environment

Come out and play!

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Have you kept yourself in the glow of your computer screen too long this year? Are you glued to the couch, too comfy in your recliner?

We the nature spirits of your land, invite you out to play! Let our shifting and dappled midsummer shade mesmerize you and bring you into the present moment and release your worries. Let the sailing clouds on a deep blue sky enchant you.

Tree swing

Let the flowing and sparkling water of a nearby stream fire your imagination and light up your childlike enjoyment of the simple things in life. Sail a paper boat, watch a large leaf float downstream, skip stones, drop rocks in the water and watch & listen for the splash…

Go to the playground and swing, climb a tree & observe everything above & below you, create a bouquet of wildflowers some might call weeds. Go barefoot. Twirl around until you get dizzy and then rest on the grass. Smell the clover. Watch for lightning bugs after dark. Take a moonlit walk.

Pure joy!

You are too serious! Leave your cares and worries behind and come out to play!

Heat got you down?

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Nature’s wisdom and rhythms suggest a nice rest, a siesta today until the sun is lower in the sky and you can move around the yard and neighborhood with greater ease and comfort as the evening cool settles in.

Wilted and drowsy plants wait for the cooler evening to perk up. Animals seek their cool and dark burrows, or the dense shade under trees and brush.

The height of summer is upon us. As your ancestors have been doing since time began, seek the shade and breeze, rest and nap during the intense heat, wait for your second wind later in the day as the air cools. Then you can get things done when your body regains energy.

When you act in harmony with nature’s rhythms your life flows more easily.

New Moon

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The time of the new moon means it is time to renew and refresh your plans. What is most important for you to bring in during the waxing moon?

Now is the time to decide what you want to bring into your life in the next two weeks. Focus on those projects & ideas that inspire and fire you up. Now is the time to do your research and gather what you need to sustain you as the moon waxes and grows and gains strength and light.

What do you want more of in life? Plant those seeds at the time of the new moon. Nurture them through waxing moon. Rest on the full moon, then take action and tie up loose ends during the waning moon.

When you live by rhythms of the moon, you effortlessly increase the power of your effectiveness in the projects and plans your heart has chosen for you to accomplish.

You can accomplish smaller goals in a month, planting the seeds, gathering what you need, then taking action and finally resting and enjoying your accomplishment.

You can plan your large projects this way as well. One large goal or project divided into smaller steps, Each year, 13 cycles of planning and acting, culminating in your year long finished project.

Flowing water

Work with the energies of the moon. Go with the flow of energy so you’re not always fighting against the tides of her powerful energy. Learn to live in harmony with the moon.

You are a creature of the earth, the ancient rhythms of moon and tide, day and night, summer and winter. Relax into these powerful cycles and let your life flow.

Disruption!

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My peace has been disrupted by heavy equipment, its heavy vibrations shaking the earth, sending out un-harmonious energies, compacting the soil at my root zone.

Why buzz cut all the underbrush here in my shade zone? Why chop and mince all these beautiful growing things to the ground as if they were garbage?

This disrupts our community and sets us back. We grow together, or not at all.

Grandmother Cottonwood and friends

You with your heavy tracked chopper machine, do you really think you have dominion over the earth and all growing things? What will you do when the gasoline runs out?

I ask that all who live here show some respect to your fellow inhabitants of planet Earth. Live and let live!

Long after this chopper of live growth is gone, long after the machine has crumbled into rust, long after fossil fuels are history, the trees that grow from my offspring’s seeds will tower over this Earth once again, shading and sheltering all who grow nearby.

Each individual in the community of rooted beings will find their own niche to thrive and grow and live in peace and quiet here in our modest hillside community.

Harmony with nature

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Perhaps you fear the power of storms, avalanches, earth quakes, lighting, tornadoes… hurricanes…bob cats, mountain lions, bears…

Nature is not your enemy!

You are not here to conquer and subdue nature, but to observe and learn her ancient language, understand her patterns moods and rhythms and live in harmony with her.

Flooded creek

To respect nature is to live in unity and accord with the forces and seasons of the natural world, reading her signs, staying clear of any dangers you perceive, taking shelter when needed, paying attention to her slightest cues and hints of what is to come.

These signs will touch your early warning system: your intuition that is born of your existence on this planet. You must pay attention to what is around you and how that resonates in your body heart and mind!

Living in harmony with nature can mean nurturing the plants and rooted growing beings from the towering trees to lush shade loving ground cover, learning their ways, what they need.

Hosta in bloom

Living in harmony with nature can mean caring for your domesticated animals, letting them teach you, observing their ways. It can also mean a kind and healthy balance between the habitats and habits and needs of wild creatures and those of the human world.

As you commune with the spirits of nature, you will know your place in this harmonious web of life and learn to exist in peace with all conditions and all creatures.

Silver Maple Seeds

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Once again billions of tiny winged seeds flutter in spiral descent to the earth where they will either take root and grow, or die to become food for the soil or the seed eaters.

Silver Maple Seeds

Millions will take root and reach briefly to the sun, only to be eaten by hungry creatures, mowed down, shaded out, flattened, deprived of water or air…

Their lives, their existence become a blessing to this earth. Their joy at living and fulfilling their destiny, however briefly is immeasurable, and strengthens the web of all life in ways unfathomable to human intelligence.

A few who take root will develop over many years into massive friendly shade trees lining the streets of towns, gracing woodlands and riparian zones, providing shade to humans, shelter to those buzzing and winged insects, flying birds large and small, and tiny fur bearers.

Silver Maple Bark

They will send their roots deep into the earth to hold the soil and anchor their massive trunks and crowns, drawing nourishment and life giving ground water into themselves.

Silver maples grace our world with their interlacing branches, providing cool shade on hot days, a solid place to lean and connect to the Earth. A place to know peace.

Every seed, every seedling is a complete miracle, unrepeatable by any manufacturing process devised by humans. Each one, a mystery.

Getting grounded

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Is your brain sometimes like a ping pong ball, bouncing all over the place without focus, shifting from topic to topic at warp speed? Does it leave you without clarity or focus?

This can happen if you are not grounded.

Grandmother Cottonwood

Some of those who walk past me are connected to Earth energy. They feel stable, supported, solid, fully in their bodies and in the present. Others who walk past seem floaty, disconnected, living in their heads, in the past or future.

You are the boss of your own life! You are in command of your energy! You can focus your energy including your thoughts. You too can be grounded and fully present in your body. It’s easy!

Begin by imagining yourself sending down roots deep into the Earth and pulling up Earth energy that will anchor and stabilize your own energy and help you focus with clarity on what you choose. For a child, pretend you are a tree and send down your roots.

Two more easy ways to ground yourself : Use a stainless steel spoon and rub the bottom of your feet; Walk barefoot on the grass, garden soil or a beach. ( If you can’t do this, try just sitting in a chair with your bare feet on the earth.)

Let your grounded self then align with source and this alignment will create clarity and focus and fresh new energy flowing through you, displacing the stale energy of the past.

Message from the stones

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Dear ones, you may think we stones have no hearing, no voice, no awareness, but there, you would be wrong.

Our awareness exists at much lower and heavier vibrations of energy than yours. Our energy is dense and compact. Our energy particles interlock and overlap in ways that create great mass and weight.

Cairn – various stones

Like all things, we have what you call a spirit, an awareness you might say.

Time as you know it is meaningless to us. Our life cycle from creation to the point of breaking up and dissolving and then forming once again into solid stone is measured in hundreds of thousands of your years, perhaps even longer. Millions of years.

We are in this for the long haul! If you want to learn patience, study the stones.

We have seen Earth’s history unfolding, we have felt the vibrations of war, of peace, of major human migration, climate changes, and times of peace and plenty.

We are the ancient ones. If you wish to communicate with us, tune into our frequency. We can offer you our wisdom.

We are eternal, we support your world, your lives, and all life on this planet with our strong foundation. We provide the bedrock on which all life depends.

We are happy to do so. We take our job seriously!

Like a tree

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Like a tree you can send down your roots and draw energy and nourishment from the earth, trusting in your ability to feed your body, live in the light, and anchor your spirit.

Like a tree, you can grow toward the light, straight and true, with no deviation to the left or right, trusting in the life-giving light of your true purpose to guide you and inform your growth.

Like a tree, you can reach out toward the heavens, connecting with all that is, trusting that you are one with all things, trusting that your roots will hold you.

Like a tree, you can send out new growth, trusting in the process of life to bring you energy, creativity, and soaking in the sustenance of light that is your birthright.

Like a tree, you can develop your seeds for the future and scatter them when they’re ready. Trust that these seeds of love, kindness, connection, hope, seeds of possibility and creativity and ongoing life will take root and grow where they are most needed.

Maple seeds

Like a tree, you can experience seasons of rest, seasons of regeneration and growth, seasons of letting go, trusting in the great rhythms of nature, trusting you are where you need to be.

You are more like a tree than you can imagine!

Full Moon

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Grandmother Cottonwood’s advice to you during a full moon?

Rest, dream, lay on the earth and soak in the silvery moonlight. Know that you belong, that you are an integral part of this universe. Let the moonlight fill every cell of your body, your breath and your aura with peace. Rest yourself, body mind and spirit.

Let earth energy fill you and anchor you as well. Know the fullness of your life as it is right now. Know the sense of completeness and satisfaction and the sense of being at home in your body just for today. Full moon helps you become aware of these blessings.

Just goof off! The energy of the waning moon will begin soon enough. Then you will feel energized and ready to tackle your projects once again.

The full moon is your opportunity for a mini vacation from constant doing, pushing, striving. Your bodily rhythms tuned over millennia to the rhythms of the moon come to a still point on this day.

Honor yourself and all you’ve accomplished. Honor your need to rest and recharge and be still.

Honor your need to bathe in the magical moonlight for a little while.