Celebrate Mother Earth
- Walk our Labyrinth and experience nature in our Meditation Garden
- Visit the Medicine Wheel in the Meditation Garden
- Roam our Sacred Five Acres cared for by the EarthCare Ministry
EarthCare is about educating ourselves and others on ecology, climate change, storm water management, providing a healthy environment for pollinators, green roofs, energy audits, conservation and wildlife protection and gardening.
Would you like to be an Earthling?
Contact Mary Brown (cernybrown@earthlink.net) or Casey Tarr (eileentarr1@verizon.net)
Autumn 2021
This autumn, members of EarthCare and other Adopt-A-Spotters have been weeding, pruning, mulching and planting to prepare the grounds for winter. We encourage spending time in our five sacred acres and perhaps engaging in forest bathing or contemplative walking.
Forest Bathing
from Treehugger
Forest bathing is a sensory practice where you “bathe” your senses with natural stimulation from the forest or other nature setting. . . .
The idea of shinrin-yoku originated in Japan in 1982. The term arose from the Japanese Forest Agency as a way to attract more visitors to Japanese forests. . . .
People forest bathe to lower stress and reconnect with nature. The practice offers several health benefits and has gained popularity as a form of therapy after several studies proved the efficacy of shinrin-yoku. . . .
Forest bathing is designed to invoke almost every sense: aromatherapy from the plants; the forest sounds of trees rustling, birds chirping, or water rushing; visual stimulation from the flora and fauna; and tactile sensations of the soft soil under your feet or the leaves in your hand. Combined, these experiences work to deliver a stress-reducing therapy that improves physical health as well as psychological well-being.
Contemplative Walking
Christine Valters Paintner describes the ancient and accessible contemplative practice of walking or moving slowly through the natural world as a way of connecting with God. . . .
In [the contemplative] path we cultivate intimacy with Earth and her creatures, and we allow ourselves to fall in love with nature. It is one of my deepest beliefs that we will not be able to address the environmental crisis we currently face without this intimacy, without learning how to cherish nature, without love. . . .
There is something about getting our bodies out into the world, in close contact with trees, bushes, flowers, squirrels, pigeons, and crows, that can invigorate us and offer us new perspective on life. In the book of Jeremiah, God asks, “Do I not fill heaven and earth?” (Jeremiah 23:24). These walks are times to really experience that truth. . . .
It is walking to immerse ourselves in an encounter with whatever is calling us in the moment:
- As you begin a contemplative walk, allow a few moments simply to breathe and connect to your heart.
- Set an intention for this time to be as present as you can to what is happening both within and without.
- Begin walking, but see if you can release any expectations or destination.
- As you walk, imagine that with each step your feet are both blessing the ground and being blessed by it. Let your breath be long and slow. . . .
- Listen for the sounds of life around you. Even if you are walking through a city, pay attention to the rustle of the breeze, the caw of crows, or any subtle elements of creation singing their song.
- Pause regularly simply to receive this gift. Breathe it in. Let it have some space in your heart. Then continue on until something else causes you to stop.
This is the whole of the practice: simply moving, listening, and pausing. We practice presence so that we might cultivate our ability to really hear the voice of nature speaking to us. This sounds simple, and yet we so rarely make the time to develop this skill.
EarthCare Actions
Ongoing actions sponsored by EarthCare are listed on the EarthCare Actions page on our website.
EarthCare Legacy
The legacy of EarthCare at Unity of Fairfax is on the EarthCare Legacy page on our website.
EarthCare Archive
Twenty-nine important files from the history of EarthCare are stored in the EarthCare Archive.