Breathing With the Forest

Franklin D. Roosevelt said, "Forests are the lungs of our land, purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people." Last week, I had the opportunity to spend time in the towering old-growth redwood trees of Muir Woods in Northern California. Named for John Muir, who often wrote about the beauty and value of ancient forests, the park is truly a sanctuary to experience the symbiotic relationship that exists between trees and humans. As I entered the section of the trail called The Cathedral Grove, I was struck how most of us there observed the signs that requested us to Enter Quietly. It was easy to connect with something larger than myself, surrounded by towering trees, many of them over six hundred years old. 

A few days later, I received a newsletter entitled "Breathing With the Forest” from Daily Good--News That Inspires.  www.dailygood.org/  After reading the description in the article (below), I clicked on the link and was immediately transported to an amazing experience in the Amazon Rainforest. If you don't live near a forest or cannot travel there today, take the opportunity to visit through this virtual digital experience.

'Breathing with the Forest' is an immersive digital experience that explores the illusion of separation between us and the rest of the planet, a reminder that “with each breath we exchange parts of ourselves with the wider world.” The Capinuri tree grows in the Amazon River floodplain where the Breathing experience creators photographed and collected three-dimensional scans and audio recordings of the wind, trees, animals, and water. Capturing the individual elements demonstrates the beauty of each individual living object; in relayering them for the experience, however, the creators demonstrate the opportunity available to notice how they interact; an invitation to appreciate the symbiosis of living alongside one another. “Entering the forest, we step out of our separateness to embody something much more than human.”  Click here and make sure to have the sound turned on:
emergencemagazine.org/feature/breathing-with-the-forest/

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