Hello,
It's Rebecca here,
I'm founder of Forest Connections,
And you are very welcome here.
I'm out today in one of my favourite woodlands,
Sitting by a stream,
You may be able to hear it babbling along over the stones,
And I'm hoping you can hear the beautiful soundscape of the birds,
And I can hear some bees,
And I'm sitting here on a beautiful spring day with the sun just shining through some of the fresh new green leaves,
And I thought I'd come out and record an audio as a reminder for you and for me about the importance of our nature connection,
And the important awakening of our senses when we step into the forest or into the woodlands,
Or into our local park,
Or even into our back garden,
Or anywhere that you are able to immerse yourself in nature,
And at the start of every forest bathing session I run,
We begin with,
I guess it's a mindfulness meditation of sorts,
Of awakening our senses,
We spend so much of our time going around oblivious I think,
Or we focus on one of our senses,
We have a sense that we lead with,
And I think for a lot of people that is their sense of sight,
Those of us who are fortunate to have that sense,
And what this meditation,
If you like,
Allows us or enables us is to awaken all of our senses,
So if you're listening to this,
Just a few things before we get started,
Ideally you'll be outside,
And that doesn't matter where you are,
If you're in an urban park,
Or your garden,
Or a woodland if you're lucky enough,
But if you're indoors then maybe have a plant nearby,
Or failing that,
Look at a photograph or some nature that you can see in a photograph,
Or even online somewhere,
Something that inspires you,
That would be great.
If you've got headphones in then maybe just have one in so that you can listen to me through one ear and then tune into your own soundscape that's around you,
And there's something beautiful about doing that.
So shall we begin?
So first of all I invite you to just become aware of your breathing,
And by that I just mean as you inhale maybe say the words,
I am aware of my in-breath,
As you do so.
I am aware of my in-breath.
I am aware of my out-breath.
Let's do that a few times.
In-breath.
Out-breath.
In-breath.
Out-breath.
There's no need to deepen your breathing,
It's just there's something beautiful about actually becoming aware of our body breathing,
And noticing that.
And I'd like you now to become aware of your body,
And whether you are sitting down or standing up,
Either works.
I'm sitting down on the woodland floor,
Whatever you feel most comfortable with.
And what I invite you to do is to become aware of your body in this space,
And imagine if you will that your feet or your bottom are connected to the ground,
You're rooted.
And imagine that you're growing roots out through the bottom of your feet,
That are connecting you to the trees and the shrubs and the plants that might be all around you.
We're kind of reconnecting,
Remembering that we are part of nature.
It's so easy in our busy lives to feel disconnected.
So by imagining roots,
We are reconnecting ourselves to the beauty of nature that's all around us.
And if that doesn't resonate with you so much,
That's absolutely fine.
So how about instead taking a moment to take in the awesomeness of gravity?
The power of gravity that keeps us standing,
Sitting,
Lying down on the earth without floating off.
That's pretty awesome,
Right?
So when you're ready,
I'd like you to consider your sense of touch.
We've already begun with sensing our feet or our bottom on the ground.
What does that feel like?
Does it feel like you may have your feet in socks or shoes or maybe you're burrowing your feet into the earth?
What sensations do you feel?
Where do you feel the air touching your skin?
Does it feel cool?
Does it feel hot?
What's it like to feel the breeze in your hair or on your face or your arms,
Whichever bit of your body is exposed?
What do you notice in that?
What about sensations inside your body?
Can you feel your heart beating?
Can you feel your lungs breathing?
The rise and fall against your clothing maybe?
We don't often stop to consider this,
Do we?
What are you noticing?
And when you're ready,
Let's turn our attention now to our hearing.
What are the close-by sounds you're aware of?
And what about those in the distance?
Can you hear the combination of sounds where you are mixing in with the sounds you can hear through this audio?
What's that like?
Can you hear sounds within you?
My tummy just rumbled.
You may have picked that up.
Can you listen even more?
And maybe if you're comfortable to do so,
You could close your eyes so you can focus on just what you can hear.
Leaning in.
Let's spend a few moments doing that.
Oh,
That feels good.
And when you're ready,
Let's turn our senses,
Let's turn our tune in,
Rather,
To both our sense of taste and smell.
These two are often linked together,
And for many of us there are least developed senses.
I love watching dogs out walking or other animals when you see them smelling the air.
What do they do?
They put their heads back and take in everything around them.
Or then their noses are right down by the ground,
Sniffing and snuffling away on the scent of something.
What can you smell around you right now?
I'm currently surrounded by wild garlic,
And it's filling the air with flowers and the leaves.
And if I breathe through my mouth,
I can taste it.
What are you aware of?
You may be able to smell flowers around you,
Maybe,
Or the undergrowth,
The beautiful smell of the earth.
I've got leaves here.
I don't know if you can hear that,
But smelling that is beautiful.
The old leaves that fell in the autumn.
Maybe you can smell a coffee shop nearby.
Or if you're at home,
Maybe baking or something,
Cooking.
And what about tastes?
Maybe the taste within your own mouth.
The tea you've just drunk,
Maybe,
Or whatever you've just eaten.
How might you develop these senses more?
What I invite you to do next is,
If you are comfortable to do so,
Is to close your eyes or to lower your gaze and to stand if you've been sitting.
And I'd like you to take in,
With all your senses apart from your sense of sight,
All that's around you in this direction.
Maybe tilt your head upwards or lower it down to the earth.
What are you noticing?
And when you're ready,
I'd like you to turn 90 degrees to your right.
And notice what's different in this direction.
Maybe it feels cooler or warmer or louder.
And then when you're ready,
Turn another 90 degrees to your right.
And what are you picking up on the air in this direction?
Still with your eyes closed if possible.
Maybe take a few breaths here.
I am aware of my in-breath.
I am aware of my out-breath.
And when you're ready,
Take another 90 degree turn.
And what's different here?
Are you able to notice any differences in all these different directions you're facing?
What are you picking up with your senses?
And in a few moments,
I'm going to ask you to slowly open your eyes,
But don't do so just yet.
What I'd like you to do,
What I'd invite you to do is to,
When you do open your eyes,
To do so as if for the first time,
As if you're a newborn.
I invite you now just to turn in a direction that your body wants to take you in.
Be guided by your little gut.
And now slowly open your eyes and take in the whole view that's around you.
Noticing every little detail with your eyes.
What do you see?
What do you see with brand new eyes as if for the first time?
I love this exercise because it just reminds me of the beauty all around us.
For me,
Sat here,
There's all of the new growth that I'm seeing.
The ferns unfurling.
The bluebells,
The wild garlic.
The new leaves on the beech trees and the sycamore.
The pale greens.
The stream constantly flowing.
What are you noticing in your environment?
I'd like to finish with a beautiful poem by the Irish writer John O'Donoghue.
This poem is called For the Senses and it feels utterly appropriate.
For the Senses.
May the touch of your skin register the beauty of the otherness that surrounds you.
May your listening be attuned to the deeper silence where sound is honed to bring distance home.
May the fragrance of a breathing meadow refresh your heart and remind you you are a child of the earth.
And when you partake of food and drink,
May your taste quicken to the gift and sweetness that flows from the earth.
May your inner eye see through the surfaces and glean the real presence of everything that meets you.
May your soul beautify the desire of your eyes that you might glimpse the infinity that hides in the simple sights that seem worn to the usual eyes.
I hope you found this helpful,
Useful,
Inspiring.
Thank you for joining me and enjoy the rest of your day.
