Have you ever marveled at the transient beauty of a forest floor carpeted in violet-blue? My recent trek through the Hallerbos forest in Belgium was just such an experience, where the annual bluebell bloom transformed the landscape into a living fairytale. Join me as I recount this awe-inspiring journey, leaning on insights from Nana van der Poel that capture the historical enchantment of these woods.
I discuss the delicate balance of timing needed to witness the bluebells and our vital role in preserving nature's fleeting wonders by treading lightly, staying on marked paths, and keeping the magic alive for generations.
Embracing the serenity of nature, the episode also delves into the transformative power of forest bathing and how it's reshaping our understanding of health and well-being. Discover the profound effects of phytoncides, as highlighted by Dr. Qing Li, and learn how these 'essences of trees' can imbue even urban dwellings with the healing touch of the forest.
Reflecting on the calming passages of Psalm 23, I share how nature's embrace provides a respite from life's tumult and a conduit to connecting with a higher sense of peace.
Listen in for stories of unplanned family adventures and rejuvenation among the trees, and receive a heartfelt blessing inspired by the tranquil beauty of a bluebell-laden forest.
Have you ever marveled at the transient beauty of a forest floor carpeted in violet-blue? My recent trek through the Hallerbos forest in Belgium was just such an experience, where the annual bluebell bloom transformed the landscape into a living fairytale. Join me as I recount this awe-inspiring journey, leaning on insights from Nana van der Poel that capture the historical enchantment of these woods.
I discuss the delicate balance of timing needed to witness the bluebells and our vital role in preserving nature's fleeting wonders by treading lightly, staying on marked paths, and keeping the magic alive for generations.
Embracing the serenity of nature, the episode also delves into the transformative power of forest bathing and how it's reshaping our understanding of health and well-being. Discover the profound effects of phytoncides, as highlighted by Dr. Qing Li, and learn how these 'essences of trees' can imbue even urban dwellings with the healing touch of the forest.
Reflecting on the calming passages of Psalm 23, I share how nature's embrace provides a respite from life's tumult and a conduit to connecting with a higher sense of peace.
Listen in for stories of unplanned family adventures and rejuvenation among the trees, and receive a heartfelt blessing inspired by the tranquil beauty of a bluebell-laden forest.
Learn more about Young Living Therapeutic-Grade Essential Oils and the Aroma Freedom Technique: HEALINGFROMTRAUMA
Janell:
Hello and welcom t today' Hear L with Janell." I'm Janell, and I am so thankful you have found your way here if this is your first time, welcome. Janell and I am so thankful you have found your way here. If this is your first time, welcome. And to all my other Heart ifters, I am so glad to be with you again. Today's episode is sponsored in full by Heart ift International, a 501c3 committed and dedicated to making home and family the safest, most secure place to be. A huge thanks to our Circle of Trust member, Gina. Gina, thank you for making this podcast reach the ends of the earth and stay ad free. I'm so appreciative to you.
Janell:
I'm just back from my haunts and jaunts in Antwerp, Belgium, where I celebrated my Elena Rose's second birthday and had so much fun traveling with my twin daughter, Brooke. And while we were there, an amazing, exciting, surprising invitation came to us through my son-in-law, Jose. He happened to mention to my daughter, c wow, the Rardon women need to go visit the Hallerbos, the what, the who, the Hallerbos, the blue bells are blooming. He said you need to rent a car, candace, put the kids in it, take the women and go to the Hallerbos forest. Well, I want to read about that from a beautiful article written by Nana van der Poel way back in 2017. She writes it's almost here that one magical week when the ancient Belgian Hallerbos turns into a natural wonderland. Every spring, without fail, millions of blooming blue bells work together to form a violet blue carpet on the forest floor, utterly overwhelming in both sight and smell. It's a Belgian nature display made to conquer a place on the nature enthusiast bucket list. Standing in the sea of vibrant blue, a mere 20 kilometers or 12.4 miles south of Brussels, breathing in its intense colors and sweet floral fragrances, the senses are tickled far beyond what our daily lives and office jobs tend to inspire. Paul McCartney's final words to Linda as she died were it's a fine spring day, we're riding through the woods, the bluebells are all out and the sky is clear blue. While walking through such a scene yourself, it's easy to see why the songsmith would choose to vocalize this last picture for his wife.
Janell:
It's doubtful that the beetle was actually referencing the Belgian woods in Flemish Brabant. Hyacinth carpets have long been a spring fixture in age-old European woods such as Britain's Mickledever and others, and are by no means unique to Belgium. But still it's the halibose with its slender beaches, b-e-e-c-h-e-s, these slender beach trees rising from the violet tapestry, that walks away with the most enchanting title. Every time. Its carpet is the densest, its walking paths the windiest. Its carpet is the densest, its walking paths the windiest, and its history as part of the legendary charcoal forest the most illustrious, along with the Sonian Forest that pushes its way into the capital to form the region's crucial green lung.
Janell:
The Halerbos, or Boas de Hal, is one of the final remnants of the Silva Carbonaria, the vast oak and beach woods that stretched from Bourbon to the north of France during Roman times. On a foggy morning, knowledge of these ancient roots combined with white mist provide a particularly mystical atmosphere. The secret lean in here, the secret to the blue forest fairy tale transformation, as with so many things, is timing. The soil has to be warm enough for the flowers to thrive, but the leafy canopy of beeches can't be fully leafed out, since it will cut off the necessary rays of the sun. That leaves only a golden period of about a week to 10 days during which conditions are just right. That's such a lean-in moment. Here I'm adding my own words, of course. Timing, entirely dictated by the weather. This short season is rather a fickle friend. Lately it tends to show up in April, though up until five years ago the original rendezvous was always set for the beginning of May this year, in 2017, as she writes, the fairy flowers are even expected to come around as early as the second half of March.
Janell:
Second half of March, Naturally. These ever-changing blooming times, ever-changing blooming times make spotting the violet splendor a bit of a challenge. Travelers who've made plans to visit the country months in advance run the risk of missing out because they booked the wrong weekend. But then again, the unpredictability has made the Hallerbo somewhat of an off-the-beaten-track tourist experience, which, I add, is exactly what I experienced.
Janell:
Not everyone is aware of the beauty. Not everyone is aware of the beauty. Not everyone is aware of the beauty unfolding this close to the tiny nation's capital, let alone remembers to check the Haller-Bosch website for indications as to when the forest will assume its fairy tale veneer. She continues in February, it's still a reading of the tea leaves, but by the beginning of March the organization is ready to predict the blooming season. There is a whole festival for this the Halibut Blue Bell Festival For 2017, they're confident that the second half of March will be the winner and during these weeks, they'll regularly post videos that show the landscape's progress. Regularly post videos that show the landscape's progress, which is actually how Jose, my son-in-law, found this in 2024. He was just scrolling and came across their beautiful site.
Janell:
When you eventually do get there, after religiously checking the page, chances are you'll be able to come across a tranquil spot where the other nature fans fall away and we did, and it's just you and the purple blue ocean as far as the eye can see. Go either early or late on a weekday. We went on a Friday to increase your chances of this. And whatever you do, stick to the official pathways. Stick to the official pathways. I think you can hear some lessons unfolding. I've been repeating them twice Going off track means crushing the hyacinth bulbs, an act of complete sacrilege, as this will cause a bare patch in the lush blanket next year.
Janell:
Oh my goodness, the ancient halibose. I can't believe that I actually got to experience this with not only my two daughters but my two granddaughters. It was just so unexpected, and that's why I wanted to share it with you, because sometimes in life, it's those unexpected invitations that really change our life or add value to our life or maybe even save our life. This experience is something known as forest bathing, and this beautiful term came to us from our beautiful Japanese friends. The Japanese quickly embraced this form of ecotherapy called forest bathing. It's a term that emerged in the 1980s as a physiological and psychological exercise called shinrin yoku, forest bathing or I like this definition and we're going to run with this one Taking in the forest atmosphere. Taking in the forest atmosphere. The purpose was twofold To offer an echo antidote to tech boom burnout and to inspire residents to reconnect with and protect the country's forest.
Janell:
In the 1990s, then, researchers began studying the physiological benefits of forest bathing, providing the science to support what we innately already know, especially as followers of God. God is the creator of the forest of the world. He just wants us to stop and notice and breathe and take in the atmosphere of his creation. So they came to discover time spent immersed in nature is good for us. Oh, time in nature is good for us. Oh, time in nature is good for us. The heart, the concept at the heart of this practice, is not new. It's not new to us.
Janell:
Many cultures have long recognized the importance of the natural world to human health. In the article the Secret to Mindful Travel A Walk in the Woods, sonny Fitzgerald writes forest bathing is not just for the wilderness lover. I'm not really a wilderness lover, but I do love a good hike or a good walk in the woods. The practice can be as simple as walking in any natural environment and consciously connecting with what's around you. I'm going to repeat that Lean in this is definitely a takeaway lesson Consciously connecting with what's around you. For a more structured experience, you can join trained guides for a meditative two to three hour ecotherapy excursion and in this beautiful article, which I will put in the show notes, sunny offers five beautiful places to travel, one being the Adirondacks, which Rob and I are looking at traveling in this upcoming fall season.
Janell:
In another great article by Dr Queen Lee, the author of Forest Bathing how Trees Can Help you Find Health and Happiness that is his book that he wrote being being. That's a key, isn't it? Being consciously being in nature is good for us. When we inhale the chemicals that trees release into the air, called phytoncides or phytoncides, I'm not sure they can reduce our stress hormones and increase our levels of white blood cells, known as natural hormones killer cells. Wow.
Janell:
In one study from 2009, his team ordered special concentrated essential oils made from Japanese cypress trees and then pumped them into the hotel rooms of different subjects using a diffuser. Well, we are essential oil experts here in this community using Young Living's beautiful therapeutic grade oils. The people staying in those rooms saw about 40 to 50% of the health benefits as those who did a forest bathing session. What I just love that he writes if you can't make it to the forest, just get some of the benefits by diffusing tree-based essential oils at home. We have those, and if you don't have them, contact me. I'll put my link. I will put my link in the show notes. And he offers this final bit of advice Bolster your forest bath with meditation.
Janell:
Yeah, walk a little bit. And this is what we actually did, not even intentionally Candice Brooke, ava Grace and Elena Rose and I we just kept walking, and in true fashion for who we are. We finally came to this opening, and before this happened, let me back track just a little bit. When we first got there, we didn't. This is our first time there, right, first time ever and you know I have two girls that are very, very attuned to directions and know what they're doing, and so we pulled out the map that they gave us and we thought we were going the right way, but we ended up being on this path that was just full of mud, deep, rutted mud, and we had a stroller. So it became quite challenging.
Janell:
And finally God sent us. I know he did this forest angel named Jeff and he said oh yes, I'm a tour guide, I give tours here, but today I'm off and I'm just out here. I'll say forest bathing. But today I'm off and I'm just out here, I'll say force bathing, because that's what he was doing. I want to see the bluebells for the millionth time because I just love them. He had a camera around his neck, backpack on his back, it was just lovely. And he says well, you're kind of lost, this is the wrong path, this is the muddy, muddy path, this is the path the horses take. But he said just keep going and make it through the mud and then you'll be okay. I thought that was fascinating, a deep lesson in and of itself. Maybe today you're just on a muddy, muddy, muddy path and it's deeply rutted and it's hard to navigate. Well, take guide Jeff's words just keep going and make it through the mud and then you'll find the good, safe, solid path and it'll all be fine. I just love that so much.
Janell:
And so we did keep going and we found this magical spot and it just spoke to us, all of us. We all just took a deep breath and went. Here it is, and we had also been looking for a beautiful spot for our beautiful photographer daughter Brooke, who just is so good at taking family photography, was going to take some beautiful shots of the girls for Candace, and I don't know. It just spoke to us, and so that's what Dr Lee suggests Find a place that speaks to you. It calls out your name. When you find it, you go, and I've yet to take the time to write it down in words, but I'll just try my best here.
Janell:
It was just an expanse of the forest where the carpet of blue bells shone a blue violet light, and there were just tall beach trees, tall blonde beach trees, and then the canopy of the beautiful blue sky and the sun and check out my pictures. I will put them on my sub stack, meet me over there and on Instagram story. But the blue violet against the blonde beaches and the sun peeking through. Wow, it was just something. Through, wow, it was just something. And so he says, dr Lee, that'll be a clearing in the woods surrounded by a bunch of tall trees. Yes, yes, yes, I just explained it to you. It'll feel beautiful and it'll resonate to you. Yes, because that's what matters, what resonates with your spirit, with your soul, with your mind.
Janell:
And for me, on that day, my body as I've shared in earlier episodes, I have been struggling with overwhelm and overwork and my body has been really talking to me to slow down, change my cadence, really talking to me to slow down, change my cadence, find its way back to homeostasis, we say, or equanimity. My nerves have needed a break. And that day, in Halibos, that ancient forest, my body exhaled. There I was with my two daughters and my two granddaughters, and nothing could have been better, nothing, it was just amazing. And then we are to sit down or just have a breathing meditation, inhale for a count of one, two and then exhale for double the length of time and then exhale for double the length of time. So you inhale for one, two and you exhale for one, two, three, four, because when the exhale is slower than the inhale, it sends a physiological message to your body that says I'm safe, I can relax, it's okay.
Janell:
This particular breathing exercise has been shown to have benefits on its own even outside the forest environment, been shown to have benefits on its own, even outside the forest environment. The reason to do it in the forest is to allow yourself to relax, so you can begin to notice all the sounds, the colors, the textures that nature has to offer. Now I don't have to go deep into a halibut ancient forest. I can sit on my front porch or even, as I awaken today from my bed, I put my feet on the ground and I just listened to the chorus of birds that were singing a morning melody to me. I just sat there, I just said thank you, I hear you, I hear you and I know I'm safe and I'm loved.
Janell:
Lee and Gary Evans, director of the Forest Bathing Institute in the UK, we might be surprised by this practice and discover the power and the affect of this practice of forest bathing or even listening to nature and consciously connecting to it. We might be surprised Depending on what's happening in your emotional world. Quite often, when we look at nature or the forest, it sends something back to us to help us make sense of what's going on in our life. And so I walked away with this experience in Belgium's fairy tale Bluebell Forest with five, maybe six or seven lessons. One was all about timing. Remember the timing it has to be just right for the bluebells to get enough light from the leafless beech trees, and the soil has to be just warm enough. That is God's timing, isn't it? He knows exactly when to make that happen and he knows exactly when to make our blooming time happen. Second, a conscious awareness to the beautiful invitations of God that we have no idea are coming our way. It'll be just a suggestion, like Jose's, I think you should rent a car, load it up and you all, the Rairdon women, should go on a picnic and spend the day in Halibos. It'll be magical. And it was hard work getting there, trust me, very, very hard work, but it was worth it. We pressed through the obstacles that stood in our way and we got there.
Janell:
Three stick to the path. I chose this because I feel like when I read that in that article, stick to the path, because if you get off the path you might crunch, you might step on the hyacinths and then the next year they won't bloom. So we each have a path. And yesterday you know I love license plates, the signature ones I had one come in front of me that said light. The way, of course, it was abbreviated, it can only be seven letters, but it said light the way. Of course it was abbreviated, it can only be seven letters, but it said light the way. And I just said, oh God, yes, light the way, keep me on the right path, help me, stick to your path For, like I said before, we have to make that conscious connection.
Janell:
Once we have received that invitation from God, hey, I want you to go here. Or maybe it's a little whisper that says just go sit on your front porch for a few minutes and listen to the birds. I have something to say to you. Just go, take a walk, take out your headphones, don't listen to this podcast. Stop for a minute and just listen. I have a whisper coming your way, it's coming your way.
Janell:
We have to connect consciously, we have to make an effort and then find a spot that speaks to you right, like when we went through the mud and we connected on the path and we were aware and we were open and we were ready to receive and all of a sudden, a clearing opened. And I'm telling you it was mystical, it was magical, it was amazing. The light, the sun, the pictures, the photos are incredible. And then breathe it all in and make your exhale slower than your inhale, I'm going to let God speak to you through that. There's a message there tucked away just for you, because when you make the exhale longer than the inhale, it sends a psychological message to your body I'm safe, I can relax, it's okay. I was on the plane, the final leg of my train from Dulles to Norfolk, and a storm was in the sky and it was a tiny hopper and that plane was jumping up and down and I just breathed in and I exhaled and made sure my exhale was longer than my inhale and I said I'm okay, I'm safe, it's all going to be okay.
Janell:
And then I'll leave you with the last life lesson All of this experience of forest bathing, taking a walk in nature, consciously connecting to God and his gifts along our path, as we stick to our individual paths, put everything into perspective and remember that word perspective. We have been talking about it over and over again, how vital our perspective is. It informs everything in our life, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Our life, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Help God, change the perspective in your mindset from one of worry to one of faith, from one of stress, to one of calm, to one of peace instead of frightfulness or fretfulness. Our God is able to do so. So I'm going to leave you with this meditation from Psalm 23, and I'm reading from the Living Bible Because the Lord is my shepherd, because the Lord is my shepherd, I have everything I need is my shepherd, I have everything I need.
Janell:
He lets me rest in the meadow grass and leads me beside the quiet streams I adhere.
Janell:
He leads me into the ancient forest of Halibos boss, into the beautiful bluebells and the statuesque beach trees.
Janell:
There he gives me new strength. He helps me to stick to the path and to do what honors him the most. Even when walking through the dark valley of death or, I will add, through the muddy, muddy paths where I can easily get stuck and want to turn around, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me, guarding, guiding all the way. You will send the very wise, wise guides to tell me just get through the mud, move through the muddy path and I will put you on a strong, secure path that you can move smoothly. You provide delicious food for me in the presence of my enemies. You have welcomed me as your guest into this beautiful place where blessings overflow. Your goodness, god, and unfailing kindness, your hasad kindness, h-a-s-a-d. Shall be with me all of my life, every single second of my life and afterwards. I will live with you forever in your home. I will live with you forever in your home. Heartlifter, I wish you blue bell, blue bell blessings today, bluebell Blessings today. May you inhale and exhale and receive God's peace.