Liminal Spaces - A Multiverse

Tall trees from Singapore Botanic Garden

I have been quite deprived of nature for the past many weeks until finally returned to Singapore. I managed to hit the nearby community park just a stone throw away from where I am staying in Singapore and also I also visited Garden by the Bay because my Mum really wanted to see the roses display. She has been wanting to go there but due to age and not being able to travel too far out of home, my sister and I decided that we should make this effort to bring her there. Although it wasn't really like a forest therapy session, going there with her and seeing her how took her phone snapping photos all the way, it made we think of this as setting her in her own liminal space with nature. That's her encounter with nature in her own liminal space. My mum is unlike me, she loves flowers and all kinds of colourful flowers but I love trees and green plants.

Besides Garden by the Bay, my mum has also wanted to go the the Singapore Botanic Garden. This is another of my favourite places in Singapore. We took a train down to Napier Station by the Thomson-East Coast Line and the station's exit 1 is right across the Tanglin Gate. So, it's really not that difficult to navigate with her there. Her main objective was to admire the orchids display at the National Orchid Garden within the botanic garden itself. We took a 1 km walk from Tanglin Gate before we arrived at the National Orchid Garden. Though my mum was more keen on reaching the orchid garden, I was immersed in my own liminal space with all the many heritage trees during the 1 km walk. Some of these trees could be dated way before the establishment of the Singapore Botanic Garden. After that 1 km walk, we arrived at the National Orchid Garden and again my mum was in her own liminal space and taking snapshots of the glamourous flowers.

As I was reflecting on these visits, I was just thinking of how each of these liminal spaces, it feels like we were being transported from one universe to another. Each of these liminal spaces is a universe by itself and each of this universe has its own ecosystem. In each of this universe, we encounter with nature depending on the ecosystem. In the realm of forest therapy, liminal spaces emerge as powerful thresholds, inviting participants to linger in the in-between. These are not merely physical locations, but felt experiences—moments when the familiar boundaries of perception soften, and the senses open to a deeper resonance with the natural world. It might be the dappled light filtering through a dense canopy, transforming the forest floor into a shimmering, indeterminate canvas; or the hushed quiet of a mist-laden morning, where sounds are muted and time seems to stretch and blur. In these liminal moments, the rational mind often recedes, allowing for a more intuitive and embodied connection to the forest. This transitional state can facilitate profound shifts in perspective, fostering a sense of interconnectedness, emotional release, and a renewed awareness of one's place within the larger web of life.

Ronneth

28 July 2025