The Way of the Guide
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Roger Bass
On October 17th, 2018, Roger Bass had a massive stroke. The neurosurgeon caring for the 66-year-old resident of Flat Rock told Roger’s family that if he didn’t die, he could very well be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life.
As it turns out, Roger Bass had a different plan for his future.
Not only did he not die, three years later he can often be found hiking in the woods while seriously contemplating his relationship with the natural world - an evolving relationship that has resulted in Roger recently publishing a book entitled, The Way of the Guide at King Creek.
Roger’s journey to Flat Rock was a long and winding road marked by several seminal life events - some mundane and others traumatic. Taken collectively, all of the experiences led Roger to a life that is very different now from the life he knew as a child and young man living in Florida. Roger grew up in Tampa and as a young boy loved to spend time in the woods and on the abundant waterways in and around Florida. He was introverted as a child and time in nature - frequently alone - fit his personality.
As an adult, Roger spent 30 years in Jacksonville working initially in finance and then spending 25 years as a boat inspector/appraiser. To Roger’s way of thinking, that more traditional and typical lifestyle started to change 21 years ago when his father experienced a devastating stroke. The elder Bass was paralyzed over half of his body and could no longer speak.
As is often the case, witnessing his parent’s medical issues led Roger to begin looking at his own life very differently. “That was traumatic for me,” he says now. “It was a huge wake-up call that made me stop and examine things.” The process of self-reflection led Roger to begin a study of Tai Chi and spend time with a highly influential meditation instructor. Looking back, he believes that these studies allowed him to “understand my subtle energies.” They also set him on a fascinating path of self-discovery.
During this transformational period in his life, Roger spent time immersed in the Himalayan Tradition and studied Sanskrit and Hindu philosophy. He also spent three weeks on a Taoist Temple tour in Taiwan. For a man who grew up as a Southern Baptist, the exposure to Eastern traditions created a much broader world view. “I am draw to ideas that arise from a number of sources,” he explains, “and then synthesize them into a whole, providing a broad perspective.”
Once Roger started down his path of exploration and self-examination, there was clearly no turning back. To know Roger is to know that he commits himself fully and unreservedly to his efforts to better understand his place in the world. He also resolved to be more proactive about protecting that world. He was a founding member of an organization called St. Johns River Keepers in northern Florida which advocates for the protection of the St. Johns River and works to sustain a healthy ecosystem for future generations. Today, that organization and the St. Johns River are thriving - in large part to the vision and energy of Roger Bass.
Around this time, Roger also met Beverly Fleming, a self-taught naturalist in Northeast Florida. She offered Roger some advice that would prove to be the genesis of his recent book. “Beverly told me that when you move to a new place you should do two things: follow the water where you are to its source, to the oceans, and to create an herbarium by collecting plants and flowers and identify them.”
When Roger and his wife, Pam, purchased a home in Highland Lake Village in Flat Rock, Roger took Beverly’s advice to heart and set out to understand the biosphere of his new home. He traced the origin of King Creek (in Kenmure) and cataloged dozens of trees, plants, and flowers. He also made maps of his new home - all in an effort to better understand his new home in ways that transcended the streets and neighborhoods that most typically are used to describe Flat Rock.
From Roger’s research evolved his original manuscript, “Developing a Sense of Place: A Bioregional View of Highland Lake.” The document was 50 pages long and Roger was proud of his research and felt more integrated with this new home. But there were no plans to publish a book.
Then in 2018, he had his stroke. Pam called the EMTs and he woke up three days later in Mission Hospital. Almost immediately, his care team had him up and walking slowly around the halls. When his doctor saw him walking, he said to Roger, “You are a miracle.”
Roger credits his miraculous recovery to his strong connection to the natural world, the prayers of his Southern Baptist family, and the guidance of a shaman he’d met in previous explorations of the spiritual world. The entire experience, not surprisingly, changed him yet again. “My experience of spirit or God changed when I realized that the combination of Baptist prayers and guidance from the shaman provided tremendous healing. I realized that all spiritual paths are the same. We have different words, have different traditions, but it is all healing. It altered my beliefs which had been evolving for 20 years.”
In the months following his stroke, a key component of Roger’s recovery was to spend more time hiking to regain his strength. He spent many hours in DuPont State Forest and in the Green River Game Lands walking amidst the trees and forests that had always given him comfort and a sense of peace. It was during these walks that Roger had another realization - that he needed to get certified as a Forest Therapy Guide.
Roger had heard about a healing therapy developed and promoted by the Japanese called Shirin Yoku - translated as Forest Bathing. Forest Therapy is a contemplative practice that involves spending time in forested or natural areas for the purpose of enhancing health, wellness, and happiness. Today, forest bathing is such an important part of Japanese culture that there is an official recognition of its healing qualities.
As part of his training as a Forest Therapy Guide, Roger was required to do a “harvest project” that encapsulated his 6 months of training. He decided to publish a book using his research on the King Creek watershed and the plants located there. He added to the scope of the research by enlisting Alan Cameron, a self-taught naturalist living in Flat Rock, to write a section on the animals living in the local watershed. The book was published in 2021 and Roger believes that the book will allow readers to see their local nature with new eyes, while experiencing a better sense of well-being from time spent in nature.
Today, Roger shares his skills as a Forest Therapy Guide via “Immersion Walks” in area parks and forests. His next Immersion Walk will be at The Park at Flat Rock at 9am , September 26th. As Roger explains it, his work is as a facilitator who invites participants to fully experience trees and forested areas with all of their senses. “The Spirit of the Forest is the therapist,” he explains. The Way of the Guide simply creates space for the Forest to speak.”
Over the past three decades, Roger Bass has undergone a number of significant transformations. As for the future, Roger will continue to advocate for a closer connection between people and the natural world that surrounds us. In his book, Roger quotes a poem by David Suzuki that helps describes his vision of what the world could be if we slowed down and paid more attention to the world outside our windows.
The way we see the world, shapes the way we treat it.
If a mountain is a deity, not a pile of ore;
If a river is one of the veins of the land, not potential irrigation;
If a forest is a sacred grove, not timber;
If other species are biological kin, not resources;
Or if the planet is our mother, not an opportunity;
Then we will treat each other with greater respect.
Thus is the challenge, to look at the world from a different perspective.
-David Suzuki
Roger’s book, The Way of the Guide at King Creek is available online here.
