environmental

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!

What happens to the hidden folk?

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A of Waukee, Iowa asks:

Q. What happens to the Hidden Folk when land is developed and the trees there are slaughtered and the land is either built on or paved over?

A. Hidden Folk are one with their native place. They do not migrate or leave their beloved homes when the bulldozers and earthmovers come. They seek always to restore balance, to reweave the web of creation, to right what has been destroyed. They feel deeply and fiercely for the land they inhabit and protect. At times they are able to adapt to changes and work with humans so all may live in harmony with an altered landscape. They greatly favor plans which include children!

At other times when no attention has been given to the nature of the land, to water patterns, the slant of sunlight, air flow, sun and shade, the energy exchange between air and soil, the needs of children, the hidden folk pull back to the margins of their land in anger and outrage! If needed, they cause mischief to attract attention! They single out those who speak eloquently for the land, defending the perfection of nature, knowing that paving concrete over acres of land is a distortion, a gross violation of the web of life. Air cannot flow, water cannot find its rightful place, life is smothered beneath the mass of killing concrete.

If you see a blade of grass break through the paving, a seedling, a sapling, cracks appear in the concrete, you will see the hidden folk at work to reclaim their home even if it takes a hundred years. They never give up! They endure and triumph. They are the guardians of life on this earth! They are timeless.

How can I help the environment?

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Q. D of Des Moines, Iowa would like suggestions on how to focus her energy for the benefit of the environment.

A. Do what is needed for your own inner healing and your own deep benefit and the ripples you create will move outward to heal the environment and your world. Give yourself all that you need – care, nurturing, love, rest, play, admiration, appreciation, good food and water. Surround yourself with loving family and friends. Know that you are inseparable from your surroundings. Your feelings and, emotions are mirrored in your world.

Where are you stuck? Where and how do you allow toxic thoughts and substances to enter your experience? Witness with compassion and see how your inner personal experience is mirrored in your outer world. Clean up that which you have control over – your thoughts and reactions. Forgive those who don’t deserve it, so you can be clear and at peace.

Let go of old resentments and free yourself to take flight with a lightness and clarity you have long desired. Remember always to look within for the healing you seek in others and in your environment. Every thought, every action, every blink of your eyes, every emotion, is reflected in the web of creation in which all things are one.

What happens to tree spirits?

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M of Central Iowa asks:

Q. What happens to the tree spirit when the tree gets hit by lightning or breaks because of ice?

A. When a tree dies by lighting, ice damage, a smothering vine, is uprooted by a flooded stream, or cut at the base by humans, or any other of the myriad forms of physical death, the spirit does not die.

No spirit can ever die. Spirit = pure energy… remember your high school science lessons? Energy cannot be destroyed! Tree spirits are freed after the death of their physical aspect to enjoy the buoyancy and freedom the pure bliss of existence without a material presence, beyond the reach of the seasons, of day and night, of freeze and thaw, of woodworm, of leaf rollers, bark borers, herbicides, fires, flood, and bulldozers. All manner of physical ills are no longer of any consequence and are left behind as easily as a cottonwood seed is carried on a spring breeze.

By and by a tree spirit or a group of spirits may once again recreate the ancient cycle of life on this magnificent planet and envelop a seed or a raft of seeds and choose the beauty, the brilliant unfolding, and yes, the uncertainty of physical existence. To live in this way and feel the expansion of life through our cells, the pull of the sun and the earth is glorious!

Tree spirits and all spirits are an integral part of the web of all existence. They are to be consulted as you consider the world in which you have your being and make your choices. Each spirit is imprinted with the pattern, the wisdom and knowledge of who were created to be before time began.

Cottonwoods and lightning

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Q. C of Clive, Iowa writes: Tell us about the relationship between cottonwoods and lightning.  2013-01-01 00.00.00-571

A. I come from a long line of magnificent giants. Tall, and stately, we cottonwoods reach to the heavens with joy- a joy and pleasure in the unfolding of our seed’s promise, of becoming what we were created to be. To expand is to be alive! Yet, to be alive is to live with the certainty of death at some unknowable time.

We trees have all lived and died a thousand or more times since the beginning of what you call time. Always accepting the great adventure of life’s invitation and expansion with a YES! Saying yes to life is also saying yes to the risk of a lightning strike and a sudden shocking destruction. We would not limit our reach or height for fear of the white blast of death from the sky. For that would stunt and bastardize our true nature; that would be a betrayal of life itself, of our purpose and potential.

We grow, reaching into the heavens knowing that lightning may strike, yet we endure and continue. If lightning comes, and it does to many, we will exit this lifetime in a blaze of fireworks! We become a fiery bridge of powerful life-giving energy from heaven to earth as the final act of this lifetime.

What can I do to keep air and water pure?

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From A of West Des Moines, Iowa2013-01-01 00.00.00-165

Q. Grandmother Cottonwood, what can we do to keep our air (and water) more pure? My yard may not be big enough to plant more trees – maybe bushes?

A. Have you ever transmitted the energy of pollution? Many do this. Many humans do not understand how thoughts and words affect the web of life. Purify yourself, your thoughts, words, actions. Teach others. In this way you spread the energy of love and that affects every particle of energy on this earth.  As a teacher, you are already doing this. There is no need to preach! Your energy affects those near you so much more than your words. Remember this. Continue to be the light- a loving source of light in your community. Others will be drawn to you, to be warmed and lit by your flame. They will learn from you and carry this with them to bless the world. This in turn will be healing to the water air and soil because people who feel and know their wholeness do not pollute their home. You are at the hub of a web of light, the magnitude of which you can not even imagine.

Planting bushes in your yard if you are moved and guided to do this is right. Send love, beam it from your heart space and hold the growing things under your care in this light. Envision their roots, buds, the birds that will settle in, the butterflies, all the life forms your plantings support. The web you create in your space is a subset of the web of all existence. You have the power to set into motion this powerful web of love that begins in your heart and spreads to the far reaches of creation!

You are a magnificent creator! You bless this earth with your presence!

Why are you speaking?

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A of Des Moines, Iowa asks:

2013-01-01 00.00.00-547Q. Why are you speaking? Do you think, do you feel? Where is this coming from? Trees can’t think & speak…!

A.  My dear A, this is why I need a human helper – to be my voice! I plucked her from the crowd. For one thing, she wasn’t wearing those ear buds or talking into a shiny blinking object. She was tuned into my frequency. She stops to say hello on her walks. She can feel my energy. She is paying attention. I plucked your translator from the crowd of walkers, joggers, cell phone talkers, day dreamers, worriers with furrowed brows, and people who seem contained within their own cranium.  The only difference between her and all the others is she’s paying attention!

My energy frequency contains the information she translates into your words. I trust her to “hear me” and make my transmissions intelligible to you.

I am doing this inter-species communication to express to all who listen the deep abiding joy of life in this exact moment in this exact place! I see that so many of your kind have forgotten the oneness, the joy, the flow that is at the heart of life. You must know how miraculous you are, how all that is longs for you and desires you, how blessed you are to be a part of the sweet unfolding of life.

There is a great upwelling of what you call joy in me, and in all living things. This is our birthright for the privilege of living on planet earth, this magnificent community of life forms. I must – my mission is to communicate this to you and those who will hear. This is why I speak through the 2 legged one; for you and our shared planet, for remembrance of oneness and that all beings may know their wholeness once again.

Become a tree whisperer

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H of central Texas wants to know…

Q. Will the roots of the burr oak I planted last year ever become entangled with our house?2013-01-01 00.00.00-80

A. The tree you have so lovingly planted and cared for, tended and nurtured is meant to grow, both up toward the sun and downward into the richness of the soil, pulled by the gravity of earth’s sacred center.

You worry about the house foundation being broken apart at some time by the reaching and expansion of the roots. The tree is settling in, the new roots feeling their way this spring. This growth cannot be dictated, controlled, or stopped unless by death or other drastic means. However, you can communicate with the tree by your actions and thoughts. Ask it to send its roots where you want them to be, show it by your food, water, what you would wish it to become and where you would wish the roots to grow. Your thoughts have power. Make friends with the tree, learn its language. Become a tree whisperer! Find out what it needs and wants.

The great unfolding of life once begun cannot be pulled back, but you may be able to affect the outcome by your gentle persuasion. Remember to ask for what you do want, not what you don’t want. The tree will read your thoughts and actions. It may comply with your wishes, or it may not! Send love to the tree. It will thrive!