10 Things I Learned At a Nature Connection Accelerator
Last fall while browsing the Internet, I stumbled upon the “Forest Bathing Club.”
Being an adventurous, outdoorsy gal myself, I decided to look further into this club only to discover it was actually based out of San Francisco and not North Carolina where I was living and attending school. It dawned on me that I would be spending the summer in San Francisco so I decided to reach out.
So much of my childhood had been spent playing outside that I have always felt a deep appreciation and connection for the natural world so it seemed that the club aligned with my own values. Fast forward several months later to the Bay Area and I have recently completed my first Forest Bathing Club immersion thanks to the founders of the club Julia Plevin and Sam Lazarus who kindly invited me to attend their Forest Bathing Accelerator, the first of its kind. It still amazes me that a North Carolina native was able to partake in this accelerator happening across the country, but it remains reminder that when we are called to do something we must listen and go. As soon as I stumbled upon the Forest Bathing Club, I felt called to connect with the people and mission behind it. What I have learned since then is that the Forest Bathing Club is way more than a club, or a retreat, or a program — it is a movement of people who are ready to change the world for the better, together.
I am here to share with you what I have learned so far from my experience working with Julia, Sam, and the Club but the work here is something that will take lifetimes to complete:
1. We come FROM this world
One quote that stood out to me from the accelerator was “we don’t come into this world, we come from this world.” It may seem insignificant at first, but the micro adjustment from “into” to “from” offers a significant perspective shift that has made me ponder my own existence.
So frequently we separate humanity from other animals, other living beings, and the natural world, but if we come FROM the world it puts us on an even playing field with the other living beings on this Earth, including Earth herself. Understanding that we (human beings) are the Earth, is fundamentally critical to designing our own lives in a way that is in service to Earth and ourselves.
2. Healing happens from the inside out and the outside in
Everyone has heard the phrase, “you are what you eat.” Of course this is only a metaphorical expression and that if you decide to eat fast food you don’t become fast food, but every ingredient whether it be chemicals or food in absorbed directly into our bodies. Hippocrates said it best when he said, “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” When we ingest foods that do not come directly from the Earth (such as fast food) we are putting ourselves at risk for experiencing an imbalance. For instance, when I eat processed foods that have been stripped from their nutrients, I am putting my body under stress. When our bodies are under stress, they have to overwork to digest or absorb the nutrients that we need from the foods we are eating.
Unfortunately, we have evolved into a culture of “fast food.” Sure it’s convenient (will touch on convenience later on), but fast food doesn’t always align with what our bodies need. When we are eating on the go, or eating meals that were not consciously prepared, we are not setting ourselves up for optimal nourishment. The same goes for when we rush to eat — when we don’t listen to our bodies while we are eating we can overeat making us feel full, sluggish, or even sick. Food is supposed to nourish and energize our bodies, not the opposite.
During the accelerator I was eating three nutrient rich, homemade meals a day. Our food was being prepared by a neighbor down the street who was taking the time to cook fresh seasonal ingredients, adding spices and decor that completed the nutrients and flavoring. The loving, conscious energy that was being transmitted into the preparation of our food was being directly transmitted into our own bodies during consumption. Not only was the food fresh, we were taking the time to sit down and thank our food, acknowledge our food. Taking the time to slow down and focus on my food allowed me to listen to what my body really needed in those moments. I was not eating to “ fill” myself, I was eating to “ nourish” myself.
The same goes with nourishing the Earth. The saying, “you are what you eat” translates on a much bigger scale because the Earth herself is also “what we eat.” In other words, the way we chose to nourish our own bodies directly translates to the nourishment of Earth — makes sense considering my previous point that we are in fact the Earth. If we are choosing to harm ourselves in any way, we are directly harming the Earth. The same goes for the Earth. If we are littering, spraying chemicals, or separating ourselves from nature we are directly harming ourselves.
Overall this is a good reminder that taking the time to go on the accelerator was not only in service to myself, it was in service to the Earth. In other words allowing myself time to go on the accelerator gave me time to heal myself internally — nature is healing. The accelerator allowed me to slow down, thank my food, think about my food, practice yoga, connect with nature and people, build community, the list goes on but most importantly, the accelerator created space that allowed me to properly nourish myself. Stepping outside of the accelerator with this framework has allowed me to continue to focus on ways I can continue to properly nourish my body even in environments that we do not have as much control over — such San Francisco. When I think about the dying forests, the acid rain, the logging, the rising waters, trash islands, and animal extinctions, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed, but the phrase “you are what you eat” reminds me that everything starts on a local scale. Choosing to not only understand what I need to bring myself back into balance, but doing so, is creating that larger scale change change. Nourishing myself IS nourishing the Earth and the more individuals that are living in balance, the faster we will be able to re-balance the Earth as a whole.
3. There are three great stories of our time
They are as follows:
- business as usual
- the great unraveling
- the great turning
These stories come from the work that Joanna Macy is doing to reconnect with the world, and they provide a framework for how we as a society choose to respond to the current situation of the world. On some level all these stories are true and happening. Business as usual is growth at all costs. The great unraveling is the story of climate activists who see life on the Planet degrading. The third story is for those who refuse to let the world continue to suffer.
The accelerator was a reminder that not only do we have the ability to choose the story we live by, it reminded me what story I need to be in. The Great Turning is a story committed to developing a life that is in harmony with the Earth — the same story that the Accelerator takes place in. Although none of these stories are right or wrong, as individuals we can chose which story we would like to put our energy towards. I highly recommend reading through these three stories and choosing the story you would like to be a part of, because after all, the way we chose to respond to our lives are influenced by our perceptions of the world.
4. Mentors are a MUST
At times it was challenging being the youngest person to attend the accelerator, but like everything it also had its perks. I was surrounded by people who I was eager to learn from, listen to, and share stories with, and in the end age did not matter. The people who were on this accelerator journey with me all had something to offer, but we all also had something to learn. Julia and Sam created this accelerator but the love and wisdom behind this experience came from a variety of teachers, healers, communities, and individuals from all over the world who had shared their wisdom previously with Sam and Julia. Similarly, the individual paths and experiences of everyone else in our accelerator community also brought something to offer from their previous teachers, experiences, and lives.
It’s so important to be a part of a community where you feel like you are learning just as much as you are giving and mentors can play a significant role in this exchange. When we have mentors, we have chosen people in our lives that we look up to, and who can help us become the best version of ourselves. It was important for me to learn that mentors are not people you aspire to become, they are people that help make you the best version of yourself you can become. Not only have I gone out of my way to find mentors, I also hope to create space that will allow me to be a mentor which will be important for building up this movement of reconnecting to the world.
5. Step aside Coco Chanel, Tom Ford, and Vera Wang: nature is our best designer
How often is it that we take the time to notice the beauty of the bird over head, the aerodynamic wings that enable this creature to sore above the clouds, or the beauty of the tree branches reaching high so the leaves can easily access the solar energy that it will later convert into food. We all know that nature inspires creativity, but so often we look past nature’s functional blueprint that is so easily our greatest teacher. Particularly when it comes to designing our own lives, companies, and innovations, we must align our ideas with the natural processes of nature so that we do not go out of balance.
6. The medicine I need is the medicine I have to offer
It’s wild to think that I only have one more year at University, but I’m ready to get out in the world. For me, University has been a time of self growth, developing skills that I perceive or have been told will be beneficial, and gaining experience. I do not like to seperate life from education, which I believe academics tends so often to do. Everyday we are constantly learning and growing and becoming the person we desire to be. During the accelerator I played around frequently with my intentions as a human being and I even wrote in my journal “my intentions are navigating my true self and finding the confidence to share that with the world while navigating the authenticity of those around me and letting them be who they are, while continuing to work on communication and deep listening skills.” Although these are my in fact my intentions, the accelerator provided me with a new framework for self and world growth that is in correspondence with the four directions and medicine wheel.
Setting intentions are another way of digging to create the space that I need to discover my true medicine. My medicine, I have learned is what heals me, gives me purpose, makes me unique, and is what I need in order to make the most of this precious life. Corresponding these intentions with the directions of the medicine wheel allowed me to integrate myself and being with a foundation that was in tune with the world — such as the four directions that correspond with the medicine wheel. Many times, college students such as myself are absorbed into thinking about what jobs they’re going to pursue, but I believe it is important to take time at this age to understand what medicine I have to offer. The accelerator was about taking that time to dive deep and find that medicine.
7. It doesn’t hurt to be naked in a Forest Bath
Although the term Forest Bath doesn’t necessarily imply that you have to be naked to get the full experience, I figured it couldn’t hurt. During a solo medicine walk, I couldn’t help but liberate myself from all of my clothing and belongings and streak through a field overlooking Mt. Shasta. The feeling was liberating, as though I had just removed the final “divide” between myself and Mother Nature. Standing in solitude in nature reminded me that I am nature, again a reminder that I come from this world. The air I was breathing out, the plants were breathing in, and we were co-consciously living in unison. The feeling was not only liberating, but healing, and I know that this deep connected feeling between myself and the lands are something I will only continue to nourish — it is part of my medicine if you will.
8. Trust your heart, it will lead you home
Ironically while I was out and about frolicking at the base of Mt. Shasta, I opened up a letter in a bag which read “trust your heart, let it lead your way home.” To me, trusting your heart is another way of saying follow your intuition. When we are not living in harmony with ourselves, the world, and our communities, it can be hard to follow or trust our intuition. When we allow ourselves to connect back to the world as we did on the accelerator, we are rebooting our own systems and allowing ourselves to align with our intuition and soul purpose. Trusting the heart also means slowing down the mind, cutting out the energy of doubt, worry, anxiety, judgment, or anything else that is straying us away from finding ourselves and our purposes. When we listen to our hearts, we are listening to wisdom that is cultivated both from within and from listening to the natural world. I’ve found that I can both feel and think with my heart when I have given myself the time to slow down and trust where it is going.
9. There is always room for GRATITUDE
Thank your food
Love yourself
Be empathetic
Be compassionate
Appreciate where you are
Appreciate the life you are working to create
Before every meal, our group would take the time to thank our food, and express something we were grateful for. It seems like such a simple concept, but so often our lives get too busy, or rushed, that we forget to slow down and take the time to acknowledge where we are. It’s truly amazing to look at all of the bright beautiful colors on your dinner plate knowing that they were harvested from Earth to nourish your body. It’s also truly amazing to acknowledge the presence of the people around you, because experiencing gratitude is another whole world when shared with community. The more often we take time out of our days to acknowledge the beauty of life, the more room we allow ourselves to understand how much there is to be grateful for in the everyday.
10. The trees will talk if you will listen
Communication is one of the most important aspects of life, but this does not stop at human to human communication. The way we communicate with other beings (even our own) whether it be verbally, non verbally, or some other way is one of the most important aspects of life. Sometimes direct, authentic communication can be challenging, but it’s needed during these times. Sometimes it’s challenging to directly communicate with other beings but it takes connection and deep listening to tune in to hear what they are saying. For me, I find that it comes with feeling, similar to the energetic surge I was previously describing as if the direct communication between myself and these other beings is through the heart. Simply acknowledging the presence of another being is a great place to start. So often we live with our eyes peeled down to the ground and our blinders up (just picture New York City) that we fail to even acknowledge the presence those around us. While acknowledgment comes in many forms such as direct eye contact, touch, language, it is the first step in direct communication. Sometimes just giving the tree a hug is enough, sometimes though the energy pulls me in and I sit with the trees and I listen. It is up to you how you communicate with these other beings, but know it’s important, and they have something to tell us. We must wake up to their messages.
Lastly, the work that was done throughout the accelerator is deep important work that allows us to connect with ourselves, the earth, and community. The most important part of this work is remembering to be patient, and stay playful because although this work is serious — it can be done playfully and light-heartedly. There are still moments when it feels like this work is more energy than it’s worth and just too hard, but these are the moments that matter most. Every second we have the ability to consciously make a decision that will guide us in the direction we were born to take, and in those moments when our decisions don’t align, we have the ability to get back on our feet. Resiliency is at the heart of innovation, so in order to move forward we must keep trying, and playing, and pushing onward together. It is easy to feel like you are alone on this journey, but this work can only be done together. After all, this is a movement of many lifetimes to come, and something as wonderful as the accelerator creates the space and community needed begin this journey together.
