Tree Meditation

Nature connection through a visualisation of a tree. The practice helps to cultivate a sense of groundedness, interconnectedness, acceptance, compassion, and gratitude. We experience ourselves as nature and as part of the wider web of life. This is an opportunity to participate in life and to experience just being, exactly like a tree, in all our perfect imperfections.

Transcript

So inviting you to settle into a comfortable position,

Maybe inviting a couple of deep breaths or even a sigh or two.

Just feel yourself arriving in this moment and then perhaps taking a moment to notice your connection with the surface that you're resting on or notice your connection to the earth through your feet on the ground.

From here noticing your connection with the earth,

Maybe through the feeling of gravity or through those physical connections,

Press of the floor,

The chair,

Perhaps just allowing the earth to hold the weight of your body,

Just resting into this sense of connection and being held.

Now can you bring to mind a tree,

Can be a tree that you're familiar with or one from your imagination,

Just taking a couple of moments to bring this tree into your mind's eye.

You don't have to strive,

Perhaps you can bring a sense of this tree to your heart,

A bit like an old friend.

So turning your attention to the roots of the tree in the soil,

Reflecting on the way the tree is held and supported by the earth,

Visualising the roots spreading out in every direction.

The roots are connected to a network of fungi,

The tree shares sugars and information through the fungi,

Sharing with the fungi and also along these networks to other trees and plants.

So just getting a sense of this interconnectedness,

This interbeing,

The tree physically connected with the earth,

Held safely through these roots,

Also connected with the surrounding life,

With the elements,

Everyone's needs being met here through this interconnection.

And as you do this perhaps you're able to just lightly bring your own feet into your field of awareness,

Perhaps your feet on the floor,

Maybe visualise roots extending from your feet into the earth and connecting you with all of nature beneath the ground.

There's a sense of belonging and connection,

Of home,

Here in this place,

In this moment.

Maybe just breathing into your feet,

Then breathing out,

Releasing,

Just noticing how that feels.

And perhaps you can bring kindly attention to your feet with each in-breath,

Maybe even an inner smile towards your feet and the earth and all the interconnected life in the soil.

There's a sense of the interbeingness,

Your feet,

The earth and all the life within the earth.

Seeing whether we can find the centre,

The groundedness in this first simple part of our practice.

Not worrying too much if that's beyond our reach at the moment,

Just recognising that there's nothing we need to do or change.

And right where we need to be in this moment,

We're held steady,

Stable and grounded,

Connected with the whole world,

Lifting our kindly attention and awareness in this moment,

Lifting our presence and this time we take to practice both to ourselves and to all around us.

So just taking a few moments here just to savour this connection with you.

Visualise the roots that extend from your feet,

Extending to all the people in our circle right now,

Those in the present moment,

Those in the past,

Those in the future.

Just connecting us and sending kindly wishes of well-being to one another and receiving these too.

Just like the trees sharing food and information,

Imagine receiving whatever you need right now and giving whatever care and kindness is needed by others.

So returning to our mind's eye image of the tree,

Now moving up the trunk,

Solid and yet able to flex and absorb the wind as it blows,

Constant steadying the whole tree and this trunk supporting the tree and drawing up the nutrients and water to wherever they're needed.

These constant processes that need no thought or control,

Just being.

So inviting you to turn your attention to your body,

Your core and the strength and support this offers your whole body,

Your spine,

Abdomen,

Chest,

All providing the structure and strength for your arms and legs and head,

Allowing us to move and explore.

Inside all these processes taking care of you,

Breathing,

Digesting,

Beating heart,

Circulating blood.

Maybe you'd like to smile to all these parts of your body and the nature and aliveness within you or maybe even just the merest idea of a smile,

Perhaps sending kindly attention to all these parts of your body,

All these processes taking care of you.

So perhaps taking a moment to bring your attention to your breath,

Noticing your breath as it moves down into your body,

Filling your abdomen and then moving back out.

Nothing you need to do or change here,

Quietly observing your body breathing itself.

This perfectly coordinated process of nature,

Just connecting with this sense of nature breathing for a moment,

Nature breathing you,

Taking care of every cell of your body and all the while just being just like the trunk of the tree,

The whole tree,

Just being exactly as you are,

Just being breathed in this moment and maybe reflecting for a moment that the branches of the tree are very much like the branches of your airways,

The shape and structure as they divide into smaller and smaller branches,

Just like the branches of the tree.

And as we breathe in,

We receive the oxygen from the trees and as we breathe out,

We give them the carbon dioxide that they need to make their food.

And this is one of the many ways that we're connected with the tree,

The tree is the oxygen and the carbon dioxide,

The carbon dioxide is the oxygen and the carbon dioxide is the oxygen and the carbon dioxide is the oxygen and the carbon dioxide is the oxygen and the carbon dioxide.

Feeling that connection,

Sending kindly appreciation with each breath,

Smiling to the trees and then coming back to your tree and now moving up the trunk to the leaves and branches,

Lots of change here,

Comings and goings of birds and insects and other animals,

Lots of life.

They're just pausing here,

Bringing our attention to our hands,

Just noticing the physical sensations within our hands.

You can get a sense of the aliveness within,

Perhaps there's a warmth or a tingling.

Don't worry if you're unable to feel this,

There's no need to strive.

Maybe sending loving appreciation to our hands for all they do for us.

So coming back to our tree and the wind moving through the leaves,

The animals visiting and departing and all the time the tree branches are open and welcoming,

Accepting them all as they arrive and then allowing them to freely leave.

So perhaps we can turn our attention to our own bodies,

Maybe returning to our breath,

Just following the breath again into and out of the body,

Back to the conversation we have with nature through our breath.

And as we do this,

Noticing that there may be thoughts or sounds or feelings arising,

A bit like birds coming and going to and from your tree,

Just seeing if you can stay with the breath,

Just like being a tree,

But noticing these comings and goings of thoughts and the general bubble of activity in the background.

Can you bring a warm affection to these thoughts,

Just as you might to the animal visitors,

A sense of acceptance of whatever arises in your experience in this moment,

Just like the open branches of the tree,

Just taking a couple of moments just to stay a while,

See what the experience is of just being,

Shining in all your imperfect imperfection,

The perfect gift of nature,

Just like the tree.

Reviews

Wow, I love this meditation! I love the way science and soulfulness come together in your approach. Delighted to have stumbled across your meditations here on the app. Thank you so much!