More Connections

Following on from the last post, a key element of connecting is actually getting out and the old saying is still valid, 'the first step is the hardest'. It is often too easy to say 'it's raining', 'I'm busy', 'it'll be dark soon'. The key to the healing power of Nature, to be connected to the animate and inanimate world we a part of and to be healed by it is to get out and notice!

Views from 'bathing' benches in the Galloway Forest

Even if you visit the same place everyday there will always be something different to see, and again this means you have to be there, you have to look, to notice, to develop your observational skills. We can all notice something by accident, whether a view, a sunset, an eagle or a flower. The way we heal ourselves in nature is to keep repeating the accident! To notice not just the big, the dramatic but the subtle, more mundane as well. As always we need to be there, to notice, to reflect. To be mindful of all around us.

Preparing lunch!

We can spot creatures of all sizes

Another lunch time option!

Sometimes the colour palette presented is enough to help calm, develop a sense of appreciation

Language

Another great Kendal Mountain Festival #kendal18. Inspired by the great work of the amazing outdoor equipment company Patagonia, The Rivers Trust, Save Our Rivers and others including some terrific climbers, kayakers and mountaineers, we are now looking at how we can participate in more action to help protect and sustain our planet.

We also attended a session entitled Connection to Nature which was a discussion with a number of authors including Jay Armstrong, editor of the Elementum Journal. The idea was to discuss what is so important about the embodied experience in nature? To discuss what it is like to go out into the wilds (however you define or experience them) and how we come back and share our stories. There was some reticence from the panel about discussing Healing and Nature. While some found this surprising, to me, and certainly in the philosophy and practices of Naturally Mindful and Tao Mountain it is not Nature which heals (remembering that we too are part of Nature and sometimes Nature can be vicious, destructive and deadly). Instead it is our connection, our engagement, our respect and support for the world around us which is healing. In other words to feel well, to feel whole, we need to engage, to come away from our screens, to look up and notice, feel, smell, taste, listen, to the waves, the wind the rain, the rutting of stags, the cry of the peregrine. When we do this our perspective changes and we start to heal ourselves by recognising our place in the Nature of things.

A wet, windy day above Ullswater, not the typical healing space
 but  one that engaged all the senses, provided a sense
 of achievement and helped us feel we belonged in this space

Get Active

Great weekend at the Kendal Mountain Festival, our chosen theme was environmental activism. It was great to see the good work being done by adventure activists around the world. Big thanks to Patagonia for sponsoring some of the event and speakers.

Introducing Forest Bathing

Programme participants on a trail

Many people are hearing about the concept of ‘Shinrin Yoku’ a Japanese term often translated as ‘Forest Bathing’. Shinrin - Yoku has been seen as a formal activity in Japan since 1982 when it was launched by the Forest Service as a means to encourage the use of forests for health and relaxation. While this term is being used in the national press (see Telegraph link below), there are many other similar examples such as the concept ‘waldeinsamkeit’, the idea of being alone in the woods and at one with nature (Carlile, 2015) and the Kurparks of Germany (De Wit, 2014) which have been in use since the 1850s to encourage walking and sitting in specially created, often municipal forests, some linked to natural springs and spas.

My own work using forests, woodlands and community parks, incorporates mindfulness, sense awareness and a range of other activities such as walking and chi kung. In fact my work in this area is referred to in a report for the UK Forestry Commission (Ambrose - Oji, 2013). Many have benefitted from this approach, one person described going into the forest as having a 'shower of green' that washed away the stress of the day!

Visiting a Forest, a nearby woodland, or simply watching tress in a local park can be a simple way of escaping from the frantic world around us, letting go of the technology which seems to cry out for our non-stop attention and finding a place to stop, to appreciate what is 'real' not 'fake'.

Ambrose-Oji, B. (2013) Mindfulness Practice in Woods and Forests: An Evidence Review., Research Report for The Mersey Forest, Farnham, Forest Research.

Carlile, A. (2015) Nature 365. Richmond, Aus. Hardie Grant Publishing

De Wit, S. I. (2014). Suburbs and super-nature: How the Wasserkrater exposes an invisible landscape.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/asia/japan/articles/forest-therapy-japan-bathing-woods-wellness-relax/

Connections

Connecting flowers, butterflies, pollination, food chains

Connection

There are times when connections may be hard to see, to understand, to value and there are definitely times when many of us may feel disconnected from the world. Our actions can seem like they are of no major consequence, and we may feel like we exist in our own vacuum. Yet, the truth is that our simplest thought or action - the decisions we make each day, and how we see and relate to the world - can be incredibly significant and have a profound impact on the lives of those around us, as well as the world at large. The earth and everything on it is bound by an invisible connection between people, animals, plants, the air, the water, and the soil. Insignificant actions on your part, whether positive or negative, can have an impact on people and the environment that seem entirely separate from your personal realm of existence. Staying conscious of the interconnection between all things can help you think of your choices and your life in terms of the broader effect you may be creating. 

Staying conscious of your connection to all things can help you think of your choices in terms of their impact. We are powerful enough that what we do and say can reverberate through the lives of people we may never meet. Understanding that you are intimately connected with all things and understanding your power to affect our world can be the first step on the road to living more consciously. Maybe think about connections when you are deciding where to invest your energy in the future.

Perspectives

Perspective can be about choice, which viewpoint to adopt

Much of our work is done outside, in forests, on mountains and on the sea shore. One of the things participants learn quickly is the power of recognising that we can choose a viewpoint. We can also choose to look back, look forwards or simply look around us. The key is to look AND to notice, to actually be alert to what we see and to how we respond to it. On the walk pictured we saw a Peregrine falcon take a wood pigeon in flight, feathers everywhere, result - a dead pigeon, or a meal for a partner back on the nest with chicks waiting to fledge? A piece of drama played out in front of our eyes or an example of how suddenly life can change? Perhaps all of these, and in our work we always use reflection and discussion to draw out individual perspectives, examining how what we learn can be applied in our daily lives.

For example a driver overtakes very fast, pulling sharply in front of you to avoid another car. Do you allow rage to develop, shocked at their behaviour or be thankful that you were able to avoid a collision? Do you think they were a bad driver or that they were rushing to the hospital where their partner was giving birth? It is all about perspectives.

Healing Myself - Forest Therapy

We've all heard the phrase 'physician heal thyself' and for me that has been necessary in the last few months. After contracting pneumonia I didn't rest well enough to fully recover and consequently suffered from the viral infection Shingles and at the same time a bacterial infection in my eyes. Typically (and I'm sure this effects most of us) I still didn't rest fully, instead getting bored and frustrated, all adding to low mood, more symptoms and slower recovery.

Then someone asked what as a health professional I would advice my clients to do and that prompted a more relaxed, fulfilling and more mindful journey back to wellbeing. Using the Mindfulness in Nature and Shinrin Yoku (forest therapy) principles I teach to others, I planned to recover rather than rest. This plan did include long and sustained periods of rest and relaxation but now as a scheduled part of the process rather than the 'Bust' part of the Boom and Bust cycle many with an illness are familiar with, one minute getting on with life fully then the next being shattered from doing too much, too soon.

My activities included daily meditation (for slightly shorter sessions to be less of a 'must do this' activity) initially in the morning and then as a means of preparing to go to bed too. Daily walks, but as mindfulness practice rather than exercise (of course they can be both and as I recovered I could choose to be faster and still notice surroundings, thoughts and body though I find the slower 'Forest Therapy walk more fulfilling).

When with clients we often spend periods in silence and also in joint reflection, so some of my walks included a partner so we could share what we noticed and both have the benefit of time together and in silence. Being in a forest has great therapeutic benefit, there can be stillness and movement, new sights and sounds and I often find being under the green canopy of leaves with dappled sunlight breaking through is almost like a shower washing away depression, fatigue and other symptoms.

Right to Roam

We spend a lot of time in Scotland, working, having fun, simply being in the outdoors. This film illustrates why.