Listen to the trees...
I recently mentioned this in a talk to some permaculture students. "Well, trees don't talk. How do we do that?" one student said. The good news: Like every life form, trees do communicate = they send and receive energy. They might not speak English, and we might not speak Tree - however, we can learn to exchange and receive messages in a different way.
Other life forms usually communicate in a very subtle way. They send energy waves, mind pictures, holographic images, feelings/e-motions (energy in motion) that aren't as strong as, for instance, words. The good news: once you are accustomed to perceive and translate the subtle impulses, you will be amazed by the simplicity and efficiency of this direct and clear form of communication. And it will also help you immensely with "inner-species communication" when dealing with your fellow humans. No more misunderstandings and assumptions. No more mis-interpretations and "false friends".
How to start to learn this way of communication
Here an example:
If you plant trees, ask them where they want to be planted - you will be surprised by the guidance you will get! Be still and listen...
Listen to the land, the garden, listen to all the different life forms around you...
Get in touch with them, connect with them and communicate with them. Establish a relationship. Be still and listen!
You will receive a message or an answer to your question - give yourself time to learn how to perceive it.
Find your individual way. A lot of people naturally and intuitively communicate with their pets or with their plants while gardening, etc. They do it in a verbal or non-verbal way: some people sing while planting, tell their dog how their day went – whatever way you choose, make a connection, establish a relationship. Trust your "gut feeling" and follow it.
Ask the next tree you want to plant: Where do you want to be?
Then simply wait, be still and perceive what "comes up". Where does it “feel right”? It’s that particular feeling. The more you practice the "listening", the more you will actually perceive/receive, the more you will know. Instantly. With certainty. The knowing will come. It just happens. Trust the process. Like a child that is exercising its leg muscles, playfully and consistently, until it can finally walk and run. Exercise your "communication muscles", your "language skills" - just do it, again and again. You will become more and more confident, you will become clearer and clearer, you will know - and expand your perception of life. You will gain a valuable communication tool that you can use to connect with other earthlings, with your own species as well as with other species.
Another valuable "side effect":
The budding relationship that you are establishing, will enable you to feel and live the connection, that is already there, and integrate it more and more into your doing and being. It will help you to balance all sorts of dis-traction, things that are and have been pulling us away from feeling the connection (these things/habits/life styles can be quite dominant, noisy and loud, and persistent).
Do it with (your) children to nurture their natural innate ability to communicate in this way. Remember the last time a 3 year old shared with you what the cat just told him? Did you ban the story into the realms of a "vivid imagination"? When children (or adults, for that matter) do what people sometimes call daydreaming, they drift away and enter a different state of perception. Teachers and parents often try to bring them back and make them focus on the task at hand, or they simply interrupt them, unaware of what's happening. In many day care centres and schools, activities like daydreaming are rarely respected and uninterrupted, they are certainly not encouraged and nurtured.
In this way, we condition our children (and have been conditioned ourselves) to not connect, to not keep their fluency in "connective energy language" and to not enter dream space...
Hold a space for it and allow your Self to enter and to dwell in it now...
I recently mentioned this in a talk to some permaculture students. "Well, trees don't talk. How do we do that?" one student said. The good news: Like every life form, trees do communicate = they send and receive energy. They might not speak English, and we might not speak Tree - however, we can learn to exchange and receive messages in a different way.
Other life forms usually communicate in a very subtle way. They send energy waves, mind pictures, holographic images, feelings/e-motions (energy in motion) that aren't as strong as, for instance, words. The good news: once you are accustomed to perceive and translate the subtle impulses, you will be amazed by the simplicity and efficiency of this direct and clear form of communication. And it will also help you immensely with "inner-species communication" when dealing with your fellow humans. No more misunderstandings and assumptions. No more mis-interpretations and "false friends".
How to start to learn this way of communication
- Ideally, establish a relationship = get to know each other by meeting on a regular basis, to learn about individual qualities and personality traits. Especially if you are new to this form of communicating, it helps to perceive and get used to different ways of communication.
- Keep an open mind and heart, stay focused AND playful. When you are relaxed and not attached to the outcome, your body-mind-soul system is the most flexible and receptive.
- Observe what happens, like a curious child. There might be images that pop up, thoughts, emotions, colours... You might feel drawn to a certain place, your attention and focus might shift to something you haven't noticed before in your surroundings... You might simply have a "very strong gut feeling" that tells you something (e.g. where to plant the tree, see below). You might "see" a story unfold in your mind's eye... Whatever it is - just let it be and observe it. With time, you will be able to clearly discern the impulses that come from your mind/imagination and those that come from other life forms. Be gentle and patient with yourself. Learning something new always takes a bit of time and practise.
Here an example:
If you plant trees, ask them where they want to be planted - you will be surprised by the guidance you will get! Be still and listen...
Listen to the land, the garden, listen to all the different life forms around you...
Get in touch with them, connect with them and communicate with them. Establish a relationship. Be still and listen!
You will receive a message or an answer to your question - give yourself time to learn how to perceive it.
Find your individual way. A lot of people naturally and intuitively communicate with their pets or with their plants while gardening, etc. They do it in a verbal or non-verbal way: some people sing while planting, tell their dog how their day went – whatever way you choose, make a connection, establish a relationship. Trust your "gut feeling" and follow it.
Ask the next tree you want to plant: Where do you want to be?
Then simply wait, be still and perceive what "comes up". Where does it “feel right”? It’s that particular feeling. The more you practice the "listening", the more you will actually perceive/receive, the more you will know. Instantly. With certainty. The knowing will come. It just happens. Trust the process. Like a child that is exercising its leg muscles, playfully and consistently, until it can finally walk and run. Exercise your "communication muscles", your "language skills" - just do it, again and again. You will become more and more confident, you will become clearer and clearer, you will know - and expand your perception of life. You will gain a valuable communication tool that you can use to connect with other earthlings, with your own species as well as with other species.
Another valuable "side effect":
The budding relationship that you are establishing, will enable you to feel and live the connection, that is already there, and integrate it more and more into your doing and being. It will help you to balance all sorts of dis-traction, things that are and have been pulling us away from feeling the connection (these things/habits/life styles can be quite dominant, noisy and loud, and persistent).
Do it with (your) children to nurture their natural innate ability to communicate in this way. Remember the last time a 3 year old shared with you what the cat just told him? Did you ban the story into the realms of a "vivid imagination"? When children (or adults, for that matter) do what people sometimes call daydreaming, they drift away and enter a different state of perception. Teachers and parents often try to bring them back and make them focus on the task at hand, or they simply interrupt them, unaware of what's happening. In many day care centres and schools, activities like daydreaming are rarely respected and uninterrupted, they are certainly not encouraged and nurtured.
In this way, we condition our children (and have been conditioned ourselves) to not connect, to not keep their fluency in "connective energy language" and to not enter dream space...
Hold a space for it and allow your Self to enter and to dwell in it now...