What makes you feel?

I was asked this question some time ago...and it’s been in the back of my mind every since. This is a heart-opening question. One that makes you pause and think about things that brought you instant joy or instantly caused tears to well up in your eyes with absolutely no explanation whatsoever.

Feelings like these are uncontrollable. 
They just happen.

It’s a “this” happens...then “that” response instantaneously arrives. 
Like riding a roller coaster...you’re being thrashed about...up...then down...then up...then down...and the whole time your body is responding in realtime.

You walk into an art museum...and at the end of the hall is hanging one of Claude Monet’s original water lily paintings. It’s big. Something like 4 feet by 6 feet. And it takes your breath away because you realize the colors are different than what you’d seen depicted in pictures. Which then of course means...you’re looking at...and in the presence of...an original water lily painting by Monet. 

You get emotional...tears well up in your eyes...and you can’t explain why.

This is what it means to feel. And these are examples of things that make you feel.

When it comes to listening to your body’s conversations with you...what I mean to say here is...when your body is speaking from a soul level to you...these are the things that carry the most meaning in life on earth. 

The unexplainable...yet SO FULL of knowing that you wouldn’t think of questioning the truths that lay deep within that experience. You just know somewhere deep inside you that this experience was filled to overflowing with meaning and truth and infallibility.

These moments...cannot be described with simple words. There are layers upon layers upon layers of truth and knowing that a simple word cannot contain. And the emotion these moments cultivates is impalpable.

Some more examples...witnessing the birth of a child, the arrival of someone you dearly love at the airport after being absent for too long, a sunrise over the Blue Ridge Mountains, the sound of thousands of gallons of water pouring over a waterfall where you can feel it in the air...and can feel it in your bones.

Maybe now you understand what I’m speaking of here. The deep deep deeply meaningful experiences of being human with a soul. Those moments when something outside of you...where something almost celestial transcends into your personal spaces and touches your heart.

So I’ll ask you again.
What makes you feel?

Photo Credit: Photo taken from Glacier Point in the Yosemite National Park on 4/18 by an unnamed NPS employee. Posted on Tumblr by the US Department of the Interior on 4/22/14. 

Two years ago today...we woke up realizing that nothing would ever be the same.

 

It’s been quite a journey to come from zero day arrival of Hurricane Helene in Western North Carolina to where we are today two years later.

And it’s impossible to avoid the “remembering” when the anniversary date of this arrives. Everyone talks about it...and most of us probably don’t even realize how much it helps us all to talk about it.

Every person in WNC, no matter what community you lived in at the time, was changed.

The land changed.

The rivers changed.

The energy changed.

And it’s taken every part of two years (after having been reintroduced to the “new version” of the land and rivers and ourselves) to recon with it all.

I am still on that path of recovery.

I still grieve for what was.

Yet having been reintroduced to the new versions of the wild places I love and visit often...I have found Nature still lives and breathes with the same light she did before.

She’s still there...just has a different hairdo is all.

However...there is something SO very important that I have recognized in the aftermath and recovery efforts all over this region of North Carolina.

If it weren’t for the watchful eyes and oversight of organizations like Mountain True, The Pisgah Conservancy and Conserving Carolina (among many others)...our rivers and lands would not have been as protected as what they were during clean-up efforts.

There were too many close calls to count when it came to contractors arriving as clean-up efforts began. Where the long-term effects of the removal of trees and tree root balls along the Lower Green River (as one example) nearly became catastrophic which would have damaged the land even further...after what Helene had already caused.

But thanks to organizations like Mountain True, a halt was created and a re-organization of a more guided clean-up with local oversight by those who know how to protect our public lands unfolded.

I don’t even want to begin to imagine if there were no Mountain True...what might have actually happened...and how our rivers and lands might have been pillaged further.

So in honor of those who volunteered during the intense clean-up efforts, down to those who picked debris from the riverbed by hand and to those who worked tirelessly to give these rivers and lands breathing room for a better chance of self-recovery...Thank You!!

And so...as we walk through the door of the second year anniversary today...I take my hat off and nod in the direction of those who looked out for the rivers and the land in a very stewarding way.

I have also since learned...to pick up and carry out discarded water bottles or trash I come across on trails I hike and along rivers I walk beside. I have learned that this land is our home...and it is up to those of us who truly care...to steward these special places.

Love on your special places.

Carry on.


#wildhearted

#hurricanheleneWNC

#stewardtheland

#naturelovers



Photo Credit: Pictured here is Bayless Boof along the Upper Green River in WNC. One of the places that for the most part stayed the same. What a relief to visit this special place.

Trail Blazes.

I once dreamed of the full-time job of walking trails and being the painter of trail blazes like this one. While this hasn’t come to fruition yet...trail blazes serve a very important purpose to us all.

To show us the way.

If you a hiker...then you know that many times you’ll be toodle-doodle-oodlin along and then everything just looks like a forest floor in front of you. Like the trail disappeared.

An easy example of this is in the fall after the leaves fall and the trail is covered over which makes everything sort of look the same.

Yet another example of this is at a river crossing. (Which is why before I cross the river...I’ll look across for the trial on the other side and where it picks up so I know where I’m headed once I get across).

There have been many many times...I just can’t tell where the trail continues...yet I know to shift my gaze up and study the trees looking for the painted blaze that will show me the way.  Often you’ll see...blaze, blaze, blaze.  One tree behind the other...showing the path.

Other times you may only see one blaze...and not until you get to that one can you now see the next one.

This is exactly why one of my favorite taglines has been “Just follow the blazes on your trail.”  Is also why you’ll find this in the header images on my website at RachelDickson.com.

There are many times in life that we wish we could see further down the trail when faced with a decision. And well, sometimes we cannot.  We can only see the next blaze...so we have to trust and then move forward in that trust. And sure enough...when we get a little ways forward there is some more information for us.

Of course, for me, built into that trust is my practice of tuning into my inner knower...much like looking to a compass for confirmation of the right direction.  I am blessed with some rather stellar directional sense...but much of this is directly related to tuning into intuitional awareness and listening to direction from the other side of the veil.

I also want to say here...I just love seeing a trail blaze markers. Feels like art to me in many ways and carries a feeling all its own. It means I’m in the forest!

Stay true to your heart by friends and followers.
Would love to hear your trail blaze stories here.

Namaste.

Come with me...into the wild.

A strange phenomenon occurred to me this past week while I was pet sitting in the city.
I felt like I was in a foreign land.

No really...it was very strange...but I’m so glad this was all revealed to me so I knew how I needed to respond. It never occurred to me that the wild (the forest, rivers and mountains) has become a home signature vibration to me (a very comfortable place...easy for me to engage with) until I found myself in the urban jungle.

I felt out of sorts...like there was a void I couldn’t explain.  So what does one outdoors person do when they find themselves in the city?  Well, ya go to Outdoors World (Bass Pro), REI and Academy Sports all in one fell swoop.

Yes, yes...I know I wrote about this in a previous post. But here’s what’s so interesting about this.
My friends who I was pet sitting for were in Alaska. And they shared w me a story about arriving in Anchorage after traveling all over in the wilderness and how out of sorts they felt being in this city.

I immediately knew the feeling. And I’m not kidding when I say...after your body had been exposed to nature’s magic and silence and calm and sheer beauty and acceptance and will power and awe...when you find yourself surrounded by its opposite it is nothing short than off putting.

Ask anyone who has ever thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail.  They’ll tell you the same thing about having to re-acclimate back into “civil life” again.

When I walked into that REI coop store and looked to my left...on the wall was a HUGE black and white image of Looking Glass Rock in Pisgah Forest.  (It’s important to note...this was in SC...a hot minute away from Pisgah).  

But let me tell you something...the warmth and familiarity that flowed over me while viewing this mural...brought me a rush of calm and the feelings of “home.”  I know this place! I’ve stood on this very rock in Pisgah where this photo was taken.

So no...you’re not crazy at all if you absolutely HAVE to walk in the forest every day. Or if you HAVE to go to the river a minimum of a couple times a week. Or if hiking to waterfalls and sitting there staring at them brings you an enormous amount of joy.

Nature is medicine my friends.  Your body already knows this.
Get outside as often as if possible.

Turn off the noise and listen to the stillness that will surround you out there. Even if just for a few hours. And it will change you.

Namaste my outdoors friends! 
Namaste.

Reading the River.

 

Two summers ago I was new to guiding whitewater kayak trips down the Upper and Lower Green River just outside Saluda, NC.

We were assigned to guide one of two trips in the morning on the Upper and then one of two trips on the Lower in the afternoon.

I had paddled the top half of the Lower Green numerous times at this point a gentle class I and II river and very family friendly. But I had not once paddled the bottom half of the Lower Green and on this day I was assigned to guide that trip.

I felt somewhat unqualified because after all...aren’t I expected to “Guide” this trip down the river? I was nervous and apprehensive...and felt a bit like an imposter.

But then...the owner of the company walked past...and asked me what was up. I described my misgivings about this...and he said something that I have never forgot.

“Rachel, read the water. You’ll guide this trip in ways you don’t even know you know.”

A lightbulb went off in my head...because he was right. This was something as simple as reading the river.

Rivers have a way of showing you the path through them. There are tells. If you’re tuned into them and are looking ahead.

And just this morning I was reminded of this story while thinking about the future.

What may come? What may go?

And then… “Read the River” popped into my head.

You can’t paddle through rapids that are two miles down river, because you can’t see them. You’re not there yet.

But you know exactly how to paddle through what is right here right now...because well...it literally is all about reading the river.

Countless life lessons like this one I’ve learned from the mountain river. And if you’re reading this still...I’ll bet you too are a river lover.

Cheers to the river lovers and to the rivers!

Photo Credit: Fotari70DX from pixabay dot com

 

Adventures on the Tuckaseegee River!

 

It's takes practice...to be truly good at a thing.  Including...keeping your heart open.

To me this means...I don't stop doing the things I love rather...I seek them out more. And I bring friends!

It truly takes courage to allow ourselves to remain open to possibility versus shutting down after we've experienced the pain of grief or despair or heartbreak.  I know you know what I mean here.

And I've learned that continuing to engage in things that stretch us a little bit can be so very powerful. If you're too afraid...invite your friends. Because there's something about having your besties along with  you when you're about to experience something epic!

These things don't have to be expensive...in fact they can be totally free activities. So no, you don't have to put yourself into a tough spot...but rather sometimes just a little creativity will do.

This whitewater kayaking trip with Tuckaseegee Outfitters in Whittier, NC cost just $30 per person and SOoooo worth every penny!

Of course you can spend thousands of dollars on a Colorado River trip through the Grand Canyon...but I'm simply saying...if you're planning to repeat said fun and adventure over and over...it can be done on a budget.

So...that said...go...be...do!

and Stay Wildhearted!

 

 

 

The Hidden Language of Frequency: Discover the Invisible Forces Shaping Your Life • 40-Min Live Zoom • Thur, July 16 • 6:30 PM ET

  

 

The Hidden Language of Frequency

Session One: Everything is Energy...Now What?

A practical introduction to living as an energy being.

Thursday, July 16 | 6:30 PM ET
40-minute Live Zoom Exploration with Rachel Dickson
$10

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We've all heard the phrase...

"Everything is energy."

But what does that actually mean?

More importantly...

What does it have to do with the way we experience everyday life?

In this 40-minute immersive Zoom session, we'll explore frequency as a lived experience in some very practical ways.

Together, we'll begin noticing the invisible forces already shaping our thoughts, emotions, relationships, and even our sense of well-being.

We'll explore questions such as:

• What does grief feel like from a frequency perspective?
• Why does music have the power to move us?
• What happens to our awareness when we spend time in nature?
• Why does noticing matter?
• How do we recognize the frequency generated by our thoughts?
• What simple practices help us to maintain our “home frequency?”

Imagine for a moment that life is speaking to us all the time.

Birds are speaking.

Trees are speaking.

Water is speaking.

Our nervous system is speaking.

Emotions are speaking.

Intuition is speaking.

Resonance is speaking.

The language is already here.

Most of us simply haven't learned how to listen...or how to interpret what we're experiencing.

This session is about how to become more observant.

Some of the most profound shifts in our daily lives come from learning to notice what has been quietly present all along.

If you've ever sensed there's more happening beneath the surface of everyday life, this conversation is for you. (Think Matrix).

Together, we'll begin exploring The Hidden Language of Frequency and discover how awareness may be the doorway to living with greater presence, coherence, and connection.

Frequency may, in fact, be the doorway to becoming a conscious participant in our daily lives instead of simply reacting to our circumstances.

I personally invite you to step into a new way of seeing yourself and the world.

 

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Details

Date: Thursday, July 16
Time: 6:30 PM EST (please note the timezone)
Length: 40 minutes
Location: Live on Zoom
Cost: $10

(reservations are no longer available.)

Once you reserve your spot, you’ll receive an email with the Zoom link for Thursday.
Just show up, settle in, and we’ll take it from there.