Presence with Nature – A Nature-Based Mindfulness Course

October 12, October 19, October 26, November 2, November 9, November 16, November 23, November 20, November 30
7:30–9:30

A nine-session course:

• Eight Monday sessions from 7:30–9:30 (starting October 12, eight consecutive Mondays through November 30)
• “Mini-retreat”—Friday, November 20, from 8:00–12:30

Early registration price: 1,000 NIS.
On September 10, the price will increase to 1,150 NIS.

In this course, we will learn to mindfully and compassionately encounter and become familiar with what is happening within and around us. We will practice pausing and identifying the automatic habits that dictate our responses in situations of stress and difficulty, and cultivate resources that will help us respond differently, from a place of choice.

Through connecting with nature, we will learn and practice practical tools to help us increase choice and awareness in our lives, calm the body and heart, and cope more beneficially with life’s difficulties and pressures.

The course is based on the MBSR (Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction) protocol, the world’s best-known research-based program for stress reduction, developed at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. It also draws on the practice of Relational Forest Therapy, which emphasizes the connection with nature as an active partner in the processes of healing and regulation and in our encounter with ourselves.

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What will we learn in the course?

• Cultivating the ability to be present here and now.
• Establishing the connection with nature as a resource for emotional regulation and strengthening a sense of belonging and resilience.
• Using sights, sounds, and textures from nature as anchors for inner stability and relaxation.
• Using nature’s cycles and resilience as inspiration for personal processes of change and growth.
• Becoming familiar with several meditation methods and practices from the world of forest bathing.
• Cultivating the ability to observe and respond with compassion and without judgment toward ourselves, and to encounter the world from this perspective.

Course structure

In accordance with the MBSR method, the course consists of:

• Eight morning sessions of approximately two hours, on Wednesdays from 7:30–9:30.
• “Mini-retreat,” a five-hour session on Friday, November 20.
• Recorded meditations and home practices.
• The option of personal consultation between sessions.

The sessions will take place in comfortable conditions and at an accessible location in the nature park and gardens at Ramat Hanadiv.

About the facilitator

Lior Ben-Athur, ecologist (M.Sc.). Graduate of the MBSR mindfulness-teacher training program at the Muda Institute and Bangor University, United Kingdom. Certified forest-bathing guide and one of the pioneers of the field in Israel. He sees tremendous potential in connecting the two fields he loves: meditation and nature.

“People and forests will heal together—or not at all.”
—Amos Clifford, founder of ANFT, the world’s leading organization in the field of forest bathing

Cancellation policy

The purchaser may cancel the transaction in writing, including the order number and full name, up to four days before the event by emailing [email protected].

The purchaser may be charged a cancellation fee by the credit-card company, in accordance with the credit-card company’s terms.

Cancellation less than four days before the course begins will incur the full price.

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Painting time

When sunlight falls on the palm trees in the garden at different times of day, when the colorful roses are in full bloom, and when clouds of different shapes form in the sky… This is the time and place to bring out the artist within us.

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