I’ve been walking through rainforests for years, but I’ve never felt such an eye-opening sense of presence in them as I have these past two weekends.

I’ve been leaving my phone off and hiking solo with no more agenda than one foot in front of the other until I find myself at the carpark once more. No distractions, no time restrictions, no talking and total immersion.

In the ever moving, ever churning lifestyle we place ourselves in, it’s so easy to forget what true presence even feels like. A rainforest is one of the ways I’ve been finding my way back to this quite visceral experience.

Stop along the trail, take a deep breath and spend a minute with your eyes wide open and your ears on alert. The green leaves, the filtered light, the tall trees will fill your vision in ultra high definition. The birds chirping high in the trees, behind and in front of you, the wind rustling and the waterfall off in the distance will surround you in rich three-dimensional sound. Your mind will empty itself.

It’s incredible to feel an even more heightened awareness inside rainforests as beautiful as those we’re gifted with here in Australia.