healing

Emotions

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Flowing stream

Flowing stream

E of central Iowa asks:

Q. How do you interpret human emotions from your tree’s perspective?

A. I see colors and light around people. Some are bright, some flowing and sparkling, some are dull and gray, some seem stuck and stagnant. It can appear like a rainbow or dark clouds enveloping the body.

What you call emotions is a flow, an energy that is meant to move and constantly changes and refreshes like a swiftly moving stream. If the stream slows and stops flowing in places, the water becomes unhealthy, smelly, ugly. It is just so with the energies of emotion that move through you.

If you stop the flow of your emotions by swallowing, ignoring, stuffing, denying, hiding, or lying about them, they will eventually cause unease within you and perhaps a stagnation of the body. They are energy and can’t be destroyed. They will not go away even if you don’t like them and don’t want them. Those you hide from yourself will eat you alive unless you learn to accept them all and thereby accept and love yourself – the entire spectrum of who you are from the intense red of anger to the sparkling violet of pure love and joy.

Know and love yourself, for you and all your energies are beloved.

Restoring balance

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M of West Des Moines, Iowa writes

Q. What else can I do to help heal the trees and earth and restore balance?

A. Restore balance within your circles of influence.

First restore balance within your beautiful self. Accept the light and dark of you, the anger and joy of you, the push and pull of you, the contradictions in you, the parts of you you suppress. You are all of it and it is all good, it is meant to flow.

Second, restore balance within your home; the spaces you inhabit. Are some spaces heavy with cluttered things and dense energy? Are other clear, light and airy? Bring flowing moving energy in to all of it. Balance empty space with objects, weight with lightness, motion with stillness.

Third, restore balance in your relationships. Do you give too much, and receive less in return? Do you let others trample your boundaries? Do you allow yourself time alone? Balance time together, and time alone, giving and receiving, winning and winning, speech and silence…

Your influence on the web of creation is profound, even though you may feel you are but a speck of dust in the vast and trackless universe. Every movement you make in the direction of balance adjusts the entire web of all that is toward balance and harmony.

Flow your powerful love to all that is and it is reflected back to you magnificently.

When will I be ready?

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Pair of geese

Pair of geese

C of Ames, Iowa writes

Q. When will I be ready to have a partner in my life?

A. Dear C, are you impatient for your partner to arrive? Do you fear he will never come? Do not fear for all things are one and will be reunited. Your desires have been received in the web of all things.

You could have a partner tomorrow, but what would he reflect back to you? While you wait for him to arrive, strengthen yourself by creating a partnership with yourself.

Do you wish your partner to look you in the eyes and say with feeling and sincerity “I love you”? Can you do this for yourself? Do you wish for good company, laughter and companionship? Can you do this for yourself? Do you wish for someone who will listen and understand your deepest desires and secrets and accept you? Can you do this for yourself?

Your partner is not meant to fill in where you feel weak or deficient. He is meant to mirror the best in you, the full hearted love, full throated voice, the wonder and beauty of you. What would you like your partner to reflect to you?

You will know you are ready when you feel whole and complete in yourself; when you trust, love and honor every aspect, every particle of your being – the light and dark in you; when you are comfortable with who you are at the heart of your being; when you love yourself deeply in all seasons, all weathers; when you learn what love is through loving yourself; when your heart has leaned how to access pure joy at the center of your being and see its reflection in those near you.

Prayer of gratitude

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Light and dark

Light and dark

S of Ames, Iowa has asked GCW to create a prayer for gratitude and healing for the earth.

A. My dear S, thank you for your thoughtful request.

Prayer:

I open my heart to the fullness, the vastness of all that is, knowing I am an integral part of the whole; knowing that every thought I think, every feeling, every action I take affects the web of all that is and creates the world I see before me.

I know that healing the earth begins with healing myself from the inside out! Therefore, I tune myself to the joy, the beauty, the love that is at the center of my being. I feel it and let it flow through me and outward into all that is. This sacred energy that originates within me flows outward to create new patterns in the web of life, reweaving and refreshing all that once seemed broken.

I now feel in my core a gratitude for our magnificent earth, and every particle that exists in the universe including myself, my thoughts, feelings, my physical manifestation. All of me! I allow this gratitude to grow and increase, and fill me with sacred light until it can no longer be contained within me and it spills outward to fill the vastness of all that is, to the far reaches of the universe, and comes back to me again in the great circle of love that is the foundation of our being.

Shiny blinking objects

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Grandmother Cottonwood, evening sunlight

Grandmother Cottonwood, evening sunlight

A of Ames Iowa wants to know;

Q. How can we invite more people to lie under your shade, to play around your trunk instead of being so tethered to technology?

A. What do you want for your yourself and your children? Rootedness in their place in the magnificent web of creation? A heart felt connection to the pulse of the planet, happy hours, soul satisfying hours spent climbing and communing with tree spirits, blowing grasses, blooming violets, jewel like birds, rushing waters, crawling creatures going about their business letting life flow through them, never questioning their place, knowing they belong to the magnificent ball of metal, rock and earth that is held together by the energies of pure love? This is the gift you give your children when you let them play outside, and to yourself when you “unplug” and let nature teach, soothe and refresh you.

The 2 legged one has heard over and over that technology is now an integral part of children’s lives. Is this so because you want it to be so? If you do not want it to be so, then find a new way. Use new words, use your power of choice.

When you plop a shiny blinking thing in a child’s field of vision, it sucks up all the attention; all the focus; forces their brain onto a narrow band which many humans prize above all else. Is this what you want? They do not realize the enormity, the vastness of all that is lost when the brain is focused in such a way for long stretches of time. You are in danger of making yourselves small, of building little boxes that shut out the universe inside each of you for the sake of mass addiction to the newest shiny thing.

Play outside more. Leave the shiny things with screens inside. Use them only at certain times of the day. Open your awareness to the song that life sings through you that is vastly larger and more complex and fascinating and soul satisfying than anything you can buy in a store.

Tree swings and tree houses

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Tree swing

Backyard tree swing

S of Nevada, Iowa wants to know:

Q. What advice do you have for us humans? Do you mind if people hang a swing on you? What about “tree houses”?

A. My dear S, the earth and all it inhabitants rejoice with the child swinging in the shade of a loving tree. We feel the joy, the wave-like rhythm of life, the peace and contentment that sings in the child’s energy! The world needs more tree swings!

Are you not tempted to reclaim the easy freedom, the pure bliss of living in the eternal oneness of the moment as you did when you were small? Start swinging! Trees far and wide welcome all beings who come with respect and wish to bathe for a time in our energy, to climb, swing, share a hug, lean in, and even to build a house that is in harmony with our structure and exist in the ever present now that is life itself.

We wish for you to know the love that we have for you, for you to know us as friends, allies, guardians. To know the rootedness and heavenly reach, the patience, the contentment we can teach if you will open your hearts to it. Come and be with us, whole-heartedly, and we will return the favor.

Grandmother Cottonwood’s prescription for pure joy: Install a tree swing. Invite a child. Take your turn as well.

What is the greatest gift for our children?

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Girl and her fairy house

A girl and her fairy house

L of Ames Iowa asks:

Q. What is the greatest need of our children? What is the greatest gift we can provide our children?

A. My dear L, every child ever born needs the loving energy , the all encompassing energy of abiding love from parents, caregivers, and those who spend time in their presence. For this is life-giving energy as rain and sunshine are to a flower. It is the mirror of their wholeness. It is the blueprint for their growth as human beings.

If you take care of a child whose parents can’t provide these things, your full presence as a mirror of their inner light is what is most needed. Be the light with them. They will know it and feel it.

Have you not seen a child shy away from a person who has closed their heart? The child can feel and knows that this lack of flowing energy, this void, is hurtful to them, and they are right to turn away.

Along with the life-giving energy of great love, children need a connection- a palpable daily connection with the mother of all creatures, all life forms, our beautiful planet earth. Every child must know the earth which sustains all living things. GCW sees and feels many children in homes of synthetic materials, staring into the blue light of a moving screen, interacting with colorful “educational toys” separated from the flow, the throb and pulse of life on their home planet. They will feel like strangers here until they connect with the earth and its creatures.

GCW also sees much fear of the earth’s cycles and nature. Many of you fear the heat of summer, the cold of winter, driving snow, stormy winds. I see others who fear or dislike insects, dirt, and what you call weeds. Fear only begets more fear and becomes magnified in the minds of those who learn by example. They feel such sorrow and grief at the great separation from their home, the earth.

The gifts of love and time to connect with the earth are not expensive and they bless the giver as well as the receiver. Blessings flow to the web of all creation with joyful expansion. Bless you for your caring work!

Emerald Ash Borer

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Ash tree bark

Ash tree bark

J of Ames, Iowa asks:

Q. Emerald Ash borer: How would trees help and/or cure their fellow trees? What are humans doing wrong concerning this disease? Can we heal these trees with our healing energy thoughts?

A. As trees, we see these voracious insects as a reflection of an imbalance. The web in which all things are one reflects a predatory energy that acknowledges no reality beyond itself, that has no respect for balance, no feeling of belonging to a larger community of life forms. All creatures must consume to live, but within the boundaries of balance and regeneration of all living things.

Where in your human made world is there an energy like this? Where do you see this within yourself, within your community? Have you not seen the earth movers and the bulldozers destroy an entire meadow and wooded valley to buildings can spring up almost overnight, concrete paved over, smothering the living soil so those humans who set this into motion may enrich themselves in monetary worth? Perhaps you can think of other examples of this energy that knows only itself, that knows no empathy or compassion. These actions indicate a poverty of spirit, a misunderstanding of the web of life in which all things are one.

Enriching only oneself while destroying life – that is what the ash borer reflects to you. So many of you look on with horror as millions of trees are killed and abandoned while the next meal is sought.

Horror, sorrow, sadness, hurt and anger are reflected back to you as are love, kindness and compassion, so choose what you transmit. This is your earth. Our earth. You, each and every one of you are an integral power source in the magnificent web of creation.

You can fill the web with powerful feeling of love for all of life. Focus on life-giving emotions and joy for the magnificence of what we do have. That will be reflected back to you ten-fold.

Expanding consciousness

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K of Ames, Iowa wants to know:

Q. How can we humans expand our consciousness?

A. Simple. Stop doing those things that limit you and hold you back! You are created to expand beyond what you can imagine… That is your natural state of being, your birthright. As soon as you let go of the rope, the hot-air balloon will soar! You are primed for flight. Humans so easily tie themselves up with unhappy thoughts, false beliefs, unexpressed emotions, unexamined fears… All these are like boulders weighing you down. They keep you from the ultimate exhilaration of free and powerful expansion.

The belief that holds you back more than any other is the belief that you can’t change your beliefs!

Think of yourself as the leading edge of a wave breaking gently on the wet sand. Can you allow yourself this much freedom? Can you dive in with a joyful heart and let the power of the wave carry you forward?

Ask for what your heart desires. Let go of what’s holding you back. Ride the wave. Repeat! Trust in the power that unfolds within you, the same power at the heart of every seed, every egg, every pulse of earth’s energy. You have at your core the imprint of expansion. This is your driving purpose! Each to his or her own heart’s center of gravity. Hold yourself back, and you wither and die.

There is no end to the expansion of all that is. And you my dear, are an integral part of the whole. You are wanted, needed, desired. You belong here in this time and place. Now you must let go of the shore and fly! No arguments.

Has GCW lost her marbles?

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S, last seen living in Iowa asks:

Q. What is it like to get old and have lost your marbles?

A. By marbles do you mean little hardened blobs of accumulated knowledge all packaged in assorted colors; smarts you can take out, roll around and impress your friends with their color and shininess; or glassy balls of fossilized knowledge fit for a museum exhibit? Just wondering…

I’m proud to say I’ve never owned a marble and I don’t wish to start collecting shiny objects now! That is a hobby for crows… Besides, how can I lose something I’ve never had? The two-legged one tells me that marbles are shiny, pretty, colorful, long lasting ball shaped objects that make lovely clicking noises as they come together in a bag or bowl.

I feel for you if you have lost your shine, what you consider your prettiness, your fun, your bright bold colors and think that is what happens as you get older! Even if you define yourself by the lack or sufficiency of marbles in your life, you can go out and buy more, can you not? Or find those you think you’ve lost. Sweep under the piano, the bed. They’ll roll out to greet you again. Nothing is ever lost!

Dearest S, I believe you think getting “old” is a problem. Think of all that you’ve gained a a result of your age! You are magnificent in your wisdom and power, your passion for living just as I am! Yes, I have dropped some branches that were once a vital part of me, I’ve been damaged by high winds, an asphalt path has been paved over some of my roots, I’ve observed insects dining on my leaves, seen many companions send down their first roots, then by and by grow old, decline, and die. But I would not trade this temporary life in tree form for any shiny object that would promise eternal youth. Look in the mirror and love who you are! Love the feelings that course through your veins for this is your essence. Feel the joy! Without your marbles my dear, you are so much more fun and light-hearted!