Bees - A spiritual experiance ?

Am I the only one to find working with bees an almost spiritual experiance ?
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I wonder if others have the same view . Usually I am a very down to earth practical guy but bees ......................

Not just you - although I prefer to think of it as a meditative experience. You have to slow down to the bee's pace or they will let you know, quite emphatically, that you are doing it wrong.

This is exactly why I wanted to get bees back again - I eat very little honey, but love the keeping of bees.

sort of. or rather, some of the work I do with bees. mostly collecting swarms. the only other "work" I do with them generally involves killing a fair number of their young (cutouts almost always require cutting some brood up), which might be spiritual, but not in a particularly pleasant way.

sitting and watching them at the hive entrance or on flowers, though, I find completely delightful and quite calming. I sometimes intend to sit down to watch for a couple of minutes and realize I probably ought to get on to other things 30 or 40 minutes later.

There is a technique in YOGA, when people meditate they create bees like buzzing sound. It helps them to get in higher states of mind.

David Livingston wrote:Am I the only one to find working with bees an almost spiritual experiance ?

I find that just stepping out of the door to do *anything* in nature an almost spiritual experience.

But then I am a little weird like that....

Here's a video explaining the Buzzing Bee breathing technique in Yoga. Please forgive the woman's slightly annoying demeanour.



It is said that if you practice this once a day it is impossible to be unhappy. How's that to chew on for working with the bees.

For me, the sound was very much the first thing that struck me about working with the bees. They envelope you in their buzzing - it makes me acutely aware of the space around me and brings absolute focus on to what I'm doing. I'm a yoga practitioner so that's the frame of reference I have, and it's one of the reasons we breathe with sound.

So, yes, beeeing is very much a spiritual experience.

I've embedded the buzzing bee breath video below. Thanks for sharing it!

@Burra thanks! I was trying and failing to do so, ha.

Even though it was a life long dream to have bees in my life , I didn't start till last year at the tender age of 54 . I took a course with a local beekeeper , who loves everything bees , even though she is highly allergic to their sting . Years ago I had assisted a friend inspect his hive , no suits , just a little smoke , everything went fine. So I was confident I would be able to handle my bees without the visceral angst that so many people seem to suffer from. I am fortunate that bee stings bother me very little , maybe itchy, if at all , for five or ten minutes... As soon as I cracked the lid to the hive that was to provide my nuc i fell under their spell . No veil , no gloves , just a long sleeved shirt and a little smoke . It was awesome , the world around me melted away , all I heard was the humming buzzing song of busy bees. They couldn't care less that I was muscling in on their space , they just went about their business . From that moment on , I looked forward to interacting with them , for me , it is a "spiritual" time. When I am working in the hive a natural calm seems to set in , my heart beat slows , all my daily worries just buzz away . Its fascinating to discover the hives different moods , depending on weather conditions and other influences. I can't wait till I can open up the hive again and see how well they got through their first winter . I find my most peacefull moments come when I am with my bees, they are my escape , my zen time. Oh and they make pretty good honey too.

Gerry, what a wonderful read in the morning (it's 9am here)! It's so good to spread awareness that it's going beyond the honey...

Oh, when I saw this thread I jumped right in.

Yes, I find being with bees a deeply spiritual experience. Time falls away and something wells up inside me that fills my heart. Even hearing recordings of bees can do that to me. This past weekend I was giving a talk and I was using images and sound on a powerpoint. I got to the one of the hive humming and I had to stop and just listen (along with everyone else).

When I walk up to the hives in the field to do a simple bee-tending task, I often think it will take 10 minutes, then come back down to the house and find I somehow was there for 45 minutes. Nothing to show for it except the bee after-glow.


warmly,
Jacqueline

I thought you might post on this thread when I saw you were to be a guest

David

Does anyone else still hear them in your head after you have been in the hive?

I swear I still hear them for at least 10 minutes or so even after I have gone in the house.

I also can tell a honeybee from any other insect when they are flying around, even when I can't actually see the insect making the sound.

Gerry,

I have decided that this is the year that I would finally take my first steps at working with bees. I am that lyrical age of 64. I hope to get a glimpse into the zen of bees.

I love all of this thread. I was (unintentionally) meditating outside of our hive earlier today, having so many similar experiences as many of you describe here, and over and over again the spirituality of being around bees catches me unguarded. Steiner's lectures on bees were what originally sparked my interest in these creatures, and they have stayed with me. Looking forward to the bee breathing- thanks for sharing!! And a friend also just shared this site with me today, it includes "healing" CD recordings taken from inside the hive at different times of the year: http://www.healingbees.org