Skogluft (Forest Air). Jorn Viumdal

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       INTRODUCTION

       The Skogluft (Forest Air) Method

      In the preface I made a number of claims about the effect of the Forest Air method, and you may want to see proof. You will! By the time you have read this book, and perhaps tried the system yourself, I don’t think you will find the claims unreasonable.

      First let me give a brief overview. The idea behind Forest Air is about bringing plants and light into the rooms in which you spend most of your time—the right light and the right plants. This can’t be done just any old way, but it isn’t difficult to do correctly. I have a good reason for saying this.

      I’ve been working with plants for more than thirty years. My initial training was as a mechanical engineer, which is probably why I began my work with a much too simple and mechanistic view of the relationship between nature and humans. I’ve since realized that every living thing is unpredictable. Living things have the power to surprise you with new, more complex connections—just when you thought you understood how it all works. Yet at other times the connections are much simpler than you had supposed. (Your education is never over.) Forest Air is a book in which I have tried to assemble some of the thoughts and experiences I have gleaned from my work and show what their practical significance is for us humans. But most important of all, Forest Air is a simple guide to how to get nature back into your life, every single day.

      Since the rise of the environmental movement in the 1970s, the importance of nature to humanity has been an integral part of the global conversation. What was once considered controversial is now regarded as sound common sense. No one doubts any longer that we are dependent on nature for our survival, and that when nature is destroyed we will all lose. Every day brings yet more sensational news stories of species threatened with extinction, problems with the environment, climate change. For some, the mere mention of the word “nature” is enough to cause anxiety.

      Are you one of those who have visions of Armageddon at the mention of the word?

      If that is the case, then let me reassure you. You will sigh with relief when I say that yes, this book is about nature (and even about nature that has vanished), and I’m giving you a chance to get it back. And you won’t have to travel somewhere far away; instead you can stay in your own home, exactly where you need nature the most and can enjoy it. What I’m talking about is not anything new. In fact, the idea behind Forest Air is very ancient. Imagine you’re at a family gathering and you meet an old relative whom you haven’t seen for a very long time. Yet as the two of you begin to talk, it’s as though you have never lost touch and you understand each other effortlessly. This is what it will feel like when you get in touch with nature again in the simple way I will describe for you.

      The term “nature” has many meanings. When I talk about nature in this book, I am also referring to a sense of togetherness with our surroundings, a sense we lost when we abandoned our hunter-gatherer lifestyle and gradually withdrew from the environment that was once natural for us. And I am also talking about how we can find a way back to a spontaneous communion with our surroundings and experience the joy of seeing, hearing, smelling, feeling, and breathing in an environment that resembles what we left behind.

      THE FOREST AIR WAY

      I need to stress that Forest Air is not some mystical philosophy. It’s a few simple, practical things you can do on your own that will open up a new dimension in your life. It is not completely effortless. Some of the steps you will have to do yourself. But having said that, I can promise you that there are few things that will reward you so richly for such a small outlay as what I am going to tell you about in this book.

      What kind of effort and what kind of reward? I can state it simply, in a few words:

      The effort consists largely of setting aside an hour or two, alone or together with family and friends, to mount a simple frame on a wall. There you will plant a group of plants (I will even tell you the name of the plant) and then plug in a lamp with the appropriate kind of light. You might get your fingers a little dirty on the first evening. You might have to drill a couple of holes in the wall and afterward sweep and clean up a bit. And then? After that, all you need to do is water the plants every three weeks and occasionally prune—following a method that I shall teach you. Does that sound exhausting? No, I didn’t think it would.

      And the effect: Those who have used the Forest Air method relate that they experience a special kind of peace—a sense of presence and contentment. They feel less isolated. They feel more secure. Less tired. And they are astonished that so little effort can reap such rewards.

      Frankly, I am not surprised when people tell me this. Our modern, urban lifestyle—filled with stress, noise, and sedentary indoor activities—has separated us from what were once the natural conditions of life. We now live in an environment to which we are truly not adapted and to which our bodies cannot adjust. This creates damaging physical stress and illnesses that we try to cure with pills, exercise, or therapies, often to no effect. But the good news is that many of these stresses can indeed be reduced. Not merely reduced—in many cases you are able to prevent these stresses from arising in the first place by removing their cause. And the name of the solution is Forest Air.

      DON’T JUST BELIEVE ME—BELIEVE THE RESEARCH

      The Forest Air method is built on solid scientific foundations. The system works at home, in the work-place, and in schools and public institutions. It is simple to install and requires little maintenance or care. The thousands of Norwegians who use it today—men and women, adults and children—all report results that point to a strengthening of the autoimmune system; lowered levels of stress; a reduction in the number of conflicts; improved ease of cooperation with family members, coworkers, or patients; and a more joyful life.

      But you don’t need to rely solely on anecdotes. Twenty years of research tells the same story.