Nature Immersion and Deep Listening Experience
10/3/2022
Nature Immersion and Deep Listening Experience, March 2023
(2023)Within each of us there is a silence
-a silence as vast as the universe . . .
When we experience that silence, we remember
who we are: creatures of the stars, created
from the cooling of this planet, created
from dust and gas, created
from the elements, created
from time and space…created
from silence…
Silence brings us back to basics, to our senses, to ourselves.
-Gunilla Norris, Shared Silence
In March (2023), SGTI co-founder, Jeanette Banashak, and Creative Director of Spiritual Directors International, Matt Whitney co-facilitated a Nature Immersion and Deep Listening experience in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. Silence, peace, and joy were nurtured through guided shinrin yoku (forest bathing) walks and optional community and solo building activities from creativity-making to reflections and storytelling around a campfire to group spiritual direction/companionship with humans and the more than human world.
Forest bathing is designed to awaken the senses in an intentional way and facilitate aliveness of life. Slowly and mindfully, we engage with the natural setting and cultivate awareness of, relationship with, and appreciation for the more than human world.
If you’re interested exploring these ideas more, consider checking out our certification program in outdoor companionship.