Act like a tree,
A meditation.
Hello and welcome to this somewhat unusual meditation.
You may be curious,
What is it to act like a tree?
Why a meditation to act like a tree?
There is a reflection in a separate recording that accompanies this meditation.
It gives you the story that frames this piece of mindfulness.
You can do the meditation without having heard the story.
But I highly recommend that you do listen to it too.
This meditation involves visualization.
Have some fun with it.
Let's begin the meditation.
Settle into the posture of your choice and close your eyes.
Take a deep breath in through your nose and sigh it out through your mouth.
And again in through your nose and out through your mouth.
Relax into your posture.
Relax into your posture.
Straighten your spine and elongate your neck so that air can easily flow in and out of your lungs.
Relax your shoulders and clench your jaw.
And breathe.
Connect to the space around you.
Notice where you are sitting.
Notice the temperature of the air around you.
How does it feel on your skin?
On your face?
Where else can you feel it?
What sounds can you hear?
What can you hear that is close to you?
And if you move your awareness further away,
Maybe outside of the space you are in,
Tune in to the layers of sound.
Now notice what you can smell.
Are the smells and scents familiar or strange?
Think of a tree that you know well.
Any tree that you know well will do.
It may be a tree from your childhood with a treehouse built into it or a rope swing hanging from it.
It could be a favorite tree that you sit under at the park.
Maybe you have a garden shaded by a large tree.
Whatever tree it is,
And you don't need to know what kind it is,
In your mind's eye,
Go to it.
Go to it and stand so that you can see it in front of you.
Do you see it?
Look at where it is planted,
The ground around it.
What does it look like?
Is there soil,
Grass,
Rocks or stones?
What else is there?
Notice if there are roots barking out of the ground.
Observe the trunk.
What does it look like?
How thick is it?
And the bark?
Is it rough or smooth?
Are there visible knots and crevices?
Travel up to the branches,
See how they spread out and up or down.
Do they have leaves?
What do they look like?
Are they big or small?
What shade of green are they?
Or are they autumn leaves?
Take in the full canopy of this tree.
What would it be like to be this tree?
Step forward and touch the trunk.
Run your hand over the bark,
Feel the crevices,
The knots and holes.
Wrap your arms around the tree.
Feel the bark against your face.
Breathe in the smell of the tree.
Say quietly to yourself,
I wish to become this tree.
Now imagine that the tree has opened itself up so that you can step into it.
Let it embrace you,
Softly wrap around you as it lets you become it.
As you stand there,
Now the tree,
Imagine your roots buried deep into the ground,
Thick and spread out as wide as the expanse of the crown.
Can you feel the rich soil that surrounds each root?
This soil protects each root and provides the tree with water,
Minerals and nutrients.
These roots ensure that you live a healthy life,
They safeguard you from being damaged during strong winds or heavy storms and they keep you upright,
Growing straight and tall.
Imagine your roots,
Thick,
Strong and healthy,
Dug deeply into the ground.
Now move up into your trunk,
Solid,
Strong with the stories of your years told in the rings of the bark.
Your outer bark,
With a smooth or rough,
Protects you.
Continually renewed from within,
It helps keep out moisture from the rain while preventing you from losing moisture when the air is dry.
It insulates against cold and heat and wards off insect enemies.
The knots and crevices all have a reason,
They provide homes for other animals and tell a story of your life.
Let's move into your branches,
What are they like?
Feel them spreading out and reaching up towards the sunlight,
Providing space for the leaves to soak up the sunlight in order to be able to photosynthesize the carbon dioxide into food.
If you have leaves,
Let them wave in the breeze,
Your branches gently swaying.
Feel the warm sun on them as if on your face.
Be this tree for a moment.
Feel its power,
Its sureness,
Its strength.
It has purpose,
It is important,
It is you.
Stay like this for a while.
I will ring a bell to bring you back.
Thank your tree.
Remember how it felt to be the tree as you gently return to you,
To your body as you step out of the tree.
Once again,
You.
But different.
Bigger maybe?
Realizing your own purpose and innate power?
Hold on to this feeling.
Know that you can act like a tree anywhere and anytime.
Rooted,
Grounded but flexible enough to withstand the impact of the wind and storms.
Centered,
Strong and sure.
Reaching up for the light and out for the space.
Always growing and getting stronger.
Being there for others but not so that you get crowded out or stripped of your bark or fruit or leaves or branches so that you can no longer thrive.
Nurturing and nourishing yourself to keep you healthy and strong.
Having an immune system that can fight off parasites,
Germs and illness.
Accepting that there are seasons and being with those cycles,
Not fighting against them.
Knowing that it is useful to hibernate,
To go quiet and rest in order to re-energize and have the strength and resources to grow more.
To become more of you.
Take a deep human breath.
Sigh it out.
Reconnect back with the space around your body.
What does the air feel like on your skin?
What sounds do you notice?
What smells?
Slowly move your body,
Your legs and feet,
Your arms and hands.
Stretch them out.
Yawn.
Sigh.
And when you are ready,
And only when you are ready,
Gently open your eyes.
Namaste.
.
