Michael Gulbrandsen, Owner
Michael Gulbrandsen is a Listener of Nature’s Whispers and the founder of “Nature’s Whispers.” Michael grew up in upstate New York with acres of woods and streams across the street. He spent the summers exploring and connecting with nature on trails and waterways. In 1995, Michael began to study the connection between hiking trails & sacred spaces with the renewal of the inner self and spirit. Utilizing a variety of timeless ancient practices he creates walking trails that connect people to nature.
“Plants want to connect with the people of the land around them, so I instruct homeowners how to make this connection with Grandmother Earth and its inhabitants by Walking the Trail. You have to pause and take in the magic, slow down your senses. See the forest from the Squirrel’s Eyes and listen to nature’s whispers” he says.
Advanced Studies & Certifications
- Sustainable Gardening & Living, and Ecology, 1995, Mississippi State University
- Shamanic Lightworking, 2016 – Maya Cointreau, Reiki Master & Shamanic Healer
- Nature Studies, Feather Healing, Walking the Medicine Wheel & Native American Culture, 2016 thru 2019 – Grandfather Bern “Gentle Otter” Richards
- Sacred Heart of Herbalism Level I, 2017 – Karine M. Gordineer, Master Herbalist
- Nature Awareness & Movement, 2017 & 2018, Donna Brickwood, Nature Awareness Mentor
- Plant Communication, 2017 – Karine M. Gordineer, Master Herbalist
- USUI Reiki Ryoho First & Second Degrees, 2017 – Faith D. Supple, Reiki Master Teacher
- Shamanic Reiki Healing Level I & II, 2018 – Terri Lundquist, Shamanic Reiki Worldwide
- Shamanic Reiki Healing Master Practitioner, 2019 – Terri Lundquist, Shamanic Reiki Worldwide
MEMBERSHIPS & PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS:
- The National Wildlife Federation
- New York/New Jersey Trail Conference
- Jolly Rovers Trail Crew
- American Hiking Guides Association
- Zen Environmental Studies Institute
- The Nature Conservancy
Michael’s Dream
I dream of a place of Healing. It is a lodge that is set back from the road of gravel. On one side of the lodge is a small wooden deck with a half circle carved out of it, there is a stump in the middle and four stumps around it. Two are built into the deck and two rest on the ground. There are paths leading to the center from each stump with plants in each quarter circle, creating the learning medicine wheel. I sit in the North, by my side is the White Buffalo. A person approaches wanting to learn the ways of nature and hear its whispers.
She follows me into the lodge….inside is a large gathering room, with couches and chairs circling around a four sided fireplace hearth. Gentle Otter is speaking with a small group of people, laughter and joy fill the air. Feather crafts and Native American crafts cover the walls of cedar. We pass through the room and enter a hallway, at the North End of the hall is a door with the word “whispers” carved into it. On the other side of the doorway is a tunnel made of weaved branches, light passes through the branches but no hint of what lies beyond is seen. The tunnel opens to a small greenhouse, we pass through the house of lush greenery and travel out to a dirt trail that leads up into the forest.
I explain that the journey through the area is more important than destination, but all are part of the learning. She is instructed at times stop and close her eyes. Relax, feel the energy, listen to the forest, and once her eyes are open to focus on the first object she sees, communicate with it, then become it and view/feel the world around the object from that point of view. We arrive at a wooden lean-to, with a fire pit in front of it. We gather wood and proceed to build a fire, ceremony follows.
Sitting near the fire, Indian style, facing each other and holding hands, we focus on the energy within, we allow it to flow out to the land, to communicate to the trees, plants and animals. We open our eyes to discover a pair of raccoons in our laps, an owl is perched on the roof, our friend the trickster is laying at our feet, a lizard is sleeping on my shoulder (probably dreaming) and an Eagle circles above us. Snowdrops have started blooming near us and the wind is blowing through a nearby stand of White Birch trees. I tell her that we will attempt to enter the dreams of the lizard. But my mind says that we are already there……