Have You Played In The Mud? :)

Have You Played in The Mud Recently?

Or a Better question: Have You Ever Played in the mud?

And Even more important: have you ever played in the mud naked… and have you done it as an adult?

So, You might ask Why I am writing now as a 45-year old about Playing in the Mud naked?
Well, I too have fallen into the trap of having mostly stopped playing in the mud. A Couple months ago, I finally played naked in the mud again. It was not planned, nor had I even thought I might. The opportunity just happened to present itself.

~~~~ Just a word of caution. In many of the following pictures, I am Visibly Naked. Yup, I am a nudist, and not one-bit ashamed of who I am. There is nothing shameful about The Human Body, Nor is Simply Naked in any way sexual, obscene, or in any way considered taboo. Simply naked is not at all illegal, but for some reason many people have the belief that it is. (look up the laws for yourself). If you cannot see naked without making it somehow sexual, or obscene, then by all means, don’t look. If you are offended by the beauty of how we were created, then please do yourself a favor, and go back into your hiding place. I live an open life as a nudist. I do not break any laws, or in any way do anything indecent, obscene, or lewd.  If by chance, you are not sure if naked offends you, or you might be curious, and want to look in a safe environment, then please do! Come, read, look… and do as the Name of my Blog suggests: “Enter With An Open Mind, Or Closed Eyes”. You have the option to look, and see what you are comfortable with. You might just find that somehow naked is not as offensive as you have been taught. You might even find it quite funny!~~~~~

Mud and Paint are Joyous!

Play in the Mud

I am sure most people have had the thrill and freedom of having played in the mud… As a Child. But when is the last time you allowed yourself the freedom to really play? Also, Have you only done it with clothes on? Imagine how much you are missing. Clothes create a barrier, and an awkwardness that does not allow the skin to truly feel its surroundings.

Ok, think about this for a brief moment: When we have finished showering, we will apply lotions, oils, powders, etc to our skin, right?  You notice how every molecule of those items feels against your skin, and you can feel how your skin reacts, even how your cells below the skin react. It is a delightful experience. You would not dream of putting lotions, oils, or powders on your clothes, with the hopes that it would eventually feel good against your skin. So, why would you wear clothes when playing in the mud? Heck, the same goes for when you play in any substance. Take water, sand, snow, sunshine, wind. Anything you want to experience and feel against your skin.

Clothing does have a purpose, and that is simply Protection. But let me ask you: What are you needing protection from in nature? Sure, you would wear clothes to keep warm, but you also would not be playing in the mud, sunshine, water, wind, or snow if you were not comfortable, right? When you wear clothes in these substances, it actually creates problems. Yep, you read that right. Clothes create problems when you are in a natural environment.

One of the funniest comments I hear from people is “But what if ____ (fill in the blank) gets in sensitive areas?” Of Course It WILL Get In! But it will also get in while you are wearing clothes. And That is where the problems begin. With clothes, the nature gets in, and then is caught, rubbed, and irritated against your “sensitive bits”.  Think about it. When you are hot, and wearing clothes, you sweat. The wet clothes then rub, stick, and make you extremely uncomfortable. If you get sand inside your swimsuit (and You always will), it is sooo uncomfortable, itchy, and causes rashes. If you get snow inside your clothes it gets wet, you get cold and miserable, and cannot get warmth. If you get mud in, or on your clothes, it is impossibly uncomfortable, messy, and does not feel good one bit. Even swimming, people wear clothes, and it is never easy to swim with material flapping about, and of course once you are out of the water, it is uncomfortable while it dries, causing your skin to be clammy, sticky, and irritated. Clothing is only designed for protection, but for some odd reason, humans have decided to cause themselves harm because they wear clothing. Sure any of these substances get into “sensitive areas” while naked… But they also do when you are clothed. How much you enjoy the experience is totally dependent on your choice of attire.

I bet you smile! :)

To truly feel, and experience mud, naked is the only way. Think about it for a moment. Why is playing in the mud so delightful? Because it FEELS different than anything else we allow to touch our skin. Mud has the energy of The Earth, and Textures that cannot be matched by any other substance. The Earth has endured more history, and more life than any of us Humans can possibly understand in our limited time as living beings.  The Earth and all its natural elements are designed to energize all living things. Some elements are designed to take away bad energy from us, and some are designed to give good energy so we may thrive and get the most out of our lives.

Yup! My Muddy Butt.. and it is happy! :)

Sometimes Mud changes what we see :)

Mud, or Earth is one of those substances that is great for doing both giving positive energy, and taking away bad energy. Think about how plants, gardens and all living micro-organisms grow. They need contact with essential minerals, substances, and elements. Humans are no different. If we isolate ourselves from The Earth upon which we live, we choose to not be healthy, living in toxic environments.

So, with all this in mind, I gotta ask: Why have we decided playing in the mud is no longer acceptable once we are no longer children?

This is what Andrea looked up to see... She Smiled!

What is it about “growing-up” that somehow changes how anything that frees the mind, the soul, and allows you to truly experience life is no longer allowed? Why do we decide we have grown up, so we should not nourish the essential core of what we as living beings upon this Earth so much need?

I have met people who have never in their life ever played in the mud. They never played in the sand, or even the dirt. I am always a bit surprised to find that somehow people were never allowed to “feel” our Earth. This is something that comes naturally to every living being. We are born into this Earth, and our natural “instinct” is to be part of it. But someone tells us as little children whether that is, or is not acceptable, and we are trained to think the Earth and Nature are somehow forbidden.

I know that as a child I was allowed to play in the mud almost as often as I wanted. I had a lot of great freedoms, and learning experiences. I was not only allowed, but encouraged. I was given the freedom to Learn all I could about This Place we call home. Whether it was dirt, sand, water, wind, sun, snow, rock, vegetation, ANY Substance found naturally on This Earth, I was encouraged to play with and learn. (Not that anybody could have successfully ever stopped me, since I was so attracted to nature.) But not only was I encouraged, I was raised in an environment where the human body was not seen as offensive. Naked was hardly forbidden in my life as a child. As much as Mom had weird rules about when she “wanted to see us naked, or not”, we still had the freedoms to be naked A LOT. Even all our friends and  neighbors accepted and welcomed naked.

So, give us any dirt pile, and in no time, we would have converted it into mud, be completely naked, and love how nourishing, energizing, and wonderful Earth was. Often we started out wearing clothes (or sometimes Mom would try to have us wear underwear) but we knew how uncomfortable clothes made the experience. Also we understood it was all about Feeling the substance we were playing in, so any clothes we might have started in, were ditched in no time.

I had the opportunity to be in an Awesomely Muddy environment a couple months ago. I also was thrilled to have a great friend along and she totally loved seeing how I could find such joy and freedom as I let myself play, forget all the worldy rules, and get muddy from head to toe. Living in the Middle of The Mojave Desert, it seems Mud Opportunities would not present themselves often. Actually that is not true. It does rain often, and I frequently am out in The Wetlands where dirt and water are abundant.

I have had many opportunities, but like most of us, I just decided not to. Sometimes, I used the reason of “I did not want to get dirty”, or some other “Logic” we tend to use to convince ourselves to not do what we really need in life.  Usually the excuse I make for myself is “I Don’t want to get dirty”. That is my downfall. I am an uuber-clean-freak. And as much as I know I would absolutely love the mud, I tend to talk myself out of it because I just want to remain clean. Sad, I Know. I find I am more apt to allow myself to get dirty if I have a vehicle for transportation, instead of only walking or riding the bus. Even though, when ya play in the mud, there is always water nearby to clean up with, I still fall victim to my own desire to not be dirty.

I have many great memories as an adult where I have played in the mud. Each time I tell myself “I need to do this more frequently”. But I usually end-up going many years between mud experiences.  Ugh, I have become a “Normal Human”… Ha!

This most recent experience was one that was unique. My friend Andrea and I finally had the same day off that we could go and play. We decided if we ever got the chance, we would go to The Wetlands outside of Las Vegas. This day happened to be a rainy day, and it had rained for many days prior. When it rains in Vegas, it floods. Andrea was still totally excited to go play this day, and I was thrilled! So often if a friend and I plan to do something that friend almost always cancels. Especially if it rains. Andrea did not cancel, and even was excited to go experience what I would do anyway.

The Wetlands are the area where ALL water that flows through Vegas accumulates. It usually is a decent “river”, but after a flood, it is a raging torrent.  The water is usually clean, until it rains when it has all the stuff that has washed off the roads, and endless concrete jungle Vegas is known for. Usually after a rain, the water reeks of petroleum, is filled with trash, and is so nasty I will not even touch it. Usually after a rain, it is so Toxic, My senses are revolted to be anywhere near it. This time was different. It had rained for many days, even weeks. Vegas got more rain than they had in years. The wash (River) was higher than I had ever seen it, and it was hardly just “street runoff” flowing. This time it was literally liquid mud, and was carrying all the silt it was washing away from the earth instead of the junk from the surface. I was amazed at the smell this time. It did not smell toxic one bit. It smelled like Earth. It smelled like the richest soil, the most clean, life-giving substance upon which we live.

I was so excited to see this! I almost immediately stripped off most of my clothes and waded into it. OMIGOSH! It felt so awesome!! I could feel every grain of silt as it flushed past my bare feet and legs! This was truly Flowing Life! I Knew immediately I would get naked, and go completely into it! I only had to wait until I was across the river to strip.

We marveled at this awesome event for a while on this side of the flow, and slowly meandered across the bridge. Taking time to feel the energy of the raging waters below, understand what forces were at work, and become part of the environment. It was phenomenal! The energy was soo positive today!

You'd be smiling, too if you felt this!

I did strip completely, and allow myself to play in the mud. It was absolutely Amazing! Unfortunately, I also got cold and had to hurry to get warm. Even with getting cold, I would not have traded it for anything!

Yup! I clean up pretty good! :)

Oh, and you wonder if Andrea got muddy?... That would be for her to tell J

How about You? When was the last time you allowed yourself to play?

Many of the photos in this blog about mud were taken by Andrea. A Very Special Thanks to such a great friend who also is not ashamed to admit her love of naked, take and share photos that would have been a bit difficult with my own muddy hands. :)