Prior human-nature research reviewed assumes that listening to nature is limited to the conventional five senses of seeing, hearing, tasting, touching, and smelling. What if humans can engage in more than five sensory modalities when listening to nature?

Exploring Listening to Nature with Fifty-some Sense Modalities

Ecopsychologist Michael Cohen argues that there are fifty-four human sensory modalities that can be activated when listening to nature.^[1] Some examples of these additional sensory modalities include the sense of electromagnetic current, the sense of weight, gravity, and balance, the hormonal sense of pheromones, and the sense of time, as in the passing of a solar day, the lunar month, and the change of seasons.^[2]

In reviewing the list of fifty-four senses, several sensory modalities appear as variations of the traditional five senses. For example, the sense of seeing without using the eyes (as in heliotropism) is a variation of the sense of sight. The awareness of air and wind pressure could be considered a variation of the sense of touch. However, many fifty-four senses seem unique and different from the typical five senses as in the sense of time.

In principle, each of these fifty-four senses could be used to listen to nature intentionally. For instance, standing barefoot on the grass, one can sense the body’s weight as part of the earth’s gravitational pull. The feeling of weight and pull initiates moment-to-moment bodily adjustments in balancing ourselves to maintain an upright posture. If we continue to listen, we experience these perceptions as feelings associated with being pulled by gravity (e.g., feeling tension or tiredness) and balancing ourselves (e.g., feeling centered or wobbly). If we listen even further, reflecting on these perceptions and feelings, we might make meaning from these experiences. Insights could include that we are held together by the tethers of gravity and that we are in a continuous dynamic balancing act in life.

The fifty-four senses could be elaborated by describing the perceptions, emotions, and meanings associated with listening to some aspect of nature. Cohen provides eighteen nature activities at the end of each chapter in his book, Reconnecting with Nature, that can deepen our capacities to listen to nature beyond (and including) the typical five senses.^[3] Samples of the titles for these activities suggest how they can increase our competencies in listening to and with nature: The Sensory Nature Walk, Learning from Sensory Nature Connecting, Unity with Nature, Natural Attractions, and Sensing Like Nature.

Hypothetically, intentional listening to nature with our fifty-four senses should engage our perceptual, emotional, and meaning-making capacities, creating a richness, depth, and intimate connection with nature. Cohen’s publication record,^[4] and his experience with thousands of individuals in lectures, workshops, and outdoor programs supports this proposition. However, formal research testing our capacities to listen to nature with all fifty-four senses by other academic scholars awaits future research.

Listening to Nature with Flow Learning

Another way to expand our capacities to listen to nature is to engage in a “flow learning” approach to nature awareness. Naturalist Joseph Cornell began facilitating nature awareness activities by taking school children on nature walks in the California foothills. During these outings, Cornell discovered methods to connect children with nature.^[7] Cornell formalized his ideas in the book, Sharing Nature with Children in 1979, and subsequently added the idea of flow learning. I draw from his book Sharing Nature^[8] to describe the flow learning process of listening to nature.

Cornell conceptualizes “sharing nature” (what I call listening to nature) as a sequence of flow learning that awakens enthusiasm, focuses attention, offers direct experience, and shares inspiration. In this sequence, a nature guide facilitates the flow learning experience through a group activity. Initially, the facilitator of a group awakens enthusiasm (motivating individuals to listen) by creating an, “. . . intense flow of personal interest and alertness . . . . [that] builds on people’s love of play . . . develops rapport, creates involvement, and provides direction and structure.”^[9]

For awakening enthusiasm, the guide needs to match the group’s age, knowledge, and interests with a specific nature activity.^[10] Next, a calm focus is created to enhance receptive awareness (the capacity to listen) to nature by, “. . . calming the mind . . . increasing attention span and concentration . . . [through] focusing attention . . . [and by] developing observational skills.”^[11] Cornell notes the challenge of focusing attention as the mind tends to wander. Research indicates that adults generate, on average, three hundred self-talk thoughts a minute, and most of these thoughts are not the subject of the current task.^[12] While challenging, mindfully listening with receptive attention is the proximate goal of calm focus.

The next stage, offering a direct experience of nature, is the heart of listening to nature. Offering direct experience is a face-to-nature encounter that:

. . . promotes personal revelation . . . awakens an enduring connection with some part of nature . . . conveys a sense of wholeness and harmony . . . inspires wonder, empathy, and love . . . [and] fosters deeper . . . intuitive understanding.^[13]

This kind of deep listening requires time to immerse oneself in the face-to-nature connection.

Finally, the last step in flow learning is sharing inspiration by reflecting on the listening to nature experience and sharing it with another person. In this step, self-reflection (self-listening) can clarify and strengthen the meaning of the listening to nature experience. The reflection is facilitated through journaling, storytelling, poetry, and/or art. These creative activities provide something concrete to share with another person. In this sharing context, listening empathetically to another share their nature experience broadens the listener’s understanding of nature. I provide one example of a nature activity to illustrate the process of flow learning.

Next, I describe how the camera activity illustrates the flow process. Imagine that you are a guide facilitating the camera activity for a small group of young learners. The flow process might proceed as follows. Awaken enthusiasm by asking questions about photography, such as, “Does anyone take photos with a camera other than their mobile phone?” or “What kinds of things do you like to take pictures of?” Next, a calm focus can be created by inviting the youngsters to gaze at the nature around them. Invite learners to look for natural beauties around them by slowly turning around in a circle. Facilitate this by having them pause for a few seconds at each of the four cardinal directions. Focusing attention naturally begins when describing the roles of the camera person and photographer. Offering direct experience begins with the invitation to commence the activity. Finally, drawing and sharing a favorite snapshot completes the flow process.

I facilitate the camera activity in the listening class with students by describing the activity and inviting them to partner with another student and exit the classroom. I suggest exploring several nature areas on campus for “taking pictures.” Upon returning to the classroom, students draw their favorite picture and share their experiences in small groups. After groups have an opportunity to process their experiences, I invite each group to share one learning for the benefit of the class. This concludes the section on listening to nature with flow learning. I continue with the theme of listening to nature as “forest bathing” next.

Forest Bathing as Listening to Nature

Shinrin-Yoku is the Japanese art and science of “forest bathing” initially introduced by Tomohide Akiyam in 1982 as part of a national health program for nature healing in the country of Japan.^[14] There is no direct English translation for Shinrin-Yoku, but loosely translated it means:

. . . bathing in the forest atmosphere, or taking in the forest through our senses . . . being in nature, connecting with it [intentionally listening to] . . . smell the flowers, taste the fresh air, [to] look at the changing colors of the trees, hear the birds singing and feel the breeze on our skin.^[15]

We can use our senses to engage, open, and connect with nature by listening to the natural world. Results of a Google Scholar title search using the phrase “forest bathing” in March of 2023 revealed two-hundred and seventy-eight resources.^[16] Li summarizes empirical research on the benefits of forest bathing as of 2018, “. . . reduced blood pressure, stress, blood -sugar, depression . . .[and] increased cardiovascular and metabolic health, concentration and memory, pain thresholds, energy, immune response, and weight loss.”^[17] These results parallel findings from the previous literature review on exposure, contact, and connection with nature. The forested places where the individual listens to nature make forest bathing unique from the previous research. Li recommends that the forest bather slow down, take ample time, and listen intentionally to nature with all the senses. According to Li, the ideal place to forest bathe is in the wilderness, but a park with trees also works.