Sometimes we need to stop. And listen to what the trees are saying. What the brook is whispering. What the forest can tell us. And it can tell us much. About life. About the wind and the world and the weather. About ourselves. There are counselors in the woods. Mentors and companions. Therapists. These Forest Retreat workshops are dedicated to finding them. Meeting them. Learning the skill of stillness meditation. Nature journaling. Discerning metaphors in the natural world. Getting beneath the bark and into the heartwood of life. With elements of art and music and a dollop of backwoods philosophy.

Doug will be sharing lessons from his own journey detailed in his award-winning book, A Wild Path, and talking about its focus on 'the wisdom of trees.' He will also gently guide participants into the woods he knows so well—trees, plants, animals, geology—seeking out the teachers and lessons to be found there. Participants will explore wisdom from varying traditions around the world, from Doug’s old friend Sigurd Olson, John Muir, and Thoreau and their wilderness philosophies, to teachings from the Tao and Buddhism and the Japanese tradition of Shinrin-yoku (forest bathing) along with timeless legends and traditions from the indigenous peoples of this land. We’ll look at fascinating new botanical discoveries like the ‘woodwide web’ and the way that trees communicate. There will even be an evening concert of ‘EarthSongs.’ Finally, everything will be brought home to being here and now, standing in a grove of ancient pines, on the ground beneath our feet.

*DATES: Thursday, May 29—Sunday, June 1; Friday, Sept. 12—Monday, Sept.15.