UNDER MY TREE

 UNDER MY TREE

I’ve spent a lot of time this year standing or sitting under a Lime Tree, carving wood. In the late spring the leaves on the tree gave me perfect shelter from the rain. During summer I carved wood wrapped in the exquisite perfume of its blossoms. Lately, bereft of leaves it has allowed my soul to soar into the ice blue sky of winter ( on a good weather day). Out the kitchen window as I fill the kettle for that first cup, its bare branches allow me to soak in the first gold of morning across the field.

My relationship with that tree and through it, the countryside around, is one of contentment. Today’s ‘Way’ is, I suppose a ‘way of contentment’; perhaps that’s what all these ‘Ways’ will turn out to be.

 You’ll need to be outdoors in the countryside, somewhere that for you has a huge amount of natural beauty. Here’s what you do:

Step One: Notice the beauty all around you and allow yourself to move or to be still as you do. Resist the temptation to impose an idea of how you should be; if you want to walk about looking and absorbing, do and if you want to be still, do.

Step Two: Begin to give thanks for every aspect of the beauty before you and give thanks too for how that makes you feel.

Step Three: Notice how, in the moment, what you begin to experience is contentment.

Step Four: Ask yourself the following question, ‘Right now, do I need anything else in my life to be completely content in this moment?’

Step Five: Go back to Step One.

That’s it.

Notes: Repeat the cycle two or three times in a slow and gentle manner. You will probably notice that with each cycle, your experience of beauty increases, as does the profundity of the gratitude you feel. You may even get a little teary and emotional and that’s perfectly ok; let it pass through you. Best of all, the level of contentment you experience will increase.

            At Step Four, you will sooner or later, arrive at the answer that you need nothing to be completely content in that moment. Allow yourself to enjoy and be grateful for that realisation.

            With continued practice of this ‘Way’ your awareness and understanding of yourself in relation to the Natural World and Mother Earth will deepen and be enriched. It is possible that you will realise that all the beauty around is only available to your senses because it already exists inside you. Maybe you’re carrying it with you wherever you go, even in a sealed building with artificial light and an invisible smog of electromagnetic radiation. Perhaps it’s possible to access that beauty and the contentment, even in those circumstances…

            Feel free to do this in whatever way feels natural to you and gives you the best results. Comments and questions welcome as always.

Thanks for looking in and enjoy!

            Rex

FOLLOW THE WHITE RABBIT

FOLLOW THE WHITE RABBIT

Eventually Rabbit always goes into a hole in the ground. This happens sooner rather than later if Rabbit feels threatened, for it is in the earth’s embrace that Rabbit feels safe.

Years of meditation and working to access higher conscious states can be a wonderful thing, however we also need to allow our awareness to sink into the earth and develop a conscious connection with what lies below the pavement. If we don’t, those lovely higher states become what we long for, become our new attachment and we miss the opportunity for real contentment in the earthly realm.

Real contentment is not just a powerfully soothing thing; it creates openness and surrender and allows the most subtle experiences of unity with all.

To call this ‘grounding’ puts us at risk of trivializing the importance and power of developing a connection to the Earth. It’s one half of the yin-yang of existence.

 Over the next few weeks I’m going to be exploring how to develop a relationship with this beautiful, giant orb we’re all riding through space. I’ll be offering some of the ways that have worked for me in developing and nurturing my own relationship. They’ll be simple, sometimes simpler than my original Hacks for Soothing. I also won’t be referring to them as hacks since they’re not just pre-digital and pre-industrial; they’re Prehistoric. I’ll be referring to them as Ways.

Today’s ‘Way’ for you to explore is this:

Step One: Find yourself a smooth barked tree, preferably with a small diameter trunk. I find a Birch tree is best, but even a mature Beech will do. Oaks, Sycamores and other rough barks are not great to start on.

Step Two: Place one of your hands, palm down on the trunk of the tree, exhale and put your attention on the sensation of physical contact with the tree.

Step Three: Stay like that for a few minutes and notice what comes into your awareness.

            That’s it.

Notes: Resist the urge to hug the tree. It’s important to keep the point of physical contact small when starting out; this will allow your awareness to be more sensitive. The first couple of times you try this ‘Way’ use your non-dominant hand.

 I’ve deliberately not spoken of what I experience or what I might think you would experience in trying this. I want your experience to be your own. However I’d love to hear anyone’s experiences so don’t hesitate to get in touch to share.

Thanks for looking in.

Rex.