Animism, Creativity, and a Tree: Shifting into Nature Connection

111Canadian Journal of Environmental Education, 19, 2014

Animism, Creativity, and a Tree: Shifting into Nature

Connection through Attention to Subtle Energies and

Contemplative Art Practice

Michelle Flowers, University of Saskatchewan; Lisa Lipsett, Creative by Nature Art Centre;

M.J. Barrett, University of Saskatchewan, Canada

Abstract:

What can happen when the “monkey mind” of habitual conceptual thought is

awakened to the more-than-human through attention to subtle energies and art-

making? Drawing on autoethnographic methods, we demonstrate how one gradu-

ate student’s creative engagement with a tree brought animist theory to life. This

paper illustrates how a combination of time-in-relation, the contemplative art-

making practice of Creative Nature Connection, and special attention to subtle

energies—the dark matter being addressed in this paper—can enable experiencing

a tree as a sentient autonomous being. We address implications for environmental

education and introduce easily doable principles for shifting into connection and

opening to the unseen energy that connects all life.

Résumé

Que peut-il se passer lorsque notre “cerveau primate » de la pensée conceptuelle est

éveillée au plus qu’humain par une attention aux énergies subtiles et aux processus

artistiques? Avec l’auto-ethnographie comme approche méthodologique, nous

démontrons comment l’engagement créatif d’une étudiante des cycles supérieurs

avec un arbre a fait éclore une théorie animiste. Cet article illustre la manière dont

la combinaison du temps-en-relation, d’une pratique contemplative du processus

créatif « Creative Nature Connection », et d’une attention particulière aux énergies

subtiles –la matière noire soulevée dans ce numéro permettent l’expérience de

l’arbre comme entité autonome et sensible. Nous examinons quelles sont les

conséquences pour l’éducation relative à l’environnement et introduisons des

principes simples permettant l’ouverture et le désir de connecter avec l’invisible

de l’énergie vitale.

Keywords: environmental education, subtle energy, eco-art education, animism,

creativity, embodiment, relational ontology, contemplative art practice, Creative

Nature Connection, nature connection

112 Michelle Flowers, Lisa Lipsett & M.J. Barrett

Introduction

Many educators and scholars in the environnmental ﬁeld suggest that a socially

constructed human-nature dualism is at the heart of all environmental problems

(e.g., Bai, 2009; Plumwood, 2002). This dualism separates humans from non-

human others, establishing the universe as a collection of objects, rather than

communion of subjects (Berry, 1988). In response, many environmental edu-

cation practitioners and researchers have identiﬁed and advocated for the im-

portance of “connection” with the more-than-human (e.g., Abram, 1996, 2010;

Barnhardt & Kawagley, 2010; Cajete, 1999; Palmer, 1998; Sobel, 2008 ). Given

the often intangible, embodied, and energetic nature of this connection, we

cannot think our way into it. Connecting requires more than a simple change in

thinking; it requires a shift in consciousness coupled with ﬁrst-hand experience.

Both, we argue, can be supported through a combination of time-in-relation

with non-human others and creative practices that expand our awareness.

In this paper, we explore the roles of attention to subtle energies and con-

templative art-making in shifting us into nature connection. We begin by ex-

plaining our methodology and locating ourselves as researchers and practitio-

ners, then provide some background on subtle energies and nature connection.

We then brieﬂy describe the graduate course context of Michelle’s experiences

before turning the paper over to her autoethnographic writing, artwork, and re-

ﬂections. We close the paper by summarizing key learning from Michelle’s story,

and sharing implications for environmental education practice.

To illustrate how a combination of time-in-relation, the contemplative art-

making practice of Creative Nature Connection, and special attention to subtle

energies enabled this student to experience a tree as a sentient autonomous

being, we chose to draw on the reﬂexivity of autoethnographic writing. Auto-

ethnography is particularly appropriate because of its ability to challenge dis-

courses (Ellis, 2004) and provide a voice for individuals and ideas traditionally

left out of social sciences (Ellis, 2004; Muncey, 2010). By opening doorways to

the intimate lived experiences of the lead author, this methodology provides

space for subjugated knowledges and ways of knowing “that dominant culture

neglects, excludes, represses, or simply fails to recognise” (Muncey, 2010, p. 44).

Michelle’s story, which appears in the middle of the paper, illustrates how open-

ing to the subtle energies of a tree challenges the materialist subject-object dual-

ism that has provided a convenient ﬁt for Western frameworks of knowing and

being which still dominate much environmental education practice. This paper

is a combination of our collective voices and ideas. Michelle Flowers has a Mas-

ter’s degree from the University of Saskatchewan and is an artist and alternative

health practitioner. Lisa Lipsett is an artist and educator who has developed the

Creative Nature Connection practice that Michelle worked with. M.J. Barrett de-

signed and instructed the course from which this manuscript emerged. We are

all sustained by spiritual connections to earth. All of us are white. Lisa and M.J.

are settler Canadians, and Michelle, a transplanted Australian.

113Animism, Creativity, and a Tree

Subtle Energies and Nature Connection

The notion of subtle energies may provide an essential key to understanding the

animated perception and participatory consciousness inherent in nature connec-

tion (Bai, 2009, 2013). As Bai (2013) notes, a focus on “the perceiver experienc-

ing the whole world/earth as vibrating and pulsing with qi …promises to be very

helpful” (n.p.) for moving beyond dualistic thinking. While the presence of subtle

energy is recognized in many cultures: for example, qi/ki in China and Japan;

prana in India; atua in Maori; gana in South America; mana in Paciﬁc civilizations;

wakan in Lakota (Wilber, 2006); there is no one speciﬁc term that is used within

western traditions (Kaptchuk, 2000). The lack of western academic consensus re-

garding its very existence, and the challenge of ﬁnding a language to describe it,

relegates the knowledge gained from using modalities that profess to work with

subtle energies as naive, impossible, and often, inconsequential (Flowers, 2014).

To illustrate this problem, Maciocia (1989) in Foundations of Chinese Medicine ex-

plains that qi is something that is both material and immaterial at once, and that

its ﬂuid and transformational nature eludes description when utilizing a language

based in western Cartesian diochotomy. Further, Levin (2011) in his exploration

of energy healers (alternate medical practitioners that utilize these subtle ener-

gies in their healing work) describes qi as a circulating subtle energy or lifeforce—

ever present, yet unseen. Because of its ethereal nature, its frequent association

with things “new age” or “ﬂakey,” and its misalignment with the dualistic nature

of modern western thought, discussion of subtle energies is seldom included in

environmental education (See Bai, 2013, for a notable exception).

Natural History Journal

and Contemplative Art Practice

Michelle’s experience took place in response to a reﬂective journaling assignment

in a graduate-level elective course, ENVS 811: Multiple Ways of Knowing in

Environmental Decision-Making, taught at the University of Saskatchewan.

The course is designed to support students’ investigation into different ways of

knowing. Part of the course entails exploration of the potential of an “animist

turn” in epistemology, human-nature relations, and environmental education.

Situated in the context of an interdisciplinary graduate program in environment

and sustainability, the course readings and activities invite students to investigate

the notion that humans may exist physically, spiritually, and energetically in

relation with other-than-human beings (i.e., a “relational ontology”). Students

also critically examine discourses and knowledge hierarchies that make engaging

such relationality difﬁcult, impossible, or unbelievable (Barrett, 2011). This one-

semester course engages aspects of both decolonization and reinhabitation

(Greenwood, 2013), focusing in particular on how colonization has resulted in

narrowly framed understandings of how a person—whether Indigenous or not—

can come to know and be in a place (see Bai, 2009; Barrett & Wuetherick, 2012).

114 Michelle Flowers, Lisa Lipsett & M.J. Barrett

To support experiential engagement in the twinned acts of decolonization

and reinhabition (Greenwood, 2013), a core course assignment entitled “the

natural history journal” invites students to move beyond thinking about nature

to embodied engagement with a natural being. Following Bai (2009), students are

encouraged to move beyond habitual conceptual thought to open awareness,

allowing “reanimation of our numbed perceptual consciousness so that the

earth appears to us in full sentience and presence” (p. 136). According to Bai

(2013, drawing on Appelbaum, 1995), such an opening requires the stop: “an

event, a movement in one’s experience wherein the automaticity of thought

comes to a halt and gives away to an embodied awareness” (n.p.; see also

Bai, 2003). Expanding on Fawcett, Bell and Russell (2002), the intention of the

natural history journal assignment is to invite students into a lived experience

of connection, leading to a restored ecological or participatory consciousness

(Bai, 2009; Conn, 2007).

Students are asked to slow down and pay attention to direct experience. This

supports them to open and allow themselves “to be chosen by a natural being”

(Conn, 2007, n.p.; Conn & Conn, 2009). This being could be anything: perhaps

a tree, the wind, a river, a stone, or an animal. Students spend approximately

20-30 minutes with their being at least three times a week. To assist them with

the journal assignment they are introduced to Creative Nature Connection (CNC),

a hands-on contemplative drawing and painting practice that is sense-based, in-

tuitive, feeling-centered, and embodied, supporting a shift from thinking about

nature to strengthening direct engagement (Lipsett, 2013). When following the

CNC Create Cycle, students set an intention; ask for permission to connect;

direct their attention to breath, energy, and direct sensory engagement; tune

in to another being and create; let images and nature speak; express gratitude;

write down what they notice or wonder about; and reﬂect on process and im-

ages over time. Students follow the guidance of their hands and intuitive know-

ing as they engage in creative interaction with their natural being. They paint

with ﬁngertips directly on the page using both hands simultaneously, and paint

or draw with their left hand (to access right-brain processing), sometimes with

eyes open, sometimes closed. CNC brings attention to more than one sense at

the same time and balances sight (a dominant sense for many) with sound and

touch to awaken fresh ways to connect.

In addition to CNC, students are encouraged to both engage in their

own previously acquired practices and to try new ones, including sketching,

photography, meditation, poetry, and documentation of physical observations.

Recording intuitive perceptions, reﬂective insights, and empirical observations

are all encouraged. At the same time as they are engaging in these activities on

their own, students are also reading and discussing a wide range of academic

literature and listening to the teachings of First Nations Elders.

As part of their ﬁnal exam, students write a synthesis of their natural

history journal experiences where they are asked to: (a) provide a summary

115

of their experiences; (b) draw on course teachings, readings, class discussions,

student seminars, and guest presentations to propose a theoretical explanation

for some of their experiences; and (c) discuss implications of the above for

future personal and professional contexts or their planned research study. The

journal assignment both supports the embodied experience and provides a

space for reﬂection and exploration of how connections change over time. The

synthesis follow-up provides a window into meaning and signiﬁcance. Each

student begins at their own starting point regardless of past experience. Yearly,

students identify the journaling activities as providing a concrete experience of

perspectives that they would otherwise be just hearing or reading about—ideas

they might conceptually grasp but not internally know, have an opportunity to

experience ﬁrst-hand, or understand at a personal level.

Connecting with “Blue”

We turn now to Michelle’s autethnographic account of art-making in connection

with a Colorado blue spruce tree to explore how her ability to access and

experience subtle energes can further our collective thinking about how to move

toward more participatory human-nature relationships.

And you my tree friend, you now walk the earth with every step that I take. You have

grown legs because you now reside within my heart. (Journal entry, 8 December, 2011)

Let me introduce you to my friend Blue—a Colorado blue spruce. His roots are

embedded in my neighbour’s yard, yet he hangs over our fence providing a

shady canopy in the summer and protection from the cold when it snows. His

needles are silvery blue/grey with hints of sage depending on the season’s light.

These colours and tones shift and change as he takes on the various garbs of his

different moods. When I look towards his uppermost branches, I notice a raw

missing void: the result of a vicious storm that blew through two years ago. In

response, there is an intensity of surging growth as the remaining upper limbs

vie for the position of tallest point.

As I sat with Blue for a semester, sketching, painting, journaling and medi-

tating, a story of our relationship emerged. This story may not be your story, it

might not reﬂect your beliefs or persuasions, your truth or your ontological lean-

ings, however it is a glimpse into what is possible when the grip on an absolute

truth is released and unfamiliar realities are welcomed in.

From the very beginning of the natural history journal process, I struggled

to ﬁnd an authentic pronoun for Blue in my reﬂective writing. Using “it” failed

to encompass the depth of connection that I was already feeling for my new

friend.

Animism, Creativity, and a Tree

116 Michelle Flowers, Lisa Lipsett & M.J. Barrett

Figure 1. Still reaching upwards. 6 November, 2011

Figure 2. Art-making with Blue. 27 November, 2011

As an artist, I was eager to explore the creative invitation that was extended

as part of the natural history journal instructions, and therefore I jumped right

into the CNC process. When I experimented with drawing while my eyes were

closed I found that my awareness gravitated towards the subtle energies I could

feel radiating from Blue. With a focus on these sensations, I began to express

them on the page before me, my hand moving in sweeping gestures that were

ﬂuid and unrestrained.

I feel the acknowledgement of the spirit of this tree...

I feel “it” bow its head in silent acknowledgment—

a smile [of] warmth and friendliness. (Journal entry,

8 September, 2011)

As I pondered the limitations of

the English language to describe a

being that exists beyond gender, I

sensed an older, grandfather energy,

gentle and patient, quiet and ready

to teach. I was reminded of my

own grandfather, so in memory

of him and in honour of this new

friend, I took up the pronoun “he,”

fully acknowledging that this wasn’t

exactly correct either. It wasn’t long

after, that the name “Blue” came into

being as a response to my desire for

a more intimate way to identify him.

117

Figure 3. Inside my tree. 21 September, 2011

Figure 4. Closed eyes, left-hand connection.

21 September, 2011

Encouraged by the creative permission and freedom I experienced when I drew

with my eyes closed, I undertook other CNC activities enthusiastically. When

I painted with my ﬁngers directly on the paper, using both my dominant and

non-dominant hand, I was enthralled by the physical sensations of the paint

on my skin. I could feel the tacky texture of the pigment—wet enough to ﬁll

the ridges of my ﬁngerprints and aching to be set free on the paper. When I

placed my hand on the bare white page, I closed my eyes and released control

of my hands. As they moved in a dance of textures and colour, I inhaled deeply

and revelled in the freedom that I felt. The result was more than just a visual

representation of Blue—I was expressing the movement of his branches in the

wind and the light that shone from the sun, warming up each individual spruce

needle: sensations that I had just felt when I closed my eyes and watched the

division between the two of us dissolve.

Animism, Creativity, and a Tree

Figure 5. Closed eyes, right-hand connection.

21 September, 2011

I drew this image straight away, letting

my pen move and dance across the page

wherever it felt like moving. With my eyes

closed, the inside of his trunk looked like

it was full of ﬂames and the intensity

and light that I saw showed me how alive

and vibrant Blue really is. Perhaps this is

his true self: a glowing, ethereal magical

being, masquerading as an earth-bound

tree. (Journal entry, 21 September, 2011)

118 Michelle Flowers, Lisa Lipsett & M.J. Barrett

Figure 6. Left-hand impressions. 28 September, 2011

Although this assignment was undertaken in a surburban neighbourhood, I of-

ten found myself enveloped by a feeling of calmness; a reaction I usually have

when I am out of the city spending time in the forest. This feeling of tranquility

was something that I greatly appreciated as a balm to the typical stresses of

graduate studies. When I sat outside with Blue, I felt my heart rate drop and my

anxiety replaced by feelings of serenity and peace. In sitting with my friend and

quieting my mind, I was able to observe the slower pace of this tree spirit and

feel love and reverence for this regal being.

I’m struck with a calmness in my heart.. ...By giving attention and thoughts of love—I

instantly receive them back. (Journal entry, 18 October, 2011)

If I close my eyes and feel the connection and

link between the two of us ... I feel my ﬁngers

as outstretched tree limbs and pine needles. I

am growing into the spinning blue ether of the

Saskatchewan sky. (Journal entry, 28 September,

2011)

Figure 7. Sharing energy. 9 October, 2011

119

In order to vary my experiences and the observations I was recording in my

journal, I also sat outside with Blue in the evening, reﬂecting on the distinctive

sensations that came with the changing light. As the day slowly waned and the

night sounds came alive, I learned that when I sat and experienced the natural

world in connection with Blue, my senses were more attuned. I could smell the

turning of the seasons on the cool night breeze and feel the chill of winter’s

approaching touch, ﬂicking at my cheek.

It’s immediate—the difference in smells and sounds when sitting outside at night.

Everything has a getting-ready-for-winter kind of smell. [It reminds me] of the recognition

of the seasons that comes with a life focused on nature. (Journal entry, 1 October, 2011)

Deepening our Relationship

The core of the tree is like a giant glowing heart—emanating energy—circular, expansive,

beyond the physical—outward, engulﬁng, light, glowing, energetic, ethereal. (Journal

entry, 26 November, 2011)

The moment when I experienced a clear and unmistakeable example of Blue’s

autonomy and sentience occurred when my mind was focused on my own in-

ner thoughts, as opposed to my connection with Blue. On this one particular

morning I found myself outside my back door, pacing back and forth in frustra-

tion. An unexpected house guest was distracting me from deadlines and mak-

ing my usual study space uninhabitable. As my anxiety rose, goading me to the

brink of tears, I sat below the branches of my friend, wondering what I would do

about this stressful situation. With my thoughts focused on my growing tension,

I was interrupted as clearly as if a hand had been placed on my shoulder. I felt

Animism, Creativity, and a Tree

Figure 8. Beautiful bark. 25 October, 2011

120 Michelle Flowers, Lisa Lipsett & M.J. Barrett

an energetic outpouring of love and support ﬂowing towards me from the open

heart of Blue, pushing away my anxiety and calming my nerves. In that instant

I was overwhelmed by the intensity of this experience and I realized that his

energy had been entirely unsolicitied and unexpected. The love that I could feel

pouring towards me was so obviously ﬂowing from Blue that it broke through

the tumultuous thoughts and stress that had, only moments before, been over-

whelming me.

I’m fully washed over with peace all of a sudden—it starts in my heart and I feel my

whole body react. My shoulders drop their tension, my breathing deepens and slows

[and] after a noticeable sigh, I feel still. (Journal entry, 31 October, 2011)

It was in this instance that I became fully aware of the independent life standing

right in front of me. I realized this truth profoundly and was moved by its imme-

diacy. It was as if all of the theory that I have learnt about our intimate connec-

tion with nature was conﬁrmed by my physical experience and unquestionable

awareness of this deeply supportive relationship.

I feel love and beauty and joy ﬂow from Blue to me and with it, my own gratitude that I

have witnessed his energy as a unique and sentient being—alive and powerful—a being

just like ourselves. (Journal entry, 2 November, 2011)

As the semester moved on and my relationship with Blue deepened, I found my

art-making activities continued to provide opportunities for me to experience

I sent my attention out to my tree and felt

his core. [It was] a single vein of glowing

light running through the centre, luminous

and [radiant]. Then I found this same core

reﬂected [and ﬂowing through] me. (Journal

entry, 16 November, 2011)

Figure 9. Veins of Gold. 16 November, 2011

121

Blue’s autonomous spirit directly. By opening to these creative processes it was

as if I was instantly plugging myself in and connecting with him. Because these

art-making practices came with inherent instructions to release and let go of

my often critical/thinking/planning mind, I stepped outside of my typical artistic

mindset. I discovered that in releasing my attachment to the ﬁnal product, my

awareness became centred on the process. As I gave myself permission to open

to the ﬂow of creativity, I also became aware of the subtle energies I had previ-

ously only associated with my alternate healing practice.

When I turned my attention and inner awareness towards Blue I could feel him

in his totality, a golden glowing creature—so much more than his earthbound form.

It was during these creative experiences with Blue and my subsequent re-

ﬂection on them that I felt the most excitement and surprise. Although I be-

lieved the theory of an animate earth, personally experiencing and feeling the

independent unique spirit of Blue allowed me to truly understand the agency of

the natural world.

I directly credit this to the direct experiences. They bring it home—they make it real. It takes

the theory and makes the understanding of it deeper. (Journal entry, 7 December, 2011)

Reflections

I received many precious gifts from spending time in relationship and art-mak-

ing with Blue. Reﬂecting on my experience with the CNC process and the result-

ing paintings and drawings revealed that my creative knowing was way ahead of

my linear logical mind. More than once during this journal process and the CNC

practice I simultaneously realized something new yet felt that I had known it all

along. The colours and forms in the images held what I felt but did not yet have

words for, something that Taylor (1998) so eloquently describes as unconscious

or “not yet speech ripe” (p. 263).

Blue showed me that when I drop out of my thinking mind and focus on my

deep inner awareness, the world around me opens up as the rich interconnected

community that I know it to be. By paying attention to what I feel beyond the

typical boundaries of my daily awareness, I was able to connect with sensations

that usually pass by unnoticed. When I jumped right into the possibilities offered

by spontaneously painting with my ﬁngertips directly on the page, it was as if I

was given permission to throw myself into a pool whose waters I had previously

only been allowed to wade in, ankle deep. When I undertook creative activities

where my eyes were closed or I was using my non-dominant hand, I was able

to focus my attention on the process of creating art rather than a polished ﬁnal

product. In giving myself permission to create without concern for the outcome,

I was able to give my full attention to the embodied sensations that were ac-

companying the art-making. Not only was this liberating as an artist, it provided

me with new tools to connect with the subtle energies I usually feel when I am

practising my healing work.

Animism, Creativity, and a Tree

122 Michelle Flowers, Lisa Lipsett & M.J. Barrett

As an alternative health practitioner, my familiarity in working with subtle

energy made it a natural focus not only of my interactions with Blue, but also

of many of my drawings and paintings. It was my experiences of these subtle

perceptions that truly helped me fully understand an animist way of being in

the world. While I had previously experienced these subtle energies as a part of

my understanding of human health, my time-in-relation with Blue allowed me to

feel this same lifeforce emanating from an individual tree. Although I have had

experiences where I have felt the living sacredness of the land before, the differ-

ence with my experience during this semester was the autonomous way Blue’s

healing energy ﬂowed towards me. Before that morning it had never occurred to

me that a tree was an individual living entity that I could commune and create

with, or one that I would be able to call my friend.

Implications for Environmental Education

Michelle’s autoethnographic story is particularly instructive for examining subtle

energy as a “dark matter” in environmental education. As an artist and alternate

health practitioner who works with subtle energies, Michelle already utilized

intuition as a tool in her art-making process. Exposure to the CNC practice,

however, sparked fresh creative energy in her artwork and introduced her to

novel tools and activities that provided a new way to shift into and remain in

connection. Her ﬁnal synthesis assignment, coupled with new considerations

while we were writing this paper 18 months later, provides important reﬂections

on both the process and outcome of building a relationship with a “natural being”

by opening to subtle energy directly and through contemplative art-making.

What is missing from our ﬁeld is a thorough exploration of how attention to

these ever-present, unseen phenomena can help us be more deliberate in how

we teach shifting into connection.

For Michelle, attending to subtle energies

moved her “beyond her general connection and love of nature” to a place where

she was able to “know an individual tree spirit and understand the ramiﬁcations

of that experience” (personal communication, November 7, 2013).

This leads us to ﬁve implications for environmental education. All are

related to moving beyond human-nature dualism, toward nature connection

characterized by participatory consciousness:

1. the importance of time-in-relation;

2. the signiﬁcance of attention to subtle energies;

3. insights into how contemplative art-making can support opening to subtle

energies and a participatory consciousness;

4. the need for nature connection programming to be ﬂexibe to accommodate

multiple ways to know, and

5. the importance of looking to ﬁelds outside our own—like energy healing and

contemplative art practices—for ways to strength nature connection.

123

To experience nature connection requires a shift of consciousness, support-

ed by practices that connect (Bai, 2009, 2013; Conn & Conn, 2009). Some of the

pivotal characteristics that help us realize and hold a shift into connection are:

spontaneity, in-the-moment presence, receptivity, actively using more than one

sense simultaneously, following what attracts, cultivating joy and wonder, giving

shape and colour to our experiences, and opening our hearts.

Many scholars and educators emphasize the potential of art-making to

support such a connection (Bai, 2003; Inwood, 2008; Lipsett, 2013; London,

2003; Sweeney, 2013; van Boeckel, 2013). However, even though intimacy and

deep connection can be strengthened from practices like the solo and sit-spot

(Cohen, 1997; Young, Haas, & McGown, 2010), most nature-art initiatives neglect

to provide for a repeatable pattern of engagement over time (Bai, 2003; Lipsett,

2009). As Michelle states: “I do not believe that I would have experienced what

I did if I had only sat with him once a week.” Moving from eco-art activities

into the realm of contemplative art practice requires a depth of connection that

deepens over time.

Our human ability to make sustainable, connected environmental decisions,

so that we may live and work in harmony with nature, depends on our capacity

to open to moments when we listen and let Earth teach (Cohen, 1997). Many ar-

gue that we are hard-wired for opening and connecting (e.g., Abram, 1996; Bai,

2013). As educators, when we trust this innate capacity we strengthen belong-

ing, hope, and resilience, in ourselves and our students. Creating with nature

just may be “our healing medicine” (Bai, 2003, p. 39). By bringing ourselves

out from our enclosed world of human verbiage, we can then tune in to nature’s

creative energetic language (Abram, 1988). Opening to subtle energy and the

creative process itself supports the development of empathy, perspective taking,

creative problem-solving, a capacity for ambiguity, and understanding of mul-

tiple ways to know—all considered key capacities for nature connection. Some,

like Michelle, who are trained in alternative healing modalities, can also experi-

ence that connection through an awareness of subtle energies. The contempla-

tive practice of CNC, coupled with Michelle’s unique intuitive and energy skills,

provide one example of how nature speaks to each of us differently, and how

our individual sensitivities, skills, and perceptions allow us to connect in diverse

ways, making this story of art-making with a tree both unique yet illustrative of

a process anyone can follow. Michelle’s story also highlights how important it is

that the nature connection practices we develop are ﬂexible, allowing for varied

individual entry points, supporting personal exploration and discovery, and en-

couraging multiple ways to build lasting relationships with the natural world that

draw on knowledge gained from ﬁelds outside our own.

Regardless of what we believe, art-making done with an intention to con-

nect, whether focused on subtle energies or on empathic attunement (Gablik,

1991) and practiced for all life’s sake (Lipsett, 2001) helps us to transition from

our thoughts about things to direct felt experience. If a spruce tree or other “nat-

ural being” is expected to be a “subject” rather than “object” (Berry, 1988), then

Animism, Creativity, and a Tree

124 Michelle Flowers, Lisa Lipsett & M.J. Barrett

the kind of relationship one can have with that being expands. As Abram (1996)

suggests, by attending to our experiences “not as intangible minds but as sound-

ing, speaking bodies, we begin to sense that we are heard, even listened to, by

the numerous other bodies that surround us” (p. 86). Even if we believe that a

tree is not sentient, we can still experience a marvellous co-creative exchange

simply by setting the intention to connect, and shifting into our senses, intu-

ition, and feelings (Harding, 2006). By shifting into creative energy to connect

with the more than human, we address a signiﬁcant blind spot in environmental

education (Sandri, 2013). The usually unseen, untouched, and unheard is given

its rightful role as a source of wisdom and sustenance.

Notes

Many thanks to Leesa Fawcett, Ann Bell, and Connie Russell for developing

the core elements of the Natural History Journal assignment.

See Barrett 2011, Barrett & Wuetherick, 2012.

Thank you to Saulteaux/Ojibwe Elder Danny Musqua and Vuntut Gwich’in

Elder Randall Tetlichi for their invaluable contributions to the course over the

years.

Notes on Contributors

Michelle Flowers completed her art-infused master’s thesis, From Where There

Are No words: An Autoethongraphic Exploration of the Phenomenon of Energy

Healing from the Perspective of the Healer, at University of Saskatchewan. She cur-

rently leads workshops that introduce the notion of subtle energies and their ex-

ploration through art and the creative process. Contact: [email protected]

Lisa Lipsett is founder of the Creative by Nature Art Centre, Salt Spring Island,

BC. Lisa teaches her Creative Nature Connection method to youth, educators,

academics, and green professionals looking for simple yet powerful ways to be

present with the living world. Contact: lisa@creativebynature.org

M.J. Barrett is an assistant professor at the School of Environment and Sustainabil-

ity, University of Saskatchewan. Her research and teaching explores human-animal

telepathic communication and how a focus on diverse ways of knowing can bring

us closer to social and ecological well-being. Contact: mj.barr[email protected]

125

References

Abram, D. (1988). Notes from the Thami Valley in Nepal on ‘the rest of the world.’ In

D. LaChapelle (Ed.), Sacred land, sacred sex, rapture of the deep: Concerning deep ecology

and celebrating life (p. 313). Silverton, CO: Finn Hill Arts.

Abram, D. (1996). The spell of the sensuous: Perception and language in a more-than-human

world. New York: Vintage Books

Abram, D. (2010). Becoming animal: An earthly cosmology. New York: Pantheon Books.

Appelbaum, D. (1995). The stop. New York: State University of New York Press.

Bai, H. (2003). Learning from Zen arts: A lesson in intrinsic valuation. Journal of the Canadian

Association for Curriculum Studies, 1(2), 39-54.

Bai, H. (2009). Re-animating the universe: Environmental education and philosophical

animism. In M. McKenzie, H. Bai, P. Hart, & B. Jickling (Eds.), Fields of green: Restoring

culture, environment, and education (pp. 135-151). Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press.

Bai, H. (2013). Peace with the earth: Animism and contemplative ways. Cultural Studies of

Science Education. DOI 10.1007/s11422-01309501-z.

Barnhardt, R. & Kawagley, O. (2010). Alaska Native education: Views from within. Fairbanks, AK:

University of Alaska Press.

Barrett, M.J. (2011). Doing animist research in academia: A methodological framework.

Canadian Journal of Environmental Education, 16, 123-141.

Barrett, M.J. & Wuetherick, B. (2012). Intuition and animism as bridging concepts to Indigenous

knowledges in environmental decision-making. Transformative Dialogues, 6(1), 1- 17.

Berry, T. (1988). The dream of the earth. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books.

Cajete, G. (1999). Introduction. In G. Cajete (Ed.), A people’s ecology: Explorations in sustainable

living (pp. vii-xii). SanteFe, NM: Clear Light Publishers.

Cohen, M. (1997). Reconnecting with nature: Finding wellness through restoring your bond with

the earth. Corvallis, OR: Ecopress.

Conn, S. (2007). Psychology in a new key: Ecopsychology and ecological consciousness.

Keynote presentation at the Psychology-Ecology-Sustainability Conference. Lewis & Clark

College, Portland, OR.

Conn, L. & Conn, S. (2009). Opening to the other. In L. Buzzell & C. Chalquist (Eds.), Ecotherapy:

Healing with nature in mind (pp. 111-115). San Francisco: Sierra Club Books.

Ellis, C. (2004). The ethnographic I: A methodological novel about autoethnography. Walnut

Creek, CA: Alta Mira Press.

Fawcett, L., Bell, A. C. & Russell, C.L. (2002). Guiding our environmental praxis: Teaching

for social and environmental justice. In W. Leal Filho (Ed.), Teaching sustainability at

universities: Towards curriculum greening (pp. 223-228). New York: Peter Lang.

Flowers, M. (2014). From where there are no words: An autoethnographic exploration of the

phenomenon of energy healing from the perspective of the healer. Unpublished Master’s

thesis. University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK.

Gablik, S. (1991). The re-enchantment of art. New York: Thames and Hudson.

Greenwood, D. (2013). A critical theory of place-conscious education. In R. Stevenson,

M. Brody, J. Dillon, & A. Wals (Eds.), The international handbook of research on environmental

education (pp. 93-100). New York: Routledge

Animism, Creativity, and a Tree

126 Michelle Flowers, Lisa Lipsett & M.J. Barrett

Harding, S. (2006). Animate earth: Science, intuition and Gaia. White River Junction, VT: Chelsea

Green Publishing Company.

Inwood, H. (2008). Mapping eco-art education. Canadian Review of Art Education, 35(1), 57-73.

Kaptchuk, T. (2000). The web that has no weaver: Understanding Chinese medicine. New York:

Contemporary Books.

Levin, J. (2011). Energy healers: Who are they and what they do. Explore, 7(1), 13-26.

Lipsett, L (2001). On speaking terms again: Transformative experiences of artful earth connection.

Unpublished Doctoral dissertation, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON. Retrieved from

https://www.scribd.com/doc/248214978/On-Speaking-Terms-Again-Transformative-

Experiences-of-Artful-Earth-Connection

Lipsett, L (2009). Beauty muse: Painting in communion with nature. Salt Spring Island, BC:

Creative by Nature Books.

Lipsett, L. (2013). Bringing art to life: Creative nature connection for educators. Retrieved from

http://www.scribd.com/doc/248835643/Bringing-Art-to-Life-Creative-Nature-Connection-

for-Educators

London, P. (2003). Drawing closer to nature: Making art in dialogue with the natural world.

Boston, MA: Shambhala.

Maciocia, G. (1989). The foundations of Chinese medicine. London: Churchill Livingstone.

Muncey, T. (2010). Creating autoethnographies. London: Sage Publications Ltd.

Palmer, J. (1998). Environmental education in the 21

century: Theory, practice, progress and

promise. London: Routledge.

Plumwood, V. (2002). Environmental culture: The ecological crisis of reason. New York:

Routledge.

Sandri, O. (2013). Exploring the role and value of creativity in education for sustainability.

Environmental Education Research, 19(6), 765-778.

Sobel, D. (2008). Childhood and nature: Design principles for educators. Portland, OR: Stenhouse

Publishers.

Sweeney, T. (2013). Eco-art therapy: Creative activities that let earth teach. New York: Theresa

Sweeney.

Taylor, J. (1998). The living labyrinth: Exploring universal themes in myths, dreams and

the symbolism of waking life. Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press.

van Boeckel, J. (2013). At the heart of art and earth: An exploration of practices in arts-

based environmental education. Helsinki: Aalto University publication series Doctoral

Dissertations.

Wilber, K. (2006). Towards a comprehensive theory of subtle energies. Retrieved from

www.kenwilber.com/Writings/PDF/ExcerptG_KOSMOS_2004.pdf

Young, J., Haas, E. & McGown, E. (2010). Coyote’s guide to connecting with nature

ed). Santa Cruz, CA: OWL Media.