Learning From The Ancestors

Posted by admin on May 5, 2012 in Reflections | 0 comments

I am sitting beneath a grandfather eucalyptus tree in a small park in San Diego, California. In the near distance, I can hear the rush of traffic along Interstate 5. The sound is like a never-ending wave on a surface of a sea of concrete and asphalt. But beneath my legs I feel the warm earth awakening.

Here the radiant notes of warblers and song sparrows fill the springtime air. Here I focus my attention on the movement of shadows and leaves, on the forest of gray-barked, shaggy trunks that rise from patches of green grasses and open ground all around me. This place is a breathing spot, a blessed oasis amid the chaos and confusion of modern society.

I have come here like a man from the desert, thirsty for a drink. I have come here to regain my balance, to remember who I am, to reconnect with my roots to the earth. I have come here to drink of the wisdom of the ancestors.

I offer a pinch of tobacco and a prayer: “Hello, great tree. I have been away too long. Forgive my mistakes and my thoughtlessness. Wash away my cares and replenish my spirit. Remind me of who I am and why I am here. Give me the strength and courage to live my dreams, to fulfill my vision, to do what I came here to do.”

As I sit, I realize more clearly how this old eucalyptus is my ancestor. I feel the power and strength of its solid trunk against my back. I feel the ancient wisdom of its rooted presence. What patience and humility in its lifelong silence! What faith and commitment to make a stand in this one spot!

With gratitude I stand and wrap my arms around my ancestor’s trunk, though they do not begin to encircle it. Beneath the bark I can feel the sap rising through the body of this beautiful tree, infusing the branches above me, bringing new vitality to the canopy of leaves that have unfolded to absorb the sun’s message of life.

Yes—life! This ancestor is nothing if not a messenger of life. From the birds that flit and tumble through its branches to the bugs, beetles, and spiders that scuttle along its skin, it is a rich cauldron of movement and change, a constant stream of celebration.

This celebration flows through me, too. As I breathe in, I feel the same vibrant life filling my chest and inspiring every cell. “See? You too are a tree,” says my ancestor. “You too are a tree.”

Yes, I too am a tree. In my heart I feel the movement of sap, the rush of blood that explodes like a cataract with every heartbeat, pushing through arteries, flowing into the finer and finer twigs and tributaries that branch out to feed the organs and muscles of my body.

And beyond the body—no, within the body, from somewhere deep in the empty space between the molecules and atoms—I feel the eternal force that beats my heart, that breathes my lungs, that infuses every cell with life and love. Once again I feel the spirit that flows through all things, the current of life that says “Yes!”

Here in this moment, I forgive and am forgiven. Here in this moment, all pain and suffering disappear. Here in this moment, all doubts and fears fall away. Here among this joyous tangle of roots lacing into the warm earth, all thoughts of past and future dissolve. I remember who I am. I am alive again.

My life is now, in this moment, in this place. On this square foot of ground I take my stand. This moment is all that matters.

Feeling my body full against the trunk, feeling the warmth of the sun on my face, I smile with gratitude for the gift of my ancestor. Through this tree I have come back home to my heart, to the magical chamber within me that is connected to all trees, all roots, all people—to the wisdom of all ancestors of all times and places.

I thank the tree for its gift of life. Then I return to my car and the freeway and the world of modern society. But now that world, for all its chaos and confusion, appears far more serene and peaceful than it did before.

Living Backward In Time

Posted by admin on May 5, 2012 in Perspective | 0 comments

“Of course,” replied Merlin. “You mortals are in the habit of believing that the past creates the present and the present the future. This is just an arbitrary point of view. Imagine for a moment your own version of a perfect future. See yourself in that future with everything you could wish for at this very moment fulfilled. Can you see yourself there?” Arthur nodded, because he had suddenly had a vision of Camelot in all its glory.

“Very good. Now take the memory of that future and bring it here into the present. Let it influence how you will behave from this moment on. Whenever competing impulses of anger or fear or lack come up from the past, discard those memories and act instead on your future memories. Shed the burden of the past, and let your vision of a realized future guide you. Do you see what has happened?”

“I’m not sure,” replied Arthur.

“You’re living backward in time, just as a wizard does. Living tomorrow’s dream today is always open to you. Who says you must live only the past? By living forward in time, mortals are always weighed down by the burden of memory; they allow the past to create the present. The wizard chooses to let the future create the present—that is what living backward in time really means.”