The Monday Muse #6
Better boundaries, believing stress is good and the health effects of smelling cedar
Welcome to the Monday Muse, a short round up of stuff that I found interesting in the last week. If you have comments or ideas you want to share, feel free to drop me a message any time!
1/ What I’ve Been Up To
Forest bathing aka “Shinrin-yoku”
= Taking in the forest atmosphere…The simple method of being calm and quiet amongst the trees, observing nature around you whilst breathing deeply.
Last weekend I threw on my backpack, slammed a chicken ginger soup in a can and made my way north of Tokyo to the mountains in Nikko for a little bit of hiking.
I did a 21k hike by the Kinugawa river and the Ryuokyo gorge, a stunning valley formed by pyroclastic flow 22 millions years ago.
It’s deep, winding valley looks like a dragon, hence the name “Dragon’s Gorge”.
Since I had the whole place to myself, I took full advantage of my solitude by screaming like a howler monkey as I harnessed the energy of the earth…and skipping up and down the mountain with a smile on my face. I wish I had a picture of this for you, but you’re going to have to trust me on this one.
Along the way, I experienced many sensations in my body…
And I even saw the remnants of a recent car accident.
But mostly, I just stood in awe of the valley.
In the 1980s the Forest Agency of Japan started to promote Forest Bathing, or Shinrin-Yoku, to encourage people to take a break from their busy lives and to reconnect with nature. They started a research program on the effects of forests on human health led by Dr. Qing Li and — surprise, surprise — found that spending time in nature can increase the activity of white blood cells that play a role in fighting cancer and other diseases.
And yet somehow, in the midst of this beautiful valley in nature, I encountered practically zero hikers. After 40 years of promoting forest bathing, where were all of the forest bathers? The weather was nippy but great for winter. Maybe they didn’t get the memo.
Or perhaps they’ve found peace in the city? Unlikely. A recent survey found that 54.2% of Japanese people rated their stress levels as “very high.” The total lack of hikers tells me that these stressed out people aren’t getting enough time in the forest.
In case you’re not convinced about the powers of forest-bathing, here are some interesting tidbits:
A summary of the Japanese government’s research on shinrin-yoku:
1/ Cedar smells lowers blood pressure. Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica) is a common tree species in Japan. A study by Miyazaki et al. found that inhaling the smell of Japanese cedar chips lowered systolic blood pressure and decreased activity in the prefrontal area of the brain. The subjects in the study also evaluated the smell as "preferable" and said it improved their comfort and caused a relaxed physiological state.
2/ Sounds chill you out. Mishima et al. compared the effects of listening to an artificial sound (turbine) and a natural sound (stream) on brain activity and systolic blood pressure. The study found that systolic blood pressure increased with the sound of the turbine but not with the sound of the stream.
3/ Wood is good. The sight of trees reduces blood pressure and reduced heart rate. Interestingly, this even applies to having wood in your home. In one study they looked at visual effects of wooden room interiors on physiological responses by using mock-up living rooms with varying wood ratios. The 45% wood ratio room was considered the most comfortable and generated the highest scores in the “vigorous” feeling in the mood test. Pulse rate significantly increased in the 45% wood ratio room.
So there you have it. Get to a forest, what are you waiting for?
2/ What I’m Reading
Ann Cornell is a clinical psychologist with 30+ years of experience and one of the leading writes on Gendlin’s “Focusing” method, which can help people get in touch with their felt-sense. In this short little book, she maps out 21 different techniques you can use to establish boundaries.
A big part of my burnout was due to my inability to set boundaries, both with myself and with others. When I found myself suffering I would “suck it up” and suppress it, leading to building resentment. When I wanted to get out of a meeting, for example, I would make multiple excuses because I felt guilty instead of just saying “No thank you.” A fear of upsetting or disappointing others dominated.
Is there somewhere in your life where you’re doing something you don’t really want to do? But you do it out of a sense that you have to do it? Setting aside the cases of taking care of a person dependent on you, if you feel “trapped” then this could indicate a boundary issue. There might be more choices than you realize. While the exercises in the book can seem obvious to some people, if you struggle with boundary issues then it’s worth trying out.
3/ What I Watched
In one large study people that were more stressed and who believed stress was bad were more likely to die. But those who did NOT believe stress was bad were the least likely to die. It’s going from believing that “My body is so stressed out” to “my body is getting the resources and energy ready to tackle this challenge.” Fascinating how powerful reframing can be.
4/ What I’m Listening To
I’ve recently restarted using Sam Harris’s meditation app called Waking Up. There are a ton of intellectually stimulating talks and conversations which are a nice addition to my current meditation practice (Loving-Kindness which I do every day for 1-1.5 hours).
In particular I enjoyed his explanation around why one should meditate. Often it’s touted as a great “tool” for stress relief, or improving your relationships, or increasing the grey matter in your brain. But calling it stress-relief or focusing on the health benefits misses the point.
Sam makes the comparison to the ability to read a book. Is reading good for your stress? Maybe. There could be situations where it’s good and bad, but the difference between an illiterate person and a literate person is huge — it’s the difference between premodern and modern society!
Similarly, meditation has the ability to open up doors you wouldn’t have known about otherwise. It can help you understand how your mind works at a fundamental level. This gives you a completely new perspective that can literally solve many of the so-called existential questions we have in life. Whether or not it reduces your blood pressure isn’t that big of a deal in comparison.
5/ Quotes I’m Pondering
“If you bring forth that which is within you, then that which is within you will be your salvation. If you do not bring forth that which is within you, then that which is within you will destroy you.
—THE GNOSTIC GOSPELS
See you next week!