The Beauty of Winter Trees

The Beauty of Winter Trees

Natural settings can speak to people, make them feel at home.  One of my sisters has  been attracted to oceans, another to the desert.  For me, it is forest settings that have always beckoned. Every morning, I feel a sense of peace and gratitude as I look out my...
Ethnobotany

Ethnobotany

Laura Emerson Alaskauu1.substack.com Nature’s grand vistas of mountain ranges and oceans are certainly awe inspiring, but so, too, are the riches that lie beneath our feet and within arm’s reach.   Let’s pay attention to a patch of nature close to us. One of my...
Encountering Nature as Sabbath

Encountering Nature as Sabbath

Photo by NOEM on Unsplash   Encountering Nature as Sabbath   “Holiness is not something limited to the religious world, much less the supernatural; holiness is something that happens in the natural world.” — Thomas W. Mann from The God of Dirt, Mary Oliver and...
Forest Bathing & Forest Therapy

Forest Bathing & Forest Therapy

Laura Emerson Alaskauu1.substack.com Book:  Log Cabin Reflections, about living off-grid in remote Alaska   Do you know the terms Forest Bathing and Forest Therapy? They refer to immersion in nature for several hours at a time, on a repeated basis.  This is not a time...
How Nature Restores Us to Ourselves

How Nature Restores Us to Ourselves

Image: Kyle Sanguin on Unsplash Encountering nature in silence, solitude, and seclusion, we become immersed in present moment awareness and find renewal. Where I live in the northeast it’s winter. Being close to one of the Great Lakes, we experience what’s called...
Nature as Our Path to Inner Wisdom

Nature as Our Path to Inner Wisdom

Image by Robert Lukeman on Unsplash Within us is an infinite source of wisdom. By immersing ourselves mindfully in nature, we can unlock our inner source of knowledge that can’t be acquired through intellect alone.   There is within each and  every one of us a hidden...