by Kimberly | Mar 14, 2023 | Church, Spirituality
Wildwood Wisdom gathers on the first Sunday of each month for Sacred Sundays, an expression of Wild Church in The Netherlands. What is Wild Church?
The Wild Church movement is an expression of faith that is emerging in response to the desire of some individuals to connect with spirituality and nature in a more direct and embodied way. This movement emphasizes the integration of nature, ritual, and community in a way that steps beyond the confines of domesticated faith, recognizing the harm often caused by institutionalized religion, and lives into human longing for connection to self, others and the sacred permeating all of creation.
The Wild Church movement is as diverse as the varied landscapes we call home forms, but some of its key features include:
- Outdoor worship: Many Wild Church communities hold their gatherings in natural settings such as forests, rivers, or mountains. This allows participants to connect with the beauty and power of nature, and to feel a sense of awe and wonder that is often missing from more traditional forms of worship.
- Embodied practices: Wild Church services often involve physical movement, such as dancing, drumming, or hiking. This allows participants to engage with their bodies in a way that is often lacking in more sedentary forms of worship.
- Ritual and symbolism: Wild Church communities often draw on ancient and indigenous traditions to create their own unique rituals and ceremonies. These may involve elements such as fire, water, stones, or plants, and may be designed to connect participants with the natural cycles of the earth and the seasons.
- Community building: Wild Church communities often place a strong emphasis on building relationships and connections among their members. This may involve sharing meals, participating in group activities, or simply spending time together in nature.
There are manifestations of Wild Church all over the world. Wildwood Wisdom is part of the largest network of wild churches, The Wild Church Network. I also serve as a digital community guide in their online platform, The Ecosystem. You can learn more about Wild Church and find a community to visit at The Wild Church Network.
by Kimberly | Mar 14, 2023
We gather the first Sunday of each month to honor the sacred web of life of which we are a part. We gather outside in parks and forests to re-connect with one another and our nature kin.
Our guides are the flora and fauna of South Holland, the lindens and pines, the wild geese and the sweet songbirds, the green mosses and the grey stones, and of course, each other. We are inspired by the Sacred Spark that dwells in and between us all.
Wildwood Wisdom honors all sacred traditions – everyone, everyone, everyone is welcome. We recognize sacredness in all of creation – human and the more than human world. These Sundays offer a step out of ordinary time for connection, mindfulness, lament and joy, saunters and sit-spots, wandering and wondering, shared readings and opportunities for engagement.
Please bring a light chair, ground-friendly cushion or a blanket to sit on. During our cold months, also bring yourself a warm beverage and whatever else you may need to be comfortable in the outdoors. You can also grab a coffee or tea at the teahouse. Hats and mittens are encouraged 🙂
Light nibbles will be provided.
We will meet in front of the teahouse.
Wildwood Sundays are free gatherings, but donations to cover the cost of snacks are appreciated.
Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean—
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down—
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don’t know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?
—Mary Oliver
by Kimberly | Mar 14, 2023
We gather the first Sunday of each month to honor the sacred web of life of which we are a part. We gather outside in parks and forests to re-connect with one another and our nature kin.
Our guides are the flora and fauna of South Holland, the lindens and pines, the wild geese and the sweet songbirds, the green mosses and the grey stones, and of course, each other. We are inspired by the Sacred Spark that dwells in and between us all.
Wildwood Wisdom honors all sacred traditions – everyone, everyone, everyone is welcome. We recognize sacredness in all of creation – human and the more than human world. These Sundays offer a step out of ordinary time for connection, mindfulness, lament and joy, saunters and sit-spots, wandering and wondering, shared readings and opportunities for engagement.
Please bring a light chair, ground-friendly cushion or a blanket to sit on. During our cold months, also bring yourself a warm beverage and whatever else you may need to be comfortable in the outdoors. You can also grab a coffee or tea at the teahouse. Hats and mittens are encouraged 🙂
Light nibbles will be provided.
We will meet in front of the teahouse.
Wildwood Sundays are free gatherings, but donations to cover the cost of snacks are appreciated.
Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean—
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down—
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don’t know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?
—Mary Oliver
by Kimberly | Mar 13, 2023
- Where do I start with Facebook Ads?
- Can I customize who sees my ads?
- Is it too expensive for a small business?
With billions of people checking in on Facebook and Instagram every day, social media is one of the most effective ways to advertise your heart-centered business. When done well, Facebook and Instagram ads can help you as a heart-centered professional share your work, generate conversations, and invite more people into your practice.
Join Kimberly Knight, a nature therapy guide and online community builder, to learn how to create ads for potential clients based on demographics, interests, and location, making it more likely that your content will connect with people who are a good match for your offerings.
by Kimberly | Mar 13, 2023
- How important is a well-designed website?
- What is WordPress and is it for me?
- What is SEO and is it difficult?
If you want people to find your heart-centered business, your website needs to appear in the Google search results. The way to ensure that people can find you is to make Google’s algorithm finds your website as the most relevant website for a particular search. That’s where SEO comes in.
Search Engine Optimization is a set of simple marketing practices designed to help search engines notice you. The higher your website appears in search results, the more people can find you, engage with your content, and reach out to you for help on their well-being journey.
Join Kimberly Knight, a nature therapy guide and online community builder, to learn the basics of WordPress website creation and search engine optimization.
by Kimberly | Mar 13, 2023 | Coaching, Courses, Creativity
Although it may feel antithetical to our calling as nature therapy guides, a calling often informed by a desire to help people unplug from technology and recharge in nature, it really is essential for a nature-connected wellpreneur to have an engaging online presence to invite potential clients and into your wellness practice. This is where search engine optimization (SEO) comes in.
SEO is the process of optimizing your website and content to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs) for relevant keywords. By optimizing your website for search engines, you can increase your visibility and attract more potential clients to your site.
Prelude to strategic tips: devote a walk or sit-spot to the process of journaling about your story and why you do the nature-connected work you do. Don’t edit as you write, just invite freedom of expression into your writing. When you return home from your walk, take time to notice what words resonate strongly with you. Are there any words that occur more than once? Are you noticing any patterns in the language you use to describe your work?
Okay, now to the nerdy stuff!
- Keyword research: Start by researching the keywords and phrases that people may use to search for forest bathing or nature therapy. Expand from there and think about how people talk and write about the health benefits of time spent in nature. Incorporate these keywords into your website content, including your page titles, meta descriptions, headers, and body text.
- Optimize your website structure: Make sure your website is well-structured and easy to navigate. Use clear and descriptive URLs, organize your content into categories and subcategories, and include internal links between related pages. This will not only improve the user experience but also make it easier for search engines to visit, scan and index your site.
- Content creation: Offer your website visitors the same level of rich, engaging content that you would on a walk or other nature-connected program. Think first and often about content that’s relevant to them. This could include blog posts, articles, videos, and infographics. Use your chosen keywords in your content, but avoid keyword stuffing (using keywords excessively in an attempt to manipulate search engine rankings). Focus on creating content that is meaningful to you and engaging for your readers.
- Local SEO: If you offer forest bathing services in a specific location, make sure to optimize your website for local SEO. This includes creating a Google My Business listing, including your location in your website content, and getting listed in local directories and review sites.
- Social media: Use social media to promote your nature-connected services. This helps people find your website. Share your blog posts and other content on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Give TikTok a spin if you feel like it! You don’t have to take on all social media platforms at once, Start where you are active already, or choose one platform to explore and expand. Engage with your followers and participate in relevant online communities to build your online presence.
- Monitor your progress: Use tools like Google Analytics and Google Search Console to track your website’s performance and monitor your SEO progress. This will help you identify areas for improvement and make data-driven decisions to optimize your website and content.
I know it can feel like a whole lot of screen time, but once you have created the ideal environment for your digital acre to thrive, (by following these handy-dandy SEO tips), you really can improve your online visibility and attract more clients to your heart-centered services. Remember, SEO is an ongoing process, so be sure to water, weed and watch your website’s performance and make adjustments as needed to help the people who need you, find you.
by Kimberly | Mar 13, 2023 | Church, Courses, Spirituality
EcoSpiritual Leaders: Encounters with Wholeness
An Eight Week Online Course with the BTS Center
April 20, 2023 – June 15, 2023
Live Zoom session dates listed below
Asynchronous content offered via an online course platform called Thinkific
In this course we will engage our minds, bodies, and spirits in explorations of ideas and practices aligned with EcoSpirituality. We will move through four sections — Gratitude & Grief, Forest Bathing, EcoSpiritual Practices, and Creation Care. Each section will consist of two weeks. Every two weeks participants will engage in a bit of reading to pique our curiosity, watch a video to expand our understanding, experience embodied practice to connect us with nature, craft a prayer to nourish our spirits, complete an “invitation,” and participate in a conversation to collaborate in our interdependent growth. The anticipated time commitment outside of the live sessions is 2-3 hours per week, but you are welcome to spend as much time delving into the content as you desire.
The course will consist of five live sessions as well as asynchronous learning activities and an optional half-day online retreat.
