Celebrate Solstice with Grow

We’re so delighted to announce that as things slowly come back to life, we’ll be restarting our popular monthly Natural Wellbeing days from June. And to kick things off in celebratory style we’ll be gathering together at Saddlescombe Farm for Summer Solstice - the time of year when we count our blessings, celebrate our achievements and each other - seems very apt for this year!

If you’d like to know more or to book then click here Natural Wellbeing — Growing wellbeing and see details of this and other events planned for this year.

Can’t wait to see you back out on the hills

Grow is springing to life!

Reconnecting with Grow this spring

Hello everyone, we hope you are enjoying the beauty of springtime and the chance to reconnect with nature and friends as the lockdown begins to ease. As it is now possible to meet in small groups together, Grow is starting to run in-person Reconnect sessions again. If you are interested then check out the information on those pages and get in touch. We’d love for you to join us.

Grow is on YouTube!

We’re also very happy to announce that Grow now has a YouTube channel! And to celebrate its launch, you can enjoy watching the “Hope Springs” video that some of you very kindly contributed images, videos and poems to. The video is a mini journey from wintertime to spring to capture the changing of the seasons. And what better time to release it than this moment as we experience a bit more freedom to spend time with others.

Please feel free to share the video with your friends and family :-)

Wishing you all a gentle and enriching time this spring.

Contribute to our video celebrating the arrival of spring!

Under the earth, new life is stirring. Though it looks like not much is changing above the surface, spring is on its way. Shoots are starting to emerge as winter turns gradually to spring, and the days lengthen and brighten.

In fact, this time of year was traditionally held to mark the beginning of spring. Today (1st February) marks the ancient Gaelic festival of Imbolc – a celebration of new life beginning to emerge, the stillness and chill of winter beginning to pass, and a reawakening to the fresh, hopeful energy of spring.

Announcing… the Hope Springs video project

To celebrate this important time of year, we are excited to invite you to join us in contributing to a creative, collaborative community project called “Hope Springs”! The aim is for us to come together in welcoming spring by making an inspiring video based on weaving together all of our creative inputs.

We invite you to keep your senses and creative spirit alive as you spend time in nature. What beautiful and hopeful signs of the arrival of spring capture your attention and your imagination? It doesn’t need to be anything special – perhaps just the buds emerging on a branch, a landscape lit up in the sunshine, or plants beginning to grow in your garden. Whatever speaks to you is wonderful.

What can I send in for the video?

Here are some suggestions of what you can send us to contribute to the Hope Springs video:

• Photos – of nature, artwork, craft projects, and more…

• Videos – of walks, magical moments, animals…

• Writings – poems, journal entries, reflections…

• Sounds – recordings of nature, self-composed music…

These are some ideas and perhaps you have others too…?

Where do I send my contributions?

We are very excitedly looking forward to receiving your contributions – the deadline for sending us your photos, videos, writings or sounds will be Sun 14th February.

Please upload your contributions here: http://bit.ly/grow_hopesprings — and send a message with the name(s) of your file(s) to info@growingwellbeing.org.uk to let us know what you’ve sent us!

Share the spring love!

In the meantime, get out there and get creative, and please spread the word to your friends and family. If you want to support us to promote this community project on your social media, please link this blog article and use the hashtag #hopesprings :-).

Lots of love and we wish you a hopeful and inspiring beginning of spring.

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Practice: Making magical memories

Hello everyone :-) This week we will be exploring how to make magical, multisensory memories of your favourite places. We all know how special it is to have even one place where we feel we can relax and just enjoy being there.

Where do you like to be?

For me, it’s a little patch of woodland on the Downs. I like sitting on the musky, soft ground or against a tree, feeling the coolness of the air and the shelter of the leaves above me. I can get lost in listening to the dancing of the raindrops on the canopy when the skies begin to open. The smell of the earth is grounding, somehow. This place helps me to feel held.

By taking the time to sit and really soak in all the different sensations and impressions of a place, you can begin to paint a vivid memory that lives inside you wherever you go. This memory becomes like a friend that you can bring back whenever you need to comfort and delight yourself.

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How to make your memory

Below are some simple invitations and questions to help you to experience all the richness of your place and build your memory. So have a play and see what finds its way into your magical memory:

What can you see?

Take in the whole picture – what view do you have? What things make up the view? What can you see close up? What shapes and colours can you see? What are the plants and animals that live here? What can you see that you like?

What can you hear?

Close your eyes and explore the sounds around you. Which direction does a sound come from and how far or near is it, do you think? Do you know what makes each sound? Which sounds do you like?

What can you touch?

What can your hands touch? Spend time exploring the different textures and shapes – rough or smooth, soft or firm, wet or dry.

What does your body feel like?

Feel your feet, or bottom, or back on the ground. Can you become aware of your whole body? Can you feel the air on your body?

What can you smell?

Reach around yourself and explore the different smells in your place. Try smelling the air, plants and trees, the ground, yourself.

What can you taste?

This is a tricky one! Be adventurous, be safe.

How does it feel to be here?

What emotions do you have? What thoughts come up while you are here? Is there anything you want to try to remember? Any words of wisdom for yourself?

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Caring for your memory

Visiting your place to make your memory is like planting a tiny seed in your mind or heart. With regular watering, the seed can grow into a beautiful flower.

So explore ways of caring for your memory. Perhaps you’d like to journal about all the sensations you experienced, either after the practice or in the evening before you go to bed? Or perhaps you can bring the richness of the memory back creatively — by writing a poem about your place, making a drawing, or crafting little objects from your place out of coloured paper or other materials.

All of these ways of caring help to foster a special connection with your place. With regular care, the memory can stay alive in your heart and mind, like a friend you can call on when you need them to remind you of the beauty in the world.

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How was it for you?

That’s all for this week, but we’d love to find out how you found this practice. Please share your stories, photos, creative inspirations and joys with us! Take care and enjoy building some beautiful memories.

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Practice: Touch and texture

For this week’s practice, we’re going to get a feel for nature — literally! We’re inviting you to explore all the different textures and sensations around you as a way to start waking up to nature with fresh eyes (well, fingers).

So we’re going to keep it pretty simple this week and offer you a game to play by yourself or with a friend :-).

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Nature texture treasure hunt

The game involves hunting for different textures in nature. Below is a list of texture words and your task is to find and experience as many of the textures as possible:

Here are some step-by-step instructions to play the game:

• Copy down some or all of the texture words from above, or print the image off to take with you when you go outside. Make your way to your preferred green space.

• Take a few minutes to sit down, close your eyes, take a few deep breaths, and tune into your sense of touch when you arrive. Feel your feet on the ground, the air on your skin, and the texture of your clothes.

• Open your eyes and pick a texture word from the list. Go explore and see what you can find!

• Once you’ve found a good example of the texture, take time to close your eyes and really feel it. What does it feel like on your hand or in your fingers right now? Really tune into the sensations and be curious. Do other words come to mind to describe the sensations as well?

• Create some keepsakes of your experience — maybe noting down some words or reflections, gathering objects, making drawings, or taking photos.

• Continue looking for other textures using the steps above for as long as you like. Pick a more unusual word for a challenge! Enjoy your treasure hunt.

Alternatively, you might like to pick a single word and use it as inspiration for a creative project — collecting only “spiky” objects, for example, and crafting with them; or taking photos of “rough” objects and making a collage.

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Share your experiences with us

Enjoy getting tactile with nature and don’t forget to share any stories, photos, or other creative inspirations that come out of this practice! Happy exploring...

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