Bonding to Place
Bonding To Place
My recent move from Vancouver Island to Quebec has given me some interesting food for thought. As someone who is bonded to the giant trees, grey ocean mists, and wildness of the West Coast, coming home to the gentle slopes, hardwood forests, and fields of the Eastern Townships of Quebec was disorienting. I felt lonely and missed my soul community of humans and other-than human relations. I found myself wondering deeply about my role in this new community and how to stay true to my Vision. Change is like that though; it always involves a dismantling of who we know ourselves to be. Transformation results when, through a process of wholeing, we put back together the pieces and re-emerge, the same but different.
Time in
solitude with Nature has always helped me to do this. So, three weeks after
arriving, I finally felt ready to emerge from my cocoon of grief and start the
process of bonding to this place. It turns out that right in my back yard there
is a deer trail that leads through a forest to a river. It is beautiful and the
diversity of life within is plentiful. Close to the entrance of the forest there
is a beautiful White Pine. I go there to sit quietly and open my awareness.
This morning, I went with my dog Sitka. As we were entering the forest, I
expanded my vision and saw movement not too far off in the distance. We never
got to my sit spot. Instead, I slowly sat down and watched. It turns out that
what I was seeing was a socially intact herd of white tailed deer. Sitka sat
down too, and mirrored my stillness (she really is an amazing friend). They
were so close we could smell them. Then, from behind a tree, not 20 meters
away, emerged the alpha doe. She was aware of our presence but our stillness
had her curious. She gracefully and tentatively approached, swaying her long
neck. When she got close enough that my state of relaxation shifted to alert focus;
a reflection of hers, she stomped her feet twice, then twice more again. I
decided to rise and leave the herd in peace. As Sitka and I moved, she flicked
her beautiful white tail, snorted her alarm to her herd, and bounded off about
75 meters. As I left the threshold of the forest, I looked back and could see
that she had stopped. With no danger of pursuit, I hope they settled down
quickly enough. I returned home laughing out loud to myself, excited, curious, and
grinning ear to ear; alive and a little more whole.
I have always loved nature. It's where I'm most at peace. For 10 amazing and intense years, I had the privilege of sharing my love for wild places with youth and families struggling to find their way in mainstream culture. We kayaked, hiked, spoke our truth at Council Fire, and formed uncommon bonds that to this day remain a source of inspiration. The place we did this work is called Ravenwood. It is a healing forest.
In 2010, I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a rare and incurable plasma cell cancer. I needed a stem cell transplant and a radical change of lifestyle. Along with a good medical team and a strong and loving circle of people supporting me, Ravenwood saved my life. 8 years later, I'm still here. Ravenwood is now home to my family. Although I can no longer do the physical work of a wilderness guide, it remains my calling to share the healing powers of nature. I still call myself a guide but the places I now navigate and explore are the wild terrains that live within the human soul. Nature is my co-guide.
I work with the natural world to help make sense of inner emotions and life experiences. I believe that spending time in nature fosters awareness and interconnection to the world around us, providing the space for inward reflection and the potential for transformation. How we encounter and interpret the natural world creates a personal narrative that gives meaning to experiences and emotions allowing us to develop new ways of understanding ourselves and feeling fully integrated in our lives. Through connection with the natural world, we ultimately become connected to our ‘inner’ nature. Personal distress can be alleviated by developing the mutual connection between inside and outside.
The process of change I foster involves restoring balance to the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual dimensions, reconnecting to the Earth, and adopting life-long practices that help incorporate new behaviour and thought patterns into a congruent way of life. My work as guide is to help reveal and cultivate the health and sanity which is already there rather than manipulate or modify sick people to be better adjusted. This requires a focus on healing through a process of whole-ing (recognizing the wholeness that already exists within), rather than healing or fixing a problem by eliminating it; wholeness-centered (holistic) instead of pathology-centered
I work with a range of practices including mindfulness and awareness, experiential activities, direct contact with nature, narrative therapy, environmental action, journaling, ritual, ceremony, and play.
As an aboriginal woman of Métis descent, I weave cultural teachings into my work, inspiring personal growth and a love and respect for the natural world.
Academically, I hold a Bachelor's in education, from McGill University and a Master’s of Arts in transpersonal psychology with a concentration in ecopsychology, from Naropa University. I have also completed masters level clinical counselling courses in counselling theory, family systems therapy, group therapy, and research methods, and have trained with the Vancouver School of Narrative Therapy. I am a recognized facilitator of Joanna Macy's Work That Reconnects and a Level 3 Reiki Usui Practitioner.
