The Healing Power of Forests
Some of my most profound moments have occurred while wandering in forests. I notice a peaceful stillness inhabiting all activity. Nature is the best decorator and everything moves with grace. There is no rush, yet all tasks are accomplished. I enjoy laying down underneath big trees and gazing up to the sky. I watch green leaves dancing with the invisible breeze. Sometimes I close my eyes...my mind drifts off, then returns to the singing birds. The little creatures with magnificent voices celebrate existence. I imagine my body is transparent and allow their joyful tones to pass straight through me. Time disappears and I sense I've arrived home. Forests can teach us how to live in harmony and offer much life inspiration:
1) They speak about generosity
“The forest is a peculiar organism of unlimited kindness and benevolence that makes no demands for its sustenance and extends generously the products of its life and activity; it affords protection to all beings”
Plants communicate via a vast interconnected underground root system, sometimes referred to as "the wood wide web". The forest generously shares nutrients and environmental information through a variety of symbiotic relationships. If one tree is struggling to survive, a neighboring tree might supply it with water and nutrients. It does not even have to be the same species of tree! A struggling tree may relinquish its individual life to provide nutrients to the whole forest.
A forest could not exist without the relationship between fungi and trees. Fungi are living organisms more closely related to animals than plants. A friendly trade agreement exists where trees provide fungi with sugar, and fungi provide trees with minerals. A tree could not grow large without the help from fungi. In another symbiotic relationship two different organisms merge together to form a moss like structure. For example, fungi join with algae to create lichens. The fungi provide structure, water and sun protection while the algae use photosynthesis to provide food. These relationships show how everything is interconnected. Independence and loneliness are therefore illusions.
“when we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe”
2) Forests remind us we belong to the earth
Without trees we would not exist. The forest represents our external lungs and provides oxygen for our survival. Could it be that we simply evolved to help trees and plants spread their seeds? If humble, we see this could be a possibility. Sometimes busy city living disconnects us from nature. Trees are grounded to the earth yet gracefully move up to the sky. Unlike plants we are not permanently connected to the ground by roots. Our feet wander, so there’s a forgetting of belonging and a feeling of separation. The ego may convince us that we are superior or separate, disconnecting us from the whole, causing disharmony. Harmony arises when organisms work peacefully together for the success of the whole community. In an atmosphere of generosity and kindness both the individual and the whole system flourish. We can benefit from having faith and sensing a belonging to something much larger than our individual selves. Observing the forest can inspire us to cultivate less selfish and more harmonious relationships with each other and the entire universe.
Resources
For guided meditation and relaxing videos visit Aruna Shields TV
To learn to transcend visit www.tm.org