How Nature Immersion Wakes Up People Who Look Like They Have It All

One of the plants we discovered growing wild here at Wild Woods Retreat & Farm is mullein—those tall, fuzzy-leafed stalks you may have seen lining old fence rows.

The old timers swore by it. They brewed it into tea, tinctured it, even smoked the leaves for lung support. (And yes, I feel obligated to say: I’m not a doctor, I just happen to grow weeds that the pioneers thought were medicine.)

We harvest and dry it right here on the land, and you can try it yourself for $8 an ounce, free shipping to the lower 48.
👉 PayPal me here.

Whether you drop it in tea, use it in a tincture, or roll it up, mullein has a long history as nature’s helper.

And speaking of nature’s helpers, this week’s feature is all about how Karen Richter is guiding women back to their own vitality through the radical act of slowing down and reconnecting with the outdoors.

It’s the kind of life people envy. Good career. Kids thriving. A marriage that looks solid in holiday photos. There’s even a kitchen remodel with the perfect backsplash.

From the outside, it’s flawless. From the inside, it’s flat.

That’s the paradox Karen Richter sees in the women she works with. They’ve done everything right. They’ve achieved, produced, cared for everyone else, and kept the wheels turning. And yet, beneath the Instagram shine, they feel secretly unfulfilled.

The Silent Crisis of Midlife

Karen calls it “secret unfulfillment.” Outwardly, these women check every box. Inwardly, they wonder what went wrong.

The trigger is often midlife transitions. Kids move out. Parents no longer need care. Menopause barges in with its chaos. Suddenly, the script shifts and the roles that once defined everything disappear.

And then the real question shows up. Who am I now? What do I want next?

It feels dramatic, but Karen says it’s not unusual. It’s the most common conversation she has.

Trading Autopilot for Aliveness

Instead of offering quick fixes or pep talks, Karen takes a different approach. She gets people out of their heads and into their bodies by using nature.

Not nature as in “go buy a kayak and prove you’re outdoorsy.” Nature as in: sit under a tree. Notice the moss. Stare at the weeds in the sidewalk.

She calls them nature immersions. Some call it forest therapy. The point is the same: slow down enough to see what’s been there all along.

Karen laughs when people ask if this works on Zoom. “Of course,” she says. “You don’t need a pristine forest. You can find nature anywhere.” She once guided a stressed-out group to gather around a single tree in a parking lot. The results were the same: calmer minds, lower blood pressure, even sparks of creativity.

Why Science Agrees

This isn’t woo-woo. The research piles up. Time in nature reduces stress hormones. It lowers blood pressure. It boosts immune function. Some studies even show an increase in natural killer cells that fight disease.

The mental benefits are just as strong. Time outside helps stop the endless thought-loop replaying in your head. It frees up brain space for fresh ideas.

But Karen says the biggest shift isn’t scientific. It’s emotional. People rediscover joy.

A Different Relationship With Time

Karen knows the effect firsthand. She recently walked the Camino de Santiago, a six-week pilgrimage across Spain.

There’s a section called the Meseta that’s flat, repetitive farmland. Pilgrims often skip it, calling it boring. Karen loved it.

“Time slowed down in the most luxurious way,” she says. “I’d already thought all my thoughts. And then new ones began to appear.”

That single word, luxurious, captures what she wants women to reclaim. Time that isn’t crammed with multitasking. Time that doesn’t vanish in a blur. Time that feels like it belongs to you.

Permission to Be Inefficient

The problem, of course, is guilt. Modern life says slowing down is selfish. If you’re not exercising, learning, or multitasking, you’re wasting time.

Karen rejects that outright. Her metaphor? Mowing the lawn.

Most of her neighbors outsource it. She refuses. “Yes, it’s less efficient,” she says. “But mowing is my sanity. It’s exercise, therapy, and clarity all in one.” (Same!)

That inefficiency is the point. Nature doesn’t reward hustle. It rewards presence.

A Retreat Back to Yourself

This philosophy fuels Karen’s Awakening Aliveness Retreat in Costa Rica, a weeklong gathering in a lush cloud forest. The retreat center itself is a metaphor: land that was stripped bare decades ago and painstakingly restored over time until birds and wildlife returned.

For Karen, it’s proof that renewal is possible at any stage.

The retreat blends nature immersions, Yoga Nidra (yes, you can do it if you can lie down under a blanket), Qigong, and unstructured time. It’s not about squeezing in more. It’s about slowing down enough to hear yourself again.

She ran her first retreat on the banks of the Potomac. This is her first international event. And she already knows it won’t be the last.

The Sit Spot

For those who can’t hop on a plane, Karen offers something deceptively simple: a sit spot.

Pick one place outdoors. Return to it regularly. Sit there and do nothing. That’s it.

At first, it feels uncomfortable, maybe even boring. But boredom quickly shifts into awareness. “I feel bliss when I sit in mine,” Karen says. “And the ideas that come are like little bonuses.”

City dwellers aren’t off the hook. A balcony plant. A tree outside an office window. Even a shell or stone placed by your desk can work. The point is presence, not scenery.

A Better Second Half

Karen’s message is direct: midlife isn’t the beginning of the end. It’s the chance to start the second half wide awake.

You don’t have to stay on autopilot. You don’t have to accept unfulfillment as the price of success. And you don’t have to know every answer before you take the first step.

All you need is the willingness to slow down, listen, and let nature do its work.

Ready to rediscover your true nature?
Connect with Karen and explore her retreats and nature immersions at confidentbynature.com.

Check out our conversation here:

YouTube
Apple
Spotify