Bear's Blog

This year’s “harvest” is quite different from what it has been in the past. We can – and should – always find things to be grateful for. Yet on a material level our incomes, priorities and routines have changed (for better and for worse). We have been limited in some activities, while other areas of attention and concern have been expanded. We aren’t socializing in the same way; we’re spending more time in our closest relationships. If you have school-age children, or a family/pod member who is sick, that has come with extra responsibilities. If you are trying to maintain contact with someone important to you, the tech options have opened up a world of possibility. And while there are fewer place settings around the holiday table, the stress of creating that feast is minimized.

So where do we go for a feeling of abundance, richness and beauty? To the same arena that has sustained us through this year – nature. It’s a “safe” place we can go during the pandemic, and it’s also uplifting. In fact, you may even be having holiday get-togethers and meals outside!

A nice pre or post-Thanksgiving hike has always been a great antidote to over-indulging. Even with a more modest holiday meal this year, it’s still a great time – before it gets too cold – to enjoy being outdoors (and before those winter sports get going).

I’d like to suggest you spend some quality time with a TREE. 

I look to trees to anchor me in every season. Even when the fall foliage is gone, I never tire of looking at the shapes and contours of the many trees on my daily walk. And yet there is more to experience about trees than just the visual aspect, the scent, or the shade.

Earlier this year shared the way I like to engage with trees. I want to add another way to “resource” a tree, especially this year.  In energy work we often transform energies we want to release into the earth, the ground – and at the base of a tree.

Communion with Trees - Part Two

1) Sit at the base of a tree that is big enough to support you. Remember to align your Hara (here’s a link if you need to revisit that). Expand your awareness into your back as you lean against the tree; feel the sensation of the bark, and imagine extending your eggshell-shaped energy field to include the tree. A way to visualize this is going to the top point, or Upper Dantien, of your Hara and extending your field 360 degrees out and around yourself from there.

2) While you are sitting, reflect on the things you have experienced this year that you want to let go of. Bring up any feelings of loss, grief, inadequacy, frustration, overwhelm, anxiousness, exhaustion, sorrow, helplessness, fear – all your suffering - and feel them, fully. Replay specific moments that define those experiences.

Imagine releasing these spent emotions down from the Middle Dantien of your Hara, to the Lower Dantien, out into the earth and the base of the tree. You can even tell the tree all about it  – “Oh woe is me!” – trees are good listeners.  Don’t censor yourself. Being in closer proximity with others, we may be holding our emotional expression in check. Here’s a chance to indulge in feeling it all

3) When you are complete with the experience, thank the tree. Be refreshed by that sensation of grounded-ness that trees embody (literally!). That’s why the average person values having trees in their immediate environment; they hold us in ways we are barely conscious of.

There is so much to explore and play with once you start to notice how MUCH is happening all around you on a subtle energetic level. We are all responding to energy, all the time, in interactions small and large. I hope to help bring into conscious awareness ways in which we can engage with the bigger world of subtle energy and enjoy its benefits.

Take refuge in the ultimate healer, Nature!

Bear