Reclaiming Intuition
by Kathleen McIntyre, LCSWA
There’s a wisdom that speaks beneath thought. It rises from the body, from the Earth, from a place of connectedness. We call it intuition, but in forest therapy, it often shows up simply as relationship: the way the forest meets us with exactly what we need to hear.
For so many women, intuition is an ancestral language. Our grandmothers knew how to listen deeply: to the land, to the weather, to the garden, to those they cared for. Yet, over time, we were taught to second-guess ourselves, to favor reason over rhythm, the measurable over the felt.
When intuition grows faint, we lose touch with the very guidance that helps us live in harmony with life. Forest therapy invites us to remember. When we step into the forest and allow the mind to quiet, our other ways of knowing begin to reawaken. The forest becomes a mirror for our inner landscape, showing us what we already know but have forgotten how to trust.
You might try this simple practice of nature connection:
Find a natural place that draws you, perhaps your backyard, a creek, or leaning into a tree. Take some slow breaths and feel your body being held and supported by the ground. Notice what calls your attention: the movement of wind, a birdsong, a flicker of light through leaves. Let yourself listen with your whole being.
What sensations or feelings arise?
This embodied listening is the heart of intuition: direct knowing, rising up, and resonating with truth.
The more we respond to these whispers from within and around us, the more life begins to flow, and a sense of belonging emerges. Forest therapy helps us rediscover this flow: where inner stillness and outer aliveness meet.
At Heartwood, we honor this dance between the intuitive and the natural world. Through guided forest therapy walks and reflection, we learn again to trust what the body and Earth already know: that intuition is not something to find, but something to remember.
When we slow down to listen, the forest reminds us that truth lies beneath the surface.