[Melody Rose]

My next step in personal leadership is to take the certification course. I believe this is also claiming direction and will deepen my expression.
I know this because it feels right.
I was inspired in the East.
south- I worked hard in many different areas in my life to get where I am today.
West-I’ve questioned it more than I’d like to admit.
North- And now I feel I can express my purpose and myself and lead.
I am so done living in the stormy time of life I note west. (Which I find funny to write because I live on the west coast and love it when we get storms. There’s just something energizing about a good rain with thunder and lightning)
I am excited to see my “baby”/ career, new life into fruition.

[Melody Rose]

Since the last session I’ve been contemplating signing up for the full NCC certification course.
It will involve lots of time, money, travel, and many things I am afraid of or uncomfortable with. On Wednesday (today is Saturday) I went for a swim in a lake I spent a lot of time at this summer and is a place I often, and have for years, look to the mountains, trees, sky, and water while swimming and ask for guidance, and give thanks to. I was the only person in the lake, and swam quite a ways out and sat on a big tree sticking out of the water. I felt totally peaceful and connected and in the right spot. Friday was a particularly difficult day where lots of past emotions and fears were brought up. This morning I woke up and felt happy, and excited that I am going to sign up for the course. I must have chose to in my sleep / in a dream because I just woke up knowing the answer. I even fell back asleep and had another dream that I had a dream that I knew I was going to. I know I want to be a NCC, and add other elements to it as well (using crystals, info on chakras, getting children and families into nature, etc.). On a walk with a friend on Thursday I mentioned some of this, and then today another friend contacted me and we spoke of options she can add to a current treatment. I enjoyed helping her out with new ideas, and doing some research for her on what may be suitable. I am scared and excited.

[Melody Rose]

Today, at his moment I know my vision is in progress. That each day I will get further towards the “big vision” as I do the work and discover precisely what that is.
I know this because I can feel it deep inside me, and in my heart. It just feels right.
What is calling me forward is my daughter, future generations and the Earth. She needs this, they need this, and I am a starting point.
I know my vision is nature and soul connected and to help/teach/show/expose others to it so they can see it is important, needed, healing.

[Melody Rose]

I enjoy doing the parts work. I’ve had a couple experiences that really brought forward a couple parts and I had a conversation between the 2. It was quite interesting.
It is fun, and I was a bit surprised when tuning into other’s council during our conversation.
Programming is ongoing and helpful in many ways. Even if it’s just reassuring myself that it’s ok to just relax this week while my daughter is away, which is hard for me to do. I am allowed to have fun and relax. While she’s away certain parts definitely want to take over!

[Melody Rose]

I just got back from camping out of cell range for the better part of the last month. I am feeling somewhat out of touch and behind, and really good too.

Just by being camping (with my 6 year old daughter and 8 year old dog) I feel in alignment with my vision.

I am a big fan of forest creatures and saw many which makes me know I am on the right track. We saw some raccoons which have always been special to me since I was a child. And I was about 10 feet from a black bear while making breakfast one morning! I have never seen one so close. I kindly told him/her to go when he/she was too close and he/she did. (I was devastated to hear that the bear had to be “dealt with” due to being far too habituated days later 🙁 ) There was also a mouse in my daughter’s flipper.

My daughter saw some kids feeding Whiskey Jacks/Grey Jays out of their hands and wanted to. It didn’t happen right away and she was upset. I told her to be patient and that if she asked nature would hear her. She ended up feeding one in our very own campsite where we hadn’t seen any of those birds before, or since! She was so excited.

While swimming in the lake I was consulting my vision council while looking out at the lake, mountains and sky (before the wildfire smoke rolled in 🙁 ) . I heard that my vision will become more clear, just like the water did as it got shallower, as I got closer to shore. I looked up and saw my daughter playing on the beach and knew that she is a large part of my vision. I have always said that she is the reason I do what I do, for her and her generation, and to raise her to respect and love and be in tune with herself and nature. I got a feeling that my nature connection, will lead her to doing great things for our planet and I will be very proud of her, and like what I am doing here is all to set her up for the great things she will do.

Beliefs/action, etc that need to change-
I need to believe more in myself, to make more time for the work in this, and a few other courses (such as the Creating Nature Connection for Children through 8 Shields I signed up for!!) / to practice what I am learning.

I need to practice better self care and live a healthier lifestyle-less/no alcohol, healthier food, more water and sleep, less time on the computer, declutter my home….

(Some of) My parts-
being organized
wanting to get things done now/ASAP/right away
nature lover
listener
solitude
healer
survivor/fighter

Programming-
I’ve noticed that with some ppl, mostly family or close friends I can be judgemental and am working on changing that to loving unconditionally, being more understanding, not taking things personally
I am practicing being gentler to myself, stopping negative self talk, doubt
I am re learning how to taste and smell, which isn’t always pleasant, haha

Setting intention
lately while camping it’s been nature connection, slowing down, being present
since I’ve been home it’s been to bring all that, at the same level, back to everyday life.

How does the process/stages of change apply to me in regards to leadership and vision?
Where am I in the process?

I’d say I’m in the action stage in relation to vision. I know I am on the right path and am building towards it, and that there are relapses into the planning stage.

So to answer the actual discussion question-
I am noticing after a few days of programming that some things are easier and more open to change than others and that the harder/more resistant ones seem to come up more often/louder.
Sometimes I’m not sure if it’s a part of me or maybe I just think it is since it’s been there all my life, so I’m still second guessing myself, which means I’m still learning and need more practice 🙂 . Knowing my different parts helps with different programming, like listening to be less judgemental of loved ones.

[Melody Rose]

I am in alignment with vision in some ways more than other, and this past year more so than ever before . My lack of self confidence when thinking of living or working towards my vision is very different than when I am living in alignment with my vision. When I am living in alignment with my vision I am confident in it. I am the only person holding me back from fully living my vision. There are many things I know I can, and will do to live more in alignment with my vision and I procrastinate.

My 6 year old daughter, and her generation are a large part of my vision. She will learn by example, we will learn together, and she can, has, and will teach me so much.

Walking with my vision council is empowering, like someone always has your back, like there is safety in numbers. I feel like I can see, hear, feel, etc more now knowing they are always there.

[Melody Rose]

For me Soul Directed and Nature Connected means following what I feel deep inside , or what i “know” that I am meant to do, or here to do in this lifetime. Soul-Directed is my small part of the whole or the greater good. Nature-connected is feeling part of the whole, all that there is, and “the world of the spirit that moves through all things” (by Tom Browne Jr. and I love it!).
Nature-Connected is where I go to be Soul-Directed.
It seems like there’s a foggy line between the two, or maybe there isn’t a line at all?

I like what Janet said “a recognition of something deeper, ageless, timeless, without identity,” etc.

I think the only time I really feel soul connected is when I am in nature. It’s like a quiet calm comes over me and i feel peaceful.

Living soul directed for me is listening to what comes to me in those moments and bringing it into my everyday life, and I believe that doing so will help create it so that I can experience that in everyday life, not just in nature. It’s a circle, which interestingly, the other day when I offered a forest bathing and yoga walk, with a friend instruction the yoga portions, I kept noticing circles in the forest- a circle of trees, and a branch that circled around.

It was almost a year ago that I heard/felt my soul clearly on an amazing few days of old growth tree adventures, and I’ve been following it ever since. The experiences, the people, the nature, it’s like those few days made me realize it’s ok to be me.

Like Joshua, I feel like my soul has been directing me to nature connection for a long time.

To Daniel, yes, expanding my comfort zone has definitely been a big must!

Karina- I had to read what you wrote about true recovery a few times so it could sink in. I am good with some points, and want to be better with some. It was a good reminder, thank you.

I loved reading this thread. Thank you all for sharing

[Melody Rose]

Hi. I’m Melody, a 36 year old , self employed, divorced, single mom from BC, Canada. Sorry I missed the first meeting, I was camping, and I unfortunately can’t make it to the other meetings do to previous engagements (kick boxing class hahaha- it’s all about balance right ). I signed up for this course because I did the intro course last fall and it was amazing so I had to sign up for this one too. I’d love to do the full course in Colorado, but can’t right now because I have a six year old daughter, and it’s pretty far. I will get there one day though! I want to learn more because I offer Forest Bathing and Nature Connected Coaching, and more, in my new business FirReal Nature Connections, and I want deepen my connection with nature. My hope is that bringing people closer to nature will make people take better care of Mother Earth. Growing up I always wanted to save the trees and the planet and I think I’ve finally found a way I feel like I can do that, with Nature Connection. I have taken a bunch of other courses – wildlife and forestry conservation, crop protection and production, horticulture production and a life coaching course and have always been a tree hugger so EBI is such a great addition to my life. Nature has always been what I’ve turned to in life in happy and bad times so when I found EBI it’s like life finally made sense. Since the last EBI course I took I’ve been reading a few of the books that were mentioned, like the Tom Brown Jr. books and they’re great! Right now I’m reading the Nature and survival for children book and just spend 2 days while camping practicing how to walk properly. At one point while doing the “stalking walk”, wide angle vision and sensory awareness, while barefoot, I thought it was like walking in a dream.

The 8 indicators made me think of different times when I’ve felt like I had each of those things.

I’m so stoked about this course. It’s perfect timing because it’s summertime so it’s great time to be outside, and for my business getting going as well.

This is going to be awesome!

[Melody Rose]

I’m not too sure how to get this to a 6 month plan, but here is what I have so far.
things would need to be reassessed here and there when needed, then I’d go from there.
Day 1
Phone or zoom or in person- not in nature yet
Introduce myself
Client introduction
Give a general summary of how NCC works
Assess the current conflict/ desired improvement
Gather background information
Schedule another appointment, invite them to select on the need that was discovered over the next few days while waiting for the next appointment, and to let me know at the beginning of that appointment if anything came up for them

Day 3
Meet at the designated spot
Explain what will happen during the wander- they will wander, I will follow and observe, and may ask questions if/when they stop/notice something, or stop and reassess, make invitations if “nothing” seems to be happening
Have them set their intention for the wander
do the wander
Set up goals and accountability accordingly
“assign homework” if needed
Schedule next appointment

Day 6
Check in via text, email or phone if necessary

Day 8
Discuss via phone or internet how things are progressing
Alter home work if necessary. If complete ask them to this of what they’d like to work on next
Schedule next wander

Day 10
Discover a “new” need or continue from day 8

[Melody Rose]

I took a friend out as my practice client today. We were walking on a walk we’ve done before, for about 2.5 hours. We seemed to cycle through the 3 aspects of ceremony quite a few times.
I didn’t have great notes with me since I only watched the video of the lesson late last night, but going off what I could clearly remember I feel it went quite well. The part where I had planned on starting the wandering section was a spot on the path where there are Douglas firs on either side right next to the path. It feels to me like an archway, and my friend said the same thing without me telling him, so I thought that, so that was pretty neat. He shared some other things that stood out to him, and over the walk opened up more, and shared more about some things in nature that he’s always noticed and why and the history behind it. We talked a couple times, and again right at the end about how he could continue this when he left the walk, and I told him I’d call him in a couple days to see how it was going. He also agreed that more walks were a good idea.
I learned that there are benefits, and drawbacks to doing this with a friend, that participating in someone else’s wander had me looking at different things in different ways even in a place I’ve been to many many times myself, that deep listening seemed somewhat easier outside, that programming/ change can be a hard thing for ppl to be excited about.

[Melody Rose]

I had a phone conversation with my sister the other day, so unfortunately it wasn’t face to face or in nature, but it was a good time for me to practice Deep listening.
As I was more aware of making sure I was paying good attention to what she was saying I found that distractions, like noise coming form outside my home seemed louder than usual. I made sure I sat still where I was instead of walking around the house doing other things, multitasking so she’d also hear that she had my full attention.
She was upset. I could hear it in her voice, and could “see” her upset in my mind. I asked questions to clarify, making sure I was understanding what she was saying, and how she was feeling, and also a couple I thought may help her think more deeply about the situation. I felt empathy, compassion and hope for her.
Reflecting on it and asking the sacred questions about the whole experience, I noticed that when you actively listen even to someone on the phone you can hear, but also still see and feel their emotions just as if they were with you in person, and that they can sense wether or not you are paying attention and interested. It shows and teaches me that this would be more difficult with someone in person, on my end because they can actually see you, and I’m not always good at hiding my feeling with my facial expressions. I will practice not necessarily showing my emotions outward, knowing that doin so could effect the other persons process.

For a mini wander I went to the river. It was super busy and i wasn’t in a great mood, so I turned off to a quieter area and stopped on a bridge where I watched a small bird dive right under water again and again, presumably eating from the rocks on the river bed. I had asked a question at the beginning of my walk, and felt that it was angered by this little bird who didn’t give up, and went with the flow. My mood was lighter after watching the bird for a bit, and headed back to my car.

[Melody Rose]

For my wander I went to a familiar forest, and along the usual trail I go to. I was a bit nervous because a couple days earlier when I was there some people said they thought their dg ran off and chased after a cougar. They hadn’t actually seen anything, and I had a friend coming with me so I wasn’t too worried. Today I was alone though.
When I got there, in my head, I asked for the forest to keep me safe from danger, and went on with my walk.
I sat down for a bit on a bench and just listened to the forest, and myself, for a bit then moved on.
I went off the path a few times when I felt pulled to a certain area, and ended up meeting a couple big firs I hadn’t really seen before. I sat against one for a while that was a bit up another trail, sometimes with my eye closed, sometimes not.
Change was on my mind and while my eyes were open at that time I could see the ferns dancing around and changing positions as the wind blew softy through the forest. From this I took that change can be subtle, or sudden, but it always helps us grow.
I “heard” that I I need to trust myself, and trust my gut, and that it will take some practice. But that I was right now by being there. When I got up from sitting with the tree I hugged it and thanked it, like I always do, and went on down the trail to one of my favourite spots.
This time I stopped and stood there. On either side of the path are too big firs. I got the sense that, as I will soon be past my favourite parts of this trail, that I need to not diminish the importance of things just because it’s not my favourite part. And then just after my most favourite part of the trail, I was drawn up another trail to another big fir I hadn’t really noticed before. Standing with this tree I had the thought that “there are variations, it’s not just different”. Which to me meant that there are lots of variations in my business endeavours.

Nature participated by holding a safe space for me, by drawing me to certain spots where I would sit and see what I needed to see, and feel what I needed to feel.
The birds chirped which made me feel safe.
The wind blew so I would see movement, and change as a good thing.
Just by being in nature I was calm and open and comfortable in my surroundings.
It was a sunny, not too chilly, inviting day to go for a wander.

[Melody Rose]

After watching the video I wanted to share some things. When you guys were talking about Shinrin-yoku compared to NCC I thought was interesting you brought that up. About a year ago I started taking people on forest bathing walks and when I got into NCC stuff, I realized that they weren’t the same and it’s NCC that I want to be doing.
Watching about the different vibration/energy levels I was thinking about my “Big Tree Trip” I took this year where I got to climb and hang out about 120 feet up a Douglas Fir, and meet some really amazing trees. After those few days I knew my life would never be the same and it was really hard to get back to “normal” life, and I didn’t want to.
I have very strongly felt for a long time that nature is aware of me, listening and connected to me as well.
I often go to where I am “pulled” toward in the forest, and have guided ppl to do the same on my walks, so I was super excited to hear that in the video, and can totally relate to enjoying this space where others get it and won’t think I’m nuts.
In October I was sitting against a large snag after being drawn to it, (I didn’t know until after it was a snag) and I’m not sure how long I sat there connecting with it, it was physically difficult to “detach” when I was done and it was like I had to close my eyes and go back and disconnect from it. For hours after that I was full of energy and like a giddy child running through the forests.
I most often am drawn to firs and large trees, and have been as far back as I can remember.
In November I went on a retreat and a Shaman took us on a Celtic Divination Walk, which was awesome, and reminded me very much of asking for answers form nature.
Someone said the tree tell me in a knowing way, that tis exactly how I’d describe it as well.
For the 7 starts imagery I had trouble, as i usually do, with imagining a path, stairs, etc. So I tried to go with a path I remember and saw a path in my childhood so this reminded me of some inner child work i’d done using another path in that same forest.
I am excited to go wandering.

[Melody Rose]

hi Everyone!!

I am Melody. I live in Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada. I’ve lived here since 2005 when I moved from Ontario. I have learned as much as I can through EBI’s online courses, and I am excited to meet everyone in person in June!! I am super stoked to be EBI’s first NCC Canadian student!!
It took a lot of planning and considerations to get myself signed up for the NCC certification course because I am a single mom to my almost 7-year-old daughter Jennifer.
I have a background in horticulture and have started my business, FirReal Nature Connections where I currently offer Forest Bathing and coaching walks. I also do landscaping.

[Melody Rose]

rai.lilli it’s interesting you asked about my dreams. Lately in my dreams there is often an aspect of me smoking, or buying cigarettes, etc, which I’ve been told is grandfather’s or ancestors saying there support me.