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Creating Bridges: Spirituality & Philosophy:
Wisdom Walks In Circles:
Wise One Wheel
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by Margaret Lewis |
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Dear Friends,
The divine kingdom lies within and next to us. The interior castle of the soul is a temple within the deep recesses of the human spirit and can be perceived via the miracle of our physical sight when we open our eyes to nature. What typifies this sanctuary of the divine more poignantly than the natural world and what better symbol of our divine kingdom than the tree? My focus for this month’s column is the Great Tree of Life. The great tree is a symbol of the evolution of our soul’s journey through life.
An acorn cannot be anything but an oak tree.
You cannot be anyone but your authentic self.
Listen to the longing of your soul.
Let your Inner Sage hear the voice of your soul and be the translator of its messages.
Most spiritual traditions perceive the tree as a symbol for the process of living life and evolving in consciousness. The symbol of the tree contains many life lessons within its trunk, roots and branches. Trees not only provide the breath of life, but they also role model the healthy, balanced life of spirit. In essence, trees provide us with oxygen for the soul.
In countless ways, trees have come to my rescue, provided me comfort, inspiration, and much knowledge at every stage of my life. When I write, I sit at my desk and stare out my window to the trees. I see gingko, magnolia, beech, hemlock, oak, maple, sycamore and so many more through my gateway of glass. I daydream with trees through the seasons of my life. I am continually captivated by the spaces between their branches, the carvings in their bark, the way they sway in a storm, the wind in their rustlings. Trees are dear guardians and I feel sure, that before all others, the tree is the first guardian of humans, animals, and the wee elemental beings of creation.
When I am stumped and in need of answers, I look up and out of my abode, scanning the trees in my front yard. I pay attention to the movement of sunlight and shadow within the energy field of each tree. I watch for bird sightings, wind, and clouds. In response to her many paintings of cottonwood trees at her beloved Ghost Ranch, Georgia O’Keefe said, “When I paint, I am trees”.
When I write, I often feel that I am the trees in my front yard, hearing their guiding voices carried on the wind. I commune with their sacred spirits and I receive spiritual food, sustenance to help me respond to a seeker’s question, dialogue for a fictional character, text for an online course teaching. Trees’ bodies stand strong, reaching for the dome of the sky, while their roots are like straws, drawing up mysteries from the depths.
Many a great master found enlightenment under a tree. From the Egyptian anhk, to the garden of Adam and Eve, to Christ’s cross, to the Buddha’s bodhi tree, there are libraries of traditions on the mystical properties, teaching stories, and mythology of the Great Tree of Life. The bevy of tree lore is beyond my scope to recount here. For now, let’s consider the tree to be the symbol of balance at the center of our wheel of life. Tree represents steadfastness, loyalty, truth, and enduring love.
Reaching and rooting, reaching and rooting, reaching and rooting.
The tree represents the doctrine of correspondences, ‘As Above, So Below.’ Tree symbolizes our spiritual evolution, for like the human, the tree bridges the earth and sky. The human, like the tree, represents the middle ground between the upper and lower worlds. The chakras flow with kundalini life force up the spine of a human, as sap flows from deep roots to the uppermost tips of a tree’s branches.
Tree reaches her branches to the sky above, so she can become one with the angelic beings, while her roots probe deeply into the underworld realm of the power animals and ancestral beings who house histories of knowledge. Trees can take you to the above and below worlds of the wisdom beings who reside in these realms of spirit.
Like humans, some trees are natural healers; others are guardians and teachers. Trees teach us to have a strong sense of self, to remember who we truly are. Trees take us to our instinctual roots, reminding us that we too, grow with the cycles of the seasons. All that we dream of creating and finding and pursuing in life has this same cyclical flow to its energetic configuration. We channel our dreams from our source in formless spirit. Like trees, we shape our dreams into form in physical reality by creating in sync with this primal cycle of birth, growth, death and rebirth.
Trees are like humans in so many varied ways. Humans often identify with a particular type of tree. I remember the infamous Barbara Walter’s interview that was the brunt of many jokes when she asked Katherine Hepburn what kind of tree she was. Katherine made reference to being an oak tree, steady and strong during the trials of her life. Many people did not understand Katherine’s metaphor, but many more did understand, despite the comic twisting of her statement.
It is an interesting question, what kind of tree are you? Another interesting question is -- are you a deciduous (looses her leaves in autumn) or are you an evergreen (holds its needles in every season) tree?
Ted Andrews says that if you are deciduous, you are a person who changes with the seasons and experiences rebirth each year. A deciduous person knows intimately the process of budding, blossoming, bearing fruit, and shedding her leaves to then winter in a blanket of dreams. If you are evergreen, Ted says you are amenable to being quite adaptable, using what is available. As an evergreen, you are able to create boundaries because you can insulate and protect yourself. Your thick insulating bark can survive harsh climates, living fully in desert, mountainous or tundra landscapes.
Most people are drawn to a particular type of tree, a favorite. What is your tree? Mine is the beech tree. There was a magical and mysterious beech tree that lived in the forest of my childhood. Often, I would venture the long path in the deep woods that led to her shade. I knew her spirit intimately. As I sit now at my desk, filling this page with words for you, I look to the beech tree directly out my window, my friend and guide whose branches are often the perching place of the peregrine falcon who lives in my neighborhood. I look to this tree and immediately, I feel one with her spirit. Often her beauty inspires my writing, revealing truths that appear to be beyond words.
What is your tree? Is there a tree in your yard that you feel a kinship with? Is she living on your street, outside your office window at work, or in a nearby park? Where is she? Take a moment and find her in your memory. I know that you know who she is, even if she may not appear in your conscious searching, she lives in the underworld of your unconscious, so take a moment and find her. Envision her fully in your mind’s eye. What is her lesson for you?
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Margaret Lewis,
Author & Shamanic Practitioner
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Margaret Hart Lewis is a spiritual healer who works with individuals and groups who want to release their past wounds, revive their spiritual energy and vision, and feel inspired to realize their highest potential.
Margaret is a spiritual pathfinder, consulting with those who seek spiritual direction. A session with Margaret consists of instruction for accessing personal pathways of spiritual guidance, inner journeys for self-healing and soul retrieval, intuitive coaching, trauma and abuse recovery, and self-development tools for personal empowerment.
To learn about Margaret's Services, please visit, www.margarethartlewis.
com/services.html
To read about Margaret's Books, please visit, www.margarethartlewis.
com/books_by_margaret
_hart_lewis.html
To find out the details of Margaret's online courses, please visit, www.wisdomwalks.com/
Services/courses.html
To contact Margaret, email her at margaret@
margarethartlewis.com
In my upcoming online course, we will explore each of the gateways offered by the Traveler, Hermit, Avatar and Sage. Together, we will discover the wisdom that lies within you. Please join me for this course at www.wisdomwalks.com from March 4-31, 2007.
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