Mindful Connections

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: ...

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 These days we don’t believe in evil spirits anymore, they’ve been replaced by man-ipulated germs 🦠  I wonder if ‘touching wood’ has contributed to keeping nature lovers like me, fit and healthy all these years.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...

Mother of the Woods The magnificent Beech Tree, Mother of the woods. Beech trees rise up and stand tall often to approx 140 feet high.  They spread their canopies out to nearly as wide to approx 130 feet, offering a cool and dry place on the forest floor.  Her bark is smooth and silky and invites your hands to touch her.  If you stand within a Beech grove; you will feel the magical grace that exudes from her and the ambience texture in the air. Regarded as the Mother of the woods for her protective and nurturing persona; she invites us to open our senses allowing us to perceive the elemental work of nature and is said to inspire and let us creativity flow. HEALING Ancient folklore says that the water found in hollow beech tree “will cure both man and beast of any scurf or scab”. Beech tree has been used for many skin complaints such as eczema and psoriasis and also as an ingredient of the expectorant used for bronchitis. The leaves also have a uses as are cooling and bind...