Morning Walkabouts
I love hearing the screen door slam behind me as I venture forth into the woods behind my house for my morning walkabouts with Mr. Gray. Mr. Gray (aka Kray Kray, depending on what he’s getting into at the moment) is my trusty sidekick and our morning motto is: We Go Walkie!
Usually, he hangs back while I begin walking down the hill toward the pasture. A minute later, he shoots past me like a canon ball—haunches bounding bunny-fashion as he goes. Our forest “immersion therapy” began during the COVID-19 pandemic and has now become a ritual we look forward to almost every day from late Fall to early Spring.
In fact, our morning walkies are a vital component in my Mind-Body practice. They keep me balanced, centered, grounded, and connected. (Mr. Gray, of course, embodies this state quite naturally.) 😸
With Summer fast approaching, we’ve been making the rounds—that is, communing with our forest friends as much as possible ’till that fateful moment when the green canopy of poison ivy at the forest entrance greets us with, “What’s up, vertebrates! Wanna party?!” Or, that first brazen tick crawls up my pant leg and states, “We’ll take it from here guys, thanks. Buh-bye.”
Earth Mother Wisdom
Like everyone else on the planet, I was longing for something to occupy my time during the quarantine of 2020, so I began exploring the pastures and woods behind our house. I credit my mother for bestowing on me a love of nature. Not only was she an avid gardener, but she came from a long line of farming folk. I think it’s safe to say she had Earth Mother wisdom in her very veins. She would impart horticultural knowledge like it was old hat. I remember her once mentioning off-handedly that snow is rich in nitrogen which is beneficial for the soil; thus, it helps produce a better crop.
This golden nugget of information (among others) dropped into my awareness that day as we made our way down to the creek. I had decided to create a little shrine for her to commemorate the tenth anniversary of her passing, and to celebrate our time together on Earth as mother and daughter. I often feel her presence when I’m in the woods, and when I began gathering the rocks, pine cones, sweet gum balls, and other natural memento mori for the shrine, it occurred to me that we all have a symbiotic relationship with the Earth.
Our Natural Symbiosis with Earth
Photo Credit: Shane Rounce on Unsplash
The carbon dioxide-oxygen exchange alone is enough to marvel at, not to mention that the human body is made up of many of the same elements as the Earth, with carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, and nitrogen constituting 96%. But the connection runs deeper still.
We share vibrational frequencies with the Earth as well. Every living organism, including the Earth, consists of atoms. These atoms are in a constant state of motion and emit a frequency. The Schumann resonance is the natural electromagnetic frequency generated by the Earth’s magnetic field and vibrates at a frequency of 7.83 hertz.
The human body’s resonant frequency vibrates at around 5 hertz, but here’s the interesting part: when we take a walk out in nature, our resonant frequency begins to synchronize with the Earth’s resonant frequency. Research suggests that the Schumann resonance positively affects our well-being by enhancing cognitive function, alleviating stress, and reducing insomnia symptoms just to name a few.
No wonder I feel so relaxed, energized, and uplifted after a walk in the woods. We’re totally in sync with one another!
Past, Present, and Future
After putting the finishing touches on Mom’s shrine, I sat down on a tree root nearby and let the memories of our time together flood my senses. In the years toward the end of her life, we used to go for walks on the farm where she grew up. We would visit the fields, the pond, and the old tobacco barns where many an hour was spent “puttin’ in” tobacco. A few years ago, I visited the family farm for the last time and the only thing left standing was an old pecan tree that had been there forever.
Funny, my thinking about that pecan tree…
It was Mr. Gray who snapped me from my reverie (as he’s wont) with insistent mewling for further adventures. Our forest friends were waiting! We had to visit the Christmas Ferns in Fern Gully, The Lovers down on Diagon Alley, and The Twisted Sisters along the North Passage–not to mention all the vortices, the cosmic gates, the hobbit holes… And let’s not forget Ballet Guy in Moonstone Meadow and the heron at Walden Pond.
As I intuited a “Bye for Now” to Mom, I turned to ask Gray: “Where should we go first?” but he was already trotting towards Pecan Place. A fine choice. Good thing I was wearing my rubber boots.
Sources:
Mounce Stancil, Joanna. “The Power of One Tree - The Very Air We Breathe.” U.S. Department of Agriculture. March 17, 2015.
Shah, Ruchi. “Elements That Keep Us Alive Also Give Color to Fireworks.” National Institute of General Medical Sciences. July 2, 2015.
Nikolaenko, A.P. “Modern aspects of Schumann resonance studies.” Science Direct. Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics, Vol. 59, Issue 7. May 1997.
Brownjohn, James M.W. Zheng, Xiahua. “Discussion of human resonant frequency.” Astrophysics Data System. June 2001.
Cherry, N.J. “Human intelligence: the brain, an electromagnetic system synchronized by the Schumann Resonance signal.” PubMed - National Library of Medicine. June 2003.
McCraty, Rollin. Atkinson, Mike. Stolc, Viktor. Alabdulgader, Abdullah A. Vainoras, Alfonsas. Ragulskis, Minvydas. “Synchronization of Human Autonomic System Rhythms with Geomagnetic Activity in Human Subjects.” PubMed - National Library of Medicine. July 2017.
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