Finding Deeper Meaning in Nature

Experience the beauty and healing that can be found within the natural world at the program, “Seeing the Forest Through the Trees: Finding Deeper Meaning in Nature,” on Sunday, September 22, from 1-3 pm, at Grey Towers National Historic Site, Milford, PA.

This free panel discussion and optional field excursion with authors John Harvey and Doug Bill is part of the Milford Readers & Writers Festival. Co-sponsored by Pike/Wayne Conservation Partnership and the US Forest Service at Grey Towers, with support from the Grey Towers Heritage Association, the program will be moderated by Sandy Long, Executive Director of SEEDS.

Grey Towers hosts public programs that help carry forward the conservation legacy of Gifford Pinchot, founder of the US Forest Service and two-term Governor of Pennsylvania.

John Harvey, author of The Stillness of the Living Forest: A Year of Listening and Learning, is a naturalist and consulting psychologist whose years of experience helped him to appreciate the healing potential of a nature connection. He completed a year-long commitment to sit an hour each week in the same spot in the woods. As he settled into his routine of visiting his “sit spot” and fully engaging his senses, rich and illuminating experiences began to unfold.

Doug Bill’s work is focused on bringing a profound, spiritual truth into a hectic world. During the early 1970s, he traveled to India and Nepal, where deeply moving experiences in overcrowded villages, along with later advanced studies in psychology and spirituality, awakened him to the oneness of all life. Those experiences planted the seeds for his book Living the Namaste Principle, which outlines his quest to awaken, access, and embody the awareness of the divinity within.

Following the panel discussion, Harvey and Bill will lead an optional field excursion that will include a brief sensory-based meditative experience and a Wander Walk. It is a unique opportunity for festival goers to interact with the authors and gain new insights into what informs their writing.

The program will be held rain or shine; dress for the weather and with appropriate footwear for uneven terrain. Light refreshments will be served and pre-registration is appreciated at 570-296- 9630 or greytowers.org.

For more information about the Milford Readers & Writers Festival
visit milfordreadersandwriters.com.