Listening to Nature
5.3 Listening to Nature: Expanding Our Capacities
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.
Partner with Nature Practice
“Partnering with Nature” is one of Cohen’s eighteen activities from Reconnecting with Nature.[5] I include a description of “partnering with nature” to provide the reader with a sense of Cohen’s nature activities.
The first step is to find a place in nature that feels like a “natural attraction.” Paraphrasing Cohen, a natural attraction is a sensory appreciation, a felt experience of connection with some aspect of nature. Natural attractions feel alive, enjoyable, and welcoming. Potential natural attractions are available in a variety of nature settings, from the backyard to a park, aquarium, or even a potted plant can serve as a source of natural attraction.
After choosing a natural attraction:
. . . gain consent for you to visit and enjoy it. Ask . . . permission for you to be there [then listen] . . . Ask if it will help you learn from it [then listen] . . . Look for adverse signals of danger [e.g., thorns, insects, sharp rocks] . . . If the area still feels attractive . . . you have gained consent . . . [listen by] comparing how you feel about being there now with how you felt about it when you first arrived.[6]
If the initial attraction does not give consent, Cohen suggests that the nature area may feel vulnerable to injury. Or if the area no longer feels attractive because of some adverse signal, he recommends choosing another area.
Once the natural attraction has given consent, one listens for feelings and intuitions. All humans have the capacity to partner and listen to nature. In the next section, I introduce another way to expand our capacity to listen to nature through flow learning.
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.
Emulating a Camera to Practice Flow Learning
Of the fifty-four flow learning activities that Cornell describes in Sharing Nature, I selected the camera activity to illustrate listening to nature. The camera activity requires two people.
One person is the camera, and the other is the photographer. The camera person emulates a camera’s shutter by opening their closed eyes when the photographer taps them on the shoulder (emulating taking a picture). After three seconds, the camera person closes their eyes again. In this way, the camera person intently and silently “listens” with their eyes to whatever the photographer has chosen for them to look at. The photographer leads the camera person (their eyes are closed) by positioning their hand on the photographer’s shoulder or arm to guide them from place to place. The photographer stops and takes a picture whenever they find something beautiful to share. After taking three to five pictures, participants switch roles.
Variations of the activity include the photographer verbally signaling the camera person to take a close-up picture, use a wide-angle lens, pan the scene, or use a telephoto lens. At the conclusion, each person sketches their favorite picture and shares it with the other person. Each person listens with full attention to the other, sharing the beauty of what they captured while listening to nature with their camera eyes.
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.
Forest Bathing as a Listening to Nature Practice
Li has many suggestions for how to forest bathe.[18] I paraphrase Li’s instructions for forest bathing in a park with trees as many people have access to a park.
Leave all electronic and digital devices at home. Minimize expectations. Imagine that you have all the time in the world. Find a semi-private and semi-quiet place to sit. Listen fully with all of the senses. For instance, listen to birdsong and leaves in the wind. See the multiple green hues in the landscape. Identify aromas of trees, flowers, and grasses. Try to taste the air. Touch the bark of a tree. Dip your fingers in any clean sources of water. Let your bare feet touch the ground. Let your body and mind feel the intuitive essence of the place. Listen to your feelings. Continue for two hours if possible.[19]
Positive effects, like reduced blood pressure and increased concentration, become noticeable after twenty minutes. These instructions are deceptively simple. They are based on sound empirical studies.[20] Regular forest bathing will yield positive health benefits, both psychologically and physiologically.
- Michael J. Cohen, Reconnecting with Nature: Finding Wellness through Restoring Your Bond with the Earth (Lakeville: Ecopress, 2007). Cohen is the author of ten books on ecopsychology, a faculty member of Portland State University and Akamai University, and program director of the Institute of Global Education's Integrated Ecology Department and Project NatureConnect. Cohen's research on multisensory nature represents a line of research affiliated with Guy Murchie, Karen Gravelle, Arnold Gesell, Joseph Chilton Pearce, Rupert Sheldrake, and Elizabeth Spealke. ↵
- For the complete list of the fifty-four sensory modalities, see Michael J. Cohen, Reconnecting with Nature, (Lakeville: Ecopress, 2007), 49-51, or conduct an internet search for "ecopsychology.org." ↵
- Michael J. Cohen, Reconnecting with Nature, (Lakeville: Ecopress, 2007). ↵
- Cohen's bibliography lists over seventy publications from 1968 through 2020. Some of the publications are books, some are academic journal articles, and some are more informal writings. Michael J. Cohen, "Publications" (website). 2020. http://ecopsych.com/mjcohen.html#anchorpublic. ↵
- Michael J. Cohen, Reconnecting with Nature, (Lakeville: Ecopress, 2007), 23. ↵
- Michael J. Cohen, Reconnecting with Nature, (Lakeville: Ecopress, 2007), 23. ↵
- Part of the reason Cornell developed "flow learning" is that he found that the typical guided nature walk as a series of "stop, talk, and answer questions" about points of interest did not readily facilitate children connecting with nature. ↵
- Joseph Cornell, Sharing Nature: Nature Awareness Activities for all Ages (Nevada City: Crystal Clarity Publishers, 2015). ↵
- Joseph Cornell, Sharing Nature (Nevada City: Crystal Clarity Publishers, 2015), 28, 36. ↵
- Ibid., There are fifty-four nature activities to choose from in Cornell's book. ↵
- Ibid., 39. ↵
- Matthew A. Killingsworth and Daniel T. Gilbert, "A Wandering Mind is an Unhappy Mind," Science 330 (November 2010): 932-932. ↵
- Joseph Cornell, Sharing Nature, 42. ↵
- Qing Li, Forest Bathing: How Trees Can Help You Find Health and Happiness (New York: Viking, 2018). ↵
- Ibid., 12. ↵
- A perusal of these resources revealed qualitative and quantitative experiments, field studies, interventions, correlational survey research, and prescriptive advice. In short, there is ample research to support the practice of forest bathing for our health and well-being. ↵
- Li, Forest Bathing, 38 (italics author). ↵
- Li, Forest Bathing. ↵
- Li, Forest Bathing, 151. For maximum benefits, Li recommends a two-hour forest bathing session, but even a twenty-minute session provides some benefits. ↵
- Ibid., 63-116. ↵