How can you engage with nature and understand it better? Which sorts of messages does nature store in itself? What can you do to help redress nature’s trauma?
In this podcast episode, Lisa Lewis interviews J. Phoenix Smith about unlocking nature’s healing potential and navigating reciprocal relationships for restoration and healing.
Meet J. Phoenix Smith
J. Phoenix Smith lives on the lands of the Ocaneechi nation in Durham North Carolina. She is an Initiated Elder and Priest of the Spirit of Nature or Oricha known as Aganyu in the Earth-based Afro-Cuban Lucumi traditional African Religion. She serves as an Ecospiritual teacher and mentor, Ecotherapist, and public health professional, and has been a thought leader in the field of Ecotherapy for over a decade, and is the founder of The Alliance for Ecotherapy & Social Justice.
Visit Ecosoul Wisdom and The Alliance for Ecotherapy & Social Justice. Connect with J. Phoenix Smith on LinkedIn.
IN THIS PODCAST:
- Techniques to stay grounded
- Redressing Nature’s Trauma
- Engaging and Listening to Nature
- Phoenix’s Advice to HSP’s
Techniques to stay grounded
J. Phoenix Smith has many practices that they engage with to remain grounded. These include:
- Meditation and Mindfulness Practices, including silent meditation
- Tending to plants
- Physical embodiment: Walking in places where they feel restoration and peace.
- Practicing Spiritual Hygiene
Not everybody has access to beautiful trails that are close by or they don’t have a car. Whoever you are, there are different ways that people can engage with the natural world, from sitting out in parks to taking walks.
J. Phoenix Smith
In addition, J. Phoenix Smith also works with communities who have suffered historical and intergenerational trauma, and in so doing, grounds themself through their engagement.
Redressing Nature’s Trauma
This land is so full of a lot of pain. The blood and sacrifice of people, families, of whole communities of indigenous people; genocide. It lives in the earth, and highly sensitive people can sometimes sense that pain as well.
J. Phoenix Smith
J. Phoenix Smith explains that historical trauma and injustices are stored in the earth and nature. Therefore, we need to seek ways to redress these traumas.
J. Phoenix Smith suggests that to begin the healing process we need to step into reciprocity and step away from exploitation. They posit that many of the world’s conflicts are centered around land and resources – and by engaging in reciprocity, we could break the cycle of trauma that has governed so many people’s lives.
So it’s never too late to be able to tap into really explore your own values which I think therapists and healers like you Lisa, help us do, to see how the earth is a partner, and the earth lives within you and really engage with that principle of reciprocity on a deeper level.
J. Phoenix Smith
Engaging and Listening to Nature
Different locations have different histories, and consequently, have different stories which are stored in the land. Therefore, when HSPs in particular travel to a new location, they are likely to have a unique experience and engagement with it.
Therefore, it’s important when you enter a new space, to first ask, ‘Am I welcome here?’
If you’re not welcome, that’s okay. Say thank you, move on, and ask again.
When you do find that you are welcomed in a space, it’s then important to take 10-20 minutes to ask, ‘What do I need to know?’
It could be a word, it could be a sign, it could be a vision or an image.
Lisa Lewis
J. Phoenix Smith’s Advice to HSPs
As a Highly Sensitive Person, or someone that loves someone that’s highly sensitive, the natural world is a place of so much love for all of us and I think that as a Highly Sensitive person, we’re sensitive to those frequencies as well.
J. Phoenix Smith
J. Phoenix Smith encourages listeners to engage and listen to the natural world as a means to both heal the land and each other.
RESOURCES MENTIONED AND USEFUL LINKS
Visit Ecosoul Wisdom and The Alliance for Ecotherapy & Social Justice. Connect with J. Phoenix Smith on LinkedIn.
Find Out More About Sensitive in Nature
Practice of the Practice Network
Rate, review, and subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Audible/Amazon, and Spotify.
CONNECT WITH ME
Email me: lisa@amiokpodcast.com
ABOUT THE SENSITIVE IN NATURE PODCAST
So you’ve been told that you’re “too sensitive” and perhaps you replay situations in your head. Wondering if you said something wrong? You’re like a sponge, taking in every word, reading all situations. Internalizing different energies, but you’re not sure what to do with all of this information. You’re also not the only one asking yourself, “am I ok?” Lisa Lewis is here to tell you, “It’s totally ok to feel this way.”
Join Lisa, a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, as she hosts her, Am I Ok? Podcast. With over 20 years of education, training, and life experience, she specializes in helping individuals with issues related to being an empath and a highly sensitive person.
Society, and possibly your own experiences, may have turned your thinking of yourself as being a highly sensitive person into something negative. Yet, in reality, it is something that you can – and should – take ownership of. It’s the sixth sense to fully embrace, which you can harness to make positive changes in your life and in the lives of others.
This may all sound somewhat abstract, but on the Am I Ok? Podcast, Lisa shares practical tips and advice you can easily apply to your own life. Lisa has worked with adults from various backgrounds and different kinds of empaths, and she’s excited to help you better connect with yourself. Are you ready to start your journey?