Thomas Litzler, an organic farmer and meditator who is part of the Bonnevaux Community in France, has recently published Meditating with the Earth, a reflective new book inspired by his journey with nature, farming and contemplative practice. Published by Medio Media, the booklet emerged from his participation in the WCCM Teacher Leader Programme.
Litzler traces his first encounters with the natural world to childhood walks with his family in the Forest of Fontainebleau, south of Paris. “It’s a very beautiful, amazing forest with big rocks and old trees,” he recalls. “With my parents we would go there on walks on Sunday afternoons… those are good childhood memories.”
Nature became even more significant after the death of his father from cancer when Thomas was twelve. “I withdrew a lot into myself,” he says. “The only place where I would actually open myself up and feel better was going back to the forest. That’s where I started having a real strong connection with the natural world and understanding that there was a goodness in nature that would touch me and heal me.”
This experience led him towards environmental studies, conservation work and eventually organic farming. During travels in New Zealand, he encountered communities living closely with the land and discovered both gardening and Christian meditation. “Things came together,” he explains. “On one hand my relationship with nature grew stronger year after year, and then this Christian experience in New Zealand came together.”
At Bonnevaux, these two dimensions of his life found a natural meeting point. Invited to take part in the WCCM Teacher Leader Programme, with guidance from mentor Eric Clotuche, Thomas began reflecting more deeply on the connection between meditation and the natural world.
“One thing was very obvious to me from the very beginning,” he says. “There is a clear relationship between meditation and being in the wilderness.” Yet he found it difficult at first to explain why meditating outdoors mattered so deeply to him. This challenge became the seed for his writing.
In Meditation with the Earth, Litzler describes meditation in nature as an experience of belonging and communion. “When I meditate in nature, the exact opposite of separation happens,” he says. “I can let go and relax and be present… not separated anymore from what is around me.”
More one the theme of Contemplation and Nature
Christine Kristoff-Lardet will be leading a retreat entitled “Living Reconciliation: From Separation to Contemplation”, from 4 to 7 June, 2026 in Bonnevaux, France – for more information, visit www.bonnevauxwccm.org
