environment

Trees and Patience

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Dear reader, this post is from the archives of AskGCW.

As trees, we must practice patience. We begin humbly, as a tiny fragile looking seed finding a home in the soil where conditions for life and future growth exist- moisture, light air soil, warmth… the sense of home and belonging.

Silver Maple seeds

Here our first roots unroll toward earths’ magnetic pull. Our precious seed leaves burst out and open, stretching to the light. This is our home for life, this patch of soil and sun.

We are settled here. We are content and patient in the place chance has chosen for us. We live lives of endurance, growing slowly year by year adding height and girth, our bark expanding and thickening.

Hackberry bark

We practice patience as our new green branches turn woody in months gaining in strength and size over the years. We stand tall according to our nature, we soak in light, pull in nutrients and moisture from the soil, feeding ourselves, providing homes for birds and insects, wildlife, tiny mammals, mosses, lichen. We do this for decade upon decade.

For generations, for lifetimes we thrive and survive.

You might consider us to be miracles! From fragile seedlings to magnificent mature trees, we have a strong will to live and endure, to take up the space we need, to soak in our share of sunshine and pull in the sustenance we need from the Earth.

We patiently endure droughts, torrential rains, lightening, storms, extreme cold and wilting heat. Year after year we patiently adapt to the conditions of our environment. Sometimes these conditions cause stress and then we benefit from your care concern and attention.

Trees and storm clouds

We are the calm green backdrop to your lives, providers of cooling shade, beautifying your neighborhoods and landscapes, holding the soil, clearing the air, sheltering your farms towns and and cities, greening your cemeteries, ranging over mountains and ringing lakes.

We lovingly watch your children grow from infants to adults, we witness with affection the growth and development of your grandchildren and great grandchildren.

We can show you what patience is.

The Great Meeting Place

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I am swimming in this river of life. Sometimes smack in the middle of the fast moving current, surrendering to the flow. Not fighting it.

Sometimes the river of life runs low during dry periods and grounds me on a sandbar for a time, until the rains come and the water rises again.

And then, once again, I give myself to the river, trusting its course and flow as the current pulls me downstream.

The water of this river joins all waters of the earth, all creeks, rivers, streams lakes, inland seas, all melted glaciers, ice and snow. The current’s pull grows stronger.

The flow of all water on our planet culminates finally in the one great meeting place.

This is the ocean, where numberless droplets merge and become one universe of surging and living water, the stuff of life.

Come home

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When you feel distraught, take a moment, bring your awareness to your heart and breathe. Let your breath soothe you.

When you feel unsettled, ground yourself by walking barefoot on the Earth, or hugging a tree and come home to nature. Let the sights and sounds, the smells of nature calm you.

When you feel ungrounded, come home to your roots. Plug yourself into Earth energy by hugging a tree or imagining your energetic roots sinking deeply into the Earth.

When you feel exhausted, rest awhile and come home to your inner spirit, the part of you that never tires, that lasts forever, that will never lead you wrong.

When you are worried or anxious, come home to this present moment of your life. Release regrets for the past and worries for the future for several beats of your heart and feel the peace as you breathe in and out.

Come home to your heart and body, to the present moment. In this way, you will live a true and authentic life.

Connect with Earth Energy

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Dear reader, this post is from the archives of AskGCW.

Dear one, do you feel shaky, off balance, flighty, un-tethered?

Our great mother, the Earth asks you to lie down heart to heart, belly to belly with her and absorb her loving grounding energy into your body.

When you feel anxious she will calm you, when you feel unmoored, she will give you solidity. When you are tired, she will fill you with energy. When you feel lost, she will provide a home, a safe resting place, a solid foundation.

Go to the Earth when you find yourself off balance, jittery, bereft. Let her energy heal you.

Let her envelope you in the energy, the safety, and feeling of home. Know that we belong to each other!

Survival

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Dear readers this post is from the archives of AskGCW.

Rumors of the demise of Mother Earth have been greatly exaggerated. This planet will endure, she will continue spinning on her axis, orbiting the sun. Day will follow night. The sun will rise in the East. The ancient cycle of seasons will endure, the moon will wax, become full, wane, then begin again in darkness.

Full Moon

The ancient cycles will endure even if humans are no longer here to witness the beauty, to name the seasons, and study the stars

Humans are slowly committing suicide as they ignore the warning signs of the stressed and overtaxed environment and atmosphere. I ask you to slow down and listen to your Great Grandmother the Earth. Learn her language. Pay attention to her signs, symbols, her distress call.

When you learn her language, the language of the web of life, you will learn the ancient ways of survival on this planet. You will learn to respect the amazing intelligence built up over eons of time within every living thing and every living system.

Tuning in to the messages and intricate interconnections of the web of life and hearing the voices of all living things here on this planet still means survival.

Technology in your pocket, shiny objects, expensive homes will not save or buffer you from the reality that you are a part of this web of life, a part of nature. We survive together!

Take action to divest yourselves and your human cultures of greed and corruption. Stop over-consuming our precious resources and hoarding wealth for only a few. These things damage the web of life.

Learn to use only what you need. Learn to be humble. Learn to love each step you take on Mother Earth, each breath you take into your miraculous body, each beat of your heart.

Wake up and embrace your precious life on this precious Earth!

Choose life! Slow down, live simply.

Have you been tamed?

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Dear reader, this post is from the archives of AskGCW.

You humans have built an amazing civilization. But I wonder, Dear Ones, does it lift you up in ways that feed your spirit and serve your soul?

You all have within you the energetic memories of a time when humans were in tune with the spirits of the land, connected to nature, free to choose their path and direction, when they lived a simpler life and danced around a fire deep into the night.

Inuksuit

Let me be frank. You have been domesticated and tamed. Of course at first your need for domestication was about survival on this planet with unpredictable weather, predatory animals, unstable food sources, sudden accidents…

And now you have these basics, you have evolved systems of farming and food storage, medical care, learned to keep yourselves safe, the dangerous animals at bay…

But now what? Have things gone too far?

Have you sold your souls and your autonomy for the convenience of a sleek little phone, 2 cars in the garage, a paid off mortgage the best schools for your kids?

I’m telling you, you can reclaim your wild spirit, your deep soul that is your birthright, while retaining what is good and useful in your civilizations for your survival on the planet and a thriving life.

What is your definition of a thriving life?

If you are restless, if you feel you are missing that deep part of you, that something precious has gone, learn to tap into your true and untamed and fierce heart. Do not give yourself away or betray this part of you for love or money or the illusion of safety.

This inner fire is your true inheritance from those ancestors of the deep past who survived, from those who painted on torch-lit cave walls, who learned to speak to spirits and survive in harmony with our Earth’s rhythms and cycles, who found life a sacred trust, a gift of the ancestors.

Reclaim this deep abiding center of yourselves by living consciously. You get to choose what to keep, what to let go of in your life.

You alone can discern what makes your heart sing, what causes dullness and heaviness in your spirit, what lifts you up, what drags you down.

Live as though every moment is sacred, every living thing is holy, every person precious, with your wild untamed heart and spirit at the center of your beautiful life

Houseplants II

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Dear humans, do you need a focus for your caring energy? Try a houseplant or two… We are living beings you can grow to love and enjoy.

Get to know us, speak to us with kindness and encouragement, meet our simple needs and we will bless you with all that is in our power.

We have been given the honor to share your space and your life. For this we thank you. We have so much more to give than meets the eye. We can communicate through touch, through telepathy, through intuition, thorough energy.

We can sense your moods and intentions. We know at a fundamental level the beat and energy of your heart. We are affected by negative news media, by loud and harsh noises, by violence nearby, by the energies of anger and fear. We are sentient beings, more sensitive more aware than you think.

We respond well to kind voices, the energy of love, an atmosphere of peace. We mirror you. If we are wilted, dried up, yellowed, leggy, or vigorous, strong, brightly colored, or blooming look into your own life and see how the same may be true for you.

Are your roots shallow or deep? Are they rotten from over watering? Is the soil in your container depleted or nourishing and supportive of life? Are you blooming? Going to seed? In this way we act as a metaphor for your self awareness.

We cannot speak your human languages. If you take the time and gather the patience you can tune into our way of communicating. Quiet your minds, use your fingertips. Listen to your intuition and trust the messages you receive from us. In this way you expand your experience of what is possible and form deeper connections with nature.

When you bring a plant into your home, you imbue your life with the sweet green energy of nature

The Houseplants Speak

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We bless your home! You provide a controlled atmosphere and temperature, consistent lighting. You water and fertilize us when needed. You protect us from storms freezes and extreme heat, you take pleasure in our color and form our blooming growth habits.

We soften the sharp edges of your home and life.

We are far from passive ornaments to be watered and dusted once a year. We cleanse the air you breathe we convert sunlight to beauty. We provide pools of peace and calm in your homes. We bring the zen of nature indoors.

Please do not take us for granted. Let us coexist in partnership with you.

We may seem silent and still. As companions we’re not as exciting as puppies or kittens, but we communicate, we exchange energy and signals with others of our kind, with you too, if you quiet your mind and learn to hear our language.

We communicate via telepathy. You can tune into our frequencies and enter our world. Let us show you how to help us thrive. We can communicate to you our needs for water light and air. We can communicate peace and calm.

We thrive when you speak to us and think of us with kindness. The energy and feeling behind your words matter. We soak in your love, your caring. We are damaged by harsh words in our environment, mean feelings and the vibrations of violence. We are sensitive to you and your energy, you cannot pretend with us.

We are friends who demand little, who give much. Let us coexist in beautiful partnership.

Rediscover peace

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When fear in your body feels too much, when the voices of doom and gloom and ugly rants on the news on social media get you down, when you can’t settle, when your head is filled with anxiety, go outside if you can.

You will feel more clarity and greater calm when you go outside without your shiny device, your ear buds, your blinking object.

If it is not safe to go outside, to breathe the air, imagine yourself in your favorite spot in nature. Use your inner vision to go to a place you love and feel completely safe and comfortable.

Move in comforting ways, walk slow or fast, swing your arms, breathe in the fresh air, move through the shifting shade under old and friendly trees, notice the sights sound smells and the feel of your chosen place on this Earth.

Summer grasses

Let your awareness reside in your heart, your body, your senses. Let thoughts from your logical mind and the demands of your ego float in and out like clouds, knowing they are not reality. Do not give them any power by clutching or grasping onto them.

Notice the colors of your world, the flow of the creek or river, the animals and birds, the plant life, the clouds, sky patterns, tree growth, the blooming flowers.

Feel your feet meeting Mother Earth. Feel her support of you. Feel your lungs filling and emptying as your chest rises and falls. Feel the movement of your limbs swinging in rhythm.

Feel the energy of fear leaving your being with each out breath. Feel anxiety melting away as you hug and lean on a friendly tree, letting the tree with deep roots support your weight and connect your heart to the heart of the Earth.

GCW in fall

Let the weight of your worries drain away into the earth for this moment. Mother Earth will neutralize the energy of excess fear, anxiety, and dread.

You may be absorbing unpleasant emotional energy from the collective mind, from other people and groups. Let it go! Let it drain away into the Earth. It is not yours to carry.

When you can get out of your head and spend time in nature, you can rediscover peace.

Collective dreaming

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The collective dreaming of all living creatures here creates the Earth we see and experience.

What Earth do you dream of? You can help create the world you wish to see through your dreaming and visualization, your intentions joined with the dreams of many others.

Amazing spider web

Earth’s regenerative power and potential lies in her seeds, roots, her living soil, her atmosphere, her myriad living creatures of all descriptions. It lies in the human will to live, survive, thrive and endure, the ability to envision a hopeful and healthy future.

All is in constant motion, constant change – birth, growth, blossoming, setting fruit, waxing, waning, decline, death, rebirth, growth.

All Earths creatures together are one living organism. It will not do for one part of the whole to do battle with another for that would be to declare war against oneself.

We can dream ourselves a renewed Earth, restored to balance and harmony, restored to wholeness with compassion for all.

When our Earth is in balance the web of life sustains itself.