Philosophical Counseling and Forest Therapy
Philosophy is most powerful when it resolves into story. But story is amplified in power by the presence of philosophy. Table of Context:
1) Philosophical Counseling 2) Forest Therapy 3) Ask a Grail Question 4) Exercises Before the Consultation 5) Price 6) Contact 7) Links 8) Practical information 1) Philosophical Counseling Philosophical Counseling with me is counseling in my teaching, Meditation as an Art of Life. The purpose is to give inspiration to become a life artist, and live a life of freedom, joy and adventure. However, to take this journey requires knowledge of a landscape of both dangers and pitfalls, as well as pathfinders and trail markers. I have called the challenges of this landscape: The Godgame. It is a game between Nature and Machine. In a philosophical counseling session I´m therefore asking you to create a playful distance to yourself and play a role as a Grail Seeker. Your map on this journey is Meditation as an Art of Life (as mentioned in the Introduction, and in my Profile: Meditation as an Art of Life was created as a compass for navigating through spiritual crises and philosophical distortions: The Matrix Conspiracy). So: Philosophical Counseling is a Grail Quest consisting of riddles, codes, detective stories, and treasure hunts, where we will walk The Path of Druidry, or, The Ancient Green Way. A central theme in this quest is forest therapy. 2) Forest Therapy Forest Therapy is an ancient spiritual tradition and magical craft (though the name is a newer modern concept for, for example shamanism), used for healing, problem solving and for maintaining balance between humans and nature. The relation between humans and nature are quite central in Forest Therapy. My service is in that way closely combined with forest therapy. Rold Forest is the spirit in my service. Rold Forest is also called “The Seven-league Forest of Fairy Tale”. Denmark’s largest connected forest naturally has a comprehensive wildlife. Rold Forest’s 8,000 hectares encompass so many different habitat and forest types that a very large number of forest, bog and meadow animals are found here. Spread around in the forest you can find up to 6000 years old grave mounds, so the place is filled with history, legends and fairy tales going back to Norse and Celtic mythology. Rold Forest is precisely the kind of Northern European forest which inspired Tolkien´s creation of The Old Forest, Lothlorien, Fangorn, and Mirkwood. You can encounter ancient beech trees creating a magical trolls’ wood of gnarled trees, a hiding place for the robbers from Rold, springs rising up from the ground everywhere. Rold Forest is in fact one large grave place from prehistoric Denmark with 250 large grave mounds, which often are lying beneath the crowns of ancient trees. In Rold Forest you´ll also find the Mines of Thingbæk, and the most beautiful heathery hills in Denmark. A special inspiration for my practice is the so-called "Gundestrup Cauldron", a Celtic masterpiece, which was found in a bog near Rold Forest, by my uncle´s grandfather, Jens Sørensen, in 1891: The Gundestrup Cauldron (200BC-300AD)
Cernunnos , The Lord of the Animals, or Lord of The Wild Things.
Image is from the inner plates of The Gundestrup Cauldron. Note how he is sitting in the Buddhic posture, which shows the undeniable fact, that there must have been a connection with Eastern spirituality. Closely connected to the Gundestrup Cauldron is the ancient tribe, the Cimbri, who came from the area of Rold Forest (Himmerland). It is very likely that they practiced some kind of Celtic shamanism, or perhaps even were Celts. And, since my family, on my mother´s side, have lived in the same area, as far as I can trace back, I´m probably a descendant of the Cimbri (some of the locals in Rold Forest are still referring to themselves as Cimbri, and until recently we have had so-called "Cimbri-festivals").
Both the Celtic past, and Germanic past, of Rold Forest, are involved in my philosophical counseling practice. Forest therapy is a Japanese phenomenon which arose back in the 1980s. The Japanese word for forest therapy is Shinrin-yoku, forest bathing. Today there are many names for the medicine of being in the forest: Sami Lok, ecotherapy, nature therapy, grounding, earthing. Forest therapy refers to the practice of spending time in forested areas for the purpose of enhancing health, wellness, and happiness. The practice follows the general principle that it is beneficial to spend time bathing in the atmosphere of the forest. Although I´m inspired by the Japanese practice my use of the terms forest therapy and Shinrin-yoku do not mean a specifically Japanese practice. My service includes elements of Celtic/Scandinavian paganism, Christian Mysticism, and Tibetan Dream Yoga. Forest therapy means spending time in nature in a way that invites healing interactions. There is a long tradition for this in cultures throughout the world. It’s not just about healing people´s lives; it also includes healing for nature. There are an infinite number of healing activities that can be incorporated into a walk in a forest or any other natural area. An activity is likely to be healing when it makes room for listening, for quiet and accepting presence, and for inquiry through all eight of the sensory modes we possess. In Rold Forest I offer different guided walks in the forest, where I partly will tell stories about the forest area we walk through, partly offer philosophical counseling in my teaching, Meditation as an Art of Life. There will also be opportunity for sitting around a campfire in the evening, or “vision quests”: sitting alone in the forest from dusk to dawn. Forest therapy will in itself naturally involve shamanic elements, since shamanism is a spiritual path which especially is dealing with nature. 3) Ask a Grail Question
At least 14 days before the consultation, please describe a topic/problem which you want to be in the center of the consultation, and form a so-called Grail Question about this problem (click here for a guide in how to ask your Grail Question). 4) Exercises before the Consultation
Below I will introduce a simplified version of the fundamental meditative exercises I myself work with on a daily basis. In that way you have a short introduction to the meditative aspect of Meditation as an Art of Life, which I advice you to start before the consultation (if you are in an acute spiritual crisis, it is especially The Supporting Hara Exercise you should start with. This is described in The Harameditation): 1) The Relaxationmeditation (this is an introduction to the below exercises, and what time a day to practice them). 2) The Yoga-cycle. 3) The Harameditation. 5) Price
The service is, in the spirit of Socrates, and traditional shamanism, a free service. The idea is based on Gift Economy and Donations. So, if you feel the service has inspired you, and you feel the need for it, you are welcome to give a donation. It will be received with gratitude and blessings, and will help keeping the service active: 6) Contact For the time being I´m not taking new guests. 7) Links
The following ten texts can serve as further introductions to the core aspects of my work (it is not necessary you have read all this):
1) Meditation as an Art of Life (the basic article). 2) Philosophical Counseling as an Alternative to Psychotherapy (shows the background for the term: philosophical counseling). 3) Counseling in the Mythic Forest of Rold (describes the relation between storytelling and philosophy, as well as the healing aspect of storytelling). 4) Philosophical Counseling with Tolkien (an introduction to my philosophy as such). 5) Nordic Shamanism and Forest Therapy (deeper-going theoretical article on the back-ground story of Rold Forest, as well as the different walks I offer. The article also introduces the two aspects of the Grail legend: The pagan Faery/Elven Grail and the Christian Holy Grail). 6) The Compass - The Forgotten Secret of Hara Healing (an article about healing techniques from both Eastern philosophy, Christian Mysticism and Celtic paganism). 7) The Nine Gates of Middle-earth (booklet on my interpretation of the chakra-system). 8) The Runes of Rold Forest (ebook on my combination of Germanic Runes and the Celtic Oghams). 9) The Peter Pan Project (free booklet. Philosophical counseling with me is in many ways about re-discovering The Inner Child). 10) The Art of Pilgrimage (In this booklet I describe the art of pilgrimage seen in the light of the pilgrimage narrative in J.R.R. Tolkien´s The Lord of the Rings. I see my own vagabonding - included my walks in Rold Forest - as a pilgrimage, a shamanic journey, or, a Grail Quest - and, if you are considering visiting me in person in Rold Forest, Denmark, I suggest you see your journey in the light of a such a pilgrimage, shamanic journey, or...Grail Quest! 8) Practical Information
Rold Forest (information about Rold Forest) Rebildporten (Tourist information. Rebild is the name of the National Park of Rold Forest, Denmark). Also watch these videos: My own photography from Rold Forest:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. |
|