The Inner Caress of Fern Canyon

 

Fern Canyon in Redwood National Park is a special place! EIghty feet deep and a half-mile long and carved by a trickling stream, the canyon walls are covered in five different kinds of ferns, especially Five-Fingered (or Six- or Seven-Fingered) Ferns and Sword Ferns. Because of the prehistoric ambiance of the canyon, several movies had segments filmed here, including "Jurassic Park 2: The Lost World," BBC's "Walking with Dinosaurs," and IMAX's "Dinosaurs Alive." We hiked it on a foggy evening, when breezes moved among the ferns, making them appear like hands gently caressing the leggy corridor of the canyon.

To me they spoke of a meditative practice I do that involves the transformation of emotions. Here, whenever I feel an emotion - whether it be longing, joy, fear, pride, anger, love, grief, peace or anxiety - I drop the story-line associated with the emotion and instead pay attention to the associated feeling as it occurs within my body, usually within my throat, heart or gut. I then imagine these rising-and-falling waves of physical sensation as the fingers of the Sacred Feminine who dwells within my body and feelings, using MY experience as a means of caressing her magnificent beauty and goodness, present within all things.

On this particular occasion, I also found two Banana Slugs mating on a log at the side of the canyon!

Photos: (Top) Joanne hiking in Fern Canyon; (Middle) Five-Fingered Ferns; (Bottom) Banana Slugs Mating; Redwood National Park, CA; July 29, 2014