Forest Meditation

By- Prof. Dilip Gaikwad (Klatu Lukundu) I first came across this tool in a Huna book. The description given in that book was very brief and precise. I was not satisfied with that and I started experimenting on myself as well as my clients of Astrology and my students. My experimentation yielded powerful results, sometimes they were not

very successful and I learned from feed back. I researched extensively the works of Freud, Jung, Assagioli, Erikson, Haley, King, Weiselman, Castaneda and Hyatt. The research led me to more refined way of practicing Forest Meditation. This Forest Meditation is a tool that I use regularly. I also present this at workshops and it has been received very well. The participants are flabbergasted by the magical solutions to their problems. The concept here is to explore ones own inner forest (subconscious and unconscious representation of fears and

phobias). It is time set aside to explore our

creative imagination. Instead of looking for patterns using astrology or tarot, or looking for signs in the outer-world, we can at any time look inward, finding patterns and symbols, messages and even omens in our own subconscious mind, within our own imagination. We can solve any problem even use patterns and symbols from mythology, Astrology, Wastushastra, Feng shui, I-Ching, Tarot, playing cards, yantras, sigils and talismans. In this meditation we create a forest. It can be any forest and we can change any thing about it at will. It is understood this forest is a reflection of our own problems. It is 100% ours. Images in this forest represent aspects of ourselves. This meditation comes

from the Hawaiian Huna tradition. The forest can be used for a tool for

healing

fears as well, setting patterns in our subconscious mind that will heal our phobias. An example is this: A married
woman (age 29 years) was suffering from a phobia of elevetors and ghosts. Every time she entered a lift she hallucinated ghosts from TV serial. She was healed of phobia and hallucination after three sessions of forest meditation. To me, this inner forest walk doesn't just represent my fears and phobias. I meet wild animals, fierce spirits , ghosts, shamans, man eaters and tribals there. I do shamanic and magickal work. Within your forest walk you may have helpers too, friends, allies, fairies, strangers - again, it doesn't matter. You can tell them what you want to change and they will do the work. You are all powerful here as it is yours, totally and completely. The important thing is to make it feel real. Use your senses while you are there. Start with touching some things feeling them, tasting somethings focusing on the taste, smelling a few things, and eventually use all your perceptics with sub-modalities. Infact experiment with changing and fine tunning sub modalities. If you don't like

any aspect of your forest transform it to something completely different. But at first just see what your mind (subconscious and unconscious) throws out at you. Do not be overly willful. Imposing too much conscious and logical thinking may disturb the ecology of your mind. Let your subconscious and unconscious mind or higher self show you things. I highly recommend keeping a notebook or a diary about your forest walk. It is interesting and can be very insightful to see how the forest changes and evolves over time. You may also note down feedback of results achieved. This immensely helps in heal fears and phobias. you can use this meditation for fears and phobias. The procedure of Forest Meditation is as follows: 1.If you are already a spiritual practitioner, it is important to begin by making prayers to the Sthan devtas and Wastu devtas , expressing gratitude and thanks for the space you have and asking that your meditation be undisturbed. Begin the process of bringing yourself fully into the moment and into the place where you are. Find yourself comfortable and relaxed, pay attention to environmental stimuli,

place your feet firmly on the floor, back straight, and root yourself into the Earth. Become aware of your breath. Dont force it. Let it flow in and out without effort. You may become aware of your nostrils, the in and out flow of air, the unique sensation of the temperature, or you may pay attention to the rhythmatic movement of the rib box, or you may become aware of the abdominal expansion or contraction; be aware of the process and feel the movement of the air into your body and back out into the world. Use your breath to feel your roots growing deeply into the Earth, seeking strength and nourishment. If you are a more rational / logical thinker or may be you are a non believer you can ignore relevant part and make changes in your script accordingly. Think about who you are in this place at this moment. Feel the edges of your intimate space. Accept your environment unconditionally, with love and gratitude. Become fully present. Close your eyes. Let your breath flow naturally, leading you into meditation. (If you are having a difficult time relaxing, proceed anyway as the process of doing the Forest Meditation will naturally relax you. Close your eyes and take a deep breath. Blow the air out and let it

naturally come back into your body. Then just breath naturally, unforced.) 2. Let an image of a forest come into your mind. Don't worry if it isn't clear and well developed. Don't judge what comes into your mind. If you feel that it is easier to travel to your forest somehow (going down in an elevator, descending a staircase, riding magical creatures, flying, using a boat, whatever), feel free to use that imagery but let the image arise naturally. In your mind find yourself at the opening of a forest. The forest can be anything, a hill, steep forest, a Himalayan peak, or a forest cliff, whatever. It doesn't matter. It can just be totally natural as well. Don't judge what comes into your imagination. It is just your subconscious mind's creation. It is a place to start and nothing is fixed. The forest represents your subconscious perception of your fears and phobias. It is a place where you can make change. The forest keeps changing with fears and phobias. 3. Once in your forest walk bring your senses into play. Touch some things, smell some things, and hear a few things (bird song, water falls, rivers and streams, the wind through the trees, the texture of a stone, explore it with your senses). If there is a stream, well, or fruit, smell and taste the water or fruit. Explore the texture of things. What sounds

are on the wind? Bring as much of your consciousness into play as you can. Here experience various obstacles and interruptions. There may be strangers, wild reptiles and animals, spirits, ghosts and demons, challenging rocks and rivers, natural calamities like rain or confusion like loosing your track. In spite of all odds remember yourself as all powerful and overcome the obstacles and walk the forest in a predetermined time limit say 3 to 5 minutes. (more than that will energize fears and phobias) 4. Keep walking in the forest. What grows there? What is the soil like? What is the climate? What is the time of year? Let your curiosity lead you around. What are you wearing? How do you feel in this place? Are you associated or dissociated? What are the different sub modalities? 5. When you are ready to end the meditation, do so consciously, not from distraction. A suggestion like, I will count one to five and at the count of five I will be wide awake feeling great, energetic, confident, peaceful and alertand I will be integrated in my present realityin the now. Find yourself present again on the physical plane. Become aware again of the spirits of place. Give thanks that you have had a place of solitude

to do this work. Give thanks that you were not disturbed. Find your roots again, feeling the Earth beneath you given you constant support. When you are ready, move on with your day. By- Prof. Dilip Gaikwad (Klatu Lukundu) lukundutheurbanshaman@yahoo.com