Tree Meditation

This very special visualisation meditation is taken from Andy's popular Insight Timer course 'Doorways To Peace: Healing Practices For Everyday Life'. In this meditation you will embody the strength, wisdom and peaceful nature of a tree as it stands silently with the ebb and flow of the day. I hope this meditation brings you a sense of grounding, trust in life and deep peace.

Music composed, produced and performed by Andy Hobson. Music only can be found on Insight Timer labelled 'Mountain Meditation Love and Light Version Music'

Transcript

Finding your comfortable tree posture or lay down on the ground,

But sitting for this one might feel more fitting.

Taking a nice deep breath in,

Breathing out,

Gently closing your eyes and just breathing for a moment.

Just breathing,

Taking slightly deeper and longer breaths if you want to.

And as you sit here,

Breathing,

Bring to mind the image of a tree.

It could be a tree that you know,

Maybe one from your childhood,

Or you can just visualise a tree.

And where is your tree growing?

And noticing its leaves,

Its branches,

Its winding trunk.

Becoming aware of your tree's roots going down into the earth.

Really picturing your tree in your mind.

Now bring this image of your tree into your body.

Your torso becomes the trunk.

The base of you becoming the base of the tree.

Connecting with the ground and rooted in the earth.

And your head is the top of the tree,

Reaching up to the sun.

And you can imagine that your arms are branches,

Reaching out,

Connecting to the world around you and feeling part of everything.

With your delicate leaves,

Sensing into space.

Your lower branches,

Wise and old,

Knowing.

Watching over the ground below you,

Watching over the ground below you.

And your higher branches,

Seeking,

Curious,

Ready to step into the unknown.

Knowing that the sun will guide their path.

Now adjusting your posture to embody the spirit of your tree.

Sitting and breathing as tree.

And now taking a few deep breaths,

Down into your deep roots and back out again through your delicate leaves.

And now imagine a gentle breeze breathing through you,

Nourishing every cell of your tree body.

And this gentle breeze rustles your leaves as they shimmer and shine like shoals of fish.

Now this gentle breeze finds its strength.

It gallows pace and becomes a wind,

Galloping through your branches and clearing out all your old leaves,

Your woes and troubles,

Making space for new growth.

And all the while,

You sit as tree,

Feeling strong,

Grounded and safe,

Rooted in the earth.

The wind dies down to a gentle breeze once again and a sense of stillness falls upon you.

Then rain gently falls.

Your leaves soak in the water as it cleanses,

Cools and rejuvenates your tree body,

Washing away the dust and dirt.

Now the rain eases and your leaves gently hand the last few drops of water to the ground.

Stillness arises once again.

And as the day moves on,

The light fades and the sun takes a bow,

Giving way to night as it reveals its dark cloak of stars,

The time travellers of space and mystery over the earth.

And you just sit as tree under the blanket of stars,

Gazing at the moon,

Listening to its silent sermon,

Feeling grounded,

Held by the earth,

Silently watching as the dust from the day settles.

And the night breaks and the night brings its solitude,

Stillness and sorrow,

Sparsity and sadness,

Just as the days bring their abundance,

Aliveness,

Joy.

And your tree sees and knows it all,

Letting it be just as it is,

Standing tall and strong,

With its knots,

Cracks,

Scars and torn branches from storms past.

These markers on a map,

Worn with dignity,

Past moments that shaped its path.

Night turns to day and the sun warms your tree,

Making its way through your dense leaves and branches.

It lights up even the darkest places,

Reaching out to the shadows in the undergrowth below.

All the while,

Your tree stands still,

Tall and strong,

Dignified,

Rooted in the earth,

Knowing that no matter how dark it gets below,

The sunlight will always find its way,

Through its cracks and knots,

Through the leaves and branches,

Just light and shade,

Finding their balance.

And now continuing to sit,

As tree,

Abiding in all change,

Moments of turbulence,

Moments of not knowing,

Abiding in stillness,

As you breathe,

Listening to nature's beautiful song.

And now allowing your tree body to move into the background of your awareness,

And bringing your senses more into the outside world,

Noticing the light through your eyelids,

The sounds around you,

Noticing the space around your body,

And when you're ready,

Gently opening your eyes,

And taking a moment to allow yourself to transition to your day.

Take care,

My tree friend,

And go well.

Reviews

Love this Tree meditation,as trees are my favorite people. I could really get into the feeling of being the tree. My Favorite tree is a very old Swamp Oak on the farm where I was raised, so it was easy to picture her, and step into the feeling of being her. My only issue, was the music at the end was a bit distracting and loud, which brought me back to awakeness. Maybe that was intentional. Thank you for a beautiful meditation experience

Another super meditation! I’m going to put it in my favourites. I am going try and remember to be tree when life throws me storms and stand solid and steady and knowing that storms will pass and bring with it the change of a new day and fresh opportunities. Thank you Andy. I am a tree 🌲

Beautiful. As always. Your voice is a balm. Thank you for being a refuge when I find myself adrift 🙏💛🌳 Very grateful for your recordings, Andy

Easily my new favorite track. Thank you for this gift, Andy.

☀️

What a wonderful visualization! It made me feel so connected and expansive. Thank you 🙏

Beautiful…your voice, the music, your message. Feeling grounded with love and appreciation for my tree.
Thank you. 🙏🏻

So beautiful. So relatable. The large trees on my property reflect everything that you shared. My children grew up with these trees, and wrote stories about them and made drawings and paintings of them. A little over four years ago I lost my 12 year old daughter in a tragic accident. The trees reflect my life in all ways. This guided meditation is calming and nurturing to my soul. As I write this, I can hear the birds chirping and singing their daily morning songs. Thank you so much Andy for creating this and all of your other meditations

That was a magnificent process and grounding and focussing on the body sensations. Thanks for making it publicly available for everyone.

Beautiful connection with the wisdom of the tree. I will return to this many times. Thank you ❤️🙏

I love being in nature and find trees to be incredibly grounding and full of wise energy. Thank you for this meditation. I will return to it again. Namaste. 🙏

Thank you for the lovely exercise in visualization of a magnificent resource. A tree. I feel amused and relieved, grounded.

Loved this poem meditation and your music. Just what I needed today.

An excellent reconnection to tree nature and spirit. Thanks Andy ☺️

Love this! Nature is my happy place and I have always been in awe of the strength of trees. Thank you!💜🙏

Lovely pacing, visuals and voice. Thanks 🙏🙏🙏🌲🌳🌴

What a beautiful meditation! I became a tree. Thank you.

A beautiful meditation grounding me in the energy of a tree.

You took me back to my childhood, when my family had a plum tree in our backyard. Thank you so much.

Pure bliss 🌲💚 deep rooted inner connection with my heart 🙏🏻 thank you

Terrific as always Mr. Hobson! Thank you for creating such wonderful guided practices with exceptional music and imagery. Grateful.