My initial experience with sacred plant medicine. After our orientation gathering in the nice warm conference sized yurt, we were sent out into the freezing rain and sleeting late afternoon. Alone. In the woods. With our mission to find a plant that would share its medicinal properties with us. What?! Find a talking plant?
This was so good! Please, I need you to keep writing because my curiosity is off the charts right now! Just this week, I was telling my friend how much I want to go to a retreat in some enchanting fairy forest to become a herb-whisperer or something. But let's be real: I'm more of a "glamping" than camping person, and my usual brush with nature is battling the wilderness of the supermarket produce aisle. This whole thing is fascinating and I'm here for it!
Thank you Sandra! It's a writer's dream to know their writing touches someone. My camping story is how Part 2 starts off. As I continue to share posts, you'll see that you don't have to be deep in a forest to connect with Nature. Maybe a little more than the produce aisle 😂 but even a house plant or pet can get us there. We can have "enchanting fairy forest" moments where we are.
I honestly can’t wait to hear more! There are plants in my house that have a 50% survival rate on any given week. Which is hilarious because my mom has the greenest thumb - she’s owned a plant nursery! Poor me did not inherit this connection with nature. And although it’s a slight exaggeration, I always say that nature and I get along best with a pane of glass between us. 🤣 Europe has been good for me to get outside more, though. It’s gorgeous here everywhere. This was me last weekend - proof that I do, in fact, go outside!
Well, that means even more that you subscribed 💜 You can live vicariously through my writing... and maybe something will spike your curiosity enough to enjoy Nature a little more. And as you will see in my next post, I'm not a big camper either 😎
Thank you Catriona! I love that you were able to hear their personalities and dreams! Always interesting after writing and I read back what messages came through.
This is beautiful Tania. I've always wanted to experience a wilderness right-of-passage excursion. I'm not sure that is in my future, but I can relate to this story because I have had a few interesting experiences in nature that I have never been able to explain. I love reading how you were able to listen to the more-than-human communication that is all around us.
Thank you so much Angela! I hope to read about your interesting Nature experiences in one of your future newsletters 😉 I'm going to start posting simple exercises to help deepen our connection with Nature. I want to promote more "hands on"/personal experiences and then hopefully readers will share their experiences here on Sacred Environment or at least link to their newsletter where they wrote about their experience. 🌿
I feel this! I first heard of Beuhner from David Abram at a retreat in Wyoming where we did pretty similar things. (David said he was mentored in his writing by Beuhner.) My rational mind was so confused at first! It is amazing what you experience when you just get quiet and pay attention. You’ve captured that initiation into imaginative engagement so well here.
Thank you for reading and commenting Julie 🌿Stephen Buhner has a wonderful book "Ensouling Language: On the Art of Nonfiction and the Writer's Life". It's nice to know that my story resonated with your experiences as well. I am curious about the phrase "imaginative engagement" that you've used.
Yeah, that's the book David recommended. It's on my shelf, waiting patiently. 😁 I think my phrase was influenced by David's teaching that our imagination is another faculty, like smell, touch, hearing, etc. The word "image" in it gives a clue to its power. Images go beyond what we think of as rational sense, and are just as real (if not more so). Does that resonate?
It does, thank you! You gave me a different perspective on the word imagination. Something for me to journal. I sense vs vision. I wonder if that is because I was brought up with imagination having negative connotations. "You're making it up" equated to lying, possibly? Even though I was sensing/seeing into a bigger field. Hmm.
Inspiring and very real thoughts!
Thank you Barbara 🌿
This was so good! Please, I need you to keep writing because my curiosity is off the charts right now! Just this week, I was telling my friend how much I want to go to a retreat in some enchanting fairy forest to become a herb-whisperer or something. But let's be real: I'm more of a "glamping" than camping person, and my usual brush with nature is battling the wilderness of the supermarket produce aisle. This whole thing is fascinating and I'm here for it!
Thank you Sandra! It's a writer's dream to know their writing touches someone. My camping story is how Part 2 starts off. As I continue to share posts, you'll see that you don't have to be deep in a forest to connect with Nature. Maybe a little more than the produce aisle 😂 but even a house plant or pet can get us there. We can have "enchanting fairy forest" moments where we are.
I honestly can’t wait to hear more! There are plants in my house that have a 50% survival rate on any given week. Which is hilarious because my mom has the greenest thumb - she’s owned a plant nursery! Poor me did not inherit this connection with nature. And although it’s a slight exaggeration, I always say that nature and I get along best with a pane of glass between us. 🤣 Europe has been good for me to get outside more, though. It’s gorgeous here everywhere. This was me last weekend - proof that I do, in fact, go outside!
Well, that means even more that you subscribed 💜 You can live vicariously through my writing... and maybe something will spike your curiosity enough to enjoy Nature a little more. And as you will see in my next post, I'm not a big camper either 😎
What beautiful messages you got from those plants. We can hear their personalities and dreams. This is beautiful!
Thank you Catriona! I love that you were able to hear their personalities and dreams! Always interesting after writing and I read back what messages came through.
This is beautiful Tania. I've always wanted to experience a wilderness right-of-passage excursion. I'm not sure that is in my future, but I can relate to this story because I have had a few interesting experiences in nature that I have never been able to explain. I love reading how you were able to listen to the more-than-human communication that is all around us.
Thank you so much Angela! I hope to read about your interesting Nature experiences in one of your future newsletters 😉 I'm going to start posting simple exercises to help deepen our connection with Nature. I want to promote more "hands on"/personal experiences and then hopefully readers will share their experiences here on Sacred Environment or at least link to their newsletter where they wrote about their experience. 🌿
I feel this! I first heard of Beuhner from David Abram at a retreat in Wyoming where we did pretty similar things. (David said he was mentored in his writing by Beuhner.) My rational mind was so confused at first! It is amazing what you experience when you just get quiet and pay attention. You’ve captured that initiation into imaginative engagement so well here.
Thank you for reading and commenting Julie 🌿Stephen Buhner has a wonderful book "Ensouling Language: On the Art of Nonfiction and the Writer's Life". It's nice to know that my story resonated with your experiences as well. I am curious about the phrase "imaginative engagement" that you've used.
Yeah, that's the book David recommended. It's on my shelf, waiting patiently. 😁 I think my phrase was influenced by David's teaching that our imagination is another faculty, like smell, touch, hearing, etc. The word "image" in it gives a clue to its power. Images go beyond what we think of as rational sense, and are just as real (if not more so). Does that resonate?
It does, thank you! You gave me a different perspective on the word imagination. Something for me to journal. I sense vs vision. I wonder if that is because I was brought up with imagination having negative connotations. "You're making it up" equated to lying, possibly? Even though I was sensing/seeing into a bigger field. Hmm.
Exactly!! Imagination has been maligned and misunderstood and belittled. When really it's a powerful faculty / tool.