Fall fracTal gazing: Discovering Tranquility in Nature’s repetition

Autumn Aspen

Golden Ginkgo

Sassy Sassafras

In my previous post, celebrating the Japanese Maple, I referenced “momiji-gari” which means maple viewing or maple hunting, and “kito” - the Japanese name for the maple tree — meaning calm, peaceful, and at rest.

Have you ever wondered why spending time in nature reduces stress?
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The answer may be found in fractals -  the repeating patterns that shape everything from tree branches to riverbanks, from snowflakes to ferns.

Mathematician Benoit Mandelbrot (1924–2010) discovered fractal geometry — “the art of roughness” — in the late 1970s. In his bestselling book The Fractal Geometry of Nature (1982), he described how patterns echo throughout the natural world.

Building on his work, physicist Richard Taylor of the University of Oregon found that simply gazing at fractal images can reduce stress levels by up to sixty percent! Swedish researcher Caroline Haverhill later used EEG readings to show that viewing fractal patterns increases alpha brain waves, promoting calm and lowering stress hormones like cortisol.
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In other words — there’s scientific proof that spending time gazing at mountains, trees, and leaves truly improves our health and well-being.

Note to artists:
Just as fractals in nature calm the mind, creating art inspired by them offers a similar kind of peace. When we paint, collage, or journal about leaves and trees, our hands trace the same repeating rhythms that nature does. The act of noticing and recreating these patterns — the veins in a leaf, the branching of roots, the swirl of a fern — invites stillness. Each brushstroke or paper shape becomes a meditation, echoing the beauty of the natural world and helping the heart find its own quiet pattern of calm.
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Autumn is a glorious reminder that we are immersed in miracles — and they’re literally falling from the sky! Fan-shaped golden ginkgo leaves, chestnut and chinquapin oaks, rosy-red maples, and orange sumac leaves are just a fractal sampling of nature’s gifts.

Zoom in and notice the delicate veins within a single leaf. Zoom out and see the repeating patterns in the branches of a tree. Zoom further still, and you’ll find the same designs echoed in the rolling shapes of the mountains.
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Give yourself permission to spend time in nature — preferably with loved ones — and let the patterns work their quiet magic. Your body, which is also built upon fractal geometry, will thank you.