Another Way to Listen: Forest Bathing and Nature Connection By: Scot Pipkin, Director of Education and Engagement
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've been told tales of people who can hear things in nature that most of us would call “silent.” It’s not just that they have acute hearing and are capable of registering very low decibel levels. It’s a skill that gets developed through deep observation of the natural world and time spent opening oneself to nature’s messages.
We sat down with Elena and Ben to ask them more about their approach to nature connection and how they encourage those around them to listen to nature’s messages.
The payoff is the abilit y to hear a cactus bloom, detect the crackle of a sunrise, or to register a rock sort of murmur something nice to a lizard. While these may seem like farfetched occurrences, there is sincerit y and even a truth in the effort to listen to our surroundings. If you can suspend your disbelief and make a practice of quietly observing and learning from the natural world around you, I can guarantee you will hear, see, and feel some of the most incredible things you may ever experience.
Ben: As I receive this question today, my thought is that forest bathing is the practice of being nature, of being what we are. Forest bathing creates a time and a space for us to set aside the stories of ourselves and experience what it feels like to be ecological, to be enmeshed in the world.
However, for many of us, cultivating this practice isn’t easy. Hearing a seed germinate might sound outlandish and seeking that sound by sitting outside in silence may seem like folly. But what if I told you those efforts are empirically beneficial to your health? A great body of evidence has accumulated over recent decades suggesting that quiet time in nature can reduce depression and anxiet y. Time outside also increases our exposure to phytoncides- compounds that plants broadcast into the air which have been shown to attack pathogens. Simply put, time in nature can increase our emotional and physical well-being. . . regardless of whether you actually hear the unhearable. So, how do we make a shift from not even listening to hearing all of the wonder and miraculous energy of nature? There is a growing practice of Forest Bathing that encourages us to tune into nature’s many voices and hear what they have to say. Here at The Garden, we have been working with certified Forest Bathing/Forest Therapy instructors who invite participants to quietly engage with the natural world through a series of guided activities and discussions. Since 2019, Elena Rios has facilitated Forest Therapy walks in The Garden as a Certified Nature Forest Therapy Guide through the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy Guides. Elena combines decades of experience as a wildland firefighter with her identit y as a Nahua Chicana artist and dancer to connect participants with a deeper sense of place. Ben Page is the founder of Integral Forest Bathing and has served as a Forest Therapy guide since 2015, traveling the globe to share his approach to listening. Ben’s recent book, Healing Trees: A Pocket Guide to Forest Bathing, was published by Simon and Schuster in 2021.
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Please describe what Forest Bathing/Forest Therapy/ Shinrin-Yoku means to you.
Elena: To me, it is rooted in the ancient human practice of nature connection that is reflected in indigenous knowledge all over the world. It speaks to our inter-being, and/or our interdependence on the environment as it relates to overall health and well-being. It is expressed in many different media whether it be through science, language, cultural gatherings, dance, song, poetry, storytelling, art, and more. It is presented in such a way as to welcome all languages and forms of expression in which a rich diverse cross-section of people can relate. My relationship to the practice of nature connection has continued to unfold throughout my life whether as a former wildland firefighter, growing food, or as expressed within the context of my indigenous cultural traditions. I have also been greatly influenced by a 20-year friendship and collaboration with Japanese Shinto Priest Hiroji Seikiguchi. Can you share a moment where you or one of your participants has experienced a profound connection with nature while forest bathing? Ben: It’s a funny thing really because I find that the most profound experiences people can have while forest bathing are those that cannot be described in words. When they happen, people feel something deep in their bodies that is somehow ineffable. I have heard people try to describe it as a sense of belongingness, awe, or infinite relationship, but even these terms seem to fall flat of the lived experience itself. Ultimately, I don’t even know if the word ‘profound’ is particularly helpful here, as these kinds of experiences often come through a state of deep attention that is activated by something as simple as seeing a drop of rain falling on a pond, or deeply smelling a flower or hearing wind as it rushes through the trees. These simple kinds of experiences have a certain profundit y to them when we remember how to experience them fully, but they may seem profound when one attempts to describe them later. Perhaps the best way to put it
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