environment

Message from a tree

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Stop awhile on your hike, your walk to work or school, lean against my trunk, absorb my loving energy. I have much to give.

I share my strength, my shade, my beauty with you. You can trust my solidity. My roots anchor me securely. I will not wobble or fall, back away or collapse as you lean your full weight against me. I am here for you, a sure presence.

Grandmother Cottonwood

I share my loving energy with you. What you might call my love is all encompassing. It does not question or expect or judge, it simply radiates like joy from the core of my being, embracing and enriching and interweaving with the entire web of life.

I share my tree wisdom with you. I have weathered many storms, many cold winters, droughts, floods, beating summer suns, loss of limbs, nearby construction projects that have felled many of my companion trees, yet I endure and thrive. I continue to send my roots into the earth for nourishment and reach my branches to the light life-giving sunlight.

Hackberry bark

Those of you who pay attention with your heart and your 5 senses can learn from the trees. You might learn patience in the face of change. You might learn endurance in all seasons, all weather conditions, You might discover a new way to think about unconditional love.

You might learn that to be strong and stable you must develop deep roots and connect with Earth energy. You might learn how to gracefully claim and take up the space that is yours and spread your branches to the light, because it is your birthright.

You can learn much from a tree. Trust, root deep, love, endure.

Winter’s rest

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As the light slowly returns to the sky, as the northern hemisphere of our Earth turns once again toward the light, the energy of all living things slowly shifts into a time of pause and rest as the light grows little by little each day.

Deep midwinter, a time to rest and draw inward, a time to tune into your body and your breath, time to relax and let go of your striving pushing and must do, must have mentality.

Grandmother Cottonwood in winter

Your entire being is exquisitely tuned to the light, the seasons. Trust the wisdom and honor the needs of your body mind and spirit. Yes, you may be able to override your instincts and rhythms for awhile, but at what cost?

When your body requires rest, when your mind requires contemplation and when your heart needs to turn inward, you will have to let go of your expectations for “getting things done” that is so near and dear to the human heart.

Winter is a time to dream, a time to plan, a time to rest. When you empty your mind of whirling thoughts and big ideas and the need to push forward for a time, you make room for fresh new creative energy to enter your life.

Frozen creek

Getting things done, enjoying increased energy, getting started on your pet projects will come in time, my dears. Have patience during the darker colder months. As the light grows, you will gain energy and stamina and your sense of purpose will return.

For now, allow yourself to close your eyes, cover yourself in comfort, breathe, sleep and dream. You rest knowing this time your body needs for renewal will not last forever.

Trust the rhythm of your days, the seasons of your life, the wisdom of your body. Trust the needs and longings of your spirit.

When you love and nurture yourself in this way, you truly know what it is to love yourself unconditionally.

Three worlds

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I, Grandmother Cottonwood, am a magnificent tree. I live in three worlds.

My roots reach deeply into the lower world, pulled by gravity , the magnetic pull of Earth’s core. My roots draw in nourishment and water and all earth elements needed to feed me.

This is the zone of magic, of power, of earthy energies and animal spirits, of ancient knowledge, of survival on this planet. This is the region of Earth wisdom that will feed your souls.

The wisdom of the lower world has been accumulated over millennia from the time our Earth was a swirling mass of gasses, even before life took hold.

All myths, legends, all ancient wisdom resides here. You can tap into their power and richness. They will feed and fuel your growth. As my roots feed me.

I am rooted to the Earth

GCW root zone

My magnificent trunk and large limbs reside in the middle world, the spiritual aspect of the created world. Here I weather storms, bake under a hot summer sun, rest in winter, scatter my seeds in spring. Here I age and witness tired old limbs fall to the earth and others thrive and come into leaf.

I witness my bark growing thicker and tougher each year. I interweave branches and roots with the sycamores, the hack-berries, the thorny locusts, the grasses, the nearby cottonwoods.

Here I interact with the energy, the spirits of those who walk by or who lean against me, those who give me tree hugs.

Our spirits are all one here. All living beings are connected through our invisible energies. Our spirits interweave and overlap whether we know it or not. We communicate and understand each other. Human, plant, animal, insect, Earth.

As a living being on planet Earth, my awareness is centered in my physical reality in this place and time

I am centered in my body.

Grandmother Cottonwood

My smaller branches and tiny twigs, my growing tips and buds, my fine crown of leaves reside in the upper world. This is a place of expansion, of light, of growth, a place of miracles of divine wisdom and divine energies. This is the realm of spirit, of your higher self.

Here the sunlight touches my leaves fueling their growth as they absorb the life giving light. My crown brings the amazing energies of the divine down from the heavens into my body to keep life alive. I reach to the sun, my source of power. I am whole and complete

I am aligned with divine light.

Grandmother Cottonwood in fall

I am rooted to the Earth. I am centered in my body. I am aligned with divine light.

The Evergreens Speak

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We are delighted and proud to bless this Earth with our heavenly fragrances, our beautiful crowns of green all year long, our deep roots that hold and weave the soil into a strong fabric, our spreading branches that shelter and provide homes and food for many living creatures, feathered, winged, fur bearing, six and eight legged.

Cedar in the snow

We take seriously our charge to lovingly shelter your homes, playgrounds, parks, schools and farmsteads, to provide beauty and stability, to act as silent companions to the dead in graveyards, to decorate your homes and places of worship in the dark and cold times of year when all other growing things are brown and sleeping

We are honored to enter into your homes and buildings to provide the structural support of the walls, floors, roofs, the natural beauty of our wood-grain in your trims and furniture. We lovingly share our beauty and our strength with you.

We evergreens spread our cloaks of green standing tall and proud, loving all beings, loving this life, this Earth, sharing sunlight and air with all living creatures, knowing the stones the soil and bedrock, rooted deeply and reaching to the light…

Evergreens in snow

We spread our fragrant green limbs in blessing.

Abundance is a state of mind

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Dear friends, I am taking a week off.  I hope this encore post resonates with you.  Happy Thanksgiving! –Betty

Abundance is not just money, coins and dollar bills, It is the world around you – the beauty around you, the people in your life, the land that supports you, the air you breathe, the water that gives you sustenance, the flow of energy through your life.

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Autumn crab apples

Abundance is in nature that surrounds and supports you and gives so freely and generously of her harvests and resources. It is the human made world of clothing and shelter, streets and roads, libraries, hospitals, places of safety and community. Abundance is the inspired offerings of art, music dance, theater, books, movies, writings, design and building, comedy and laughter – all manner of human creations.

Abundance is in the priceless laughter that bubbles up inside you and feeds your spirit! It is the sunlight bringing life to all things. Abundance is the tools, materials, and ideas to create and bring your inspirations to life.

Abundance is the freedom and time to enjoy the changing of the seasons, the gorgeous colors of fall – to take a few moments to watch the golden leaves float and spin and dance as they fall to Earth so they will feed the soil that supports your life.

Abundance is the food and drink on your table, day after day, year after year, nourishing and sustaining your body and soul. It is the loving friends, the helpful strangers, the kind neighbors that touch your heart and help you. It is the purring cats and snuggling dogs that share your life and bring your joy and companionship. Abundance is warm socks and boots on a cold day.

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Painted lady butterfly on red zinnia

Most of all, abundance is in the feelings that flow through you – joy, inspiration, inner calm, soul satisfaction, contentment, happiness…  Even feelings of anger and fear are there for your information and learning, to help you know yourself and learn from life.

Abundance is the feeling of being blessed to overflowing! It is the ability to share the overflow of your blessings with others.

With appreciation, name your blessings and feel the feelings they awaken in you .  Make this your daily practice.

When you feel confident and secure enough to be generous with your blessings, no matter how much money you do or do not have, you are truly living a life of abundance and plenty!

Healing Entanglements

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To reach your full light your peak flow and effectiveness, you may need to heal some of the entanglements from your past.

These may be entanglements with tired old beliefs that once seemed to keep you safe, entanglements with people who you discover do not have your best interests at heart.

Autumn trees at dusk

Perhaps you are entangled with those who were friends or lovers of your youth, but who were not able to grow and learn from life and heal themselves as you did. And now your relationship with them does not feed your soul any longer, but drains you.

Take courage! Take heart! Gather your will and your inner power as you reinvent your life and create healthy new beliefs, uplifting new friendships and let go of the stale old patterns and habits of thought that keep you small.

Yes, this healing can happen for you, step by step, hour by hour, little by little. This is not an easy overnight process! You must do the difficult work of healing, of letting go, and learning to trust and love yourself. There is no substitute!

Ask for help from a healer, therapist, trusted friend, compassionate spirit helpers, or a wise mentor as you enter into this life changing path. You do not have to do this alone!

After a time, you will look back on yourself and see how far you’ve come in the evolution of your soul and how much healthier you are in mind body and spirit.

Grandmother Cottonwood, summer

Dear ones, once you have seen the light, you will never want to go back to the entangled you, the small and hurting you. You may have some good memories of those days, still keep in touch with old friends on a surface level, but remember this: after you have been born, you cannot go back into the womb.

I am calling you to your highest self, your wise self. I am calling you to tap into your true inner power based on your innate worth as a child of earth and spirit!

Prairie Seasons

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Now the grasses and wildflowers, brown and gray after the first hard frost, heavy with seed, begin their long sleep under winter’s blanket.  Another year’s growth now dying back, dropping seed onto my dark and ancient soil.

Growing like a riot in the hot and sunny seasons, reaching to the sun, rooting into the earth. Dancing the ancient dance of life on this planet!

Remembering summer, not long past, as our magnificent tall and slender grasses waved in the wind, soaked in the strong sunlight of the endless summer days.

Tall prairie grasses

Remembering the exquisite opalescent skies at dusk.

Remembering our roots reaching deep into the earth to anchor us and draw in nourishment. Remembering our huge network of interwoven roots holding the soil as the storms blew through the rains washed over and pounded our grasses almost flat.

Our deep roots giving grasses taller than a man stability on their slender stems, the strength and resilience to flex and sway with the constant summer breezes, the great masses of big bluestem undulating like waves on the sea, in constant motion.

Here is abundant life in summer! Any bit of open soil claimed by another fallen seed. This beautiful land, a variegated community, a web of growth.

I am home to furbearers, insects of all descriptions, frogs, turtles, snakes, songbirds, birds of prey. Our summer prairie teems with life, teems with promise.

Redwing blackbird

Now in late fall a time of rest as the sun turns its face to the south, draining warmth from the land.  Now  we fold our tents, burrow deep, send life down into our roots, slow our breathing and hearts to sleep awhile, out of the freezing cold.

Wildflower seedheads

Our summer has been a riot of color, growth, raucous birdsong, feeding butterflies, burrowing mice, dancing green grasses, blooming wildflowers. 

And now it is our season to rest and renew ourselves for next year’s gathering, our exuberant celebration of life under the huge dome of sky and light that gives us life.

The waters speak

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We, the various waters of the Earth, journey effortlessly across and through the land, finally reaching the great water where we gather together as one water.

From billions of tiny raindrops, thousands of streams lakes and rivers we flow downstream and merge into oneness – the global ocean.

We must flow and find our level, seeking the effortless path, carving the landscapes gullies, canyons, wide river valleys, woodland streams, prairie pot holes, wetlands, huge deep lakes on our journey to the great oneness.

We come together in the great oceans and seas, heaving and swelling, rippling or calm. Life giving. Life affirming. All our tiny drops melding into one mighty water. Then we separate again, as billions of our droplets evaporate and merge effortlessly with the air.

As water vapor we gather to create clouds, fall as rain, sleet snow, or hail and begin our long journey once again to the gathering place of all waters.

We begin our journey once again as we fall to Earth, gathering with other waters, becoming stronger and more powerful as we increase in volume.

We make our way downstream, meandering and slow or rushing in flood, blessing your Earth with the gift of life as we flow through and shape your varied landscapes.

Finally we reach our mother waters and pour into her. We cannot flow back upstream, or undo our transformation to salt water as we reach our destination.

We are the sacred waters of the Earth. We are the stuff of life.

Do you live by the clock?

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What strange ideas you humans choose to rule your lives. For example, the group-think/ hypnosis of the clock; turning it backward or forward an hour twice a year, pretending it won’t affect your body, mind and spirit.

Those in charge make ridiculous rules regarding clocks that do not factor in your true nature, your needs for consistent patterns and rhythms to life, your body’s need to respond to light and dark.

The clock at first was a human created tool and method for dividing time into segments. Now is is a way to control your seconds, moments, your hours and days when you eat, work sleep…

Alarming clock

You must realize that your bodies are intricate systems designed to respond effortlessly to light and dark and every nuance in between. You begin to stir and wake as the sun rises, increase your activity as the light fills the sky, you grow sleepy at dusk, then sleep deeply during the dark hours of night.

Your body’s internal light sensors are closely attuned to the brightness of the sky, the seasons, the turning of the year.

These silly rules of time keeping invented by someone without your best interest at heart would override thousands of centuries of living by the sun, your natural body clock. You would give this up and allow the ticking little mechanism that measures out the minutes to keep you corralled and domesticated.

Humans have allowed those in charge to turn the population away from their true nature as children of the sun and moon, light and dark, attuned to the seasons, trusting the body, living in harmony with the larger patterns and rhythms of the earth, or our solar system, our moon and the stars.

All I ask is why?

Perhaps the clock can be a kind of helpful tool in your life as you trust your body to master time, light and dark. Allow the clock to serve you, not the reverse.

The river speaks

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I am ceaseless and timeless. I flowed past the camps of your ancestors in ancient times, and I flow now under the concrete and steel bridges of your streets and highways, between fields of corn and beans. I flow past the towns and factories through forests and wetlands.

Life flows endlessly here- always the same, always new and fresh.

I may change course over time, undercut and topple the tallest trees, cut through solid stone, shape and carve the landscape.

I carry much that you choose to discard, your pollution and garbage. It becomes part of me. Is this what you want?

I rise and flood in spring, after the long winter freeze, swelling and spreading expanding beyond my banks. I pick up speed and power.

Do not argue with a flooded river!

My ripples respond to the most delicate vibrations of wind and weather and light and water currents, to rumblings in the earth, the movements of the stars.

The sun reflects and creates sparkles and dancing bands of light in my depths. You might sit near me and meditate on my hypnotizing moving light and water show. Find peace here.

Sunlit ripples on shallow water

I provide a home for the water dwellers, the fish of all descriptions, crustaceans, insects, the tadpoles and frogs, turtles, food for the fur-bearers and birds, a place of thirst quenching for all.

I grind and polish rough stones to smooth. I grind and polish smooth stones to sand. I compress sand into sandstone. Do not ask me how or why. It is in my nature to do so.

I run under the open sky at night, only the stars and moon lighting me in the uninhabited places. I move under the earth in complete darkness, carving the structure of this planet into caves of great complexity and beauty.

I am the river of life that flows through your ancient memory into your present and on toward the future.

It is my purpose to collect the waters of the earth and channel them effortlessly, to cleanse and shape the earth, to reach oneness with the great waters at the end of my journey… which is only the beginning.