Awe and the Art of Shinrin Yoku

Part 1- What IS Awe ?

It’s golden liquid warm, and the only sound is birdsong, peeping wrens, busy and nearby. Somewhere a long way away a raven caws, heavy leaded.   When I look up, the sky is that perfect, perfect  blue and branches are etched like a cathedral above me, dappling green, gold, brown, like I’m looking through a stained-glass window, all slanted, discombobulated. It’s overwhelmingly bright. I’m lying down looking up, but if I turn my head arcing it 180 degrees, I get dizzy. There’s so much sky, so many leaves, so much blue and dazzle, and golden. If I close my eyes that heavy honeyed light still seeps in, making green hued star spangles.

I take a big breath in. My mind slows, and I feel – tired. Tiny. Overwhelmed in so much beauty and -majesty. Yes, majesty. And yes, overwhelm. Back to that again. It’s easier to close my eyes and see the spangles rather than take it all in just now.

It’s like my brain is melting. I lie still to combat this dizziness and feeling it’s all too much, too much… what? -insert a word- beauty? blue? trees? love? sun? sky?  - I don’t know, but it’s all a lot for me just now.

That tiredness has seeped into us all. I sent my Forest Bathers off to go and bathe in this beauty, but when I summon the energy to collect them, they look star struck. They can’t speak, they don’t want to speak, and I know how they feel. I smile.

We all gather for a group hug, no words.  Their beams are brighter than anything I’ve seen this weekend so far. And the birds just keep on peeping around us. And the moment stretches out for a long time. This group have forest bathed before, but not as much as me. And I wasn’t sure I should bring them here today because it’s been a full-on weekend of Forest Bathing and I didn’t want to tire them out too much. But the love is there and I know it’s all going to be more than fine. Because I knew being here on a day like today- perfect drowsy sunshine, would illicit this feeling.

It’s AWE.

Awe is a difficult thing to describe, although I know you’ve all experienced that feeling I described above. It’s defined as (Noun) ‘a feeling of reverential respect mixed with fear or wonder.’ (Oxford English Dictionary 2022). Florence Williams, in her fabulous book “The Nature Fix” (2017)  talks about it being’ a deeply powerful, awe inspiring experience (that) can change someone’s perspective for a long time, even permanently.” For example, it’s that feeling you get when you stand on the top of a mountain. Like you’ve achieved something momentous that perhaps took you a while to do, a struggle or some strife happened along the way to make that awe moment more spectacular (like hiking for many days, breaking through a barrier, etc, as an example).  

David Hochman (The Key to Fulfilment, 2010 Oprah Magazine), describes it as “somewhere at the intersection of joy, fear, mystery and insight lies awe”. It’s what you feel when something “surprising, humbling, sublime, exceptional or beyond our comprehension” happens.

I like this explanation , because it takes into consideration that often with this feeling you feel is actually kind of hard to describe. It’s beyond words.

And although you can’t describe it, you are familiar with it. You know ‘that feeling’. It’s these moments you feel this ‘awe’ that keeps you metophorically and physically climbing mountains, after all, isn’t it?

Awe is very powerful.

And awe is something you want, it’s good for you, so perhaps to experience it, you plan for a holiday where you will be able to ‘do’ awe.  You plan to climb a mountain, and you train, so you can go and experience those magical moments that take your breath away. So, you can stand there and go –WOW. I’m speechless. And at that time, you slow down. Everything seems to stop. The air crackles and it becomes momentous. Something you can recall for many years to come. For years when the moment has long passed.

And then you go back to your normal day to day lives and you hold that precious awe moment as a beacon in the dark to keep you going.

Why?

Basically, we do this because we are slaves to our hormones. We all want that hit of brain chemicals like serotonin, endorphin and oxytocin.

We WANT to feel awe. But, we only go once a year because of work, commitments, mortgages, blah blah-we can’t afford it. It is something for special times. I find it curious. What paradoxes we are! We want awe, but how many of us do it daily? I have some theories about this, to do with how we all live in western society, but don’t get me started on that just now.

The reality is not many of us choose to live and breathe awe.

And when I ask myself why, a few things come to mind.

We have some very powerful limiting beliefs about awe.

Here are a few: (Feel free to add your own in at the bottom!)

1) We think it’s just something for occasionally, like a special bottle of whisky. It’s too special for every day.

2) We must save, strive and savour it. It’s a RARE thing. Lucky for some, the rest of us mere humans are juggling kids, houses, mortgages and jobs.

3) We think a daily dose is not necessary or because we don’t think need it that much. It’s not important. It’s a luxury. Because who, week to week, gets to.. (insert your awe moment… “hike mountains daily”?)

4) Maybe we’ve been told that awe is something for National Geographic photographers, not for you and me. It’s only for a special few. It’s only for special people, perhaps.

5) We think awe is something we can only get from BIG things, and often there is a price. That to get the big thing we must first suffer. We need awe to be huge and we need it to be after we’ve had a negative, sad or troubling experience. You know the story. We have to save for 6 months and bust our butts at the gym before we can be rewarded with awe at the top of a mountain. Here’s a bad example we can all imagine- The guy who climbed the mountain had an epiphany as he had to saw his arm off when he got stuck in a rock slide. He freed himself and as he did so, the sun rose over the glacier behind him and he realised he was part of the wider world- he was awe inspired to spend the rest of his life caring for children. (Sorry for being trite but you get my drift).

So, as a result, we go to the gym to get exercise, and we skimp and save, to prep for the ‘awe’ inspiring event (insert awe event “mountain climbing” trip) we’ve planned in 8 months’ time that is programmed to deliver us our yearly dose of awe. And whilst this kind of exercise at the gym is great for burning off some excess adrenaline it’s not giving you a feeling of ‘reverential respect mixed with fear or wonder’, is it?  Unless your gym is a lot more magical unicorn than any one I know about, it’s not giving you AWE.

And so, you get awe in very small, very limited and very controlled circumstances. You can’t just DO awe. You don’t deserve it. You don’t have time. You must earn it.

These are amazingly powerful beliefs. And so, my friends, you miss out. Because these limiting beliefs above, they are all a load of rubbish.

Here’s why:

Myth 1) You can have awe every day. There is not a short supply of it. It’s literally everywhere around us. You don’t need a climb a mountain to get it. In fact, you are DESIGNED to experience awe every day. The world around you is designed to give you awe every day.

Need an example?

Sunrise.

Need another one? Sunset.

The moon, a flower, the light in a cathedral, art, music, a baby bird, a leaf on a tree, the wind, the ocean, singing, a baby laughing, dancing…(Are you crying yet?!)

 We are SURROUNDED by AWE.

We just haven’t been looking.

I’d argue that our lives are set up to make looking for something like awe a chore. It’s too damn hard, it’s not cheap, it’s got to be hard, it’s got to be a luxury. You need time to do it.

I hear you. But Forest Bathing, Shinrin Yoku, as the Japanese call it, is what I call Easy Awe.

I’ll tell you how in later blogs, but let me get to dispelling these other myths about awe first.

Myth 2) We think a daily dose is not necessary or that we don’t need it that much. It’s a luxury.

Well, sorry to pop that little bubble but that’s rubbish. See Point 1. It is not a luxury. It’s as common as snowflakes on the windowsill. It’s as cheap as hearing your baby chuckle. It’s everywhere and it’s just there, within your reach. We want awe in our lives so badly we make it ourselves, think art, cathedrals, music and dance. We crave it.

I would also argue it is VERY necessary. It regulates our hormones*, it gives us Oxytocin, Seratonin and sometimes Dopamine. It can change how our brain works. It makes us more connected, kinder, and more open to helping humans and non-humans alike. It can shape our life’s purpose, it is a vital part of making our lives wonderful, connected, fun, inspiring, magic, joyful and genuinely happy. We are DESIGNED for awe. When we experience awe, it physiologically, emotionally and metaphysically affects us.

We need awe. We really, really need it. And given it’s around us, and we need it, why are we limiting our access to it?

Again, this is the magic of Shinrin Yoku. It’s around us, wherever we are, twice a day in a sunrise and a sunset. Easy, affordable and important. Important for many reasons we will explore later.

Myth 3) It’s for special people.

Really? Ever seen a child bliss out in a moment of pure awe ? Dancing, singing or seeing something they think is magical for the first time? Was that child special? Any more special than you? It’s true that children see awe much more frequently and naturally than adults. We start putting those limiting beliefs in place pretty early on. Stifling the joy, the natural wonder and magic. We have been stifling awe in adults for a long time.

 I say it’s time to bring awe back. Awe for adults- why not? I’m in!

Myth 4)  We think of awe as being only for big things. And or, that we must suffer to experience it. Yes, it’s true that you get awe from big things. Yes, climbing a mountain, yes, the Grand Canyon. Yes, Boranup forest. Yes, to the big-ticket things like the Eiffel tower, give us awe. Dolphins and whales, jumping out of a plane, landing on the moon. Sure, big things can give it to you. But so can little things. They don’t have to big or momentous.  How about a snowflake on a windowsill? A flower. Hearing a song, watching your child dance. These can give you ‘a feeling of reverential respect mixed with fear or wonder”.

Do you need another example? Have you ever looked at a banksia, or a sunflower up close? Really looked? That inspires me to have a reverential wonder filled moment. It’s not big, there is no effort to experiencing the magic of awe at that moment. I can do it in the supermarket by picking up a bunch of flowers.

And let me just bust the second part of this myth- we must experience some form of tribulation to really appreciate that awe when it comes. Well, if I can stare at a flower in the supermarket and experience awe, did I need to saw my arm off to have that moment? No. I didn’t. And the moment was, or can be, just as magical and permanent.

 So, again I ask, why don’t we?

In summary- awe is something that makes our lives better. It’s easy, cheap and has no strings attached. It’s not about making something harder than it has to be, and it’s not something someone else gets and you don’t.

There is an infinitesimal abundance of it in the world around us and you don’t have to save for 6 months to experience it. It’s right in front of your nose.

You don’t need to do hard yoga poses or practice mindfulness for years, or learn an instrument or chase children around the park to achieve it.

You can literally just reach out and touch it.

 It’s called NATURE.

 So there you go.

Nature gives us Awe.

And Shinrin Yoku, as the Japanese practice is, is literally just “Awe for Dummies. “

There is a lot of science around Shinrin Yoku and Awe. Don’t worry, I’ve done the research so you don’t have to. Over the coming weeks I want to blog about how significant it is and how easy you yourself, can be an awe expert. Sounds funny?

Think about it.

When you (insert awe moment –“climbed that mountain” – how good did that moment feel?

Don’t you want that feeling every day?

Don’t you think you deserve that every day?

Why not? Something that will enrich your life and make you feel magical regularly through daily Forest bathing practices? Something you can do and it’s easy and there is no strings attached.

Are you up for it?!

Postscript:

I really appreciate you taking the time out of your busy life to read this. I know everyone is time poor and there are a lot of things pulling at your time. I hope it’s given you something to think about. I’d love your comments, thoughts and ideas on this topic and would love to hear from you if you are interested in experiencing Shinrin Yoku yourself. In the weeks to come, we will dive deeper into Awe and how it works with Shirin Yoku as a practice. How you can experience awe every day and how it will make your life softer, kinder, and more joyful.

Jacquie is a Shinrin Yoku, Forest Bathing Guide, occasional blogger and Environmental Scientist. She practices Shirin Yoku daily and wants you to, as well.

She has a 6 week course you can do on Shinrin Yoku (Forest Bathing) at home, especially designed for the time-poor, with a gathering for the weekend at the end, so there is no excuses! If you want to find out more contact her on 0433212552, visit www.joytrails.com.au, or follow on social media @joy_trails. For upcoming events like a 2-night Luxury retreat in Margaret River in October, a short mini session for the @swfestivalofjapan in September, as well as inspiration and hopefully, some awe-inspiring photos, visit www.joytrails.com.au. Thank you xxx