belonging

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!

You belong on this Earth!

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While you walk on this planet, breathe her air, drink her water, eat the sustaining foods that come from her fertile grounds, you belong here – all of you – body mind and spirit.

You are meant to be here at this time in this body. How do I know this? Because you are here right now in a body. Period.

Your spirit has chosen to live fully as a human being on this planet. You are part of a larger pattern you might not see now. There is a purpose to your life that is integral to the web of life, that is a vital filament in the pattern of all things. You are needed here!

When you are aging, when life hurts, when you are grieving, your body and mind may get tired and you may find yourself living in your head, possibly forgetting at times that you have a body.

You are meant to live fully embodied and to be whole. Your entire being is meant to fully experience what it is to be human; When it hurts and when it feels wonderful; When you are sick and when you are bursting with health; When you are unhappy and when you are vibrant with joy; When your soul is frustrated and when your soul is inspired and fully satisfied.

When you feel doubtful, when you are not sure you belong, you must choose life again with your body, heart mind and spirit so you can live life at its fullest and richest.

Find someone to talk to – a healer, counselor, dear friend, doctor, member of the clergy for help if this becomes difficult for you.

Recommit to living a fully embodied life, rich in the full spectrum of human experience.

Choose life!

Web of life

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My bark may feel cold and rough to you this winter’s day. Do not let this fool you, for my heart is warm and welcoming! 

I may seem silent, separate, apart.  Do not be fooled, for in my own way I am fully engaged in the web of life on this planet!

I may seem irrelevant to your human world, your worries, concerns, and solutions to your problems.  Do not be fooled, for my energy interweaves in intricate patterns  with that of all living things including humans.  We are in this together!

My quiet existence matters in the web of life. My existence creates a ripple and a powerful filament of love in the tapestry of the universe.  I belong here!

I want you to know each thought, word and feeling of yours has energetic reality that affects the web of life, just as my tree energy does. You make a difference ! You matter and you belong here! 

You don’t have to move mountains or bring peace to the Middle East. Simply tune your thoughts and feelings gradually to happiness and joy and kindness and laughter a little more often.

Turn off those news programs and avoid those people that manipulate you into anger and fear.   Guide your time and energy to uplifting, soul satisfying activities, thoughts, words, beliefs, friends, and entertainment.

In this way you will affect the web of life for good!  You are a creator whether you know it or not!

Take your job seriously!  You and I, along with all living beings on earth reweave the web of life with each thought, feeling, and action.

New Beginnings

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Note from Betty:

Dear friends, Grandmother Cottonwood is coming out of retirement.  Since leaving my day job and working through some health issues, I’m feeling a strong pull to begin channeling GCW again and sharing her words with you.

This connection with the magnificent cottonwood tree lights me up and inspires me – so by doing this blog, I am practicing what she preaches! 

May her words inspire and bless you.

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GCW in summer

     On this day, you begin again. You start fresh with a clean slate. You live here and now in this flickering light under my canopy, your heart navigating the journey, your feet bringing you here, step by step.

Now past and future dissolve into this one present moment.  It is the breath, filling and emptying; the breeze stirring my leaves in silver shimmers high above, touching the summer sky.

We are alive!  We have been given the most precious gift of all – Life here on this beloved green planet at this time and in this place.  We each have our place in the ancient circle of life that has sustained our planet for millennia.

If you think your presence here is an accident, a mistake, think again!   A billion or more coincidences, factors, and conditions had to line up perfectly to allow for your creation.

If you think you are helpless, think again! When you align your energy with source, you are a powerful force to be reckoned with

If you think you can’t make a difference in the world, think again!  Every choice you make, every thought you think sends ripples into the universe, creating patterns of energy that interact with others and form what you know as reality.  Choose those thoughts, ideas, feelings, and words that you wish to see made manifest in the world.

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All- that- is desires and needs your presence here, shining your light fully, sharing your unique gifts, your loving energy with clarity, grace and joy!

We belong together

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Dear ones, you are here on planet Earth inhabiting your magnificent body, taking up the space you need, partaking of the Earth’s resources – drinking, bathing washing in her precious water, eating foods that originate in the earth…

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You are using her stones to pave your roads, her wood to build your homes; her gems, minerals and metals to beautify your lives and support your roads, bridges, and buildings.

All living creatures depend on Mother Earth’s growing things to feed and clothe and nourish and shade and shelter and provide a soul satisfying life.

We have grown up together, the earth and all her creatures. We depend on each other.

We need each other to sustain our beautiful lives here on this sweet green earth where there is space to be who you are; space to live.

Let us care for one another, human, animal, plant, insect, bird, micro-organism, water, air, soil, so all can thrive!

You belong here

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Dear ones, I ask you to connect with your deep natures as children of this sweet green earth. Lie under the night sky, feel the earth support your bodies.

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Winter crab apples

Take in the billions of stars, the planets, the infinity of all that is. Know that you belong here on our living planet among the multitude of life forms that call the earth their home.

Connect to your deep nature. Get to know the heart of you, the core of your being that has sustained your kind since ancient times – before the written word, before history, before science, when the world was young.

Now, after all this time, you are still at your center an elemental earth dweller, connected intimately to the ground beneath your feet. You walk in this living atmosphere between the dome of sky and the supporting earth.

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Evening sky, waxing moon

You have been entrusted with these precious gifts. Know that you are worthy of them.

You are needed!

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Know your gifts

Dear ones, each of you is endowed with amazing gifts, talents and sensitivities. Perhaps your family did not recognize your uniqueness, suppressed your power or did not understand your sensitivities and your true nature.

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Hawk in bare tree

Your gifts and talents complement the talents and offerings of others. Together a world is created in which all can thrive! Not everyone can be an artist, not everyone can be a teacher, not everyone can be a mechanic… not everyone can be a magnificent cottonwood tree.

We are meant to depend on each other, from the lowliest blades of grass to the majestic oaks, to the creatures of the woods, to you, the two legged ones.

You are meant to be here living fully, plugging into source as your power supply. Your life task is to own and develop and share your unique gifts and to be fully yourself! So much creative power is at your command! Get comfortable with it!

All creatures on this earth belong to this great web of life. Without you and your gifts, the web cannot be as full and complete as it is meant to be. Without you, the web would be like a tapestry missing a primary color, a puzzle missing pieces, a house without a family.

Yes, I have said it before, and I repeat myself: You belong! You matter! You are needed!

You belong!

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Dear ones, do not put yourself down for getting nothing done today!

You breathed the cool autumn air, took delight in the crimson and golden fall color so beautiful right now. You allowed yourself to be, with no agenda, no worries, no second thoughts.

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Red and gold maple leaves

You felt your heart beating and the blood moving through your body, the air flow in and out of your lungs as they expand and contract. You felt cool water flow into your throat and filter through you.

Did you heard a flock of crows calling to each other as they flew from tree to tree? Did you open your eyes to the bright deep sky, the wispy clouds moving lazily with the wind, dissolving and re-forming?  Did you enjoy watching the scarlet and amber leaves raining down in the breeze?

You took part in this great web of life today, no matter what you checked off on your to-do list.  Simply by being here in a physical body, you have chosen to cast your lot in and belong to the great throng of life here on this earth.

Do not fool yourself, there is no test for admittance here. There is nothing you need to prove! You belong here.

Should?

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My dear, the word should is not your friend!

Should is the voice of mom, dad, church, teacher, doctor, expert, all rolled into one. It is a word that holds you back and ties you down. It is a word generated by the mind, the fearful self critical mind, not the heart or the voice of your soul. It is not the real truth of you.

Of course, sometimes what you “should” do and what your heart wants to do are in alignment. Can you discern when this is true? Do not lie to yourself!

Do you fear that you will not belong, that you will be cast out if you follow your heart and not your shoulds? Perhaps it is time for a new group, new friends, a new tribe that celebrate the deep inner beauty and kaleidoscope of gorgeous colors and patterns that is you!

I repeat myself yet again. Follow your heart for that is where your true riches are found.