The economics of cosmology and nature as a gig

A world in transition: Why you might want to embrace this training for economic reasons

“This life is yours. Take the power to choose what you want to do and do it well. Take the power to love what you want in life and love it honestly. Take the power to walk in the forest and be a part of nature. Take the power to control your own life. No one else can do it for you. Take the power to make your life happy.”

― Susan Polis Schutz

To believe in mysteries, magic and cosmology is to believe that there is a world rich in chance and intuitive synchronicity. If you want magic in your life you have to first believe that magic exists and to do this you have to let go of fate. This becomes obvious – magic never happens to those who do not open themselves up to it.

Regardless of how much we want to logically prove outcomes we still cannot escape the wonders found within mysteries – which can often motivate the human experience.

To early healers trees were the ultimate vehicles for understanding the different dimensions within the cosmos. In early Shamanic cultures and even to this day the centerpole in the Shamans lodge is actually a tree. This Cosmic Tree holds up the sky. Its roots reach far down into the “underworld”; the trunk of the tree connects to the “middle world” where human existence resides; and the far tips of the branches connect to the “sky world”. From the sky world the Shaman can jump and fly throughout the celestial cosmos. By understanding and connecting with trees you can connect to other dimensions that are largely unknown to you right now.

Humans have been exposed to a forest environment for much of our evolutionary history and it might be safe to assume that after millions of years we came to understand that our survival depended on these places. 8000 years ago the “Archaic” cultures of eastern North America began to fine-tune their wisdom regarding wild plants and trees. By the time Columbus arrived their descendants had developed advance Earth-based civilizations.

From the wild they utilized 275 different species of plants and trees for medicine, 130 for food, 31 as magical charms, 27 for smoking, 25 for dyes, 18 for beverages and flavoring and 52 others for various other purposes.

Their relationship with the wild became known as “multiple use conservation”. All humans share ancestral memories connected to creative traits which had us create tools from nature which contributed not only to our survival but to our spiritual presence with the Great Mother.

This creativity became a currency on many different levels and I like to think of it as an original inspiration that resides within many of us today. To create a connection between ourselves, our kin and the cosmos. This can be a tool, fetish, song, dance and even a process of healing. These are mediums that present a story which inspires us and heals us – we become better as the result of all of this.

What we seek to do in Yasei Shinrin Yoku is to unlock ones “inner knowing” so that one’s conversation with nature can begin – this is very much a creative endeavour.

Yasei Shinrin Yoku considers the expansion of our health, purpose and well-being as being directly related to the work that we do for the benefit of the forest – the practice considers that we and the forest are “one” and that through this presence the true natural balance of energy can be achieved that benefits both the individual and the natural world. If we invest in the health and growth of the forest then the forest will invest in us – the medium of exchange is “life-force”.

We teach people to become Yasei Shinrin Yoku Guides and Practitioners and we have even developed a clinical program connected to this practice which takes a wilder approach to forest bathing but also combines with forms of Earth-based spiritually and practical applications of stewardship. Yasei is now being delivered in over 30 countries.

The question that always rises is, “Can a business or mission that combines metaphysics with nature actually be financially sustainable?”

The answer is “Yes” but it will require you to be clever while applying effort. There are three primary elements within this market which we might call “Alternative Wellness”. The first is the local domestic marketplace; the second, online offerings; and the third is wellness tourism or the destination marketplace.

These three areas of work require a dance that will weave in and out of opportunities as they surface. There are a vast number of products and services that can be offered if one really understands the scope of these three market segments.

It’s also important to understand the magnitudes that each segment offers and the carrying capacity for each. This means that you need to know the size of local, online and destination markets and what percentage of actual clients exist with each one, as well as the level of competition that exists within each segment. You also need to know your personal capacity – in other words how much of a workload do you want to carry? Do you have an idea for your own work/life balance?

The single problem that exists within the Alternative Wellness sector is that there are often too many practitioners offering the same or similar services to a marketplace that is simply not big enough to sustain them all. This may lead to some leaving or shutting down.

I often see practitioners from a number of modalities incubating their services to reach more people, but unfortunately they are often simply exchanging clients with each other. This might allow them to thrive for a time, however if there is no strategy to enlarge the pie, the slices will become too small to sustain the effort. This being said, the model will work in very large centres where there is a constant supply of new clients.

Successful models often focus on creating unique, high-value experiences that cater to a growing consumer demand for wholistic health, self-discovery, and an authentic connection to nature and cosmology.

Hosting curated retreats in peaceful, natural settings is one of the most profitable business models. Diversifying beyond basic wellness and incorporate metaphysical practices like energy healing, sound healing, astrology and ancient wisdom and a few examples. Moving into specialized niches that focus on specific target audiences, such as corporate teams, couples, or women exploring a new phase of life. This can lead to higher satisfaction and more repeat bookings.

Yasei Shinrin Yoku as a Gig

Our world both locally and globally is in a great transition so it becomes important to plan our lives so that we can continue to survive and thrive during these challenging times. So I would like to share with you a few important points as to why you might want to embrace this training for economic reasons.

We are in a recession….its most certainly by design but a recession nonetheless. Perhaps you have an existing healing practice right now and you might be nervous about whether your clients might cut back on your services. You are right to worry, history tells us that when people get economically nervous – they shut down or slow their spending.

Understand that this is psychological and it’s up to you to shift that behavior in them.

Our program helps you do this…..but here’s the other factor in play.

Prices are going up – so you actually need to make more money in order to keep your valuable service alive so that you can continue to do good work. This means that you actually need to do a few important things:

• First…stabilize your client base so that they keep on showing up.

• Second…add more clients because you need to fill more spaces.

• Third…add value to your services and diversify your offerings.

• Fourth….expand upon your own work-life-balance. During tough times people have more stress and this means that you need to provide more of your energy into the process of healing others. So remember to heal-thy-self too.

You might be working within the ancient healing arts, or perhaps you are in a more mainstream form of wellness practice, here’s how a Yasei Shinrin Yoku Certification can work for you.

First, use a Yasei practice for designing and delivering practical targets. For example, maybe you are presently delivering services to 20 clients per week. By adding a Yasei service option for $20 this means that you are generating an additional $400 per week or $1600 per month.

Right now it will cost you less than $600 to reach Guide Certification so that you might generate that additional $1600 per month.

There’s even greater opportunities with Practitioners Training which provides you with an opportunity to deliver our 12-Session Program.

While this might represent a revenue target, it is a reasonable one; keep in mind a Yasei practice will also provide a means to reach new clients who might also be interested in your other services.

We connect additional wellness and spiritual products and services that will help our community create additional revenues with an ecological focus this appeals to a key demographic of environmentally conscious and spiritually minded consumers.

Through our semester training system we offer our students blended coaching and consulting – which helps them to become quality coaches who can integrate nature and spiritual principles. Nature-based coaching engages nature as a means to improve personal growth and self-discovery.

The school programs combine virtual learning and online courses with in-person sessions and camps to reach a wider audience and create scalable income streams.

What you need to know

• Identify the number of clients you require and where they might come from: Understand who you are and the scope of your offerings and market.

• Specialize and Diversify: The market for general wellness is saturated, so success depends on specializing in a specific type of experience or product. Supplement your core offerings with products, merchandise, or virtual content to maximize profit per customer.

• Create authentic, transformative experiences: Clients want genuine transformation, expert-led and offer tangible outcomes.

• Stewardship in natural settings: Work with nature and choose a location that enhances the metaphysical practice while creating a tangible relationship with the place.

At the Wildcraft Forest School we offer training that can help you diversify your healing mission and business. But please remember the other big plus. Yasei Shinrin Yoku brings you into nature. Forest Bathing is one of the best things you can do to bring balance and better health into your life and into the world and for the Earth.

In closing, think about what you need to do in order to adjust your practice so that you can continue to help people during these challenging times.

Learn from us in person or online: www.wildcraftforest.com

The Mother Tree Hub

Providing resources, stories, and tools to help individuals and communities live closer to nature

The Mother Tree Hub is an information portal and wildcrafting incubator created by the Wildcraft Forest Foundation to support regenerative stewardship of forests. It provides resources, stories, and tools to help individuals and communities live closer to nature, develop sustainable social enterprises, and promote conservation, often with support from organizations like the Regional District of the North Okanagan Conservation Fund and the David Suzuki Foundation. The name is inspired by the concept of “mother trees”—large, central trees that support and connect with other trees in the forest.

The Mother Tree Hub provides a number of key features:

• Information Portal: It serves as a central hub for information on creating a “living Sanctuary Forest” and practicing “wildcrafting” or regenerative stewardship.

• Skills and Inspiration: The foundation offers skills and inspiration for creating positive change, with resources and tools available on its website.

• Incubator: It acts as a wildcrafting incubator to help develop conservation and enterprise efforts that create value from a living wild forest.

• Projects and Research: The hub supports projects like the “Healing Forest” and the “Trail of Song” and provides research on how to expand the use of a “living forest” while supporting a natural forest ecosystem.

• Community Support: The Mother Tree Hub works with communities, including First Nations communities, who are looking to practice regenerative forest stewardship.

Learn more about the Mother Tree Hub: www.mothertreehub.com