Forest Bathing Victoria

The blush of budding vegetation in the spring may be the South Island's version of break-up on Canada's rivers. Stopping and noticing is a tonic, the forest is the apothecary.

The Forest Bath is open all year. In places it meets the Ice Bucket Challenge. It is always dynamic.

Soon. Real soon!

Our Aliveness depends on our ability to sustain wonder: to lengthen the moments we are truly uncovered, to be still and quiet till the elements of the earth an all the secrets of the oceans stir the aspects of life waiting within us. - Mark Nepo

I was out scouting today. I'm scheming to find ways and places to take small, real small, groups forest bathing. Stay tuned.

Openness. There is something about being in a forest that fosters openness. There I experience it while in life I can struggle to live it. A good deal of not-doing goes into opening up to experience. It is not-assuming you know what lies ahead of you or under a leaf. I once went into the forest with a friend who holds a PhD in natural sciences, teaches people about, and guides them through, various natural environments. She is a wealth of information. It was so nice to see he...r enter the forest in a state of wonder. That’s likely why she is a good scientist. Cognitive psychologists will explain that we economize on processing energy by forming mental heuristics of the world. I see a yellow bus on the road and without thinking I know what it is, what I can expect of it, and how I am supposed to react or behave. We are wired to make these short cuts, and to make meaning. Opening up to the forest involves suspending our preconceptions and bypassing meaning (as far as we can, we are only human). Openness is also not-seeking. We want to be slow enough and relaxed enough that we let the world come to us. I might invite people to notice what catches their eye, but that is a passive awareness rather than an active search. I discourage cameras while forest bathing because they lead us to look-for, and to notice the aspects of the forest that constitute our notion of a good picture. We want to let the forest in, not take it apart. Forest bathing is receptive, not selective. In life there can also be a vulnerability with openness. Fear and injuries over time may have eroded our openness. The forest is a comforting place to be and naturally easy to open to. Openness in life correlates with mental flexibility, creativity, emotional resilience, connection, and self confidence. Happily, the openness fostered through forest bathing is readily carried away with us.

TWO HOURS IS THE RECOMENDED MINIMUM WEEKLY NATURE CONTACT ???? Who doesn't enjoy a walk in the woods? I bet you come back satisfied with the time spent. But do you need 2 hours a week? A British study says so, and it can be in one session or several that total 120 minutes. BUT! The study quantified "recreational contact". Forest Bathing cultivates mindful and intentional ways of being. Practicing these in the forest can build our habits of pacing, openness, attention, and gratitude. When the habits are formed subsequent, passing contact with nature can be richer than otherwise, and we are healthier generally.

Openness is element of Forest Bathing, an important one and one which is nice to carry away from the experience. "Our aliveness depends on our ability to sustain wonder: too lengthen the moments we are truly uncovered, to be still and quiet till the elements of the earth and all the secrets on the oceans stir the aspects of life waiting within us." - Calendar Wisdom