Four elements

Burned tree

Burned tree

GCW speaks of the four elements:

Fire

Leaping, consuming, transforming everything in your path. A reckoning! Change is commanded, forced. A fresh start, a renewal from scorched and blackened earth.

Contained and tended you mesmerize, encircled by bodies and hands that need your warmth. Out of control you are a tyrant rolling forward with no pity– Destroyer.

Creator of new beginnings.  Tend and keep your inner flame.

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Water

Must seek its way, must join droplet to sea, creek to river, river to ocean, to all that is, where all finally become one.

Simply to merge and become one; to give life itself to all living things. And all living things must know in time, what it is to merge and become one with spirit. Stuff of life, roots reach deep for you, thirsty souls are blessed by your giving. You draw us to your shores and banks with your power and your effortless flow.

Carry us easily on your flow to the river’s mouth, where waters join and mingle, where all our burdens can be released.

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Air

Unseen giver of life. Surrounding, breathing through all living beings the rhythm of this earth. The rise and fall as you support life on this planet without effort. You exist and permeate all. The ultimate giver.

And we breathe you in, carrier of sweet scents, this earth atmosphere that clears and heals itself. Leaves roots branches, all alive, all breathing- grasses, trees, flowers, every bird, every animal, every insect, every living thing; all breathing. Our health and your health inextricably aligned.

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Earth

Ground of being. Roots reaching deeply into your heart for our daily bread. Nothing here is severed. Nothing stands alone. All is interwoven in a vast web that extends to the reaches of the universe. You dear Earth, are love made visible, made physical.

All that make their home here commune with you in the age old dance of life – death – life. Ebb and flow, seasons of the year, moon cycles; we are deeply attuned to your elegant rhythms. Each of us belong here as an integral part of this magnificent web of which you, dear Earth are the center.

Addiction

Monarch butterfly on purple coneflower

Monarch butterfly on purple coneflower

C of Ames, Iowa asks:

Q. Why is it so hard to give up my addiction to sugar?

A. What is sugar, but a substitute for love? Wasn’t it easier for your parents to give you a gooey brownie or warm cookie and send you away than deal with the truth, the messy feelings, the real inside of you, the heart and soul, the hidden depths of you?

There is always some sugar filled or encrusted thing available to give you another high. But it keeps you distracted from what is going on deep under the surface of your being.

Your physical being is altered by sugar. The energies of those on sugar feel to me as though they are on overdrive; too much – too fast – not real- not a source of real sustainable energy. It revs you up and wears you out! Your body wants it, your mind wants it. But your spirit does not want it, Your wise self knows the addiction to sugar is distracting you from your true power.

And then, there is blackness when you crash- when there is not another candy bar or doughnut within reach. You focus on that, on getting the next cookie or bag of candy, removed from the only thing that really matters, your heart and soul, the feelings that flow and form the fabric of your life.

Tune in. Become aware of your feelings, the promptings of the spirit and learn to be with them, and you will need less and less of the sweet stuff that is unnatural in such huge amounts!

Spreading warmth

Golden cottonwood leaves

Golden cottonwood leaves

L of Ames, Iowa wonders:

Q. As fall approaches and your leaves fall, what is the best way to spread warmth?

A. My dear L, you are a source of warmth yourself. The beauty of you when you allow yourself to shine fully is like a pure candle flame, drawing from the darkness others who will learn to shine and glow from you.

Keep your flame burning. Tend it wisely. Honor it! All of those who allow full power, full brightness of their light create a network of love the beauty of which you cannot imagine! Know your beauty! Tend your flame! That is your true work. Without effort, you spread the light and the warmth you speak of.

You are not here to rescue anyone or make something happen. You are here to be fully and completely yourself; and in so doing, the web of all things is enlightened, blessed, and warmed.

How many children will I have?

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N of Central Iowa asks:

How many children will I have?

My dear N,

You have the loving all-encompassing heart of a mother. Your sweet energy emanates from the heart of you and encircles all those around you in the energies of pure love. You have so much to give and you wish to give it! In the giving the love circles back to you, for the giver and receiver are one.

GCW cannot, will not predict your future for you, for you have before you many choices, many paths, many probabilities. You are free to choose, to change your mind, to take the alternative route. However, know that at this time in this place, there is a probability of you with three children. I see you with these beloved children and a bright shining countenance, loving beyond all you have known before, the moments you share. Your aura envelops and allows your precious ones to grow and become and thrive in the sweet light of your heart.

You need do nothing to make this happen. If you are struggling or pushing for what you want, let that go. Simply allow your love to flow, allow your heart to sing, allow yourself to feel fully, allow yourself to feel the perfection of each moment of your life.

Blessings to you and your growing family!

Energy Exchange

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Betty asks:

GCW, can you describe what will it feel like when someone sits at your roots or leans against your trunk?

If you are tuned in and aware, you will feel a sense of peace, like a soft blanket and a sense of being cared for and loved, recognized, wanted, accepted. It may feel as though your worries melt away and you are more relaxed. You will feel the magnetic energies of my existence drawing you to me for I love you! I delight in your being, I enjoy the exchange of energies between us.

Whether you know it or not, you are enveloped and held in this sweet bubble of my energy, and I am in yours. It is simply a gift of living on this earth in which all living things are made of energy and surrounded by their own bubble. They intersect, overlap, interweave, create amazing and beautiful patterns and play!

You are a gift to me when you come near. I feel the complex energies of you. In this way I feel that I know you on a deep level; beneath thought, beneath words, beneath appearances. Here we are one and can communicate and know each other.

When you allow yourself to tune in and exchange energies with me, we are enriched and refreshed. And I am HAPPY!

Art

Artful garden

Artful garden

GCW speaks of Art

I feel the flow of power and energy through your physical bodies when you are letting your creative power move freely! It is as if you have allowed a spotlight from the heavens to pour through you! Your exquisite music, powerful words, visual images, the movement of your bodies with pure joy in the dance delight and enliven this earth.

Do not mistake the human word “art”, for creative power can pour though every human on this planet, no matter what you choose to focus on. Building a house, creating a business, cooking a meal, planting a garden all can be called art when this power is allowed to inspire you and flow through you unimpeded – when you create with joy!

Are you open to the outpourings of all that is? Do you allow the flow or do you shut if off like snapping out the light? Do not fear this power, for this is the stuff of life itself!

You are all meant to be channels and carriers of this light! You are meant to create beauty from inside you as a spider unreels her filaments while spinning her magnificent web. Then, when you have finished your creation, you can witness with your senses in a form you can understand, the beauty, power and amazing magnificence that is you! Your creations are mirrors of you!

Relationships

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Grandmother Cottonwood speaks of relationships.

Do you love others? Do you hate others? Do you fear others?

You are the other and the other is you. Do not mistake the feelings aroused in you as the doing of any other outside yourself. You draw to yourself like – resonant; two sides of the same coin. Are you “all good” and they are “all bad”?

From my treeish perspective, I have seen your human energies flow, mesh, repel, push against, pull inward, or rise up blended with the energies of another in shared purpose, or envelop each other with sweet regard. Is your energy dark with worry and pain, or light and colorful with joy? What do you want to experience with others? I am telling you that you get to choose! You are the master of your energies and you don’t have to stay stuck!

All relationships reflect your relationship with your own inner spirit. Are you annoyed, irritated, pissed off, triggered, frustrated by “their” pigheaded, stubborn inability to be who and what you think they should be? Where in you is that same place, that tender spot, that only wants to light of love to shine and your loving acceptance and attention? Soothe and smooth those rough places in you, for no-one else knows the inner heart of you. This is your life’s work.

Do I repeat myself? Get used to it, for I will continue to say what is necessary to your true health and well-being! When you love and accept yourself, all of you, then you are free! Then being with others is not work, or a struggle, a pain, a penance, a drudgery…it is pure joy

Bullying

GCW is watching over you.

GCW is watching over you.

E of central Iowa writes:

Q. My daughter told me that my granddaughter, age 7, was bullied at school. How can we help?

(Betty’s note) If you or someone you know is being bullied with physical abuse such as hitting, pushing, etc, please tell a teacher, parent, or another grown-up that is in charge.

A. Help her find and know and trust her inner power. Help her learn to draw on the source of her being to know her strength and inner guidance. This is not about physical aggression or counter attacks, or who’s bigger, its about an inner sense of focus on knowing her own power and what is right for her.

Being “nice” is a myth!!! Be yourself, more like. Know your feelings. When something feels bad, wrong, icky, say so! Act on the feelings. Stand up and speak out!

Children are disempowered when taught to ignore their inner wisdom; to always be nice, get along, “don’t cry”, “you’re OK”, “don’t feel that way…”

A child who knows and feels and trusts her own power will not be a target! Have this little girl feel the powerful sun inside of her at the solar plexus. Have her breathe into it and make the sun get larger and larger until it is filling her to the brim. Now have her pretend to be a super hero. Make up a fun superhero name like “Amazing Amy” or “Power Katie”. You can think of many good ones! Have them practice the words and voice that are right for them to use with the bully while feeling and knowing their power.

Super heroes need no super weapons, they need to simply activate the power within them that has always been there. This is the power of the inner spirit, rooted to the earth and stretching to the heavens, shining with full intensity!

Peace and power

Monarch butterfly

Monarch butterfly

GCW speaks of peace and power

Peace is not out there or somewhere else. Each of you has within you the capacity to be peace – to be calm, happy, balanced and harmonious. Peace is reflected from the inner heart and soul of you and all others into the web of all things. If you don’t like what you see in the world, look inside yourself. Seek peace within your own soul, heart body, and mind. All begins within you.

Let this be your practice. Go inward and shine a light of love on the places you have hated and rejected. (Only humans do this! It is time to unlearn this self hate you seem so attached to!) In this way you create more light. Do not say “…but what about…?” or “Look at what they’re doing…”. This casts attention away from your circle of influence and accomplishes nothing!

Take your power seriously! You have great power within the physical container that is you! I wish all humans to know this truth and live it! You are creating the world from the inside heart, soul and mind of you. To heal the world as so many of you wish to do, you must first heal your own hearts. Face the hurts that you carry, learn from them, let them go when you are ready, like the effortless release of autumn leaves.

You are amazing and powerful. Step up to your power and allow it to flow forth from every cell and particle of your being! I mean it! I must continue to repeat this. True power does not come from a gun, or a tough demeanor, or a fancy car, or high powered job, large back account or huge house. It comes from the light within you. You are made of light. Feel it, know it, live it!

Societal expectations

Grandmother Cottonwood's crown

Grandmother Cottonwood’s crown

C of Ames, Iowa asks:

Q: How can I learn to be OK with not having a clean and organized home? When people come over, I feel it should be clean, yet it isn’t. This is a societal expectation I am not mastering.

A. Dearest C, you are pressuring yourself to conform to a standard others have set. Go into your heart and ask: What is your deepest wish for your space? Can you separate what you desire from what society expects? How do you want to feel in your space? Is your space mirroring something inside of you? Did Mom & Dad force you to clean and toil without your heart being in it? What is easy for you?

You are ready to make your own rules, to set your own standards. You are the ruler, monarch, queen, empress, master of your space and you are the decider! You are in charge! You are the president, speaker of the house, prime minister! Accept no other authority!

It feels that you are split in two. You want to please others who visit you, yet doing what you feel is pleasing to them does not please you. I am here to tell you to please yourself first and foremost. Decide what pleases you, what is right and effective and easy for you. Do not be swayed to the right or left from your knowing of your needs and desires and your own mind. Do what is right for you and let the autumn leaves fall where they may! If others criticize and complain, maybe they won’t be invited back!