nature spirits

Life’s end

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As my physical remains crumble into dust and become food for the Earth, for the insects and worms, I enrich and feed the soil that once fed me. The decay of my physical being nourishes the soil that sustained my long and prosperous life. The rains, snows, ice, the freezes and thaws have begun to break down what is left of me.

Grandmother Cottonwood’s stump

My spirit, the energy that supported my physical being continues, as bright, as strong as ever. Now the “I” that was focused and centered in the once living tree experiences an immense freedom, an expansion, a lightness, a joy in knowing my oneness with all that is.

Gone are the days of knowing the baking heat and withering drought, chill winter winds, eroding washes of driving rain, the threat of lightening and high winds.

I loved my life in the form of a magnificent cottonwood tree in spite of harsh weather, boring insects, men with bucket trucks and chainsaws. I lived a beautiful life, connected intimately with the web of all-that- is.

My spirit endures!

And now from my new perspective, my spirit observes the manifestations, the ebb and flow, the dance of life on earth with deep gratitude and great love for all beings.

I have a new viewpoint on the web of life, or the web of spirit, if you like. For in my new reality I know without doubt that all things are one.

Ask for Help

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Dear reader, this post is from the archives of AskGCW.

Dear friends, I feel a great heaviness in this world right now.

I can feel the vibrations of your tension, the tightening of your shoulders and throat, the churning in your gut, the stress, the weight of worry many are feeling right now in this time of uncertainty.

For those who are worried, frightened – lean against me and those of my kind, the extended family of trees. Enter into our friendly energy, rest your weight on us, we will support and calm you, help you know what is real and solid and true.

Grandmother Cottonwood

Tune yourselves to our quiet and subtle frequency. Listen with your whole body and heart, your wise self.

We will help you know you are not alone, that life goes on, that you are safe in this moment.

Know this. All trees and the collective spirits of nature – animal and plant, insect, reptile, amphibian, all angelic beings, your human ancestors who have crossed to the light, all spirits or land air and sea, of heaven and Earth, of the Universe are with you always.

Male Cardinal in winter

Please call on us for advice, kindness, companionship, spiritual nourishment, comfort. You are not alone. You are surrounded by love.

Tune into our quiet and loving voices to steady and calm your anxious minds.

Spirit Messengers

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You are given a span of time to live and love upon our sweet green planet.

You are given many opportunities to hear and learn from the quiet voices of nature spirits that are everywhere on our Earth.

Locusts buzz. They provide the soundtrack of late summer. Spotlit red bud leaves dance like green hearts in dappled light and shade. All is green and alive.

Red winged blackbird in flight

Birds spread their wings, trees spread their leaves to life.

Yellow swallowtail glides between earth and treetops bringing grace, beauty, awe, and enchantment.

Yellow swallowtail butterfly on zinnia

These winged and leafy messengers from spirit will help guide you, calm you, lighten your heart. They will help you know your rightful place in the great web of life in which all living beings are one.

Learn their language, the quiet whispering of the nature spirits.

Winter gifts

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Have you gone outside on a midwinter day to lie on the cool crusty snow, letting the Earth take your weight and support you, the snow molding to your shape?

Winter deer path

Have you gone out to lie down and soak in the cool fresh air, to absorb the Earth Energy that powers you? To know your oneness with all of life?

Let the nearby trees weave a lacy net of branches for your protection. Know the solid fabric of their roots below the surface, creating a strong foundation for your physical life, holding and anchoring the soil that gives us life.

Let the clean cool air refresh and revitalize your energy, lift your spirits, the blue sky inspire your dreams, expand your mind, enlarge your knowledge of what is possible.

Dream and rest under the sky, letting the blanket of snow cushion and cradle you.

Let yourself be one with this Earth and accept her precious winter offerings.

The river speaks

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I am ceaseless and timeless. I flowed past the camps of your ancestors in ancient times, and I flow now under the concrete and steel bridges of your streets and highways, between fields of corn and beans. I flow past the towns and factories through forests and wetlands.

Life flows endlessly here- always the same, always new and fresh.

I may change course over time, undercut and topple the tallest trees, cut through solid stone, shape and carve the landscape.

I carry much that you choose to discard, your pollution and garbage. It becomes part of me. Is this what you want?

I rise and flood in spring, after the long winter freeze, swelling and spreading expanding beyond my banks. I pick up speed and power.

Do not argue with a flooded river!

My ripples respond to the most delicate vibrations of wind and weather and light and water currents, to rumblings in the earth, the movements of the stars.

The sun reflects and creates sparkles and dancing bands of light in my depths. You might sit near me and meditate on my hypnotizing moving light and water show. Find peace here.

Sunlit ripples on shallow water

I provide a home for the water dwellers, the fish of all descriptions, crustaceans, insects, the tadpoles and frogs, turtles, food for the fur-bearers and birds, a place of thirst quenching for all.

I grind and polish rough stones to smooth. I grind and polish smooth stones to sand. I compress sand into sandstone. Do not ask me how or why. It is in my nature to do so.

I run under the open sky at night, only the stars and moon lighting me in the uninhabited places. I move under the earth in complete darkness, carving the structure of this planet into caves of great complexity and beauty.

I am the river of life that flows through your ancient memory into your present and on toward the future.

It is my purpose to collect the waters of the earth and channel them effortlessly, to cleanse and shape the earth, to reach oneness with the great waters at the end of my journey… which is only the beginning.

We will endure!

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We plant spirits, the spirits of nature, and living plants in our hundreds of billions have endured, persevered, and adapted over the lifetime of our home Mother Earth.

Vine tendril

Some of our number have gone extinct only to be replaced by new plant life forms better adapted to new and different climatic conditions.

We plants adapt and endure even now with the warming oceans, super-storms, human alteration of our valleys, rivers, plains, mountains, and forests.

We will endure into the future as we’ve endured for billions of years trusting our seeds, spores, runners and roots to the future.

We are constantly changing and adapting to our home, interwoven with all life in the vast and complex web of existence.

Come out and play!

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Have you kept yourself in the glow of your computer screen too long this year? Are you glued to the couch, too comfy in your recliner?

We the nature spirits of your land, invite you out to play! Let our shifting and dappled midsummer shade mesmerize you and bring you into the present moment and release your worries. Let the sailing clouds on a deep blue sky enchant you.

Tree swing

Let the flowing and sparkling water of a nearby stream fire your imagination and light up your childlike enjoyment of the simple things in life. Sail a paper boat, watch a large leaf float downstream, skip stones, drop rocks in the water and watch & listen for the splash…

Go to the playground and swing, climb a tree & observe everything above & below you, create a bouquet of wildflowers some might call weeds. Go barefoot. Twirl around until you get dizzy and then rest on the grass. Smell the clover. Watch for lightning bugs after dark. Take a moonlit walk.

Pure joy!

You are too serious! Leave your cares and worries behind and come out to play!

Invitation from a tree

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Dear ones, I invite you to rest here against my rough bark, soaking in the energy of the earth and sky that I channel through my my roots and branches. Rest in my shade and I’ll wrap you in peace.

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Grandmother Cottonwood and hand

I’ll help you root to the earth, to feel at home; to feel belonging and kinship with all creatures here below. I’ll help you reach to the heavens and feel your connection to the source of creation.

We trees might be simple life forms when measured against your mighty accomplishments. Yet you grew up on this earth in the company of trees in forests, jungles, savannas, or those purposefully planted in your neighborhoods.

We belong together!

We trees wish to be reunited with you and your higher selves- the part of you that can feel and know the harmony and healing love we offer. Sit with us quietly and feel peace.

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.

Come and visit!

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I’ve gotten my “haircut” for the year. Most of this year’s leaves are already scattered around my base, yellow and decaying, becoming food for next year’s growth and shimmering display.  A few of my dying leaves, still attached, flutter in the fall breeze sending silvery light through the woods and prairie margins. 

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Grandmother Cottonwood

Come and visit us here in the woods. Quiet down and listen to the sighing the singing, the flowing and fluttering, the heartbeat of the natural world that supports and feeds and nurtures each and every one of us.

Come visit your fellow earth inhabitants! Know that we love you!  Turn off that shiny “smart” object, put it in your pocket and commune with us.  Tune into your wild nature and remember your roots in the rich earth.  You are a beloved spirit, an irreplaceable part of the web of the whole.

We nature spirits and beings long to connect and uplift you, to soothe and comfort, and hold your feet firmly to the earth, the magnificent green planet that is our home.

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Hackberry tree bark

Lie on our fragrant cushion of fallen leaves, listen to the rushing creek, the birdsong, the crickets. Know that you belong, that we all belong together.