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General description
The Velhorst Crystalline Nature Walk takes several hours – around 2.5 to 3 hours – depending on how long you spend pausing at the natural spots. The total distance is approximately 4 kilometres.
Below are a few tips, the first of which is, of course: make sure you won’t be disturbed.
Limited time per spot
It helps if you decide for yourself how long you’ll stay in one spot without having to keep an eye on the time. I use the Insight Timer app myself. It plays a lovely gong after a set time. But it’s also fine to set your alarm, as long as you make sure it’s a gentle reminder. That might not seem necessary, but when you turn your attention inwards, time can fly by without you realising it. That wouldn’t be a problem if you could take your time with everything, but the energetic effects are quite powerful and it’s likely to become too much for you at some point if you don’t set a limit per spot from the start. Or the other way round: you think you’ve been meditating for a while, when in fact only two minutes have passed.
Another advantage of a reminder after a certain time is that you can let go of this when you’re somewhere and fully surrender to the place.
As for the duration at the various nature spots, I suggest a reminder between five and seven minutes. That is just a suggestion. You can, of course, always stay a little longer if you wish. Afterwards, you can make notes if you like. Only at the nature temple is no time needed, as it is a preparatory event that can be brief.
Help from a natural temple
You realise that, to the ordinary observer, ‘there is nothing’. It is just an ordinary forest. You do not see angels hanging in the trees. This may sound trivial, but I say this for a reason. The Nature Walk requires a shift within yourself in relation to your everyday consciousness. When you are alone, you must rely on your own inner perception, intention and attitude. To support you in this, the Crystalline Nature Walk begins with a brief visit to a small natural temple, situated directly opposite the actual starting point of the walk. The actual starting point is formed by two beech trees. Before you begin there, you ‘calibrate’ yourself for the Nature Walk, with the help of the nature goddess associated with this small temple. Your connection there brings you into the right focus, attitude, intention, or whatever you wish to call it. This goddess will continue to guide you throughout the entire Crystalline Walk. You are not alone.
You give her a small gift in which you express your intention or attitude. This is a customary ritual when visiting a temple. When giving your gift, bear in mind that other people may perceive your gift, if it is something material, as rubbish. In itself, a drawing or a piece of pottery would be a fine gift, but that is not the intention here. For a non-physical gift, you might consider a spoken wish, a poem, a song, beautiful sounds, a loving touch…
A digital gift is unlikely to come across well. Therefore, stick to something that has a natural energy, and that is truly yours, coming from you.
Help from the great being of the gate
Two beech trees form the starting point, a sort of gate through which you walk. The entity I perceive most clearly at this starting point, I therefore call: the great being of the gate. The great being of the gate opens, guides and closes the Crystalline Nature Walk. Along with the nature goddess, this great being also accompanies you along the entire route. This being ensures that the energetic influences of the locations reach you effectively.
Unnoticed nature influences along the way
The webpage ‘Description of the nature spots’ lists the nature spots where you pause and which form part of the Crystalline Nature Walk. Along the route from one nature spot to the next, energetic influences have been set up at certain points to assist you in your Crystalline Walk process. You may occasionally be aware of a special energy or a special feeling. You do not need to dwell on this. These nature spots release their energy as you walk past.
Fixed ritual at every nature spot
At every nature spot, starting with the two beech trees that form the entrance to the Crystalline Nature Walk, there is a fixed ritual to follow. (This does not apply to the natural temple; I will describe that separately.)
You calmly read the text on the website that pertains to this spot. If you are with a group, someone can read the text aloud. Even if you walk the Nature Walk frequently, you should still read the text each time, as it has its own effect.
Find a spot where you wish to be for a while, whether standing, sitting, touching a natural element or not. You are free to choose. Once you understand the energetic effect and have found your spot, set the time you wish to stay there. Become still within yourself with the intention of opening yourself up to this place. That is all you need to do.
If the description states that you can ask for a message, consider whether you wish to do so or not. You don’t have to.
When the alarm or gong sounds again, you may feel the need to stay seated for a moment, or perhaps not, but you shouldn’t linger too long.
Afterwards, if you wish, write down your impression or feeling, and move on to the next spot. What you do not write down you will probably forget because you are on a slightly different level of consciousness than usual. That slips from your memory more easily than more ordinary experiences.
At two natural spots, you do not stand still, but you are aware of their special effect. This applies to the passage to the Gaja point and to leaving the spruce avenue through a gate. You pass through both consciously.
It is nice to thank a place afterwards, but don’t worry if you forget. That is because you are fully engaged.
Towards the end of the walk
Towards the end of the walk, you may find that your energy and concentration are running low. That is quite normal. The Crystalline Nature Walk demands a lot from you.
After the spruce avenue, the next nature spots are the juniper bushes and the burning place. At both places, you don’t need to do much apart from staying there and opening yourself up to their effects. So if you’re there and you notice you no longer have the concentration and focus you had at the start, that’s no problem. Do take your time there, though, because that’s what the places need to do their work within you.
After that, decide whether to include the large beech tree as a natural spot or not. You can skip that one. It’s happened to me a few times that I didn’t see it and just walked straight past. And then I thought: actually, I knew I’d had enough. You can skip this last spot if you feel that it’s enough for you. Next time, you’ll probably have the energy and focus for it. It depends on how much has already happened within you and what that has demanded of you.
It’s still a short walk back to the car park from the large beech tree. This gives the Velhorst Crystalline Nature Walk a natural conclusion. After the large beech tree, or, if you skip that, after the burning place, you can focus on other things again. It is advisable, however, to allow the first five minutes or so for the after-effects and to bring the Nature Walk to a close. Five minutes is sufficient for this. This means you can certainly interact with the people you are with, but keep your mobile phone on silent for a little while longer. This ensures a good after-effect as a conclusion.
the natural temple