On the 19th of June this year we joined Bill and Marilyn Veltrop along with FireHawk, Pele Rouge and Renegade Lawdog for their annual Summer Solstice Gathering. This was held at the Sequoia Retreat Center in Ben Lomond, CA.
My experience there with the Sequoia trees touched me deeply – especially at this time of the earth changes. I was especially grieved when I read somewhere recently that there is concern that the Sequoia won’t survive the extended drought that is devastating California. This news made me weep.
I had been to the retreat center before, three years ago, but had lost track of the power of the trees. I know that I loved their beauty but when I walked up the hill to the section of Sequoias near the lodge, I was stunned by this sense of how alive and full of wisdom they actually are! I knew immediately that they had something to tell me. Strange as that seems!
It wasn’t until the middle of the weekend, when we had a good amount of time to be on our own, that I was able to facilitate a conversation with some of the trees that I felt a connection with. This conversation kept coming back to me. I felt like there was something important that I should look at. Finally I read these dialogues again and realized they are to be shared. I understood that their wisdom applies to everyone who cares about the earth, even though the response seem to be directed at me.
So I have decided to record here some of my journal entries from these conversations. The rest of the text is from my journals:
Sitting surrounded by stand of Sequoias on a wooden bench by the lodge. Fits of wind come by stirring the leaves that are dried out from the drought. They noisily fall to the ground in shifts. The sun is bright, in a clear though hazy hot sky. I am out of breath from climbing up from the cabin. Now the high branches offer me shade and silence.
I want to have a conversation with these so present and powerful creatures! I notice that their trunks are bathed by the sun and I imagine them thirsty and tired out by the earth changes. I struggle with moving over the threshold to start a conversation. This sometimes happens when I resist trying to contact them for some reason. I find it best to start by asking a question. So I write my question:
“What is the higher purpose of my time here with you at this present moment?”
I have my pen ready for an answer. As I prepare for this answer I come to understand that it isn’t just for me but for everyone! The answer comes:
“We are more than willing to speak, if you will listen. We will send some wind your way to facilitate our connection – although we are easily connected to your heart as it is open and available.
“Your purpose here will manifest over these days. But we can tell you that it is time for you to turn from your self toward the Earth. You can take your insights to another level. It is important that you know that the way you connect to the whole is through your “I” perceptions. This then will be turned into the “We”.
“You need to learn to stay close to death while living with strength of purpose, despite any difficulty. This will crack open any remnants
of limitations you still have and transform them into the butterfly of the new level.
“Remember that our wisdom is Earth Wisdom and that it is sorely needed at this time. Just as the plants want to help humans to understand and manage the current earth journey, we are also willing to be co-creators of the next step.
“Develop your patience and grounding. Learn to be still and silent. Let there be a very natural flow through your system. In this way you essential core can best express itself to you so that you can best intuit the direction it seeks to express through your own unique gifts and qualities.
“Don’t believe that you are insignificant because you do not work directly with the world. Instead trust that every small step is important for the whole. No matter what you do, if you do it with love and compassion for humans and the earth, it will make a significant difference.
“Spend much time in nature with the sun and wind, trees and water close by. Much courage and love is available to you if you allow yourself to go into your dark side. Dare to explore the shadows, the depths. They have much to teach you. Remember our dark trunks, our eternal patience and our suffering as well as our breadth of life -always in harmony with our surroundings.
“Take the long view. Look around. Don’t get trapped in trivialities and distractions.
“But take yourself, your gifts and your opportunities seriously. Share you insights, your thoughts. Lift people up. Move in circles of clear intent and inner power. These are your communities. Seek them and they will find you.
“Use Earth Wisdom for growth and for becoming close to each other, like brothers breathing together in sync. Learn about the importance of roots, of reaching high, of touching clouds, of speaking out, of dancing with the wind, of knowing place, of standing close, of offering shade, of counting the ages. These will be your marks of wisdom and success.
“Thank you for being open to our words. We thank you and ask you to remember us always. May you come again! We await you with love.”
Has the time truly come when we can actually fell our “interbeing” with trees, with such clarity that we feel the love-call deep in the cells of our Essence? We can not turn from the pain we feel from our brother Sequoias.