Liminal Space - a special space between you and nature

The liminal space is the space that a forest therapy guide will facilitate his/her participants to enter into during a forest therapy session. Thus, the guide opens the door for the participants to have this relationship with the forest and nature. In there, each participants will have their own experience with nature and forest. This experience is unique and each participant will experience the forest pretty differently from another. In my brief experience as a forest therapy guide, I have seen participants entering into this liminal space smoothly and establish a powerful relationship with the forest. They shared pretty deep experience with the forest and they heart sense with nature is usually very strong.

On the other hand, I have had participants who shared that it was very challenging for them to get to the liminal space. Some even found it very difficult to settle down in nature even after the pleasure of presence. I have a friend who is so used to urban life and she finds that being in nature or forest sometimes makes her feel particularly stressful. I do feel that as much as forest therapy or bathing has a lot of health benefits and improves one’s personal wellbeing, it is not something that everyone will enjoy. Some participants may need a few more sessions to tame their senses before becoming comfortable with this.

As a forest therapy guide, we are not the therapist. The forest is the therapist. However, we help to hold the space for participants so that they can approach the forest in the liminal space. In the liminal space the participant intereact with the more than human beings and allow the forest to reach out to him/her through their senses.

Ronneth, 24 November 2024, 3:44pm