Hello,
I'm Claire and this meditation for you uses the wisdom and connectivity of the trees.
It can be useful if you're feeling scattered,
Alone or fearful in this time of anxiety.
Wishing you the very best in your practice.
Making sure you are safe and comfortable,
Whether sitting or lying,
I invite you to gently shut your eyes.
Allow your attention to fall softly back into your body as if through your eye sockets and spend a moment bringing your focus,
Your attention and your intention into the interior of your body.
Breathing in and out in your own time.
Allowing your awareness to come into the present moment and your body.
Softening into the waves of your inhalation and exhalation.
Letting go of the outside world and your worries.
And enjoying,
If you can,
The sensation of inhaling and exhaling.
You might want to add a quality to your in-breath like calm or peace.
And you may want to add the possibility of letting go on the breathing out.
But don't make anything happen.
Any invitation I give to you,
Try it out and just let it go if it doesn't fit for you.
But stay with your attention,
Stay with your breath.
Stay with coming into the present moment in your body.
Now I invite you to literally notice the pressure of your body where it connects to the ground.
Where it connects to the earth,
The floor,
Whatever and wherever that is.
And also just be aware that above you is the infinity of the heavens.
Sitting in the here and now,
Connected to the earth with the heavens overhead.
Now let's travel to the trees or bring the trees here.
You may want to imagine a real tree you know or a copse,
A wood or a forest.
Or you may want to bring an imaginary tree or forest to mind.
Either way,
I invite you to choose one tree,
A tree that means something to you,
A tree that appeals to you.
And imagine sitting down on the earth with your back against the trunk of the tree.
And of course this tree is in a very peaceful place where you will be completely safe and undisturbed.
Feeling the strength in the trunk,
Through your spine.
You may want to turn around and give it a hug.
I just imagine that as I'm doing this meditation with you.
Becoming aware and enjoying the strength of the trunk of this tree,
Rooted into the ground,
Connected to you in your body.
And without needing to bring the things that are making you anxious to mind.
Just imagine that anything that you no longer need nor want,
Any stress or tension or worries,
Can just flow down through into the trunk of the tree and down into the ground.
Anything you no longer need nor want.
Just giving it to the trunk of the tree and letting the trunk of the tree take that away into the roots.
Where that stuff perhaps will be turned into compost by Mother Earth.
So you're not throwing it away,
You're not denying it,
You're letting that stuff go.
And then feel into the roots of the tree.
Are they deep?
Are they strong?
Are they quite shallow?
But full of life?
Know that as you sit against the tree in your imagination,
You are connected to the roots of the tree.
The connection,
The solidity,
The support,
The grounding.
So that however hard the tempest draws,
This tree will not topple over.
It is deeply rooted and you are deeply rooted to it.
Anytime you want to pause the audio and take longer with one section,
Please feel free to do so.
But now let's imagine looking up,
Looking up and seeing the branches,
The twigs,
All the little,
All the ways that the tree expands and grows and reaches into the air from its strong trunk.
And notice how on this tree there are leaves.
And perhaps there is a gentle breeze and the leaves are just gently fluttering.
The branches are dancing.
Maybe with a movement that you can't see.
But towards the end of the branches through the twigs into the leaves,
There is always the possibility of movement,
Of expansion,
Of finding new ways towards the light.
And just know that in you,
However tight life can feel sometimes,
There is the possibility of movement.
There is the possibility of dancing in the breeze and feeling the nourishment from the sun.
Perhaps there are some birds tweeting in the branches.
The branches are a place of life,
Of curiosity,
Of receiving.
And just imagine the branches of your own life also have that fluidity,
Have that possibility of movement,
Have that possibility of receiving the nourishment from the sun.
Have dancing and singing in your own branches.
You may want to imagine lying on your back and just gazing upwards.
Just follow wherever your own imagination takes you.
Even as you sit or lie underneath your tree,
You look around and notice there are other trees.
And maybe if your tree was on its own in the field,
Maybe you could imagine just bringing some trees near you right now,
Near your tree.
And we now know,
We now have been taught that trees do indeed connect with each other for survival.
It's not the survival of the fittest,
It's the survival of the group.
The roots connect through fungal networks to share water and nutrients,
To warn of danger.
And as you look about you,
Perhaps you may want to start walking amongst these trees,
Touching this branch and that,
This trunk and that.
And know that you are walking over interconnections,
That this copse,
This wood,
This forest of filthy trees is a place of connection,
Of support.
It's unseen.
We didn't know about it until recently,
But it's there.
And maybe allow the possibility that in your own life there is support,
There is connection,
Known or unknown.
Enjoying this woodland,
Enjoying dancing,
Walking,
Lying,
However your,
And wherever your imagination takes you.
Trusting that you have your roots,
You are supported.
You have a trunk you will not be blown over in the storm.
You have branches that are continually open and inquiring and dancing and singing and you are connected,
Whatever it feels like.
And just taking a final moment to enjoy this wonder in the trees.
You can come back at any time or pause the audio now,
But for now I am bringing our time together to a close.
Thank you so much for practicing with me.
