One of my favorite activities when in Santa Fe,
New Mexico,
Is visiting the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.
My daughter,
Who is a park ranger for the National Park Service,
Introduced me to the interconnectivity of life modeled by the aspen trees.
She explained how the aspens are a massive living organism,
Each tree an extension of a shared ancient root system,
Which is in turn a part of an even more ancient clone.
When a forest fire happens,
The aspens are the first to grow back due to the deep connection to their roots.
As the aspens grow,
They provide life,
Nourishment,
And shelter to the mountain's wildlife as it recovers and reestablishes itself after trauma.
Our inspiration today is from the aspen.
Begin by finding a comfortable,
Stable position where you can feel relaxed yet fully alert.
Allow yourself to take a few breaths as you settle in.
Notice any areas of the body where you feel deep pressure.
This may be where your bottom rests in the chair or cushion,
Your feet or legs against the floor,
And other places of the body where you can sense more deeply the pull of gravity.
Take a few moments to connect to these areas of deep pressure,
To really melt in.
Now allow your attention to rest on areas of the body where you feel light pressure.
This might be where your clothes rub against or rest on your body,
Or the movement of air across your skin.
Realizing how it feels.
Can you feel the exact place where your skin ends and your clothing on top of it begins?
It's really sensing into these areas of light pressure on the body.
Now sensing into both deep pressure and light pressure sensations,
Allow your attention to be fully in this moment,
In this body,
Keeping your attention here where you are and not someplace else.
You might even whisper a mental thank you to yourself for taking the time out of your day to be here,
To take care of yourself in such a loving and attentive way.
Continue to take a few moments to feel into the aliveness of your presence,
The pulsating aliveness in your whole body.
Our meditation practice today draws inspiration from the aspen,
Often referred to as the quaking aspen.
Its glorious leaves with a proud expression of many different colors quickly respond to any movement of air,
Even the slightest of breezes,
With a sense of playfulness,
With no resistance,
Fully allowing the changing winds that come with being alive.
And like the aspen,
Feeling into the aliveness and vibrations of the body with a ready sensitivity,
A friendly curiosity to all the changes,
Capturing awareness of the movement both internally and externally as life brushes against the body.
You are invited,
If you'd like to,
To feel deeply into the connection of your feet to the ground or your bottom if you are seated on a cushion.
Like the roots of the aspen,
Sinking deep into the earth,
Deep and down,
Down deeply into the earth,
Reaching deep within the mountain to the ancient root system,
Each sharing the same ancestry with all your diversity of colors and expressions born from a single aspen seed in the very distant past.
And visualizing even deeper to the mother clone that connects the many root systems,
Providing the stable,
Steady,
Internal nourishment for all to thrive.
Allowing yourself to connect to her.
This is yours,
Your strength,
Your healing.
Though the fierce winds blow,
Though there are avalanches and mudslides,
And though the fires on the surface consume everything in its capricious fury,
Always accepting what is happening now.
So yes,
This too is happening.
Yet deep within,
You can find safety,
Strength.
Everything you need is deep within you.
Reaching into the loving kindness that is yours by nature,
Deep into your roots and the mother clone,
Able to heal and regrow,
Able to yet again reveal your beauty and bring your gifts to the world.
Allow yourself to really feel into your healing,
Your beauty,
Your wisdom.
Even now,
If you'd like to,
Placing a hand on your heart,
Feeling your life,
Feeling the flow of loving kindness from your heart.
On the surface,
As disaster subsides,
You are there,
The first to grow.
You see the devastation,
The pain,
And you rise to meet it with life.
Your power of regeneration from the roots helps you in bringing healing to all manner of life on the mountain,
Even in winter.
Your bark,
Unlike other trees,
Is alive.
Receiving from the sun through photosynthesis,
You convert light into nutrients that nourish not only yourself,
But also the moose,
Deer,
Elk,
Bear,
Beavers,
Rodents,
Insects,
And even fungi.
You are there to nourish life on the mountain.
Allowing your compassion to grow,
Branching out to nurture those in need.
If you would like,
Visualize your arms as open branches,
Reaching out,
Expanding your compassion to all types of life around you.
You may even want to physically reach out your arms,
Letting your loving kindness radiate out.
Your delicate leaves sensing into awareness,
Providing shelter,
Comfort,
Compassion to those in need,
Acting from a compassionate ancient wisdom,
Born deep within your very cells.
Soon we'll be invited to transition out,
But before we do,
You are invited to keep yourself company just a little bit longer.
Beginning to transition,
You might want to find a grounding sensory experience,
Perhaps your feet on the floor,
Your seat,
The movement of your breath.
Beginning to expand your awareness to the whole body,
To the movement in your whole body.
You might want to move your ankles,
Wrists,
Shoulders,
Your torso.
Expanding your awareness further out to your environment,
Start to look around the space you're in,
Orienting to the space,
Noticing sounds,
Smells,
Etc.
You are here,
Alive,
Strong,
Connected,
And full of loving kindness to bring healing to all that are on your mountain.
