He would climb trees and sit on them.
At some point he started talking to them.
Naor Kaplan hugging a tree (photo: Surfers Photos, Alona Shemesh-Izina)
As a child in Kibbutz Zikim, Naor Kaplan was a lonely child, even a social outcast.
To deal with the severe loneliness, he says, he started reading five books a week.
He would also climb trees and sit on them for hours.
At some point he started talking to them.
The thing is, they also answered him.
Since then, he says, "I talk to animals, trees and stones."
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I meet Naor at a tree hugging workshop on a spring Saturday in Hadera Forest.
When he stands on a ladder and stretches a tarpaulin sheet over a mat on which 25 people will soon be sitting in a circle, he seems to me the most different from the image of Rohnik.
Naor, a healthy 62-year-old man with a roaring rolling laugh, is a former computer expert and now a repairman and a father of three, who he says travels between residences in Binyamin, Pardes Hana and Singapore.
According to Naor, he came out of the closet as a "tree hugger" only ten years ago, and recently started holding workshops to pass this ability on to other people.
"Modern society has taken care to seal off the natural ability innate in us to communicate with trees and animals, and I give them the opportunity to open this channel again," he says, adding that like us, trees also have a spectrum of emotions, intelligence and personality.
"The trees that live in the city, for example, are altruistic trees. Those that live on the sides of the roads are particularly strong. They chose to volunteer to live in terrible places. They come to a harsh world, with negative and angry energies of humans, and they are gentle and calming. They came to help the world, and we in return , burn, cut and kill them. Man is the damage of creation."
"Modern society has made sure to seal off the innate ability in us to communicate with trees."
Naor's tree-hugging workshop (Photo: Golishim photos, Alona Shemesh-Izina)
Records stories that the trees tell about people.
Ria the storyteller (photo: surfer photos, Tara Banyon)
The first task - to look for trees and ask if they agree to be hugged.
Naor's workshop (Photo: Surfer Photos, Alona Shemesh-Izina)
"Trees are big talkers and love to talk"
The one who dedicates her whole life to communicating with the trees and nature is "Ria the Storyteller", who has been traveling around Europe for more than ten years and documenting stories of ancient trees.
And no, these are not stories that people tell her about the trees, but stories that the trees tell about people.
Ria (45), who studied at a boarding school in Sde Boker, says that she has always been connected to nature and the spiritual world, and even before she was released from the army she had already started studying shamanism.
"The shamanic way has become the center of my life in terms of my worldview, the way of life, conduct and wisdom through which I advise people," she says.
And this path also led her on a mission - to find the old trees across Europe and record the stories they tell.
"My shaman, my teacher, revealed to me about 13 years ago that the land of Europe holds ancient magic, and my goal and that of others involved in this is to bring this ancient knowledge and bring it back to life. Much of the knowledge comes through stories, and those who remember the stories are the trees. The more they Ancients have a connection to more ancient knowledge."
According to Ria, trees are highly developed beings.
"They have a strong and deep essence of service. They want to be there for us. Usually they will be very attentive to us, the people, and they will want to convey a message, to help."
But how do you actually talk to a tree?
"The shamanic way is based on building a relationship. And first of all, before you ask, you give. You always give water to a tree first. From there, things start to happen. Trees are big talkers and love to talk. I introduce myself, my mission and ask the tree if it has a story for me . So I sit with a pen and write down and record what he says. It's energetic communication, and it can come in all kinds of forms and layers. For me, it comes in the form of a voice accompanied by feeling, knowledge and images."
According to her, since the trees live in a certain range of years, and since in Western Europe many trees have been cut down, it is necessary to go among as many trees as possible and document.
"I have stories from trees that are no longer alive."
Ria, who to date has documented several hundred trees in about 14 countries, says that she is in Europe for about a year and more, then returns to Israel for about two months and conducts communication workshops with trees, personal guidance and storytelling.
Now, for the first time, she opened up the possibility for those who went through her workshops to join her for three months on the European documentary tour.
"This is a different life. It is suitable for people who at their core want to be in a place of service."
legitimate".
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To the full article
Conducts communication workshops with trees and personal training.
Ria the storyteller (photo: surfers' photos, Marta)
"A lot of knowledge comes through stories, and the ones who remember the stories are the trees" (Photo: surfers' photos, Ian Raphael)
To date, Ria has documented several hundreds of trees in about 14 countries (photo: surfers' photos, Eva Pavlovitz)
Japanese forest shower
Science may not yet have documented dialogues with trees, but today it is already known that being near trees contributes to health.
In Japan there is an ancient tradition of staying and wandering in the forest and connecting with it through all the senses.
Based on this tradition, a national health improvement program named "Forest Shower" was inaugurated in Japan in the 1980s.
Even science has long agreed that being in nature reduces stress and mental tension and improves the quality of life and health.
And when you combine this with contact with the tree, there is an improvement in the activity of the parasympathetic nervous system which brings about a state of relaxation.
Three years ago, during the Corona period, the Icelandic Tree Authority advised citizens to hug trees every day for at least five minutes.
Maybe because of this it can be said that today hugging trees doesn't sound so strange anymore, and that's why more and more people come to workshops that teach how to do it.
In the circle of introductions at the beginning of Naor Kaplan's workshop, it becomes clear that the participants are engaged in a wide variety of professions - from teachers and emotional trainers to Chi Kung trainers and head cashiers at the supermarket.
Almost all of them testify to themselves that they are nature lovers and feel a special connection to trees and flowers.
Naor gives the participants the first task - to look for some trees, give them water, ask, out loud or with their heart, if they agree to be hugged, and simply touch them or hug them if the answer is positive.
He warns in advance that, like humans, there are nicer and less nice trees, more friendly and less so.
In any case, he says, "even if you think you're imagining an answer, it will still be a correct answer."
In sharing afterwards, people recount entire conversations they had with the trees - from calls for help they heard from injured trees to messages they received from the trees and promises of support and friendship.
The speed with which the participants devoted themselves to the process surprises me.
I try not to judge the things they tell me that I have a rich imagination, and decide to try it myself.
I stand next to a tree and ask him in my heart, with great embarrassment, to hug him.
Some voice in my head tells me "Sure".
I of course attribute the answer to my imagination.
I hug the tree, but feel it's forced, like hugging a stranger.
I move to the next tree, and it happens to me again.
Embarrassed, loose hug.
But suddenly, from a distance, I see a beautiful eucalyptus trunk and feel a desire to approach it.
When I wrap my arms around him in a hug, I feel a strong connection.
My ear is close to the trunk and I listen to the beats, clicks and squeaks emanating from it.
My heartbeat calms down, the noises and everyday worries fade away, and I stay in the embrace for long minutes.
"There are trees that are nicer and less nice, more friendly and less so" (photo: surfer photos, Emma Brice)
Ria dedicates her whole life to communicating with the trees and nature (photo: surfers' photos, Ria, telling stories)
Noor: "You can always put your hand on a tree, lean on it" (Photo: Surfers' Photos, Alona Shemesh-Izina)
Later I raise the question to Naor, how can one actually continue to hug trees outside the workshop without looking strange.
"You can always put your hand on a tree, lean on it, or find a tree you can sit under. A picnic by a tree is still a legitimate thing," he says.
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