Where the mind grows
Near Ripon, North Yorkshire is the base for Where the Mind Grows.
Founded by JK, Where the Mind Grows delivers and facilitates one-to-one and team coaching sessions with nature the central teacher.
We recently spent a team day with JK and nature; a nourishing, calm and connected learning experience.
Here we share it with you through the eyes of one of our team.
Sitting by a stream, tasked with only observing through all the senses, it was clear nature is busy.
The river bubbled over rocks and gushed through gaps with determined flow, while branches and leaves from overhanging trees responded to the wind’s offerings.
The ground was wet from previous heavy rainfall. It felt soft and mouldable in the hand, and several layers under the surface a white substance provoked curiosity.
What was it?
Underground is a system of fungal networks connecting trees and plants, acting as a passage for nutrients and food, and as a messenger between resources.
This network is known as Mycorrhizal Fungi.
The Society for the Protection of Underground Networks have created a simple and visual video which explains Mycorrhizal Fungi, and how and why it occurs.
Watch it here.
This white dusting could have been the starting of one of these networks.
Nature is busy!
So much happens that we can see and can’t see. Yet, taking the time to sit within nature and notice this is calming.
Nature’s busyness is structured, well connected, controlled and purposeful.
Perhaps it is these attributes which a chaotic human mind found comfort in, and ultimately a stillness.
Before heading into the woodland, JK asked us to discuss in pairs any wellbeing strategies which nature displays. We then shared and collected these as a group in the woodland camp.
Here are our top 5 along with an exploration into how we (as humans) can apply them.
Following a delicious tagine and flatbread lunch, we looked at the principles of nature as co-devised by JK.
Delving into a small tote bag, we each picked out a wooden chip on which was written one of these principles.
Our selection included:
Know that your actions can change the world
Share the abundance
Find solutions
Find slow and small solutions
Remain flexible
Know that life is a struggle
In pairs, we chatted about our randomly selected principle, what it might mean for our own lives, for us as humans, and for the wider world.
An example of one of these discussions is below.
Next we explored our own values, noting down 10 of our most important which we wrote on our own chips.
Using some thread, our task was to identify if our values were aligned, in sync and well balanced.
To the left of the thread was ‘too much’, to the right ‘too little’ and on the thread line itself was ‘just right.’
We played around with where our values would sit at the current time – am I too independent? Am I not effective enough?
How can we rebalance our values?
Am I too independent? Ask for help and make use of connections and resources
Am I not effective enough? Become more in tune and aware of when burdens are not immediately relevant
Woodland camp!
Tree swing!
Our team day at Where the Mind Grows was a chance for us to get together, to spend time away from our regular working environment, and to learn, reflect and pause within nature.
It was an experience which we would highly recommend, a reminder that ‘We are Nature’.
Our ‘busy’ can be just as structured, purposeful and connected
Our resources and networks can be just as effective
Our connections can be just as powerful and together
Regular contact with nature is so valuable to our wellbeing and the wellbeing we reflect to others around us.
This contact doesn’t need to be deep in a woodland, there is nature everywhere, in urban areas as well as rural – so go out and find yours, and enjoy!
For a weekly update on JK and her nature encounters, subscribe to her newsletter here.
Quiet reflections!
Lunchtime at base camp!
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We are committed to making going for a walk a reality for as many people as possible.
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