Hello fellow wanderers,
It isn’t to often that I get an opportunity to post something in my own words nowadays. It was a very busy summer for my family and I and I wish there would have been more interest from the growing Shinrin-reiki community to interact with one another and offer to either create weekly/monthly posts or even become an official editorial contributor to the site. But I digress… I love the fact that the community is growing and moving in the right direction as it stands.
Earlier on in the spring/summer there was a lot of great information about Shinrin-yoku, where to learn about it, what it was, how to experience it first hand and I was able to find a lot of great resources and events to share with you. At some point, some popular actor/actress said they were doing Shinrin-yoku. One would think that would have a positive effect on progressing the activity as a whole, well, let me tell you, it was the worst thing that could have happened to a site that aggregates news and events to share with it’s followers. One article referenced another article, which referenced another article and at the end of the day, after reading over a dozen articles, they all lead back to the same original article with their own twist. Most of the information coming out over the summer was just a rehashing of existing news articles and information and it made it very difficult to be able to post authentic information that everyone could enjoy and learn from. A lot of articles watered it down to the point of going for a walk in the woods to better your health, which isn’t exactly incorrect but for the fullest benefits of this wonderful modality, they really left out the guts of the matter.
As mentioned, it was a very busy summer with my family… in a wonderful and positive way mind you. When not working, we found ourselves at a local beach every day or night to play in the water, waves, and sand. The evenings we didn’t go to the beach we found our selves wandering through the local forests, sitting in the woods, creating spaces to visit more often as it gets to cold to visit the shore. We would sit, look, listen, smell, taste and feel everything around us and then we would talk about how we felt in that time and moment. I believe its wonderful for a little two and half year old to be able to experience all this and then be able to explain to others his experience during the time we have together.
As we move into fall, just because the weather decides to cool off a bit, don’t let yourself fall prey to the notion that just because the bears hibernate, you should too… It is just as important for you to get out and prepare for a wonderful winter of enjoying the forests as you did during the warmer summer months. While it does require a bit more preparation and caution on your part, it is non the less a wonderful time and experience to behold. For those of us that do live with 3 or 4 seasons, I will be writing some article on better ways to prepare for the inevitable snowfall and how to work with nature and your sacred space in order to enjoy it all winter long.
For those of you who already have snow on the ground I can only offer you this, be careful, always let someone know exactly where you will be, don’t expose yourself to the elements for long periods of time, make sure you wear the appropriate clothing for the conditions, if possible carry along with you both survival gear/food, as well as medical/first aid gear. I can go on and on but the long and short is, if you don’t normally venture out in the snow, then perhaps you should stay as close to home as possible. Create a new sacred space you wont get hurt getting too. It is more important to keep our community safe!!!! Always think Safety First.
If you find that in the winter it is difficult for you to be able to get out into the woods, dont go! Take a little time before the first snow to create a connection to your sacred space. At this point, through several different modalities you can create and sustain that connection to your space and travel to it when ever you need to. In the winter it is always a wonderful time to switch focus to Reiki, Tai Chi, Chi Gong, Yoga, Shamanism or a variety of other healing modalities that strengthen your spiritual connection until next spring/summer/fall.
Enjoy and Stay Safe!
Admin