Nature-Based Contemplation for Spiritual Well-Being: A Pilot Study Exploring Acceptability and Potential Benefits

Objectives: Spiritual well-being, characterized by enhanced feelings of connection with self, others, nature, and the transcendent, significantly contributes to mental health and provides unique benefits that extend beyond other dimensions of well-being, such as emotional or physical well-being. This study explored the acceptability and potential benefits of an innovative nature-based contemplation intervention integrating mindful awareness with contemplative practice to promote spiritual well-being. Method: A mixed-methods, single-arm pilot study recruited 41 Dutch adults who completed ten 30-min sessions over 2 weeks. Each session involved guided mindful awareness and contemplative practice in natural settings. Quantitative assessments were conducted at baseline, at post-intervention, and at 1-month and 3-month follow-ups and were analyzed using linear mixed-effects models. Qualitative interviews explored participant experiences through thematic analysis. Results: Spiritual well-being showed significant immediate improvements (g = 0.22–0.31) that were not maintained at follow-ups. Emotional well-being demonstrated sustained significant improvements across all time points. Nature connectedness (g = 0.38) and social well-being (g = 0.40) exhibited delayed effects emerging only at 1-month follow-up. Participants reported moderate to high satisfaction with the intervention, though qualitative analysis revealed implementation challenges, particularly with the contemplative component, alongside benefits including enhanced calm, increased awareness, and deeper nature connection. Conclusions: Nature-based contemplation represents an acceptable intervention with promising short-term effects on multiple well-being dimensions. However, further refinement is needed to optimize sustainability and long-term effectiveness in promoting spiritual well-being, particularly simplifying contemplative instructions and enhancing session variety. Preregistration: This study is not preregistered.