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What does it even mean to connect with Nature? Being that we all have our own unique way we navigate the world and how we see the world, there is a plethora of ways to connect with nature.

Do you stop and watch the ant crawling on the sidewalk? stand in awe of the moon as it rises each night? feel the breeze touch your cheek on a windy day? listen to the crashing of the waves of lake superior?

So many ways to connect. For some it is laying on the earth and sensing into nourishment of the grounding energy. Or for others it is leaning against a tree and feeling into it’s cellular rhythm. Or do you like to find a big lava rock (like those in the boundary waters) and allow the whole weight of your body to give way to the support of it’s sturdiness? Perhaps you are very mindful of how you take in connection with nature. However, it is not necessary to sign up for a forest bathing class or work hard to get the benefits of nature. Did you know that (according to a study by the University of Essex) that just 5 minutes in nature can significantly start to reduce stress levels? Being in nature can have many health benefits like reducing anxiety, lowering blood pressure, enhancing immune system function, and boosting self esteem and mood.

So- take advantage of your lunch break, eat outside, step out to get the mail during the day, stand outside when you let the dog out, bring greenery into your office or home, move your workout outside, do yoga in the park. Let yourself explore and take in nature the way it works for you.

If you would like some guided immersion into the natural world- join us at one of our workshops. There will be plenty of opportunity to commune with nature. We would love to have you come out and play with us at Eastman Nature Center on June 7th. Hope to see you there!

I travelled to see the eclipse in totality this month. The experience of taking it in through all of the sense is so different than seeing it on a screen. The visual, of course, is spectacular but there is more. The sensation of the temperature dropping, it becoming darker in the middle of the day, the songs of the birds changing from their normal chatter all add to the experience. In the pasture I was sitting in, the cows broke through the fence and the snakes became very active in the pond, moving like lightening to and fro. It seemed as if there was a void of time, 4 minutes of a pause, of possibility, the possibility of shifting something that seemed permanent. The felt sense of reality as we know it, to actually be an illusion, woven in the tapestry of something much bigger than us and what we know. And then the eclipse is complete and we are back in the pasture, trees dotting the landscape, we are breathing the air, listening to the cows moo, back to our own thoughts but yet somehow changed. Changed once again by the power and magnificence of nature.

Snow

Cool               White         Cleansing

Crisp           Quiet

Fresh             Silent             New

Delighting in the beauty of the magical shapes of the snowflake

Falling silently

Feeling into the freshness

Sensing into the bite of the crisp air

Basking in the clean slate of the whole earth being blanketed with white

Melting away everything and clearing the cells of the brain, the body

Dropping into the whiteness

Stillness

Refreshed

Love

Love

Love

Feeling so much gratitude for the gift nature shared with us this spring

Join us in June for our next Restorative Workshop- as we revel in the changing season and light of summer. Hope to see you at Eastman Nature Center on June 7th.

Early Spring Blog:

Happy Spring although winter felt fleeting.  I had the opportunity to visit San Diego a few weeks ago to speak at a conference.  A great place to walk and visit with nature.  Kayaking seeing harbor seals and many shore birds was such fun.  I am sharing one photo with this beautiful tree I hung out with.  I was reminded that anywhere I go I can seek out and be with nature in any form that shows up.  I was with a colleague, and she said let’s just show up there and not make any plans for our free time, well I thought okay yet I just made one small shift to make a reservation for kayaking and it turned out to be big fun.  In this non planning nature crept in as she always does and we danced with the sea, curled up with the trees, was kissed by the sun and greeted by many amazing canines.  I have gratitude for being able to get away, share knowledge in our workshop about working with horses for healing and walk upon the earth in a new location.  I hope you are able to be outside, get kissed by the sun, walk tenderly upon the earth, and enjoy and engage nature-as nature surely does nurture!

As we go into March with sunshine and warmth, please consider joining us for our one-day restorative workshop in Apple Valley on Friday March 22^nd.  Come join us as we welcome spring and find balance in our lives. Even though it was a unique winter, nature still knows and can teach us a few things about finding balance in our lives. 

This Authentic Restoration Workshop is a self-care experience to refresh your life force energy and step into an authentic alignment with yourself. Discover where your energy is stuck and connect with your capacity to balance through mindful exploration in nature, movement, body focused activities and self-inquiry.   

Please see more information and sign up on our website, amidstthetrees.com

Dancing into spring,

Molly D

Waldeinsamkeit is the feeling of unique solitude while being alone in the woods, a feeling of connectedness to nature; a union with the ancient rhythms of the Earth. It is a German word that when translated directly means loneliness and woods; however has a much greater meaning of connectedness and the sense of inner peace while communing in the woods. Lisa, Molly and I spent a recent weekend practicing the connectedness to nature, the regeneration of our energy, the settledness of coming in the our bodies with settling into the snow- yes we went far enough north to find snow and cold.

There is a sense of wonder in the feeling of being grounded in snow. A sense of peace and quiet and coming into the rhythm of the winter, a replenishing and slowing down. A getting ready for the next germinating phase or thing in our life while taking time to rest, relax and find again our own rhythm and pace

We played in the trees, on the trees and surrounded by trees. All the while connecting with the consciousness of the trees and joining with them in the joy of being, nothing to accomplish, no deadlines, just “being” connected in the web of life. It is amazing how something so simple can shift your perspective and restore your energy. Trees don’t really care how cold it is and we practiced sharing that sentiment.

Whether you have a week, a weekend, a day or a few hours. We hope you can get out and enjoy the connection to nature and all it can bring to you. If you have a day, consider joining us for our next workshop or even the retreat next fall. We can practice waldeinsamkeit and learn to make it a practice in our daily life.

Happy new year, as I sit and reflect on 2023 it has zipped by. Last year I was enjoying a snowy wintery walk during this time in Northern Michigan. Now I look outside to green grass and bare trees. I am amazed always by mother nature. On a walk in the woods this morning I crunched on the leaves, noticed the faces in the trees and reflected on how each day brings unique gifts in the out of doors. I remember I am not in control of what nature will bring, I participate with nature and appreciate getting to walk on the planet each day and the rest shifts each moment. Please take some time to be with your own nature and know that the ground, the sky, the water and trees have your back and support each of you on your journey in the world. Enjoy the video taken last new years in the Petosky Michigan area. Please consider joining Lisa Shelly and I in our authentic restoration workshops and retreat in 2024. Our first workshop is Friday January 26th at camp Sacajawea in Aplle Valley, MN. we would love to see you then.

Molly

Can we follow the rhythm of nature? 

Listen to the earth, observe the barren trees?  Notice the brown leaves on the ground. Can you peacefully accept the letting go – of that which no longer serves you and your place in the world? Just as the natural world goes through a cycle of ending, death and dying- can you honor that which is ready to be shed from you? In order to grow we must release something.

As we move into the winter season, again notice the ice forming, the earth cooling, sense into the dormancy of the freeze.  Will you allow for the forced rest of winter?  Will you push past it?  Nature guides us into a time of necessary quiet.  Will you take the opportunity to pause and honor that which has come before this moment, reflect, and clear space?  The dark time can be a time to rest into the peacefulness of winter. 

Blessings to all of you as you transition into this time of hibernation.

If you would like to continue to explore the gifts of nature, join us on January 26^th at our restorative workshop as we deepen into internal reflection and ponder what dreams are stirring in the stillness.

Some people could be given an entire field of roses and only see the thorns in it. Others could be given a single weed and only see the wildflower in it. Perception is a key component to gratitude. And gratitude is a key component to joy.

-amy weatherlt

In this time of fall, harvest, abundance and getting ready for the winter ahead may we find time to be grateful. May we share that gratitude with others and extend it out into the world. May our moments of gratitude help feed our soul and replenish us and those around us. May our hearts be full, open and kind and spread gratitude to others. May the gratitude spread like wild fire and create more open hearts and kindness. May we all know more gratitude, joy, and peace.

We had a peaceful time at our October workshop. At each workshop we spend a chunk of time outside with nature and the October workshop was no different, except there was a steady downpour throughout the day. The theme of the workshop was gratitude and the element we were clearing with was water. So nature blessed us with water to ease the drought, for which there is gratitude, and an abundance of water to help us clear what gets in the way of being grateful. Thank you to all of the participants who splashed in the puddles, danced in the rain and took time to replenish themselves. Our next workshop is in January please consider joining us in the snow.

September blog:

Wow, the last time I sent out a blog was in June, and I was talking about swimming and the joys of looking forward to summer. Now it’s September and summer is almost behind us. I did get one last swim in last week at little Long Lake, one of my favorite spots. I enjoyed September as I was able to do a Amidst The Trees retreat at Crow Wing Cross Lodge in Akeley with Lisa and Shelly.  Co-facilitating with these two wonderfilled women is one of the absolute joys of my life.  It was so life giving to be around participants that are powerful women who are working to heal, connecting in nature, with the trees, the water, the air, and the Earth. It was quite lovely to be at Crow Wing Crest Lodge, the facilities and the owners are quite divine.  See the pictures below.

I wanted just to let you know that as I continue to do my own healing work through the power of time in nature, and with my professional work assisting others in experiencing their own healing grounding with the natural world I am so uplifted and blown away by the transformations that occur.  Our being with nature and of nature allows peace, mindfulness, and new opportunities to connect with our soul selves.  As we come into this season of letting go, turning inward and moving through to our next in life please find time to be outside, listen, and walk upon the earth.  

Please consider joining us for our one-day authentic restoration workshop on Friday October 13^th at Elm Creek Nature Center near Maple Grove.  Our focus for this day will be GRATITUTE.  Register at https://amidstthetrees.com/restorative-workshop-for-helping-professions/

Thanks for reading and nature on…….

We live in a world of so much urgency, so much to do, so much to accomplish, and we can easily get lost in a sense of constantly striving to achieve. 

I spent the past weekend with my dear friends and cofounders of Amidst the Trees -Shelly and Molly.  We went to Lake Wilson- Shelly’s cabin to “get things done”.  So much to do to prepare for the next year, planning retreats, writing outlines, securing dates, deciding on menus- all the logistical stuff. 

As much as I love hanging out with my friends, I was also feeling a bit spent with a sense of always doing, always organizing, and always attending to the details to get things going.  Going into the weekend feeling both glad to have some space in nature with friends and a bit reluctant to work.  Wondering as I packed my bags, am I going to feel restored after this weekend? Asking myself, – am I practicing what I hold for others?

I don’t know if you live by the motto- first work and then you can play.  This rarely works for me.  Good thing is – Amidst the Trees- was NOT built  on this motto.    

Molly, Shelly, and I did not come together to build a business.  There was no stirrings of that in our first gatherings.  Well- at least not consciously known to us. 

Instead we gathered to play, to commune with nature, to feel into the strengths of our bodies as we skied, hiked, canoed, swam, breathed into the fresh air of nature and sensed into the renewal of the earth, rock, waterfalls, wildlife, and winged ones.  We walked away from those connections with uplifted spirits, warmth in our hearts, and reverberating giggles that sustained us (at least me) for months. 

Remembering our roots, I consciously chose to listen to my body as I went into this past weekend.  Instead of going in -to push through and make it happen- I decided to first attend to self within the gifts of nature and connection with others. 

After finishing unpacking the car (in the rain), we got on the lake.  I paddled the kayak slowly and sometimes not at all, letting go into being held by the water.   The soft trickling of the water along the kayak, started to soften the muscles, and my shoulders dropped a bit from my ears.  My butt started to drop into the seat of the kayak.  As loons swam near and let out some very soft faint coos, I felt the reminder to be tender in attending to self.  Listen and attend.  There was no desire to accomplish and move around the lake, I could just sit, just watch, just take in the gifts.

This ended up being a theme throughout the weekend, soften the heart, open – allow yourself to receive.  Throughout the weekend, we repeatedly prioritized first….. the hike, the holding of a rock, and listening to the messages as we watched the frog in the mud puddle, the soaring of the turkey vulture, the quiet of the blue heron passing just prior to dark, the crackling of the fire, the sunfish nibbling on toes, the leaning into the sturdiness of the tree, several fleeting appearances of shooting stars  and so many other treasures. 

We leaned into that which is always there to hold, guide, renew when we pause to see and take it in.  In the midst of that – our connection and holding with each other also naturally unfolded. Tears, laughter, giggles, hand holding, hugs happened as we deepened into the stuckness inside, the pain, the things that get in the way of our true self.  Healing was again ignited within the holding of nature and human connection.  We trusted in sacredness of spirit and the reorganization that takes place and takes us into the next day, next week and so on.   And so today, we continue to feel the transformation happening inside of us.  Some things not so comfortable yet yielding into the process- healing is happening.

And- yes within this vastness and power of collaboration with nature- we got the work done.  We came away with all work agenda items accomplished. 

We invite you to join us as we gather in Akeley at Crow Wing Crest Lodge September 15^th for our weekend retreat or join us October 13^th for our One day retreat at Eastman Nature Center in Dayton, MN.

We will hold space for you to connect with nature, listen inside, track the wisdom of your body, and sense into what is unfolding in you to access your authentic self.   Are you interested in what happens for you when humans gather together and open to the gifts up nature?  Join us.