Yes.
I’m Jane Deming Scanlon, Certified Nature & Forest Therapy Guide for Above the Clouds Forest Bathing. For many years I’ve held onto a line from an e.e. cummings poem:
i thank You God for most this amazing
day: for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky; and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes
“for everything which is yes”. That’s my favorite line. I am a believer in saying Yes to all that affirms life, love, kindness, wonder, joy, faith, justice, understanding, gratitude, connection and wellbeing. I recognize that within every person there is a core of health, wellness, resilience and goodness.
One reason I have loved trees forever is how they say Yes to life. Against all odds and adversities they survive and even thrive through a biological design that is a model of resilience and adaptation. Like all living things, they even nurture life through their death. Take a magnifying glass and look at all that’s happening in a seemingly dead stump!
All my life I’ve had the extraordinary privilege of access to the outdoors. But I have only recently realized just how much the outside - the arena of sun, soil, water, air, creatures, plants and rock has shaped who I am, what I believe and how I experience life. I was fascinated when I found an actual name for what I have known intuitively: “Forest Bathing”, finding wellness through full sensory immersion in the atmosphere of the forest.
While I still embrace high energy outdoor activities, I’m now dedicated to the practice of slowing down, opening my senses, paying attention and cultivating my relationship with nature.
The practice has deepened my faith. I worry less, wonder more and sleep more soundly. I have more humility about my place in the “web of interbeing”, the elaborate environmental network on which my survival depends. I’ve become a conservation advocate, a better steward of resources and direct my gift giving to the planting of trees.
I savor ways to connect children (and anyone) with the land and fuel their curiosity so that they may grow into good caretakers of our planet. My training and Certification as a Nature and Forest Therapy Guide through ANFT has given me a framework to help others get quiet, notice and enjoy their interconnection with all things.
I’d be honored to have you join me on a walk and let the great healer affirm “all that is yes” within you. We need nature and nature needs us.
My life path has led me to work in education program administration, Christian and interfaith ministry, refugee resettlement and teaching English as a Second Language (ESL). I hold a BA in English and an MA in Pastoral Ministry. Since 2015 I have served as an outdoor education volunteer with Catamount Institute. I am a volunteer naturalist with Mueller State Park in Divide where I guide Forest Bathing walks monthly. I am a lifetime member of the Colorado Mountain Club and am certified in Wilderness First Aid. I was certified as a Nature & Forest Therapy Guide in 2019 through the Association of Nature & Forest Therapy Guides and Programs.
Jane Deming Scanlon
Jane's Sit Spot. "It is good to do nothing and then rest afterwards." ~ Spanish Proverb