Contemplations on our Connection to Nature

Where: East Linton, along the banks of the Tyne between Stories Park and the Linn Rocks. What3Words: ///conductor.super.narrates  

Description: Three meditative exercises or practices you can use when you walk in nature or along rivers.

Andy Smith will lead us in three reflective exercises we can practice to help connect with the river, the plant and animal life within and surrounding the river, whilst also connecting to the atmosphere and sense of place.

The elegant focus of the heron as it fishes, the bobbing of dippers, the flash of a kingfisher. Many of us love to be near water, it has many benefits for our mood and well-being. Seeing a healthy river flow, sensing the coolness of the trees and plants on a sunny day, hearing the bubbling of the streams or the calls of the birds. The sense of place is also important, places have a resonance or effect on us too. In this workshop we’ll practice meditative and reflective exercise to help us connect to these experiences and stay with them a little longer than we usually might do..

This workshop will provide you with opportunities to stay with and deepen these typical experiences most of us have when strolling by or idling by rivers. 

No previous experience necessary. 

What to bring:

• Good footwear, clothing and food/drink that will keep you warm and dry for at least 90 minutes. 
• Something to sit on if you find standing tiring. There will be a little walking though we will be still a lot of the time. 
• You may also need a notebook or journal or some way to record the learning, like voice notes on your phone, or a sketchbook.

About the facilitator

Andy is a psychotherapist and facilitator, based in East Lothian. He teaches internationally and in the UK on Process-oriented Psychotherapy or Processwork which places a strong emphasis on our awareness and connection to place and nature and to the earth. He is fascinated about the relationships between human and other life and also how the sense of a place influences and affects us. Andy has been exploring this inside out as he is recovering from chronic Lyme Disease, and walking slowly by the river has been a big part of this recovery. When he is well Andy is writing post-punk rap and puzzling over vegetable gardening.