Forest Bathing

[slobake]

I love a gentle hike through the forest. There is nothing else like it for me. I may find a nice quiet spot and sit quietly and meditate on the sites, sounds and smells around me. I say I can hear God speaking to me in those times. For some of you it may be just nature talking to you are something else but it is a calming and at the same time exhilarating experience.
Sometimes I will invite a friend or friends to go on a hike with me who don't understand this. Some of them won't stop talking the whole time. I might tell them "You go ahead, I will catch up to you."
Anyone else love spending time surrounded by trees?
Just read this and it clarified some things for me.
https://www.npr.org/2023/08/22/1195337204/a-guide-to-forest-bathing

 

[Killing Floor]

 

[MJ5150]

Yes sir.
The wife and I have committed to the 52 Hike Challenge (that's a link to their website) the last three years now. The only part of their mission we don't align with is the meeting new friends. The wife and I don't go on hikes to meet people or for social hangouts. We go to be alone in the woods.

-Mike

 

[TOOL460002]

One of the neighboring properties is undeveloped. Hilly few acres of mostly redwoods. The guy only lived there part of the year and didn't mind if I went for a hike there. It wasn't until he moved that I noticed the home-made outdoor shower he had attached to a camper trailer. I have a very different picture of forest bathing, but I like your version more. Also, ya, a daily nature walk calms the mind and placates the body. Big fan. Woods or beach.

 

[slobake]

Big fan. Woods or beach.

Ah yes, the beach. Love the beach too.

 

[hbarcat]

Also, ya, a daily nature walk calms the mind and placates the body. Big fan. Woods or beach.

Ah yes, the beach. Love the beach too.

I lived in northern Wisconsin for about 10 years, where the woods and Lake Superior meet.

I tried to take advantage of hiking in the woods and exploring the beaches at every opportunity. There is so much more nature to experience and so much more solitude.

I miss it, terribly.

 

[bholder]

I'm a "woods" kinda guy, too. Still kind of a religious experience for this non-religious kinda guy.

Though I have to say, some of the "forest bathing" trendies take it a bit too far, basically making themselves bait. IMHO and all that... One must respect the woods and remember Nature and her critters may see you as food.

 

[Oddly]

Yep. I love a good hike through a forest.
Calling it forest bathing, though...that's not me.
That's what them insta-tikky-tok influencer kids call it...which has me suspecting someone's hacked Mister Slo's account.

 

[bholder]

 

[Wannabass]

"In the 1990s, researchers began studying the physiological benefits of forest bathing, providing the science to support what we innately know: time spent immersed in nature is good for us. While Japan is credited with the term shinrin-yoku, the concept at the heart of the practice is not new. Many cultures have long recognized the importance of the natural world to human health."

I am listening to an audio book the comfort crisis by Michael Easter and although I need more time in the woods than most I doubt I would take it to the extreme that he does. There are so many fascinating points in the book that make a lot of sense. Basically how the last couple hundred years of evolution have been outpaced by convenience. Great book.

 

[roccobass]

My wife and I go on via a friend who puts some coastal hikes together. We used to do more Sierra Club sponsored ones, but it seemed like way too many people would be on them. 20-30! Then it becomes a field trip. My guy, at most, goes to 10. Even then there’s usually a chatterbox or two, so we either gravitate to the front or stay way in the back for the quiet. It’s so nice. We supposed to to do one last week, but the leader got Covid.

 

[MuseChaser]

"In the 1990s, researchers began studying the physiological benefits of forest bathing, providing the science to support what we innately know: time spent immersed in nature is good for us. While Japan is credited with the term shinrin-yoku, the concept at the heart of the practice is not new. Many cultures have long recognized the importance of the natural world to human health."

Amazing, isn't it, that we need a "study" to show what should be painfully obvious. We are "natural," meaning "from nature," beings. Of course we need nature.

...Basically how the last couple hundred years of evolution have been outpaced by convenience. Great book.

Ain't THAT the truth. Testosterone levels in males has fallen precipitously. We are more dependent beings, by far, than self-reliant, yet we care less for others. We have fewer life and/or survival skills, although we excel at "accessing information," "content sharing," "influencing," and having prepared food delivered.

We have turned away from ... well, I'll say nature, but feel free to read deeper .. and instead placed "self" and our own egos above all else. My youngest son, years ago, came home from college and proudly proclaimed that "we all create our own reality." Unbelievable.

No, we do not. We are free to create our own delusions and illusions, but reality is unchanged by our misconceptions. We'd do much better to accept reality, appreciate its beauty, and meet its challenges in a healthy, productive, grateful manner.

 

[slobake]

I also miss the stars. Living in San Francisco I would seldom see them. Now living in Concord, CA I can see some stars but it is not like getting away from city lights and seeing the panorama of the night sky. Makes me feel small and I wonder about light I am seeing that was generated millions of years ago. Maybe another trip to Joshua Tree is in order.

 

[Wannabass]

Amazing, isn't it, that we need a "study" to show what should be painfully obvious. We are "natural," meaning "from nature," beings. Of course we need nature.

I'm blown away by some of the statistics quoted in this book such as half of the people in the US never even go outside.
And that people are lonelier even with over 8 billion people.
Or the existence of an anechoic chamber. DBs are measured in negative numbers and most people go crazy in a half hour. There are only 3 or 4 places left on earth where there is not some sort of noise pollution.

 

[hbarcat]

There are only 3 or 4 places left on earth where there is not some sort of noise pollution.

When I was first married in my early 20s, we suddenly both found ourselves without jobs and soon became homeless. A friend let me stay in an abandoned house on an unused property of his deep in the Wisconin Northwoods. There was no electricity, water, heat, or any other modern conveniences (there was an outhouse, which we were very thankful for) to make noise other than the two of us making do with what we had.

We did have two 5 gallon carboys we filled with fresh water that we used for everything, including personal hygiene. Despite the title of this thread, there are no showers in the woods when it's below freezing.

It was very isolated and buried in the forest and it was still early spring at the time, which in that area means plenty of snow and almost no animal activity.

We lived there for about two months and automatically adapted by waking up at sunrise and going to bed at sunset. Every morning, we'd stoke a small fire outside in a firepit for warmth and to cook with and the noise of the modest flames seemed almost loud. We began to habitually talk to each other in very quiet voices because there was no background noise to compete with.

There was nothing to do for enjoyment other than what we could come up with ourselves, so we talked with each other a lot and grew to know each other in intimate detail. Being newlyweds, we had more shared physical bonding than I would have believed possible.

We'd go for long walks in the woods, usually together, but sometimes alone. I believe that it's vitally important for one's mental health to reserve some occasional time away from other human beings.

Perhaps once or twice a day, we'd hear a car go by on the dirt road that fronted the property. We could hear it coming for about a minute or so, and sometimes we'd hike down the driveway so we could get a glimpse of the vehicle as it drove past.

At the time, it wasn't fun, but thinking back on it now, I'm glad that we shared that experience. I imagine that it would have been miserable if I'd had to go through it alone.

 

[dwm74]

Nature is something I don't get enough of. In my younger days I'd solo hike in the desert mountains that surround Phoenix, and usually in the middle of summer. Nobody else out hiking in those 110° temps, and I loved it. So quiet, so desolate, and totally peaceful. Yeah, I'd have to keep an eye out for rattlesnakes, etc, but that's just part of nature.

Ditto being out under the stars .I've been an amateur astronomer since I was 8 or 9, and in these past five decades very few things give me that sense of peace and awe than gazing at something hanging up there in the heavens above. Last week, for example, was a heck of a week, medical issues, work issues, family issues. But spending a couple hours with the telescope Friday night completely refreshed my mental spirit. Amazing how that works.

 

[Ostie]

I’m a hiker, camper and sailor. The forest and the beach are places I have to go to re-charge. I love star-gazing and I can sit at a campfire at night and stare at the heavens for hours. I’ve seen the Northern lights several times and dozens of meteor showers. I’m always filled with a sense of awe and wonder at the universe. I’m always amazed at how the natural world continues, even after our meddling and despoiling.

 

[kesslari]

I literally live in the forest. It's pretty awesome, except for those times that it is not. But those times are rare.

 

[JRA]

curious: what's not so awesome about the experience, @kesslari?

 

[kesslari]

curious: what's not so awesome about the experience, @kesslari?

Wildfires (spent a month evacuated in 2020, fire took out several homes in this neighborhood and burned to within 12 yards of our house); big storms that cause slides that take out all the main roads out and cause major disruption, as well as trees coming down on houses, cars, and occasionally people; frequent power outages (also due to storms - we had no utility power for 35 of the days from Jan 1 to Mar 1 thank goodness for the generator).
Those sorts of things. But as I said, they are the exception and not the rule.