Blog

It’s December and we are moving toward many things this month. The end of the year, for some people it is the holiday season, for others it means snow and cold. As we sit with endings and new beginings in this month of shifting, patience and compassion may be tools to roll through this time with peace and ease. Drawing inward with breath and noticing the beauty this time of year can bring can help us pause and stay with gratitude for eachother and the natural world. Lastly don’t forget to play whatever that means to you, maybe its sledding, indoor pool time, or a quiet walk in the woods noticing nature and stillness.

This month take some time to enjoy quiet and reflect on what you are grateful for.

If you are in the north take a few moments to suit up, dress warm and go outside to be with nature and notice with all your senses the world around you.

Light a candle and let your body breath you as you move toward your next in this time on the planet.

December 1st, walking in the woods with the first real snow fall. Can you feel it? Can you feel the slowing down? Nature has been giving us layers of preparation to turn inward. The colors left the woods with a softening of quiet hues of brown. The temperatures have slowly been falling. A progressive decline in sunlight continues throughout the day. The volume of external stimulation has progressively been turned down(in the woods -that is). And now the white backdrop of snow! I personally welcome this quieting stillness as I stroll through the trees. Such a lovely entry into internal awareness. Listen to her calling- Nature invites us to step inside to ourselves. Take time to let the seed lie quietly inside. Luxuriate in a time of rest and restoration. Through the next few months – slow down, attune to yourself, create the bed for your inner growth. Given the right environment every living system will organically move towards healing and transformation. What will provide the right conditions for the seed inside of you?

We invite you to consider taking time in the woods over the next few months- especially through the holiday season. Let the woods lull you into restoration.

Are you and your spiritual journey worth it? We at Amidst the Trees believe this to be true! Come join us on January 23rd at Sacajawea Retreat Center in Apple Valley. We (in collaboration with nature) will support you in some much needed self attunement.

This is the time of year when we can wake up to a chill in the air and the hummingbirds madly feeding at the feeder. I noticed the cats at the barn were a little more playful and rambunctious this past week and the horses were losing their short summer coat. All of nature feels the shift and at times we can fight the shift, laminate the cooler temperatures and just mourn summer. Or we can lean into the shift and be with the change and transformation of the seasons.

At this junction the days get a bit shorter with sunlight and the cooler nights call for outside fires, and light jackets.  It is the month I try to swim outside just a few more times.  The cold water tickles my skin and the glowing sun still warms my face as I float and look at the shifting skies. 

Enjoy this month and stay grounded as you welcome in fall and the joy it can bring.

Where in your life can you sway in the breeze and fall into your next?

Go outside and notice with all your senses the subtle shifts in the air, on the ground, and allow your body to just be with nature without having to do anything but witness.

As you hang out with the coming of fall what in your life can you let go of and allow nature to transform?

Thanks to Lisa Avaloz for the water pictures

Orange, yellow, green, brown, gold and red with the blue back drop. So much abundance in the colors available to us this time of year. Amidst this time of change and challenge the colors aren’t lost, they still show up. The earth continues to produce her beauty, the season turns, daylight gets shorter, and the temperatures shift. Nature may alter and adjust but it is not stopped by the forces creating so much havoc on the current human experience. Could this not be taken away? Is this what our ancestors have always known? The ones that have lived in relationship with the earth, with the wind, the water, and fire and revered her. Did they have a knowing we all could benefit from. What if we could feel into her vibration, feel into her ancient knowing, and flow with nature? Would something in us settle? If we leaned into an awareness that we are not in charge, that nature is a force much greater than us, could we feel held by her? It doesn’t take away the need for right action and relationship with her and all of life. However, could her steadiness be an invitation to walk with her and let her guide us through the hard times? The rocks have witnessed so much over centuries(and beyond) yet many still stand -some unscathed and some scarred. If we listen, will they share their wisdom? Are there difficult times you lean into nature? What does she say to you?

There is something about the mountains, they have been there forever it seems. Some invite you to climb, others dare you to try. You can get majestic views from the top, and when you explore inside the mountain the views are just as majestic. Whether snow covered or tree lined they define the horizon and remind you that nature has been here for longer than we have and will continue after we are gone. They remind us that although they look solid and immovable they are actually the result of movement itself and have shifted throughout their existence either by pressure building up or erosion tearing down. Time does not matter to them, they are not in rush, don’t complain about the weather, and stand tall in their existence. They host streams, lakes, animals, avalanches, landslides, birds, and sometimes even people with the same solid presence. They are a mass of beauty.

Where in your life are you a mountain, holding both the beauty inside and out? Where are you immovable and yet shifting? Where do you hold both growth and destruction? Stand tall in your mountain beauty.

Summer is upon us

The promise of abundant sunlight, no school for kids, and some adults, brings the promise of carefree days with no structure, dreams of catching up on our summer reading or campfires with s’mores all swirl around in our thoughts. There is a template in our nervous system if we grew up with summer vacations and time off of school. When the first week of June rolls around and school lets up there is often a uptick of excitement and energy as our bodies remember the potential freedom of a whole summer. Playing outside until dark with fireflies dancing in the moonlight and then waking to the birdsongs just hours later means it is summer. The longest days of the year are enjoyed in the northern hemisphere and in areas where the winters are harsh, summer is sacred; and over in the blink of an eye. So cherish your summer this year, make some memories and reinforce the resourcing of your nervous system with time spent outside, connecting with friends, slowing down and going outside of your routine and just being. Nature is in full bloom and we invite you to bloom also.

Just returned from the Boundary Waters Canoe Area- my most favorite place to go. Why? No cell service, no emails, no texts, no social media, no electronics, and a reprieve from so much. And then bombarded with horrific events in the community when returning home. I feel the twinge in my heart to go back to the immersion of Nature. Slowing down, dropping in, connecting with the sacredness of the earth, the magic and beauty of above, below, all around and within. Reminded me of a Sankalpa from a Yoga Nidra class facilitated by Tara Cindy Sherman- “the power and beauty of nature lives within me, may I feel, know, and honor that always” These words played in my head and vibrated in my cells as I continually was touched by so much precious life renewing energy and experiences of the innocence and magnificence of this pristine wilderness. Witnessing the painted turtle laying eggs in camp, watching the squawking baby birds come running out from under the bush, hearing the beating of the wings of the hummingbird, sensing the message of the circling seagull, and listening to the repeated appearance of the turkey vultures. Feeling so held, guided, protected, restored by the communing with all that is always available My heart felt into the pure remembering and knowing of this place. A hint of sadness sneaks in with the return to computers, news, and vibration of turbulence of these times. Yet- I was nudged to recall that nature is in charge. Seeing the fallen trees from storms- the message was “Let Go- some trees fall, some flowers get trampled before they can bloom, pine trees go down, and a new shoot rises up from the trunk that lies on the ground….. in a whole different direction”. So – I step back into my life- savoring the lushness of the green, holding onto the images of wild flowers coming into bloom, sensing the kiss of the cool breeze against my face, recalling the heat of the rock softening the muscles in my back, remembering the glistening and cleansing of the cold water along with the warmth and crackling of the fire burning within. Feeling humility and openness to keep walking with Nature as the guide. May you also remember – Nature as a way to get back to yourself and all that is true in you and all life.

Spring is a time of birth and rebirth after the winter. In April, we held our Spring workshop at Eastman Nature center. It was a beautiful day with plenty of time spent in nature. One aspect of Earth we worked with was muck. A combination of mud and water with the consistency to suck your boots off if you step in it. We think of getting stuck in the muck, mired muck and most people don’t want their feet to touch the muck bottom of a lake while swimming. There is a negative connotation to muck. But muck is also fertile. Cattails which are nature’s purification system grow in muck. The lotus flower grows out of the muck and is a symbol of beauty, rebirth, overcoming adversity and enlightenment. In Minnesota, we have the water lily emerging from the muck in our lakes- a symbol of rebirth. So next time you feel covered in muck or stuck in the muck consider turning your attention to what is trying to grow, is something trying to be birthed in your life? What is the adversity you are needing to overcome and heal in order to bloom? How is the adversity feeding your rebirth?

You are invited to join us at a future workshop to explore your internal process in the natural rhythm of nature. We would love to see you there.

Spring is the season of new beginnings. The season typically starts with snow on the ground and perhaps, one last snowstorm. By the end of Spring everything is green, flowers are blooming, baby animals have arrived and the sunlight is noticeably increased and stronger. It seems spring takes forever to arrive and there is a chaos to it’s entrance as it establishes itself. New beginnings in our lives are often a bit chaotic just like spring. There is a need to regulate our emotions and nervous system and it takes more skills to do so, analogous to most people during an April snowstorm. The temperatures vary from mitten weather to short weather and our ability to be prepared and adapt is at times tested. Just like the new beginnings in our lives, vacillating from looking back to the familiarity of those mittens and looking forward to the freedom of wearing shorts all of the time. Spring is full of surprises, just like the new beginnings in our lives. Newly planted plants and ideas begin to grow and sometimes get nipped by the frost. Within all of the chaos there is order, the hardy plants thrive, the effective ideas begin to take form, and a path starts to emerge and we follow feeling a little more in alignment with what is starting to manifest. We can start to see the order, the organization and our nervous systems follow suit and settle. The sun does come up tomorrow, the moon cycles with it’s waxing and waning, the new growth becomes stable and blooms and we have survived another new beginning and perhaps learned something about ourselves in the process.