logo
2 Ways To Discover And Nurture Your ‘Soul Landscape,' By A Psychologist

2 Ways To Discover And Nurture Your ‘Soul Landscape,' By A Psychologist

Forbes21-05-2025
The Finns have a word: Sielunmaisema. In English, it roughly translates to 'soul landscape' and describes a physical place — a beach, forest, cabin or city street — that feels like home because it reflects something in your 'soul.' The concept captures a deep sense of connection you may have felt before — perhaps while visiting a place that felt like it was made just for you.
But what if you could build that feeling into your everyday life?
Here are two surefire ways to own your 'soul landscape' by using psychology to build a life you feel more at home in.
Some people find their sielunmaisema in far off places.
For instance, for someone who finds that kind of calm in Middle Eastern landscapes, a scent could potentially become a memory.
In much of the Arab world, oud — a deeply resinous, smoky perfume oil derived from agarwood — is layered into the culture. It's burned in homes, worn on skin and floats in the air of social spaces. For someone who finds their soul landscape in this region, oud might become the scent of inner peace.
Psychologically, this is significant. Scent has a uniquely direct line to the brain's emotional centers tied to memory and mood, according to research. That means a single whiff of oud back home, months after your trip, can evoke the same emotional quiet you may have experienced in your sielunmaisema.
This is what soul landscaping can look like: you travel far, but you don't leave it all behind. You bottle the feeling. You make it portable.
The same is true for music.
Take Tame Impala, for instance. Kevin Parker recorded much of the act's breakout debut album, Innerspeaker, in a remote beach house on the Western Australian coast. The setting was wild and elemental — crashing waves, open skies and serene solitude. In interviews, Parker has said the view made even his most basic combination of notes sound profound to him because the landscape lent it emotional weight. The sound was shaped by the space.
Innerspeaker went on to launch Tame Impala's global career. But the soul of that album — its crashing cymbals, warm reverb and its sense of expansive solitude and melancholy — still feels tethered to that beach house in the middle of nowhere, at least to Parker.
This is how you bring a place back with you. Through scent. Through sound. Through any sensory imprint that anchored you to a feeling. Your soul landscape may be a thousand miles away, but the experience doesn't have to be. You just need the right keys to unlock it — and the right rituals to keep it close.
Landscaping your soul is about articulating what's real to you. The most meaningful parts of your inner landscape might not be the loudest. They might be small joys: a comfortable bed, the pride in finishing a book or the calmness you experience after a meaningful conversation.
And research shows that this matters. A 2018 study published in Emotion found that people who could identify and report a greater variety of positive emotions — like awe, contentment, curiosity or gratitude — had lower levels of inflammation in the body, even when controlling for age, health and general mood.
Self-reflection can help build an emotional ecosystem that's rich, complex and alive, much like a soul landscape. The more fluent you become in your inner emotional language, the easier it becomes to cultivate those feelings intentionally — even when you're far from the landscapes that first inspired them.
So, the next time something good happens — wherever it happens — pause. Ask yourself: What kind of good is this? The more clearly you can name it, the more likely you are to feel it again. And that's what makes a soul landscape worth coming home to.
Wondering how close you already are to the concept of a soul landscape? Take the science-backed Connectedness To Nature Scale to learn more about your connection to the world around you.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

At least 20 dead following latest Israel strikes on Gaza
At least 20 dead following latest Israel strikes on Gaza

Yahoo

timean hour ago

  • Yahoo

At least 20 dead following latest Israel strikes on Gaza

Israeli strikes killed at least 20 people in Gaza, Palestinian health officials said on Tuesday, as Israel pushed on with a new incursion in an area that had largely been spared heavy fighting during the 21-month war. The expansion of Israel's ground invasion comes as Israel and Hamas have been considering terms for a ceasefire for Gaza that would pause the fighting and free at least some hostages. The latest round of talks has dragged on for weeks with no signs of breakthrough, though negotiators have expressed optimism. With Israel expanding its control over large chunks of Gaza, an expected pullback of troops is a major point of contention in the talks. The Trump administration has been pushing Israel to wrap up the war and has shown signs of impatience. On Monday, President Donald Trump's press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said Mr Trump was 'caught off guard' by a recent Israeli strike on a Catholic church in Gaza. Top Christian clergy visited that church last week and in a press conference Tuesday in Jerusalem called for the war to end. In the latest round of strikes, at least 12 people died when tents sheltering displaced people in the built-up, seaside Shati refugee camp on the western side of Gaza City, were hit, according to the city's Shifa Hospital, which received the casualties. The dead included three women and three children, Dr Mohamed Abu Selmiyah, director of the hospital told the Associated Press. Thirty-eight other Palestinians were wounded, he said. The strike tore apart tents, and left some of the dead lying on the ground, according to footage shared by the health ministry's ambulance and emergency service. An overnight strike that hit crowds of Palestinians waiting for aid trucks in Gaza City killed eight, hospitals said. At least 118 were wounded, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent. The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the strikes. Israel blames the deaths of Palestinian civilians on Hamas because the militants operate in densely populated areas. It accuses the group of prolonging the war because Hamas has not accepted Israel's terms for a ceasefire – including calls to give up power and disarm.

Israeli strikes kill at least 20 in Gaza, health officials say
Israeli strikes kill at least 20 in Gaza, health officials say

Washington Post

time3 hours ago

  • Washington Post

Israeli strikes kill at least 20 in Gaza, health officials say

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli strikes killed at least 20 people in Gaza, Palestinian health officials said Tuesday, as Israel pushed on with a new incursion in an area that had largely been spared heavy fighting during the 21-month war. The expansion of Israel's ground invasion comes as Israel and Hamas have been considering terms for a ceasefire for Gaza that would pause the fighting and free at least some hostages.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store