wouldn’t advise going into a forest all alone, that would be unwise. Yeah, don’t do that. But, don’t bring along someone who would rather fill the incredible silence you encounter there with conversation. You are there to connect with nature, not to converse. Think about it.

Today, I sat in a cafe waiting to move back into my dorm, and wanted only to put my earphones in to drown out the constant sound of people talking all around me. I suppose I wanted to find a level of silence in the music; silence from the overwhelming energies of everyone here that is. Maybe serenity is a better word to describe the state I desired to return to.

Yes, serenity. It seems hard to find that here, now. Maybe music is a good avenue, but there’s something undeniably powerful about the serenity found in the silence of pure, unadulterated nature. Take a hike, climb a tree, swim in the lake, and listen to the sounds emanating from everything about you, in nature I mean. You might just find something you’ve never found before whether it be within or without you.