Take A Moment For Forest Bathing

After seeing this delightful message on this picture, below,
spread around Facebook, I believed it was time for me to
write a script for a video on Forest Bathing.


 It will be awhile before I have a video ready
So here it in a kind of verse for now.
Enjoy and bathe in it everyone :-)

If your life is disturbed by excess stress;
If you feel you are too busy trying to catch up;
If you feel there is no 'me' time;
There is a simple way to escape this
That anyone can do at least once a week.

I call this Boladh na Síoga, (bowa na shee ga)
Bathing in The Fae's Breath.
Japanese people call this Shinrin Yoku,
Forest Bathing.

So how is this done?
Go to a forested area and wander.
Many forests make this easy
By providing curious trails.

Follow them,
And let your senses loose.
Smell the aromas of the trees, shrubs and flowers
And the living earth itself.


 Find water and listen.
Let visions come to you from the water.
Touch the bark, leaves, flowers and berries available.
Taste some that are safe, edible and even healing

This is Forest Bathing;
Bathing In The Faes Breath.

A return to a simple tradition,
Once essential everywhere.
A moment of being in harmony with nature,
To join in with its song and dance,
With its ebbs and flows,
And its gift of welcoming you,
Embracing you,
Connecting you,
Accepting your prayers,
And returning clear response to them.

This has been popularized by Japan
Who call this Shinrin Yoku
Which translates to us as Forest Bathing.

Popularised by Korea
Who call this Sanlimyok
which translates to us as Relaxing In The Forest.

Being in Ireland I call this Boladh na Sióga
From words of the land's language.
Bathing In The Fae's Breath;
The Fae surrounding us with their presence
Through the full experience of the forest.

 Science may speak much of the benefits of this
Composed within their temples of laboratories
And statistics that unravel on their digital screens.

But all this is revealed very simply
Through engaging our senses,
Allowing the sights, aromas, sounds, sensations and tastes
To bathe us completely


 Even 15 minutes in a forest,
Allowing this gift,
Allowing this embrace,
Allowing this connection,
Can bathe us with
Calming, healing and nourishment
Within our entire being
And its all simple,
All very, very simple.

Stress dissolves,
Blood pressure drops,
Mental clarity improves,
Inner visions are remarkable.

Our cells within to defend us
Awake and protect us.
A lot of lab research going on
To investigate this.

This is not just about walking through a forest,
But also taking time to sit awhile
And feel our senses calming down
From a state of activity we bring to the forest
Flooded by the sensory welcoming of the forest.

This time for quiet, that we allow,
Enhances us being here in the forest.
So hide your phones and cameras,
All totally shut down and switched off.

Never bring your goals or schedules into a forest
This as a time to wander and have senses awoken.
We leave behind our linear ways
And we join the circles of cycles of the forest.


When you sit quiet, notice how the sounds
And activity of the forest changes
As you become relaxed
And connected to everything around.

 As you sit quiet you are less of a disturbance
Or threat to anything around you.
You are now part of it all.

When you are with others in a forest
Agree with each other for a time
To refrain from all conversation.

Then, later, gather together to share
Feelings, inspirations and stories.
Use a speaking stick
So that as one speaks the rest are audience.

Create poems and prose
From your new visions.
Share those poems in the Woods
Become Bards, Bards In The Woods.

Then share your picnic together
To celebrate life, love and connection.

When you are back home,
And through the days to follow,
Notice how something is very different
In the ways you think, feel and do things.

Does this justify any effort
To get outside for a little time
To Bathe in the Forest?

I believe it is always well worth taking a little time
No matter what the weather may serve.

To be timeless;
To give yourself some love;
To surrender your senses;
To connect and recognize;
You are part of nature again.


 So cross that bridge
Cross that threshold
Cross that veil
Into the forest of

Being connected,
Being loved
Being a Bard,
And encouraging others to be the same.

In the Shinrun Yoku tradition;
In the Sanlimyok tradition;
In the Boladh na Sióga tradition;
Bathing yourself in the Forest,
Sometimes.


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