Change the Story, Change the World
I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. ~ Henry David Thoreau Photo by Vinicius "amnx" Amano on Unsplash Continue reading
To walk in nature is to witness a thousand miracles. ~ Mary Davis Photo by veeterzy on Unsplash Continue reading
Exposed by wind, an arrowhead made of red chert juts from pale sand at the edge of the driveway. Another day, a basalt mano — worn smooth on two sides from grinding corn — turns up in the field. Potsherds and stone projectile points show themselves now and then, along vanished tracks of the old ones. The ancestral pueblo people who left these tools are thought to have abandoned their village — whose ruins lie a few miles from my house — before 1200 CE, for unknown reasons. Whomever walked this … Continue reading
WINTER APPLE Let the apple ripen on the branch beyond your need to take it down. Let the coolness of autumn and the breathing, blowing wind test its adherence to endurance, let the others fall. Wait longer than you would, go against yourself, find the pale nobility of quiet that ripening demands; watch with patience as the silhouette emerges and the leaves fall, see it become a solitary roundness against a greying sky, let winter come and the first frost threaten, and then … Continue reading
Robert Ogilvie Crombie (aka ROC), Scottish scientist, hermetic magician and mystic, recalls his extraordinary encounters with Nature spirits and, in particular in this audio, his fascinatingly robust conversations with Pan. ROC is perhaps best known through his relationship with the Findhorn Foundation and Community and has had a strong and lasting influence on the community's practice of cocreating with the intelligence of Nature. Further reading... Meeting Fairies: My Remarkable Encounters … Watch video
In the deep fall don’t you imagine the leaves think how comfortable it will be to touch the earth instead of the nothingness of air and the endless freshets of wind? And don’t you think the trees themselves, especially those with mossy, warm caves, begin to think of the birds that will come — six, a dozen — to sleep inside their bodies? And don’t you hear the goldenrod whispering goodbye, the everlasting being crowned with the first tuffets of snow? The pond vanishes, and the white field over … Continue reading
"My Octopus Teacher feature documentary captures the story of Craig Foster’s year with a wild octopus. He followed this individual animal for most of her life – something that has seldom been achieved in the wild, let alone underwater. "Synopsis: My Octopus Teacher takes viewers into a world few humans have ever seen. In 2010, debilitated by adrenal fatigue, Craig began free diving in a freezing underwater forest at the tip of Africa. As the icy water re-energised him, he started to film his … Watch video
When I was the stream, when I was the forest, when I was still the field, when I was every hoof, foot, fin and wing, when I was the sky itself, no one ever asked me did I have a purpose, no one ever wondered was there anything I might need, for there was nothing I could not love. It was when I left all we once were that the agony began, the fear and questions came, and I wept, I wept. And tears I had never known before. So I returned to the river, I returned to the mountains. I asked for … Continue reading
When I am among the trees, especially the willows and the honey locust, equally the beech, the oaks and the pines, they give off such hints of gladness. I would almost say that they save me, and daily. I am so distant from the hope of myself, in which I have goodness, and discernment, and never hurry through the world but walk slowly, and bow often. Around me the trees stir in their leaves and call out, “Stay awhile.” The light flows from their branches. And they call again, “It’s simple,” … Continue reading
When the mind is festering with trouble or the heart torn, we can find healing among the silence of mountains or fields, or listen to the simple, steadying rhythm of waves. The slowness and stillness gradually takes us over. Our breathing deepens and our hearts calm and our hungers relent. When serenity is restored, new perspectives open to us and difficulty can begin to seem like an invitation to new growth. This invitation to friendship with nature does of course entail a willingness to be … Continue reading
The Findhorn New Story Hub is an initiative of the Findhorn Foundation: Scotland, UK, IV36 3TZ. Registered charity number: SC007233