Introduction

Night in nature at Tällberg Forum

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Göran Gennvi and John P.Milton guides you to a night in nature at Tällberg Forum. In 2008 Göran and some 20 Pathfinders guided all 400 participants at the Tällberg Forum conference into the woods for a mindfulness in nature session for 2 hours. Some of the participants had never been alone in the woods before, ever.

An outdoor experience

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As a first step in building a 3-hour exercise for your own "Mindfulness in Nature" experience, write down a powerful outdoor experience. Was it your canoe tipping over, meeting a moose or running in the rain without any proper rainclothes? Jot down the main elements and save the document on your computer. Rewrite the story into a screenplay in three parts:

1. Protagonist faces a problem (beginning)
2. The problem gets worse (middle)
3. The story comes to a solution (conclusion).

For more, see this video on the basics. Decide how much time you want to invest and adjust your level of ambition. It need not be perfect the first time. We will come back to your story later on.

Photo: Steve onFlickr

Finding your inner balance

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Try John P. Miltons Bus Stop Meditation. There might be some terms you are unfamiliar with, but I think you will get the picture.

Leave a comment on what you do to become more present in daily life. If you don´t do anything, this e-course is a good place to learn more about it.

Note: To add a comment, you need to register for a free Google account. Use this account to create your own blog later, if you wish.

Capture the attention of your audience

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Tell the story from "An outdoor experience" to two friends, one at the time. What words and gestures (or lack of) increased your presence in your story? Is the result any different if you added details from your senses (hearing, touch, taste, smell and sight). Now tell your story to a third friend and watch the results. Review your story again. Work on the punchline. By the way, what is your punchline? Leave a comment.

Take a deep breath and relax

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To become a Pathfinder, you need to learn to relax and let nature come to you. Take a deep breath and focus on any tensions of your body. Feel how your body relaxes. Set an timer on 3 minutes and keep doing those deep breaths standing up, relaxing your shoulders, closing your eyes. Let your thoughts come and go. Let them go.

Get in the habit of devoting a few minutes a day, maybe before you go to sleep, to do a deep breathing exercise. This investment in time will improve, if possible, your sleep, and increase the quality of what you convey as a Pathfinder. Why not take a walk and do your breathing exercise right now? Do you hesitate? Why? Leave a comment on the absence of mindfulness we all experience in our busy lives. View this as an exercise to better understand your future participants in your nature walks. Now, before you continue, please do that breathing exercise right away. :-)

Your weekly Skype conversation is about when your are fully present. What kind of setting is favorable? Do you prefer to be alone or with someone? Your tutor will communicate the date and time to call in. (Not available in the free version of the course)

Photo: Davidoff onFlickr.

Start your own blog

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A quick, easy and free way to profile you as a Pathfinder is to write a blog. A blog you may advertise via Wild.se. Let the blog to become a living element in how you present yourself.

Starting your own blog is not mandatory. However, you may find it useful. If you do not have a blog already, consider using

WordPress or Blogger or Blog. This e-course is created on Blogger. Advise on how to build your own blog is provided for users of Blogger.