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What’s in Motion?

“I welcome you to follow me on a wander from here, using your awakened senses to simply notice what’s in motion along the way.” It was a still day yesterday as I walked. The cold air bit my face, but it seemed that it was my movement, not the wind’s, that allowed that touch. There was no breeze. It was uncannily silent. No bird or beast was heard, and I saw no trace of any animal. Even the grasses and the leaves were unmoving. Other than myself, the only thing that moved was the sun as it slowly rose, changing from a deep red stain on the horizon to a warm orange ball. And the river still babbled and trickled, though muted by the thin sheet of ice that lay on top like a cold blanket. But then, in the midst of this stillness, a hawk flew from a tree, and using currents of the wind (unseen and unfelt by me) high above, circled and glided magnificently overhead. And as if that were an invitation, the breeze started to gently blow and a single remaining brown leaf on a maple tree flapped i...
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Trust

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  “What if what was happening in this moment was exactly the right thing? What would it feel like to trust that flowers bloom at the precise moment they are ready?” I meditated on this scroll activity actually a little while ago, but wanted to take some time to reflect on it before writing anything down. And I think that I still don’t have an answer. The question seems to show the divide between the human and the more-than-human world. The flowers, the trees and all the plants and animals seem to accept the world as it is. They roll with the punches, as the saying goes. There is a quiet acceptance of life and of the impermanence of things. And there seems to be a peace that goes with that. In the human world, I want more control. I want to order my life, and build security and permanence. A pastor once was talking about time and discussed the concepts of kronos  and kairos.  The former is the passage of time in orderly chunks, which we follow but can order our lives aroun...
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Pleasures of Presence

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 “And I wonder, without needing our vision, what the heart might be reaching towards in that direction? Perhaps it’s something very close to us; perhaps the heart is reaching across the continent or across the oceans, towards something very far away? I wonder what your heart will beat for?” These phrases in the meditation known as Pleasures of Presence  struck deep today, rekindling the embers of grief. That grief over so many losses - the deaths of my father, the death of  the mother who gave birth to me and the mother who raised me after her death, death of family, friends and colleagues - asks the question “What will your heart beat for?”  What is the point when so much that was loved is absent and deep holes are cut out of my heart? And the forest answers, and the trees say “This. THIS! Be here, now. Be HERE, now. Be here, NOW. BE here, now.” There is no other answer. Five senses reaching out. My eyes see the colors of the leaves. The green, the orange, the red. ...
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An Early Morning Meditation Time

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  It was a colder morning today than in the afternoon of my first experience yesterday. I am glad that I chose to wear my hooded woolen cloak, which made sitting on the cold concrete bench more comfortable. I still went barefoot, as I appreciate the grounding effect it has and it brings me closer to the natural world, but my feet were certainly numb by the end of the roughly half hour encounter. There was more noise made by humans today, which was strange to me, given that it is early on a Saturday morning, but I heard the neighbors’ cars and trucks running in their driveways, voices speaking, and a dog barking. It all seemed intrusive on the more-than-human world and emphasized to me how far removed we so often are in our modern lives. Although I had completed my morning prayer, it seemed fitting to pray in this natural environment, so I silently prayed with my prayer rope, as I observed my surroundings. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner. But then a slight ...
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Reflections on my First Sit Spot Experience

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This is the place where I sit. It’s a comfortable little place. I am using the guidelines that the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy provides for “sit spot” in my guide certification course: https://www.natureandforesttherapy.earth/ “Sit Spot   Sit spot is a core practice in Forest Therapy and many other nature connection practices.  Frequency :   Two to three  times per  week  for 20 min or more .  There may be  weeks   when  you  visit your sit spot  every day  and  weeks   when  it is hard to  do sit spot  even  twice.  Do the best you can. The purpose of sit spot is to deepen your own nature connection ,  which is  vital to guiding authentically  and partnering with the forest.   You may  go directly to your sit spot  or  find that you prefer to wander for a  while and then sit .   O r  perhaps the opposite works ...
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