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Become Home with Nature
Become Home with Nature
"With each step the Earth heals us, and with each step we heal the Earth."
"With each step the Earth heals us, and with each step we heal the Earth."
- Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh
- Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh
Forest bathing is an evidence-based practice and meditation that helps us reduce stress, anxiety and depression by reconnecting us with the natural flow of our environment. I have guided hundreds of people - from Fortune 500 CEO's and movie stars to my parents and old friends - on forest bathing meditations, helping them slow down and bring awareness to the world around. Every one of them was touched by this deep encounter with Nature, many rediscovering a childlike sense of wonder and renewed awe at the incredible miracles of our universe that flow through and around us.
Life is a garden
Life is a garden
- not a road. We enter and exit through the same gate. Wandering, where we go matters less than what we notice (1).
Two of my first forest bathing participants were Arianna Huffington and her sister (and fellow meditation teacher) Agapi. They asked me to write a piece for their Thrive blog to share a taste of their beautiful experience. I invite you to take a deep breath, let it go, and walk with us through the garden.
Take my hand. We will walk. We will only walk. We will enjoy our walk without thinking of arriving anywhere (2).
We begin with the poetry of mindfulness teacher and peace advocate Thich Nhat Hanh, helping us arrive home to the present moment with every step.
Each step brings a fresh breeze, each step makes a flower bloom under our feet. Kiss the Earth with your feet, print on Earth your love and happiness (2).
We remove our shoes to ground into the Earth's support, feeling deeply into every motion as we step mindfully onto the firm stones and soft grass.
Forget not that the Earth delights to feel your bare feet, and the winds long to play with your hair (3).
Ka lā i ka Mauli ola – The sun at the source of life (4).
We sense the four elements moving life through and around us – the whistling wind, firm Earth, flowing water, and hot Sun.
Mōhala i ka wai ka maka o ka pua
Mōhala i ka wai ka maka o ka pua
- Unfolded by the water are the faces of the flowers (4).
We open our eyes to the colors of the lotuses blossoming in the lake, the soft sounds of birds warbling and shakuhachi (Japanese bamboo flute) singing, the smells of life breathing through us.
The miracle is not to walk on water or in thin air, but to walk on the Earth [with our own two feet]. Every day we are surrounded by miracles we don’t even recognize. The blue sky, white clouds, green leaves…All is a miracle (5).
We discover miracles all around us as we enter the woods, feeling our bodies relax as we bathe in the forest beneath a towering Banyan tree.
Stand still
Stand still
The trees ahead and the bushes beside you are not lost…The forest breathes. Listen. It answers, I have made this place around you, if you leave it you may come back again, saying Here (6).
We stop and stand rooted deeply with the trees, allowing nature to bring us back into the simplicity and richness of Here and Now.
Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon? Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life (7)?
We reflect on the wonder of being alive and aware in every moment, and how we can more fully savor our precious moments of existence by slowing down and soaking it all in.
Man ded not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself (8).
Connected with the world around, we are naturally inspired to take greater care for our larger Self - the whole ecosystem of life.
I hope we can walk together someday soon.
Stories of the Forest
Stories of the Forest
Sagara - Bodyworker and Meditator
Sagara - Bodyworker and Meditator
I am an experienced meditator and love walking in forests alone. It was pleasant surprise that Nico’s forest bathing meditation helped me to connect with trees and the nature even more deeply.
When he invited participants to lie down on the ground, first I hesitated. It was cold autumn. I didn’t want to be wet or feel cold. But his gentle flute music seduced me to fall down on the ground. As soon as I lay down, I was carried by warm autumn leaves and soft earth. I felt the world had shifted upside down. Time had stopped!
My vision shifted and I saw with my open eyes clearly everything starting to lose its boundaries. Each green/yellow leaf was transforming into small particles. Everything was vibrating luminously as a huge web of energy, continuously moving fluidly like a gentle wave. I was just a small part of the life energy web dancing with grace. I felt at home in this universe, knowing It knows exactly where we are and It is taking care of us even when we don’t know where we are on our paths.
The experience left me feeling of awe, gratitude and deeply loved by trees. Thank you Nico for a magical forest bathing tour 😊
Sources
Sources
(1) Kurt Vonnegut - Cat’s Cradle
(2) Thich Nhat Hanh - Walking Meditation
(3) Khalil Ghibran - The Prophet
(4) ‘Ōlelo No‘eau – Hawaiian Proverbs
(5) Thich Nhat Hanh - The Miracle of Mindfulness
(6) David Wagoner - Lost
(7) Mary Oliver - The Summer Day
(8) Chief Sealth - Farewell Address
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