Nature As Lover
Honors Indigenous Wisdom
I am following the traditions of my Lenape ancestors who tossed tobacco on the ground to show appreciation for Our Mother Earth.
After witnessing an element of nature, I show appreciation, but not with tobacco. Indigenous wisdoms instructs us to, as Robin Wall Kimmerer says, "return the gift."
Nature As Lover is the pairing of our senses with the elements. Years ago I worked as a life coach. I helped people change their lives. I noticed that making change was easier when we felt good. I noticed that we felt good when we communed with nature. There was more to this that forest bathing and forest therapy. Ultimately, I found that when we give our attention to a nature element and show appreciation for that element wonderful experiences can result.
When we pay attention to fire, for instance. We notice the light and the absence of light. We notice the shadows. When we pay attention to fire, we notice what fire means to us and all the ways fire is demonstrated i our bodies, our environments, our relationships, and our dreams. Fire as heat. Fire as light. Fire as feeling. Fire as thought.
Honoring Kahesena Haki
Honoring Our Mother Earth
Consider the element of water and our sense of hearing paired together. Together they make something so beautiful! A mach made in heaven. A pair like no other. A love match. And they love they make together like all love is medicine. They create a medicine to process isolation.
Mycelium Tasting (taste earth to release grief with drum), Creek Drinking (hear water to reduce isolation with singing bowl), Wind Sniffing (smell air to eliminate despair with Native American flute), Sun Spotting (see fire to process pain with rattle), and Shape Shifting (touch space to conquer fear with harmonics).
1. Our stories of loss long to live outside our bodies. And land loves story; especially a story told so well you can taste the truth that lies beneath it. Mycelium Tasting is the act of sharing our stories with earth elements. We engage the tree, compost the letter, or share our stories with one another with the help of the talking drum. Sorrow is released through the story to allow more room for healing. We do this for ourselves and all our relations.
Sound: talking drum (get history)
Action: talk with tree, talk with me, write letter and compost it in the ground (burn first?)
Say as ritual: Land loves story. Land asks, “who are you?” We can answer, “I am the story of myself.”
2. Creek Drinking is the act of taking sips of water with our ears and reciprocating with sound. Listening to the song of water rushing over rocks and hearing the silent pauses allows us to receive answers to questions we float down stream. When we show appreciation for water with the music of our own making, we can reduce feelings of aloneness. Singing bowl assists. And this we do for ourselves and all our relations.
Sound: singing bowl
Action: make music together
3. Sun Spotting is how we notice light and shadow in reverence for fire.
We see fire with our hearts and minds and give thanks with visual art. Sculpting, sketching, cooking, baking, gardening, caregiving, weaving, painting, and/or photographing helps to process physical and emotional pain. Rattles assist. We do this for ourselves and all our relations.
Sound: rattle
Action: weaving teach finger weaving (get some background on weaving) sketch, paint, sculpt
photograph/Capture a moment of change—like a wilting flower, a setting sun, or the shifting tide. Highlight the beauty of transition and the fleeting nature of all things.
Capture the play of light and shadow take turns. Be the shadow or be the light an capture this feeling, or the light or the shado
Capture a scene where the individual is part of a larger whole. It could be someone immersed in nature. Emphasize the connection between the individual and their environment, blurring the boundaries of self.
4. Wind Sniffing is how we catch the scent of poetry out of thin air. Out of the blue we find the lyric and the rap, the mantra or the quote that helps to eliminate despair. Native American flutes asist. We do this for ourselves and all our relations. Sound: flute Action: poetry (how)
5. Shape Shifting is how we touch the space around us.
A simple shift of the weight. A lean forward. Rocking, shaking, walking, dancing, stretching in and out of darkness. An earthling made of stardust in perpetual motion even when standing still. Shruti box and vocal tones asist as we take another step to conquer fear and we do so for ourselves and all our relations.
Nature As Lover
Private Sessions
with Sound Healing
2 hours, in-person, outside
$270.00 each
Schedule a session with every new moon for fresh starts.
Schedule a session with every full moon for big releases.
Gift a session to someone you love. (you can come along for free).
Host your group for solstice and equinox rituals.
With gratitude for rain and compassionate care,
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