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The
trees are God's great alphabet:
With them He writes in shining green Across the world His thoughts serene. ~Leonora Speyer One day I walked to the
river,. I saw trees growing up and down the banks on both
sides. They were clinging to the river as children cling to the
skirts of their mother. I have seen beautiful, clear, pristine
rivers with trees clinging to them, and I have seen dirty, polluted,
ugly rivers, and still those trees try to cling to it. It reminds
me of children that cling to dysfunctional, abusive parents because its
all they have, its all they've ever known.
I understand why; trees need nourishment, and so do children. They try to extract the liquid goodness from the polluted water and survive on it without dying from the stagnant dysfunction that comes along with it. They aren't able to see that the water is not good for them. And, in most cases, they have no choice. It's the only way they can survive. Is there anything we are clinging to in our lives that isn't good for us? Most of the time, we know that something isn't good for us. We know in the back of our minds. Our inner guidance system is working, and when we have a negative emotion like sadness, fear, anger, hate, or frustration, we realize this is a signal to change something. But we often don't. We continue to endure unpleasant circumstances and the unpleasant reactions we have to them, and we starve ourselves when we could easily have what we need. How do we extract ourselves from this situation? The oak tree drops its acorns, squirrels carry them away, and some of them germinate and start to grow new trees. The old tree dies from its toxic conditions, and is rebirn through the acorn. The cottonwood tree's fluffy white seeds sail on the wind, and when they finally come to earth, a new tree grows. But human beings can't be reborn. Or can we? In order to be reborn, that which is old and diseased must die. It's hard to get rid of old negative emotions and traumas because our subconscious keeps them hidden from us. But this subterfuge is only temporary. Our subconscious eventually starts leaving clues for us so that we can find our way to what's hidden. Sit or lie down someplace comfortable and close your eyes. Let your breathing become slow and rhythmic. Focus on the breath. Start at ten and count backwards to zero, one count for each exhalation.. Count in your mind, not out loud. When you say the word "zero" in your mind, rest in the fullness and wholeness you feel at that place. Make "zero" the place of healthfulness and peacefulness within you. Now that you have experienced this peaceful state, think of an emotion that has been bothering you lately. What emotion is it? Name it. Now, I'd like you to answer this question. Let's say your emotion was sadness. When you think of this sad feeling, I'd like you to visualize a human body. YOUR body. When you think of this sadness, what part of nyour body comes to mind? Don't think about it a long time, just say whatever immediately comes to mind first. Let's say it's your shoulder. Do you have any pain in your shoulder? Sometimes the person readily names a part of their body that has some kind of disfunction, and if that's the case, you'll work on that area directly. But sometimes the person names a totally unrelated part of the body that has no pain or disfunction. that's OK. Your subconscious makes the connection anyway. Let's say you have no pain in your shoulder, but you named the shoulder as the center of this sadness. For you, your subconscious has chosen your shoulder as a symbol of your pain and disfunction. That's OK. Since we are working with symbols, it doesn't matter if it's the real source of the pain. Visualize your shoulder with a huge dark blob over it. This dark spot represents the sadness you have been feeling. Now go back to focusing on your breath. Breathe deeply a few times. Now start at ten and count backwards to zero, just as you did before, only this time, with each counted exhalation, you see the big dark blob shrinking. You are going to count backwards to zero, and each time you count a breath, visualize the blob getting smaller. With each exhalation it is going away, shrinking, getting smaller. When you finally exhale the last "zero" breath, see the dark blob completely disappear, and know in the depths of your being that it is completely gone. As before, when you say the word "zero", feel the fullness and wholeness of that place. Feel your whole being smile. Feel your body adjust itself to this new state of completeness. Put a note on your mirror and repeat it every day, "I am resting in this state of joyful comfort and peacefulness." Then think of a tall, healthy tree with bright green, shiny leaves, standing by the water - a thought serene. |