Welcome to active meditation.
We are one,
Contemplating life as a tree.
This is a story of an apple tree.
As the story unfolds,
Imagine that you are all the parts and roles.
An apple tree.
It grows from a seed.
Use your imagination here.
Placed in the soil,
Tended by a gardener,
Fed by the sun.
Imagine what it is to experience life from the existence of the soil,
Gardener,
The seed growing into a tree,
Producing mature fruit,
And the sun.
As I describe each role,
Think of the meaning of this in your life by finding these forces at work in you.
We will take these one at a time,
And I will be still while you experience each role.
The soil.
This is the nurturing factor,
The raw material that gives of itself to produce new and greater things.
Imagine what it is like to be the soil,
Receiving the seed,
Giving it your water,
Your substance.
Allowing the roots to move deeply into you.
Knowing that part of you is going into the creation of a new life.
Far above you,
In the air.
You are the soil,
As it nourishes the seed and feeds the roots.
Now be quiet while you imagine being the soil.
The gardener.
This is the element that actively works on the growing seed and tree,
Tilling the soil,
Weeding,
Watering,
Spraying,
Pruning,
Fertilizing.
This is the part that also harvests the fruit at the end of the season.
A part that harvests the abundance of nature and life.
But without the gardener's actions,
The weeds and other elements,
Insects,
Thieves,
And so forth,
Might choke out the life in this growing apple tree.
This is the active element of the consciousness in you.
It has responsibility of tending the garden of your thoughts and feelings.
Take a few moments to be the gardener.
The seed.
Think of the seed being pushed into the dark soil and dying.
To give rise to a small root and a few leaves.
And growing and growing taller.
Being tended and watered by the gardener.
Being pruned,
Fertilized,
And sprayed.
Sending your roots down into the soil to draw the hidden nutrients.
Spreading your leaves in the sunlight to soak up the energy.
You'll become a tree living in darkness and daylight.
Being in the sun and the rain.
Living through the winter after dropping all of your leaves.
Experiencing the danger of insects and rodents nibbling on you.
Sending out your beautiful blossoms in the spring.
Finally producing a mature fruit.
Fulfilling your purpose.
The production of the mature apple.
Having it harvested by the gardener.
Now be quiet while you see yourself as a seed growing into a tree producing apples.
The sun.
Now you are the sun shining all day long,
Even at night.
You realize that the energy you have given is still at work all throughout the darkness.
Reducing new growth.
See the clouds come over and obscure your view of the tree.
But you know that it is still there.
Sense your energy.
Falling down to the tree endlessly.
Sense the leaves.
And all the other vegetation reaching out to you every day to soak up your energy.
You see and nurture all the vegetation.
You send your light shining on all trees.
You see the whole species of trees.
And you still shine eternally.
Giving life to all below.
Even long after one tree is gone.
You understand that the creative life forces and the creation are inseparable.
We are one.
The soil,
The gardener,
The seed,
The tree,
And the sun are one.
Ponder on this.
You are the sun shining all throughout the darkness.
We are one humanity.
Contemplating life as a tree.
We are one.
We are one.
