P2 27 Dec 22 (Healing Magic of Trees)

 Our mind carry our emotional stress, but our bodies do, too. According to the late neuropharmacologist, Candace Pert, "body is our subconscious mind. Our physical body can be changed bythe emotions we experience. Unprocessed emotions are literally lodged in our bodies, which can result in tension and disease. The physical body is always trying to release emotion. If we don't express those emotions, the energy becomes stuck in our joints, tissues and organs. A good way to let go of any residual stress or preoccupations you may be carrying with you, before entering the forest, is to shake your body. We may not be able to control all the stresses of our daily lives, but we can control how we respond to them. 

Turn off Mobile Phone : 

Many of us suffer from "screen apnea" or email apnea". We stop breathing or breathe shallowly when we look at screens. The aps that we download might be "free", but when we spend hours scrolling on social media, what we are paying with is our attention and heath, the most valuable things we have. What we pay attention to determines the quality of our lives.  

Practice Presence

Much of the noise does not come from "out there" but rather from within your own mind. Awareness of the busy mind is an important step towards liberation. The undisciplined mind is a constant amusement park. It follows thoughts through a hall of mirrors and around the Ferris wheel. It can fee crowded and suffocating. Much of our anxiety, stress and unease come from our minds dwelling on the past or anticipating the future. We are accustomed to these rides and find ourselves going back to them out of habit, even though they make us feel uncomfortable. 

Presence occurs when our thinking mind quiets and all our attention is focused on the world around us. 

Nature is a great teacher of timeless now. Watch how a bird, a plant, or a stream exists in the expansive now. 

Intention  

"Intention leads to behaviors which lead to habits which lead to personality development which leads to destiny." Jack Kornfield

Say a prayer for the forest 

Thich Nhat Hanh : When we look into our own bodily formation, we see Mother Earth inside us, and so the whole universe is inside us too. Once we have this insight of interbeing, it is possible to have real communication, real communion, with Earth. This is the highest possible form of prayer. 

Make an offering to the forest 

The most important thing is to be intentional, reverent, and present throughout the process of preparing and making the offering. As we restore harmony in our own lives, we restore harmony to the planet. The more we give, the more we realise how much we are given. Generosity creates abundance. Gratitude begins to grow. The innate notion of reciprocity will again become the way we go about our lives on this planet. 

Invitation : Walking tree breaths

We can reestablish our roots and connection to the Universe with this invitation. 

Take off your shoes and while standing, rock back and forth and side to side to establish a firm connection to the earth. Imagine that roots are attached to the bottoms of your feet that extend down deep into the ground. 

Inhale deeply and imagine energy travelling through your feet, up your legs, through your core, and into your heart centre. 

Exhale as you reach your arms to the sky like branches reaching for the light, and let out a "shooo!" sound as you expel energy that's been stuck in your body. 

On your next inhale, gather energy from the cosmos and bring it into your heart center. 

Exhale as you fold forward and let out another "shoo!" as you bring your fingertips to the ground. It's ok to bend your knees. Allow your fingertips to soak up the energy from the earth. 

 As you stand, inhale and bring your hands to your heart center in a prayer position. Repeat six to twelve times. When you feel complete, stand with your eyes closed and your hands together in prayer at your heart center. You may feel both more grounded and expansive and spacious, just like a walking tree.  

Befriend a tree 

Find a tree that you are drawn to, ask its permission to work with it. If you don't experience an enthusiastic "Yes" in reply, thank the tree for expressing itself and find another tree that does want to work with you. 

When you have found your tree, ask permission to touch its back with your hands or wrap your arms around it. Take a few deep breaths and focus on radiating loving energy from your heart straight into the tree. 

Then inhale energy up from the roots of the tree to your heart. 

Exhale energy from your heart to the tree, and inhale energy from the tree to your heart. 

Exhale energy from your heart up through the tree's leaves and into the sky.

Inhale energy from the cosmos back to your heart. 

Continue breathing with the tree this way for as long as you'd like. 

When you or the tree feel complete, thank the tree as you would any other partner and notice if there is an extra zing of energy moving through your body. 

Greet the sun

Face the sun, stand with your arms outstretched in front of you, at 90o, with both palms facing away from you and towards the sun. 

Bring your thumbs together and place the tips of your 4 fingers on one hand over the 4 fingers on the other hand, creating a triangle shape in the space between your hands. 

Close your eyes and stay still for a moment, feeling the heat of the sun on your palms. 

Inhale and bring your hands together in prayer position at your heart's centre. Feel the energy of the sun warm your heart. 

On your next inhale, circle your arms out and bring them back in front of you. Make the same triangle shape with your hands. 

Repeat this sequence 3xs or until you feel warmth in your heart. On the last time, hold your hands out in front of you in the same way, and say this 5 part affirmation, out loud or in silence ; 

Today is ____ (date), My name is ___ . I am grateful to be born in a human body at this time. Today i connect to the Universe. I promise to use my connection as a tool to serve the highest good. 

Bring your hands back to your heart center and feel the energy radiating from the sun through to your heart. You are connecting the sun's light with the light that shines deep inside you. Stay here for a moment, bask in the light and notice if you get any premonitions. 

Walk in silence 

Refrain from talking for the first 15 minutes of your forest bath. This marks your departure from one realm and your entry into another. The absence of talking shifts energy from your heat to your heart and body. Silence is a way to show respect for the forest, just as you do when refraining from talking in a temple or church. 

While enjoying the silent space, take time to check in with yourself and notice your surroundings. Imagine that you have just landed on planet Earth, and everything is new and exciting. You're part of a team of investigators, and your mission is to report back observations of the planet. You have no idea what those things protruding from the ground are and you can't help but go over tot hem and investigate. How are they standing up? What do they do?  Are secret messages hidden in the patterns of leaves or in subtle breezes? What do your observe in the colour of the flowers, the unfurling of the ferns, and the fallen leaves and twigs on the ground? What's moving? Invoke the curiosity and playfulness of your inner child. 

As thoughts come up, label them as "thinking" and then let them flow on. As you walk, you may choose to repeat a mantra such as this one from Llyn Cedar Roberts : "Quiet the mind, open the heart, drop into the body, feel the earth". With each step, imagine emptying a thought into Earth. Repeat this until you'are out of thoughts and then you will hear Earth. 

Take a moment during this silence to focus on the empty space between things- that's where the magic lives. In Japan, the concept of negative space is called ma- It is the emptiness filled with possibilities and the potential yet to be fulfilled. Ma is the quiet time that makes our lives meaningful and the silence between the notes that make the music. What is not there is as important as what is there. 

Sharing Circle

Listen with the presence that you have cultivated from walking in silence and clearing your head

You may learn something new from other people's observations that will enrich your experience in the forest. And it is healing to be heard when you are speaking from your heart. 

Keep the conversation in the present- with observations and feelings. 

Find yourself in Fractals

We've evolved to find relaxation in nature. The orderly chaos of nature relaxes our eyes and mind. Take a look around you. From tree branches to cloud shapes, everything in the natural world exists in the middle ground between order and chaos, both predictable and surprising. 

Nature doesn't just exist in fractals. It also moves in fractals. In nature, processes create change in fractal ways. From the air, the Grand Canyon displays a fractal pattern created by the Colorado River carving the ground over millions of years, as the river branches into tributaries, which branch into smaller streams, which branch into drainages. 

Nothing that's living is fixed or finished. All is constantly emerging. It's the same with our bodies. 

Our eyes search for fractal patterns, and when we see fractal structures, a stress-reducing physiological resonance occurs. The fractal stimuli of natural landscapes harmonize with the fractal stimuli of our brains to create feelings of pleasure. 

Scan the surroundings for patterns. Keep your focus soft and expand your attention to the periphery. 

Senses (p130)

Sensing opens up your body so that you can fully experience the moment and embody the sentient being that you are. As the calming forest enables your eyes to relax and you focus on what you hear, smell, taste, and touch, you invite nature to seep in through all of your senses to provide healing. Nature is a healer; you just have to open up to her power and her healing. When all your senses are engaged at once, you are, by definition, fully present. It's a feeling of being alive and it is absolutely sensational.

See : 

Smell : 

Our sense of smell has a powerful effect on our moods. Just think about pleasant smells, the scent of the flowers or the ocean, can evoke feelings of pleasure. Place your nose next to a tree, plant, or the soil and inhale deeply. Don't try to recognise the aroma, let it dance through your nostrils as you share this connection with Nature. Close your mouth and breathe in the nutrient-rich scents of the earth. 

Hear : 

Close your eyes and focus on what you hear. Cup your hands over your ears and listen to the sounds of the birds and insects, and the rustling of the trees. The sounds we hear in nature can relieve stress and restore us. You can hear so much once you quiet your own thoughts and open your ears to listen. Listen to the sounds that are nearby and others that are more distant. Some sounds are so constant that we forget toh notice them, and other sounds, such as the music that arises from Earth h. erself, are so subtle that it takes a long time of being in a very quiet place before you hear them all. 

Touch

Shift your awareness to touch. If you are standing, notice how your feet feel touching the Earth. As you sit, touch the soil, put some in your hand, and notice how it feels. Gather a handful of soil and inspect it. What do you notice? What happens if you rub it into your skin? Get lost in the ancient processes at work in the forest. 

Touch is often overlooked but very important part of forming bonds with one another and with the earth. Sometimes we walk through nature as though we are strolling in an art museum, keeping our hands politely to ourselves. The more we physically touch the earth, the more we open ourselves to her healing  powers and our touch can be healing for the plants as well. 

Taste : 

Open your mouth, stick out your tongue, and cultivate your sense of taste. We usually associate taste with eating and drinking, but we can also taste the air. Taste the morning dew, eat a berry, Notice how you merge with nature as we open to taste the world around us. 

Let it go invitation 

When we let go of whats' no longer serving us, we create spaciousness in our lives to nourish what we really want to cultivate.

In the forest, pick up a stick or fallen leaf and hold it in your hands. Bring into your awareness something about which you feel worried or anxious, something you your own life. Something that affects your friends or family, or something that affects the entire planet. With a big exhale, drop the stick or leaf back to the ground and release your worried energy into the earth. Don't be concerned about dropping your energy baggage onto the Earth. She can handle it. She recycles energy that's no longer serving you. You may notice that you start to feel better by naming these worries. You may feel a bit lighter and more free. Repeat this process as many times as you need. Many of us think that we need to hold on to all these anxieties and stresses but actually when we let them go, we are able to get beyond the small things that have been unknwingly preoccupying us so that we are able to focus on bigger things. There's big work to be done. 

If you are feeling overwhelmed with life, simply lie down on the earth. Allow the weight of your body to sink into the ground and feel the sense that you are being held. Surrender your whole being. A fern doesn't worry about how it's going to unfurl. Be like the fern and know you are supported. Stay there in Nature's cradle until you are ready to continue. 

Converse with the tree (p164)

Elemental Connection (p161)

Sit spot (p168)

Eat a snack

Spark your creativity(p183)

Take a nap(p191)

Tea ceremony 

Find your true nature (p198)

Positive emotions and operating from a place of love and peace within yourself results in your body emitting different electromagnetic frequencies that can change your experience of reality as well as the experience of those around you. 

Follow your heart : While walking int he forest, invite your heart to lead you. Say "okay, heart, show me the way", and see where it takes you. Perhaps you are drawn to a certain tree, a shaft of warm sunlight, or a pile of stones. Give an offering or make a gesture. Spend a while just being. Sit or lie down for a moment. And then, when you are ready, let your heart lead you to another spot. Keep following your heart, bopping around from spot to spot instead of moving linearly along a trail. The more you practice listening to your heart, the clearer its communications, and the more you will tap into a deeper sense of knowing. 

Signposts and guideposts 

Nature holds wisdom , the deep knowing that points the way. Even when nothing seems to make sense, you can access this ageless wisdom, which will guide you to being your most whole self. 

You can tap into Mother Nature's higher truths and see for yourself the real meaning behind many wise sayings. There's always something to learn and new tests to pass. Nature is the ultimate classroom. It constantly provides signs, symbols and messages just for you at the exact right time. Nature is always communicating and interacting with you. Just listen. 

Nature is also your mirror. What you see and experience int he natural world is often a reflection of what's happening for you internally. Often Nature shows us things about ourselves we couldn't see before. These messages are never hurtful or scary; they tend to be reassuring, often transforming self criticism and cynicism into something unimaginably beautiful. When you seek wisdom from Nature, you begin a courageous and rewarding journey towards your full potential. 

Huaca (sacred object)

Find a huaca in the forest 

Find a comfortable spot to lie down and spread out a ground cloth or lie directly on the earth 

Place the huaca on your body. You will naturally feel where it is meant to rest. It could be on your belly, on your forehead, or overy your heart. 

Close your eyes and relax. Take a few deep, grounding breaths and feel the weight of your being release into the earth. 

Now in your mind, travel to a place in nature that is special to you. When you reach your place, look around. 

Notice what you see, hear, touch, and smell. If you are on the beach, you may smell the water and hear the waves crashing on the shore. If you are in a field, you may smell the grass and feel the sun on your face. Perhaps you are by a campfire under a starry sky and you feel the expansiveness of the Universe. 

Notice who else is there with you. Ask this being if it is your huaca. If the answers yes, start a conversation. Ask a question. If it answers no, ask this being to take you to your huaca. 

Look at your huaca. What are the features like? Ask it for some advice. Allow it to take you on a journey through the elements. Do you meet other beings? Do you travel to unknown lands? 

When you feel ready, thank you huaca and say good-bye. Come back to that special place where you started. Take a few moments there. 

Spend a few moments returning to your breath and your surroundings. Slowly open your eyes and return to a seated position. 

What came up? What messages did you get from your huaca? Share your findings and new discoveries from this journey if you feel compelled or write them in your journal. You may have discovered symbols that will make sense over time or find that as you continue to journey, the messages build on each other. Take some time to reenact the journey in this realm as a way to merge the two world together. 

Forest huaca may continue to be a presence in your life or when its work is done, there is a signal, you may return it to the earth. You will know it. Whichever you choose, thank the huaca for its wisdom and support. 

Discover your own medicine

"We do not learn from experience.. we learn from reflecting on experience." John Dewey

Real work is to bring that reverence, peace, and awareness that you cultivated in the forest into all aspects of your daily life.