Sometimes.. All You Need Is a Wandering Walk in Nature

Not all who wander are lost. ~ Tolkien

As I recently led a client on her (Inner Compass) Wisdom Walk also called Medicine Walk, I have been reminded of the power of the intentional practice of wandering. Such a walk is not an every day stroll in the park or your typical hike. John Muir, when asked about hiking, famously said: "I don't like either the word or the thing. People ought to saunter in the mountains - not hike! Do you know the origin of that word saunter? It's a beautiful word. Away back in the Middle Ages people used to go on pilgrimages to the Holy Land, and when people in the villages through which they passed asked where they were going, they would reply, 'A la sainte terre,' 'To the Holy Land.' And so they became known as sainte-terre-ers or saunterers. Now these mountains are our Holy Land, and we ought to saunter through them reverently, not 'hike' through them."
Solivagant is another term that I like to use to describe a person on a Medicine Walk. Here is a definition I found online for solivagant:

“A solivagant is a solitary wanderer. A person who revels in the act of wandering alone, preferably in destinations and locations they have not previously visited.”

So wha is so magical about the practice of taking a meandering, solitary walk in nature, of sauntering, of being a solivagant or a pilgrim for a day?

First, the practice is rooted in one of the oldest of human spiritual practices: leaving one’s familiar world to wander, opening to new insights and gifts through direct contact with the natural world, and returning to share the gifts received with others. Celts took meditative walks, Australian aborigines went on walkabouts, buddhist monks in the Thai Forest tradition conducted prayer walks and Indigenous in North America undertook vision quests. Pilgrimages exist in many religions throughout the world.

This purposeful wander in nature is generally taken with the intent to arrive at new insight, wisdom, and guidance in response to an important question or inquiry. In a such a walk, you are essentially embarking on an intentional journey into liminal space and time. You venture forth with a question held clearly in your heart, an inquiry of deep importance to you. Beyond that, your walk is aimless, with no particular goal in mind. You allow nature to reflect back to you wisdom and guidance in response to your question. More than anything, the Medicine Walk is a ceremony of sorts. And so it warrants special preparation, presence and a degree of reverence throughout its duration, in honor of its special significance, not only for yourself, but also for others in our world. On your Medicine Walk, you are not trying to figure out the answer to your question with your mind. Instead, you just allow the mystery of the experience to reveal the insight you need, to receive medicine from Nature. This is a time to fully engage with all of your senses.

You can take a Medicine Walk on your own or with a guide. When supported by me as your guide to a (Inner Compass) Wisdom Walk, the experience becomes a very powerful, natured-based coaching journey that will continue to unfold days and weeks after the walk. You do not need any experience with Medicine Walks as I will be right there to guide and support you in the process, which includes three individual coaching sessions.

If you‘d rather not walk alone, I can accompany you on a (Solvitur Ambulando) Coaching Walk where the attention is still fully on you and your inquiry, but where you and I are together on the trails. Like the (Inner Compass) Wisdom Walk, the (Solvitur Ambulando) Coaching Walk is private and personal.

Or to get a taste of a sauntering walk, you could also join a group of women for the Fall Seasonal Contemplative walk to be held on Sunday November 21 in Portola Valley, California.

I look forward to our sauntering together in whichever form that may take.

Warmly,
Anne-Marie
November 5, 2021 (414.4 ppm of atmospheric CO2 (safe level 350))

COP26: A Message of Hope?

Stars are aligning... Finally ! ~Christiana Figueres

As I get ready to support COP26 participants, I have been trying to follow what’s happening in Glasgow. One of the most hopeful reports I have found so far is from the podcast Outrage+Optimism by Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac, the architects of the 2015 Paris Agreement and authors of the book The Future We Choose (book which is also the basis for my Climate Engagement coaching program of the same name).

The title for the episode is COP26! All eyes on 1.5C and it gives a good accounting of the accomplishments and challenges of the conference to-date. One message that particularly resonates with me is Christiana’s comment: “Stars are aligning… Finally!” as she describes the convergence of - a political signal of willingness to engage, - funds being devoted to the issue, - high social pressure and - the availability of technology allowing for transparent enforcement.

This is indeed a message of hope!

Last Seasonal Contemplative Walk of 2021

This is the last contemplative walk that I will be leading this year. Would you like to join me?

Poem: Sometimes by David Whyte

Sometimes
if you move carefully
through the forest
breathing
like the ones
in the old stories
who could cross
a shimmering bed of dry leaves
without a sound,
you come
to a place
whose only task
is to trouble you
with tiny
but frightening requests
conceived out of nowhere
but in this place
beginning to lead everywhere.
Requests to stop what
you are doing right now,
and
to stop what you
are becoming
while you do it,
questions
that can make
or unmake
a life,
questions
that have patiently
waited for you,
questions
that have no right
to go away.