A listing of the 42 Sauerland-Seelenorte

WARM UP

Start with a small exercise to open your senses. In this way you refine your perception: If you are hiking, walk in silence for the last 10 to 15 minutes until you reach your destination. Try to concentrate on one of your senses at a time: Listen for a while to what surrounds you. Listen to the crackle of a dry leaf as you rub it against your ear. Is there something to taste? Perhaps you can paw a wild berry and let it slowly melt in your mouth? What does the snow on the side of the road taste like? The water of the spring? Take in the place with your eyes. Enjoy the different colors and shapes, the small and the large, the wide and the near. Feel the sun or the rain on your skin, the wind in your Haar... Feel how your feet touch the ground - maybe you want to go barefoot again? Sniff your surroundings. What scents and smells can you perceive? If you are traveling by car or public transport, find a sheltered spot in the immediate vicinity. There you can also do this little exercise while standing. A tip: Our senses want to be lured. Give them some time to do so. Be patient.

EXTEND

Look for a branch, a gully or the edge of a path.
With a conscious step over this 'threshold' you enter a new perceptual space. Now let yourself drift - without speaking. Follow your feeling. What attracts you? Where do you want to keep your distance? Do what you might not normally do: Sprawl out on the forest floor, put your ear to a tree, take an unfamiliar perspective in a church. Use all your senses to take in what surrounds you. Sensitively perceive your surroundings as if you were using radar. Gather curiously and without prejudice what this place has in store for you. Do not
anything! Extend your 'antennas' and get in touch with what shows up. How does it affect you? Observe your thoughts. Does your mood perhaps change? Does something stir in your body? After a while (about 15 minutes) go back to the threshold you have chosen, cross it and in this way consciously leave this special perceptual space.

WATCH AFTER

With a short time of silence you round off the experience.
Alone with yourself or together with others: At the end, take some time to become aware of what this place has moved in you. What images, associations or stories came to life, what strings within you began to vibrate? Do your thoughts, feelings or physical sensations have a common theme? And finally, how are you feeling now? Did the time do you any good? Has the encounter with this place energized you? Have you become calm inside? Have you found answers? Or have you stumbled upon a question that moves you forward?
Trust your perception and give it meaning. It helps to focus what you have experienced: through a small journal note, a postcard you send to yourself, or a picture. If you are traveling in a small group, it is worthwhile to compile the experiences. You will be amazed at how different perceptions come together to form a whole. The quality of a place shows itself in it. Sometimes bright and clear, sometimes as a glimmer or a flash. And on your next visit, you may discover a completely different quality of this soul place.