Mindful Connections

REMEMBER Remember the sky that you were born under, know each of the star’s stories. Remember the moon, know who she is. Remember the sun’s birth at dawn, that is the strongest point of time. Remember sundown and the giving away tonight. Remember your birth, how your mother struggled to give you form and breath. You are evidence of her life, and her mother’s, and hers. Remember your father. He is your life, also. Remember the earth whose skin you are: red earth, black earth, yellow earth, white earth brown earth, we are earth. Remember the plants, trees, animal life who all have their tribes, their families, their histories, too. Talk to them, listen to them. They are alive poems. Remember the wind. Remember her voice. She knows the origin of this universe. Remember you are all people and all people are you. Remember you are this universe and this universe is you. Remember all is in motion, is growing, is you. Remember language comes from this. Remember the dance language is, that life...

We own the Forests By   Maria  |  April 12, 2021  |  0  Poem by Hans Børli Tanslated from Norwegian by: Louis muinzer 1952. I have never owned a tree. None of my people have ever owned a tree – though my family’s life-path winds over centuries’ blue heights of forest. Forest in storm, forest in calm – forest, forest, forest, through all the years. My people were always a poor people. Always. Children of life’s hard, iro-frost nights . Strangers own the trees, and the soil, the stone-heaped cleared by the light of the moon’s lamp. Strangers with smooth faces and pretty hands and their car always waiting outside the door. None of my people have ever owned a tree. And yet we own the forests by our bloods red right. Rich man, you with the car and the bank book and stock in Borregaard timber company; you can buy a thousand acres more, but you can’t buy the sunset, or the whisper of the wind, or the joy of walking homeward, when the heather blooms along the ...

Do you need to be guided in nature? By  Maria  |  April 12, 2021  |  0  We all know that spending time in nature is good for us and many of us have turned towards spending more time outside during this last year. So, why would we need to be guided in nature? We all know how to walk, hike or just spend time in nature; is this not the same thing? Is forest bathing simply sitting in nature and noticing a few things?  Another Fad? is this just the buzz thats around at the moment and everyone is joining in? Actually no! Forest bathing as it is translated into English has been around for many years especially if you look at where it has been influenced from. Shinrin Yoku was the term coined in the early 80’s in Japan when it developed this practice. Encouraging their people to move back into the forests and experience nature after a spike in stress related illness. Japan’s traditions included shinto and tao both of which offer practices and traditions that s...

Nature relationship vs Nature reconnection By  Maria  |  July 5, 2021 A Different Way…… A great article written by friend and fellow ANFT graduate Scott Poynton where he explores the difference between connection and relationship with nature. A great read and video. He says…. “We’ve been hearing a lot lately about how good it is for our overall well-being to spend time in Nature. I believe this to be an essential truth. From my personal perspective, one of my main self-care practices is walking quietly and reverently in forests. It really does help me. Yet, I think there’s a subtle change we might make in both the language we use and the way we think about the benefits of spending this additional time in Mother Nature. So often, people speak about the need to ‘reconnect’ with Nature, and the benefits we get when this reconnection happens. I feel this is a problem. This notion of the need to reconnect implies we’re not currently connected. It places us outside of Nature, s...

Are you Time Sick? By  Maria  |  July 5, 2021 Time Sick – a fabulous phrase coined by one of my ANFT teachers, Vicky Kyan. She used this and explained what this meant to her, on one of our training sessions. This phrase has stayed with me and mulls around into my mind at various times begging to be explored and then again and again, to go that little bit deeper. Time Sick We spend our entire lives bound by time.  What time we get up, what time we leave for our days work/school. chores, shopping….. What time we have lunch….. ” I always have lunch at X O’Clock”  And so the day goes on…. Fragmenting our day it to periods of time. Lack of In the process of this, we also create a “lack of” or limitation in our lives. How many times have you said to yourself “I don’t have enough time for this or that” “Time just disappears” ” Theres never enough time in the morning” “Theres never enough hours in the day” We know that our thoughts become our reality and when we listen ...

Tree Hugger The origin of the term “Tree hugger” The first tree huggers were 294 men and 69 women belonging to the Bishnois branch of Hinduism, who, in 1730, died while trying to protect the trees in their village from being turned into the raw material for building a palace.  They literally clung to the trees, while being slaughtered by the foresters.  But their action led to a royal decree prohibiting the cutting of trees in any Bishnoi village.  And now those villages are virtual wooded oases amidst an otherwise desert landscape.Not only that, the Bishnois inspired the Chipko movement (chipko means “to cling” in Hindi) that started in the 1970s, when a group of peasant women in the Himalayan hills of northern India threw their arms around trees designated to be cut down.  Within a few years, this tactic, also known as tree satyagraha, had spread across India, ultimately forcing reforms in forestry and a moratorium on tree felling in Himalayan regions.Source: ...

It is believed that time spent under the green canopy is critical in fighting a number of diseases and conditions.  The Japanese have known for years that spending mindful time in the woods is beneficial for body and soul. Now western doctors – and royals – agree Harriet Sherwood @harrietsherwood Sat 8 Jun 2019 13.00 BST Last modified on Sat 8 Jun 2019 20.25 BST Every day, apart from when it’s raining heavily, Dr Qing Li heads to a leafy park near the NipponMedical School in Tokyo where he works.  It’s not just a pleasant place to eat his lunch; he believes the time spent under the trees’ canopy is a critical factor in the fight against diseases, of the mind and body. Once a month Li spends three days in forests near Tokyo, using all five senses to connect with the environment and clear his mind.  This practice of shinrin-yoku – literally, forest bath – has the power to counter illnesses including cancer, strokes, gastric ulcers, depression, anxiety and stress, he says. I...

Touch Wood An expression that most of us know and use. I read this post below this morning from Ian Banyard a fellow nature connector and found it quite thought provoking. 🌳 TOUCH WOOD 🌳 A saying originating from the pagan (country dweller)belief that good spirits reside in trees such as oak, and hence, touching wood helps ward off evil spirits. …  Science is now discovering that reconnecting with nature, particularly trees, can boost our immune system, relax the busy mind, lift the spirit and stimulate deep insight. These days we don’t believe in evil spirits anymore, they’ve been replaced by man-ipulated germs 🦠  I wonder if ‘touching wood’ has contributed to keeping nature lovers like me, fit and healthy all these years.   As many of you know, I remain unconvinced that IT is safe (long-term), unconvinced IT works the way we were sold and unconvinced I need IT, to save my life, prevent long-term illness and improve my health.  I’m talking about the “IT that shal...