by Sarah Penney

I walk into the woods.

My snowpants brushing against one another is the only sound, 

save the wind. 

I feel my feet on the pavement at the beginning of the trail. 

The snow is falling lightly 

The wind is steady

The pavement becomes pebbles and dirt

under my feet

I am concentrating on the movement

one foot in front of the other

heel to toe

heel to toe

the earth underneath me

the Earth underneath me. 

by Emily Horowitz

My Soul Walk Reflections If They Were a Dance

[I am spotlit, wearing street clothes, barefoot on a bare stage—wood floor of course!]

I walk slowly forward, gently but intentionally, toe to heel, toe to heel. 

by Rebecca Jones

Mother Earth My Turtle Tree is the Soul Walk Project created by Rebecca Jones, FTS Certified Forest Therapy Guide, Seven Springs 2024 cohort.

by Stef Swink Morrison

The tree-sprite woman / Little Girl / Nature Goddess

pauses between the Sentinels of trees.

They share a reverent silent greeting as they enter into the

ancient and sacred exchange of breath.

by Jenny Golding

For my soul walk, I spent three days in the backcountry of Yellowstone National Park, backpacking to a basecamp near Union Falls, a large waterfall, and Scout Pool, a thermally heated pool below a small waterfall. Because it’s very dangerous to hike alone in Yellowstone because of grizzly bears, I needed to take a hiking partner.

by Stacy Anne Allen

The art and written portions shown in the photographs are all a representation of the time I spent being with the forest at one of my favorite places, locally. I enjoyed being with the forest, all the beings, the sounds and sights and laying in my hammock.

by Brittany Carr

Defeated and weary, the Forest holds me

Her branches, the arms keeping me safe

Her winds brush the hair from my soaked cheeks

"You are not alone," She whispers,

Like secrets from a lover.

by Angela Nielans

For my soul walk project, I decided to paint a Loon. I love to paint with watercolors, and as soon as I read about the soul walk project, I knew I would be submitting a painting.

While at Medomak, I had multiple experiences I would call “synchronicities” or even categorize as “mystic”.

by Graciela Valdes

Whew! What an experience!

I was a bit nervous the night before. I’m totally comfortable spending time alone, in contemplation (my thoughts are entertaining! LOL), so it wasn’t anything like that. I was mostly nervous about my safety and being alone. (I-choose-the-bear type of thing.) I knew I wanted to have this experience, so me and my deep breaths set out on the 25 min drive back to Fires Creek.

by Jennifer Lopez

My intention during my Soul Walk was to meditate and then take a mindful walk, reflecting on the question Who Am I? Each time something caught my attention, I contemplated how it symbolized an aspect of me and my life and who I am becoming. I focused on embodied responses to what I saw, smelled, and heard.

by Jaimie O’Leary

Endless seasons spent at this natural beauty,

Awakening senses, triggering deep feelings that have been hidden, not wanting any of the world to see.

by Julie Brooks

Trees are the silent sentinels of woods and streams. They stand [as] unspeaking witnesses to sunlit mornings, lashing storms, nocturnal secrets, birth, death and historic occasions of celebration and despair. ~Sandy Corley

The phrase witness tree was coined by public land surveyors in the early 1800s to indicate the demarcation of land boundaries for early European settlers.

by Lynnette Belej

My Soul Walk evolved into a journey through the five elements of nature based spirituality. Each photo is the view from a sit spot inspired by one of the elements. The surrounding flowers are those that were in bloom in the area of each sit spot.

by Morgan Vickery

The Camperdown Elm tree is a crucial stop on my Forest Therapy walks through Prospect Park. The history of this tree first sparked my interest last year when I discovered it on one of my weekly park strolls. At the start of my four-hour Soul Walk, I felt a strong pull to spend quality time with the Kindred Spirit.

by Gemma Tarlach

When I started this class back in January (ages ago!) I had great plans to go big in every aspect, including the Soul Walk, and to start a forest therapy business and go all in. Some four months later, things have changed in many ways, and the path ahead is unclear.

by Leah McCarley

My inspiration for the Growth Rings project came from a few things. The growth rings of trees, spider webs and ripples in water all were beings that I thought about while working on this project. This was my first attempt at weaving.

by Becca Buckley

Out here,

Life is long

Time moves slowly

Her resulting changes

nearly imperceptible

by Catherine Fannon

O:

Sometimes the outdoors

Follows you in, reminding

You to go outdoors