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"YOU HAVE TO GET LOST BEFORE YOU CAN BE FOUND."
Jeff Rasley
From Radio Lab, stories on getting lost and found.
"Expect three main benefits from nature: restoration, contemplation and inspiration. All of them are crucial for creative leaders. Nature restores us. It gives us physical and emotional health—when it comes to stress relief, breathing fresh air is as close to medicine as you can get. Being in the mountains or near the ocean directly affects our health in a good way. After just 20 minutes in a natural setting, our levels of cortisol, which is a stress indicator, decrease significantly." for the full article click here to read "The outdoors prescription: how nature ignites creativity" by Kate Inglis
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"Greenery isn’t just an air-freshener that’s pleasant to look at, it can actually significantly boost employee well-being, reduce stress, enhance innovative potential, and boost a sense of connection. Yet most of us don’t spend much time in nature. Richard Louv, author of the Nature Principal, argues that we’re collectively suffering from “nature-deficit disorder,” which hurts us mentally, physically, and even spiritually. Adding a little wilderness to your corporate offices may just be the smartest move you can do this year."
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"Exposure to nature may therefore foster boost superior decision-making which includes better foresight. Exposure to natural environments also strengthens attention and may even help strengthen memory."
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"Finally, we know that the #1 trait leaders look for in incoming employees is creativity, and exposure to natural environments dramatically improves our ability to think expansively and make superior decisions."
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"Why you should tell your team to take a break and go outside"- Harvard Business Reviewby Emma Seppälä and Johann Berli, June 26, 2017
"Take two hours of pine forest and call me in the morning" also discusses the need to put away phones and get into nature to lower blood pressure, reduce stress and more.
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Tips for an aging brain include Be Social!, Engage in New Experiences that challenge your way of thinking and allow for sense of Wonder, Don't Multitask - put the phones away, Eat Healthy Real Food.... and more in a delightful conversation.
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Scientific reasons support the philosophy and methodology of the Camp and Creativity workshops. Learn more listening to NPR's On Point with Tom Ashcroft original airing July 24, 2015.
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"Forest Bathing: A Retreat to Nature can boost Immunity and Mood" – Allison Aubrey
Your retreat includes a Forest therapy session
A Forest Therapy session embraces wonder and wander in a sensory experience in the natural surroundings of the retreat center. Val, certified by ANFT, is your guide to slowing down which can be difficult for us in our fast-paced society. A guide works in partnership with the more-than-human world to accompany and support others on the journeys through which they encounter and embody the whole of who they are.
What is Forest Therapy?
This originated in Japan as "Forest Bathing" or "shinrin-yoku" in the 80s when the government recognized an increase in health problems brought about by the intensity and demands of their urban work environment. They conducted much research and realized that humans in the urban world were disconnected from the indigenous land and nature found more commonly in other parts of their country.
Val's connection and inspiration of the Japanese culture and the connection to the land stems from eight immersive travel experiences as well as a childhood venture for several years. The impact of seeing and feeling a society that embraces the natural world was an impetus to founding the retreat center and becoming a certified guide. ANFT, Association of Nature and Forest Therapy, is an international accrediting organization that has developed their own standard practice inspired by the Japanese.
Here's another resource from PBS – Windows to the Wild episode.​
Ask about a Naturalist walk
Engage in the sense of wonder as we walk through nature and observe all of the creatures and life that come across our path. Different from the Forest Therapy as our main focus is observing the environment and identifying various aspects including the names.
From classes with the Tennessee Naturalist Program and continued self learning, Val as your guide will share with you basic knowledge of the area including geology, ecology, and creatures big and small from the donkeys to the insects. The goal is not to have a test at the end, but to slow down from the busy lives, reinvigorate the inner child, and go on a little mystery hunt for what we may find in any season.
An immersion into an ecosystem that may be different than your normal environment, will engage the senses and spark creativity. Maybe you'll notice the giant weeds that may be annoying in an urban setting are actually beautiful in stature and as food for bees and butterflies. We will look at rocks and how the river flows and imagine ourselves back in time in that place. Maybe you'll plan your retreat at just the right time to see the cherry blossoms or on a random winter day when the frost provides such visual excitement in the morning including seeing the icicles emerge from the ground or maybe stepping on them to hear them crunch.
ask about a homestead immersion session
One of the greatest benefits of an immersion in this homestead farm setting is discovering a new pace and connection to the cycle of a day or even the cycle of the ecology from the donkeys to the chickens to the compost to the garden, to the saplings and mature trees, to the seasons. Each season provides a different opportunity to seize so make sure you consider this in your planning.
If you are seeking a learning experience typically as a solo at a crossroads, this is a good option for you. Depending on how long your retreat is scheduled will indicate the type and level of immersion. Options include daily 'chores' of the care and feeding of animals morning and evening, physical activities such as manure/compost and possibly gardening from seed to harvest or nourishing the soil for next planting. An entire retreat can be customized around this.
Each participant will be encouraged to interact socially with the animals from petting, walking, or grooming the donkeys to the happenstance of sitting down outside and have a cat request their lap. This story of rural life is different than the naturalist or forest therapy sessions as it pertains to specific routines and sustenance of people and land.