Forest Therapy Sit Spot Reflections

 “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. ...

  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 ...

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 ...