Go Ahead and Add Your Voice

One of my mentors in forest therapy guide training was a singer.

Not in a professional sense. More like she sang or had us singing in every forest bathing walk and group activity we did.

I was a reluctant singer.

In fact, I remember telling my guide friend during training, That’s not me. I’m definitely not gonna to be singing on any of my walks. It felt a little Disney-ish to me.

Fast forward to the present day and I’m a student in a nature prayers class taught by a mentor who travels to Peru regularly to learn from the indigenous people of the Amazon rainforest.

My mentor explains the importance of song in indigenous culture and tells us about icaros, or magic songs. As he explains it, the core idea is the spirit sings through you. More specifically, icaros are “songs of the plants”. The spirit or energy of a plant sends out a vibrational frequency and asks you to deliver its spiritual power through an improvisational song.

Plant songs. Ok, now, I’m intrigued.

I began to think about all the beings in the other-than-human world who have songs. Birds sing, crickets chirp, frogs croak, coyotes howl, wind roars, fire crackles, the list goes on and on.

The earth is one giant song.

So, there I was in the woods on a windy day this week, armed with a song I learned called, May You Walk in Beauty. The song was inspired by “The Beauty Way”, a Navajo/Diné traditional prayer, and to me, the words themselves are beautiful.

May you walk in Beauty

In a sacred way

May you walk in Beauty

Each and every day

May the Beauty of the fire

Lift your spirit higher

May the Beauty of the earth

Fill your heart with mirth

May the Beauty of the rain

Wash away your pain

May the Beauty of the sky

Teach your mind how to fly

I sang the song several times over and the most amazing thing happened. The wind stopped, the birds were quiet, and a stillness came over the woods. It felt like everything around me had paused and was listening.

The earth is one giant song because nature loves music.

While I still won’t commit to singing songs in every forest bathing walk, I won’t totally rule it out either. We’ll see what wants to emerge there.

But what I will do is invite you to try singing the next time you are alone outside. Don’t worry about your singing skills. It doesn’t matter. All sound is welcome. Nature is craving your music, so go ahead and add your voice to the landscape.

Lastly, another invitation for you…

My forest therapy guide friend, Regan Stacey and I created a private Facebook group called Rising Rooted Sisterhood. It’s a space for like-minded women, a place to ground ourselves in nature, uncover our power, be reminded of our own sense of belonging to the earth and experience community to remind us that we are all connected. We are working on creating some things for group members, including our first full moon circle coming June 5th. If the group sounds like something you may be interested in, please join us. You can request access here.

Otherwise, may you walk in beauty today and every day.

Forest Love,

Julie

A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song. - Lou Holtz