Forest bathing, like so many of life’s joys, must really be felt, live and in person, to fully comprehend. Any words used in an attempt to communicate the essence of the experience are sure to fall short. Indeed, the ineffable and transient nature of Nature is, for me, a primary draw. However, within music I occasionally find moments which are able to convey, or at least hint at and resonate with, some of the inherent aspects. Certain tonalities, pacing, and aesthetic elements can sometimes combine in such a way as to welcome the listener into a space where intuition and daydream are allowed to roam free and play, while time seems to slow from the all-too-frantic pace from which we tend to perceive it. In these moments I can find myself mentally journeying to the woods, recreating the rich sensory stimuli of a beautiful day as memory and music conspire to transport me to this aptly described “happy place.” It is from this perspective that I’ve assembled this playlist of tunes – I hope you enjoy, and should you have any tracks to recommend which have moved you in a similar fashion, please feel free to leave a comment…
( Please note that this music is meant simply to help “tide you over” between forest bathing sessions; when out immersing yourself in Nature I hope you’ll consider leaving all your electronic devices behind. )
~~~ the earth has music for those who listen ~~~
Dream landscapes is a vision, a journey of thoughts, meditations and sound vibrations. Moving through mountains and páramos…the colors and the beauty in nature and all the things we can learn from her. The places I’ve lived and the places I’ve seen…cloud forests, vibrant jungles, beautiful rivers, superior lakes, tranquil oceans. The Rain, the sun, the moon, the sound of birds, the sound of the wind, my love for the northern winters and the snow…my home in Minnesota and my home in Colombia. I let the organics of nature guide the songs. It’s like a detailed soundscape of what I really see, and of what these places made me feel. It’s sound healing. My medicine. My animal heart.
from Bålsam
from DJ Sun
The Qingxi region, “Deer City,” in Guangdong Province, China has historical symbolism in Hakka culture. It’s terrain, mountainous and desolate, is one that at first tested its inhabitants. But after discovering deer drinking from crystal clear streams dripping out of the Yingping Mountain, the Qingxi people resettled into the low plains
and enjoyed a much more abundant existence from that point forward. Being the assumed ancestral origin of my ancestors, Qingxi Forest is where my journey began, following the flow and life of the streams as my ancestors may have.
An ode to the joy of simply inhabiting a body, one capable of taking in the richness of the world around us through our senses; definitely a cause for celebration!
from TRV