Our landscapes invoke in us a sense of peace, beauty and connectedness, as well as a creative urge for expression.  The ‘creative reverie’ we we experience in nature is naturally healing and calls up a sense of wonder.  We look out on the universe of stars above with awe and astonishment as we learn of the billions of galaxies and infinite space and time.

So also did the ancient people before us who shaped our landscapes and created sacred spaces in the rocks and trees.

Wistman’s Wood with its ancient ecosystem lures the imagination into lyrical admiration:

                    

(Photos:  Michael Loxton, 2011)

HEALING ALTARS IN THE LANDSCAPE
CLIA has organised expressive arts events in some of the oldest woodlands of our country: Burnham Beeches (Buckinghamshire), Kingley Vale (Sussex), Cow Castle (Exmoor), Wistman’s Wood (Dartmoor), the Isle of Man and Aarhus, Denmark.  This is one of the most effective ways to distract the daily thoughts and begin to feel the SPIRIT OF PLACE, an invisible energy of upliftment and healing calm.

The Inspirational Yews of Kingley Vale, all hundreds of years old:

       

 

BARDIC WALKS

Improvising with rhythm and movement, poetry, mandala and song captured a sense of the mystery of these trees which lived so much longer than any human, and probably rooted in a ritual landscape over a thousand years old.

Like the Bards of old, we use poetry as a lyrical expression of intuitive knowledge, reliving deep insights and memorable experiences, and creating a living history of reflective thought and vision.  Beginning with vision journal, we hold our heart’s desire in a mantra as we walk through beautiful downland and moors, listening to the responses of nature.  The symbolism of stones, flowers and trees can often bring answers to an inner quest.

BURNHAM BEECHES 2011
Three of us walked through this magical woodland of beech trees hundreds of years old.  Some were hollowed out with new branches growing out of the thin sides of an original large trunk.

[Photo curtesy Ann Moon]

Daring to improvise: The creation of a group song is a simple collection of single vibrant images from members of the group, which is turned into a simple rhythm, often with percussion from sticks and stones and body, and with a swaying, relaxed laughter and a sense of playful fun.

Play is natural.

READ MORE about Science of Sound Science of Sound and Magnetising your Vision Magnetising your Vision

The Magic of Nature is also Our Own Inner Magic. 

Read about Gatekeeper Trust events creating ‘Healing Altars in the Landscape’: HEALING ALTARS article 2011