Cottonwood tree

Life’s beginning

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I am filled with gratitude for the long and beautiful life I lived under the sky, rooted to the Earth in this place.

I remember the first burst of life within me. I felt the swelling of my tiny fluff encased seed, resting in the mud, taking on moisture and warmth many decades ago.

Cottonwood seeds

My embryonic roots slowly unrolling as has been the pattern for all those who came before me for the entire history of this Earth. My roots obeying the ancient call to life, pushing my seed open, surprisingly strong, beginning to grasp the soil to reach downward as if pulled by a magnetic force, to draw in nourishment, and sustain my life, to hold me here.

Now my tightly folded seed leaves, pale from their time in the dark enclosed seed space soak in the first particle of sunlight through the crack in the seed casing. They reach out as though starved for light and unfold and harden and reach upward and multiply under the sun’s life giving love, with nourishment and moisture from my roots.

This is how my life began, dear ones. The ancient will to live and survive and thrive on this planet was encoded in my seed as it is in all living beings – those that move freely about and those rooted to the Earth.

Grandmother Cottonwood, winter

What love, what gratitude I feel for the magnificent web that connect us all in the never ending dance of life on this planet.

Rediscover Your Inner Child

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Just be, for a moment or an hour, like a child without a care, living in grace, enjoying all that life has to offer your senses and your heart.

Lie on the earth, soaking in her familiar healing energy. See the petals fall like snow flakes from spent wildflowers. Look up into the layered treetops. Above and beyond them the circling birds of prey riding the updrafts.

Watch the clouds drift and shift and assume fanciful shapes, then morph into something new. Watch the treetops sway and dance, hear the leaves whisper, watch the dappled shade dance across the green grass, tiny colorful birds visiting, feeding, bathing, taking flight.

In this moment you judge nothing; you fear nothing. You have no worries, no doubts, no distractions, no need to hurry. You exist in the divine grace of this moment and the next and the next.

For this moment you have no agenda. You soak in life, absorb the vibrations of nature, understanding your oneness with All- That- Is. For this moment, this hour, your being has no need of words.

Let yourself relax into this pure silence and pure grace of this moment, merging with all that is.

In this way you rediscover the heart of your inner child.

Root and Ground Yourself

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Have you forgotten your roots? No, this isn’t about your human family. The roots I speak of go deeper into the earth, anchoring you to your home.

They anchor and connect you like my deep and strong cottonwood roots anchor my massive trunk and crown so that I can stand tall and thrive here.

Grandmother Cottonwood

You are meant to live here on this planet, energetically rooted and connected to the loving energy of the earth.

Picture a field of prairie grass with deep roots that penetrate the soil and cling tenaciously to life. The deep roots draw up sustenance from many feet below the surface, anchoring their tall stems leaves and seed heads.

Prairie grass

You too have the ability to send your energetic roots deep into the soil, pulled down from your feet without effort to the magnetic core of the earth. You are then able to draw in the earth energy that you need to live fully in your body.

Yes, I speak of concepts invisible to your naked eyes. Come out of your head, out of your logical zone and try this. Try living fully in your body, feeling the sensations in your feet legs, hips, your core, your heart, your center – all of you.

See how you feel, not how you think you should feel when you visualize your energetic roots. If you feel uncomfortable or scared to live in your body, find a healer or therapist to help you.

Living fully in your body is the gift you’ve been bequeathed as a human being.

When you are deeply rooted, you are more flexible and resilient and able to weather life’s storms with grace. You can recover more easily from heartache and trauma and injury and find new ways to grow and thrive.

When you allow yourself to live fully in your body, when you surrender to gravity to knowing this planet is your true home and will be for countless lifetimes, when you know that as mother earth thrives, you and all living ones thrive, you will feel at home, safe cared for, connected.

When you plug your body’s energy from your feet into the energy of our Earth, you will know a new sense of peace and belonging.

6 Easy ways to ground yourself:

  • Walk barefoot on the earth.
  • Lay on the Earth.
  • Hug a tree.
  • Visualize roots like tree roots going from your lower body feet and legs to the core of the earth. Breathe out stress, breathe in earth energy.
  • Rub the soles of your feet with a stainless steel spoon.
  • Massage your bare feet.

Find your sweet spot

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You as humans are creatures of the light. But you need the dark to be healthy and thrive. You must create a balance.

First you must sleep in the dark, dreaming, recharging and renewing your bodies and minds, then waking and soaking in the light, acting, getting things done, creating the life you dream of.

Within this balance of light and dark, action and rest, you find your sweet spot so you can create and sustain a thriving life.

I as a towering cottonwood tree must find my balance between spring growth and winter rest, between roots and branches.

Grandmother Cottonwood

I would not want to topple over in a windstorm for lack of roots, top heavy with huge and heavy limbs. I would not want to waste my energy sending cottonwood sized roots deep and wide into the soil to support a small and modest crown the size of an apple tree.

To be healthy, the Earth and her atmosphere must strike a balance between hot and cold, wet and dry, storm and calm, ebb and flow, flood and drought, summer and winter, health and sickness…

All living creatures, the Earth among us, must find our balance, our sweet spot for thriving and living in our world of cycles and seasons, of fear and love.

A healing practice

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First, gently allow your body and mind to relax, breathing deeply, letting yourself sink comfortably into your chair or bed or mat…

Now, imagine the crown chakra at the top of your head, gently opening and beautiful liquid-like golden light from the divine pouring into and through you like water.

Grandmother Cottonwood

Feel it pouring down through the energy center, filling every cell of your body, every organ, every nerve and blood vessel, every bone and muscle, every ligament, every skin cell…every microscopic connection between cells… Imagine the beautiful light filling them all effortlessly with its cleansing healing power.

Imagine and see and know this amazing healing light filling you from head to toe displacing and sending all heavier energies away, letting them drain through your feet into the Earth for recycling.

Now when light reaches your feet, pause a moment to enjoy the feeling. Then let it begin to fill your aura from your feet to your head, permeating every particle of your energy with liquid golden light.

Allow this light to assist in weaving your aura together in a beautiful tapestry that draws in life affirming energies and filters out all incompatible energies and those that belong to others.

Now, sit with this light and let it circulate from your head to your toes slowly and thoroughly throughout your entire body, then from your feet to your crown through your aura.

This is the light of the divine. Feel it, know it, experience it. Let it heal you and bring you peace.

Grandmother Cottonwood, summer moss

When you feel complete with this practice, give thanks, then tap your cheekbones, the center of your chest and rub the bottom center of your feet near the big toe joint. Let yourself come back to the here and now.

Tree-like focus

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Dear ones, do you wish to be effective in life, to get things done, to feel the soul satisfaction that comes with accomplishment?

If so, then try this on for size… You can do so much when you remain fully in your body, fully in the here and now, fully focused and engaged. If your mind wanders, if you try to “multitask”, your effectiveness is greatly diminished, your energy divided, your results scattered.

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Grandmother Cottonwood – summer light

You can’t be two places at once and expect to live fully!

GCW’s prescription: Do one thing at a time – Like a tree! Train yourself to root and anchor your energy down into the earth, to pull in the Earth energy for the stamina and groundedness you need.  When you have pulled in Earth energy, then reach up with your energetic “branches” to absorb the inspiration and clarity that will keep you excited about your project.

It is through single minded tree-like focus that you create great things!

Healing with a tree

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When despair or sadness come over you, take a walk – find a tree and sit at her roots, lean against her trunk.

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Grandmother Cottonwood, morning sunlight

Now see yourself rooted deeply to the earth. Nothing can topple you. You are flexible and you sway gracefully with the wind, safely and securely anchored.

With the tree’s help, you can release the feelings that drag you down, and know yourself as a powerful being!

Let the despair, the fear, the grief you feel drain into the sweet earth where these energies will be transmuted, neutralized, and healed. Let your feeling be carried down into the earth on your out breath, through the trees roots – for your energies intermingle and become one.

Now imagine breathing earth energy up into your roots and bringing it into your lower body. Allow it to fill you with its calming and peaceful frequency. Allow the gentle tree energy to clear and renew you.

Now with your roots firmly planted, let your energy rise and expand with the trunk, branches and crown, taking in the sunlight and joy of living in this place at this time. Divine energy will fill your being as you allow it to pour through you.

Know the peace, solidity, awareness, and love of your chosen tree. Breathe healing energy from above and below as you merge and experience for a few moments what it feels like to be a column of light, rooted to the earth and reaching to the heavens.

Change

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You stand on the forefront of great change. The very earth beneath your feet, the atmosphere that permeates your world are all shifting. You have heard the tired old words about change – that it is inevitable. These words, while tired, are true.

Even great cottonwoods fall, as the earth is washed away from their roots, the wind rises, lightning strikes. The great tree, reduced to splinters. The physical body, living creatures, trees, are all subject to the eternal laws of nature.

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Grandmother Cottonwood

All things come into being, all things die, all things are transformed into the earth beneath our feet; food for rooted things, reminders of things and loved ones past. Even the stones will wear away to sand and dust.

Do not weep over what has been. Set yourself firmly in what is now. Embody your life now, even if it is not what you hoped for, dreamed, of, planned. Gather your courage, heart and strength to live in this world as it is now, created from the ever changing web of all things.

Your higher self alone is unchangeable, the one true constant in your life. Some call it spirit, or soul.  While all around you changes, your spirit, the core of your being remains steady, rooted, strong.

Take care of yourself!

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I mean, really! Give yourself exactly what you need, what makes your soul sing and your heart soar! Don’t wait for others to do this for you, for that will never happen!

I say that giving to yourself is vital to your health and the health of this planet and the web of all that is.

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Tiny bird nest

Listen to yourself, listen to your body, become aware of what your body is communicating to you. Give it love and attention, loving touch, kind regard, acceptance.

Give yourself compassion, understanding, kindness, time and space to breathe, time to be.

Give yourself soothing when you need it, true friends; surround yourself with beauty, the colors your heart desires, time in nature, the music that moves you, a comfortable and peaceful home, good nourishing food.

Give yourself a healthy fit body, lifelong learning and growth, new exciting ideas, stimulating challenges to solve.

Give yourself deep rich soil, earth energy, sunlight, moonlight, starlight, strong deep roots, a magnificent crown of sweet green leaves, glimmering in the breeze.

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Grandmother Cottonwood in summer

Allow yourself to know your strong unbreakable connection to source.

Please know that you do not need to spend a penny  or go into debt to take care of yourself.  Begin at your center to give yourself the love and kind regard of which you are worthy. 

Allow and grant yourself what you need to be happy, healthy, to be a shimmering light in the web of all creation.  No matter what your history, you can move toward the light by caring for yourself, knowing you belong, knowing you deserve to thrive!