Welcome.
My name is Laura Garrison Brooke and I am so happy to be celebrating the 50th Earth Day with you.
To do this,
I invite you to go outside if you can.
And if this isn't possible right now,
That's okay too.
You can still take part in this powerful meditation.
I invite you to take a seat.
If you are outside,
Touch the ground.
Nice big breath into the belly.
Spine grows long.
Exhaling,
Feel your seat get grounded and heavy.
Inhaling,
The spine is long and tall.
Crown of the head shines up.
Following this nice full belly breath,
Allow your mind to drift.
Bring to your mind's eye a beautiful tree.
Maybe the trunk is strong and straight.
Or maybe it is ropey and bent,
Showing how it has been shaped by life's forces.
Maybe its limbs are covered in colored leaves or blossoms.
Or maybe it has branches covered in deep green needles instead.
Take your time and bring this beautiful tree clearly into your mind.
Here's something amazing to share.
Did you know that trees are part of something called common mycorrhizal networks?
This is beyond cool and will give you another level of appreciation for the earth.
The vast majority,
90% of all land plants are plugged into this network,
Which they use to share water and nutrients with each other.
They also use the common mycorrhizal network to communicate with each other about insect attacks,
Drought and disease.
And then the trees respond to protect themselves based on the information that has been shared.
If you want to read more about the science of this,
Check out the book,
The Hidden Life of Trees.
This network is jokingly called the wood wide web.
How fun is that?
Because that is what it is.
An interconnected web of life that is pulsing and communicating with each other and thriving and breathing under us right here,
Right now.
Again,
Bring your tree to mind.
See all of its beauty in detail.
Reach out a hand and touch its bark.
Breathe deep and smell its fresh scent.
Listen to the creak of its limbs and the rustle of its leaves.
Have you ever watched those nature shows where they show a tree growing with time lapse photography?
I invite you to do this now in reverse.
Visualize your tree getting smaller,
The trunk narrowing bit by bit,
Getting younger and younger,
Thinner branches,
Smaller and smaller until it is just a sprout.
And then watch that sweet little sprout draw back and tuck into its seed.
There is that beautiful seed shining with life,
Humming with potential,
Vibrant and energetic.
Breathe and feel your connection to this seed.
Look down and see it cupped in your palms.
Feel its energy.
Gently close the hands into a prayer,
Palm to palm,
Feeling the seed between the hands.
Lift your hands up and press the base of the thumbs into the third eye,
Right between the eyebrows.
Welcome the seed into the third eye.
Envision it there,
Shining and pure.
Chakra by chakra,
See the seed migrating down the central channel of the spine.
Throat chakra,
Heart,
Solar plexus,
Pelvis and then it lands at the root chakra,
Right where your tailbone is connected to the earth.
As the seed comes to rest here,
Feel that energy inside of you,
That beautiful tree.
Then consciously invite the seed to unfurl.
Its roots dig down beyond the tailbone into the soil and its shoots stretch up along the spine.
You are becoming one with this sacred spiritual tree.
Feel your roots connect down,
Down into this fertile soil.
This is Mother Earth welcoming you,
Nurturing you,
Loving you.
And the trunk grows up along the spine,
Beautiful leafy branches spreading out through the upper limbs,
Torso and head.
Breathe and feel.
Dig your tap root,
The big central root that comes off of a tree,
Connect to the earth in a way you never have before.
And then spread your roots out,
Connecting to that incredible micorizal network,
Breathing and communing with the thrumming of life that surrounds you.
Fellow trees,
Bushes,
Plants,
Grasses,
It's all here in the wood wide web.
Breathe and listen.
Breathe and connect.
Breathe and deepen.
Again,
Draw attention to that tap root.
This is a beautiful strand of energy directly connected to Mother Earth.
In the heart space envision a swelling of love and gratitude.
Send that down the spine through the tap root and into the earth saying,
May you be protected.
Again,
Feel the love and gratitude filling the heart.
Send that down the spine through the tap root and into the earth saying,
May you be safe.
Love and gratitude filling the heart,
Down the spine,
Through the tap root and into the earth saying,
May you be well.
Now feel your roots reaching out to others,
Feeling your connection with all that surrounds you here in this place of nature.
Expand your love and gratitude.
Push it out through your roots to everything that surrounds you here and say,
May we be protected.
Love and gratitude fills you up.
You are overflowing.
Push it out through your roots to everything that surrounds you here and say,
May we be safe.
Your whole system pulses with love and gratitude.
Push it out through your roots to everything that surrounds you here and say,
May we be well.
Now broaden your awareness so that this interconnected network that you are part of lifts you up and you can see how all the parts and pieces of this planet come together into a spectacular symphony.
All of us together interconnected.
The earth as a super organism,
Plant life,
Animal life,
Ecosystem,
All harmonizing in this incredible dance of life.
With the knowledge that you are part of this incredible whole,
Send love to Mother Earth and say,
May we all be protected.
Feeling connected to this amazing whole,
Send love to Mother Earth and say,
May we all be safe.
Feeling connected and grateful and beautiful and vibrant and hopeful and healthy and loving and loved.
Say,
May we all be well.
May we all be well.
May we all be well.
May we all be well.
Mother Earth sees the divine light in you.
May we all see the divine light in her.
May she and all her creatures be well.
