I thought the earth remembered me, she took me back so tenderly, arranging her dark skirts, her pockets full of lichens and seeds. I slept as never before, a stone on the riverbed, nothing between me and the white fire of the stars but my thoughts, and they floated light as moths among the branches of the perfect trees.
—Mary Oliver “Sleeping in the Forest”
I love this imagery of being embraced by Nature. It brings to mind being in the forest—sitting on a soft mound of moss, surrounded by a majestic community of trees. In this sense of immersion through Forest Bathing I find healing. Sometimes calm and peace. Sometimes insight that can bring up other emotions. But always, there is a profound sense of being “in the middle of now.” Naka Ima.中今
Forest Bathing is a guided experience, awakening the senses. In the setting of the Forest, we can quiet our mind and find a new connection with Great Nature.