Wisdom Of The Redwoods: Thriving From The Crown To The Roots

Today,

We will journey with the redwood.

This is a tree that is near and dear to my heart and that I have an intimate and ongoing relationship with.

I was moved to create this meditation during a recent hike among the redwoods,

Where the unusually strong wind felt like it was literally sending me direct messages about strength,

Resilience,

Wisdom.

I'm here to share what came through on that day.

So as you open to this journey,

Find a comfortable,

Quiet space,

Preferably where you feel comfortable closing down the eyes.

We will utilize visualization,

Deep breathing,

And subtle somatic movement interspersed with wisdom from Lao Tzu to explore and connect with the medicine of the redwood.

Before closing down the eyes,

Gently bring your attention to your immediate surroundings.

Gently scanning your environment in a clockwise motion,

Notice what is in front of you,

To your right,

Behind you,

And to your left.

Maybe look for something circle,

Something with the shape of a circle.

What is it?

How tall and how wide?

Can you find something with two different colors or two shades of the same color in the room or the space that you're in?

With your eyes still open,

Focus on something in front of you that brings you a sense of ease,

Comfort,

Or joy.

What is that something?

With that something in sight,

Gently bring your attention to your physical body,

Noticing how relaxed or tense your body is right now,

Feeling into your feet,

Your stomach,

Feeling your breath expand into your belly and up into your heart,

Releasing any tension in your shoulders and your jaw,

Letting it go,

Just let go.

Now notice what is beneath you,

The texture of it,

How it feels,

How does it feel to be supported in this way,

To be held up?

An invitation to close down the eyes and become aware of your breath,

Not changing or controlling the breath,

Just noticing,

Not seeking,

Not expecting,

Present and welcoming all things.

As you focus on your breath,

Visualize yourself entering a lush forest filled with evergreens just after the rain.

As you begin to walk the path,

You notice what the forest smells like.

Breathe in deep,

Taking a moment to offer gratitude for the fresh air filling your lungs in this moment.

Notice the way your breath is breathing you.

Continue to walk the path and notice yourself entering a large grove of the tallest redwoods you've ever seen.

You're careful not to strain your neck looking up in awe.

You're so pulled to this space that you decide to stop here and explore the grove.

You feel the pull to be here for a while and so you take your time.

Feeling deeply connected to one particular redwood tree,

You move toward it,

Reaching out your hands to feel the damp wood,

Welcoming the sensations,

The smells,

The energy of this ancient tree.

You feel yourself merging with its energy and you look up,

Smiling.

The everlasting evergreen or redwood as you are the tallest trees on earth.

You can reach more than 350 feet high.

Imagine yourself this high in the sky,

Providing safe spaces for endangered animals on your upper branches,

Birds,

Salamander,

Even other trees and plants live on your branches and trunks high up in the sky.

As you imagine yourself at your crown,

Sense yourself grounding down through your roots while stretching high into the sky and invite your own body to lengthen,

To grow tall.

Allow yourself to be stretched while dropping your weight down into the forest floor,

Feeling into your own bigness.

Create some space between each of your vertebrae as you come into your full length,

Your full dignity.

As you feel into your dignity high in the sky,

Notice the feel of the air up here.

What does the air feel like at the crown of the redwood?

Is it cool,

Warm?

Do you feel any moisture in the air?

How does it feel to be lifted in the air among the birds?

Notice what the sky looks like.

Are there clouds in the sky?

Is the sun out today?

How does the sun feel from this height?

Approach it and there is no beginning,

Follow it and there is no end.

You can't know it,

But you can be it at ease in your own life.

This is the essence of wisdom.

Bringing your attention now to your canopy,

A place of refuge.

Because you grow so large for so long,

Your shed leaves collect together with dust and water and create soil mats or mini ecosystems for huckleberries,

Ferns,

Moss,

And even full sized trees to live on.

These plants nestled in your canopy provide food for wildlife,

Including birds,

Squirrels,

Bats,

Insects,

And amphibians.

Imagine a creature like the wandering salamander living their entire life in a single redwood canopy in your canopy.

In this way,

You are a refuge for other trees,

Animals,

And plants.

How does it feel to be a refuge?

How do you create refuge for yourself when you need it?

Bring to mind one way that you nourish yourself in a way that makes it possible for you to nourish others.

Branches creating the environment to thrive.

As a redwood,

You prefer a moist environment,

So you literally drink from fog and help make it rain by condensing fog into drops,

Raining them down to soak the soil around you.

Though only 5% of redwoods like you are left,

Your leaves cleanse the air,

Collecting more carbon from cars,

Trucks,

And power plants than any other tree,

Helping to keep temperatures from rising.

In this way,

You are creating the environment for plants,

Wild animals,

And humans to thrive.

With your hand on your heart,

How does the ways that you nourish yourself create an environment for you to thrive?

How does your ability to thrive impact the people around you?

Trunk and Bark,

Relativity and Connection.

As a redwood,

You are naturally fire-resistant and have adapted ways to prevent rot.

When you do experience fire,

A cave-like hole is often created within your trunk where owls and bats like to live.

And your bark is so thick that it protects you from bugs,

Fungus,

Insects,

And rot so you can live for thousands of years.

You were here before the humans,

Before birds,

Flowers,

And even spiders.

An empty space created from the element of fire.

Have you ever noticed the little caves in the trunks of redwoods?

Have you ever been curious enough to imagine what takes place in that space?

As you sense into that space,

Your trunk and your bark,

Feel into your own width.

Invite yourself to widen with each breath,

Stretching across both shoulders and your collarbones.

Literally feel your ribs widening side to side.

Sometimes it's helpful to touch your ribs and feel them expand with your breath.

Feel your body expand.

Now expand yourself beyond your physical body and sense what that expansion means.

This is the dimension of connection and relation.

How does it feel to expand beyond what you perceive as your physical body?

What does this new energy of expansion mean for your ability for deeper,

More meaningful connections?

Now feel the sensations between your shoulder blades.

The sensations of your lower back,

Your upper back.

How does this area of your body feel?

All of what you've already faced is here.

Can you open?

Can you soften?

Try gently rocking yourself from side to side,

Savoring the feeling of each,

Noticing the difference as you move yourself off center intentionally.

And now back to center.

Now rock gently back and forth,

Noticing the difference as you move.

And back to center.

What if you created space here to be with all that you're noticing,

Sensing,

And feeling?

Create space.

Things arise and she lets them come.

Things disappear and she lets them go.

She has but doesn't possess,

Acts but doesn't expect.

Sense the energy at your back and then at your front,

Noticing how you gather the energy to hold space for others.

How does this space feel for you?

What if you release any pushing forward,

Pulling back,

And landed right here at your center?

What does your center feel like here,

Right now?

Continue to breathe.

Just breathe.

Letting go of any tension that may have crept in,

Of any gripping or holding.

Letting yourself go.

Continuing to immerse yourself in the wonder and awe of this journey.

Roots,

An ecosystem of support and connection.

Imagine yourself now as your roots,

Spanning about 12 feet deep and outwards up to 100 feet away from your trunk.

Sense yourself here,

Drifting from your surface into your depths,

Into the dark.

Only moving as fast as your slowest part.

Your root system is what helps you withstand powerful winds and floods,

Providing protection from the elements when you need it.

Feel yourself intertwining your roots with the roots of other redwood trees around you,

Stabilizing each other and sharing nutrients.

Feel yourself connecting naturally,

Without effort.

Though relatively shallow,

Your roots support the growth of new redwood trees and help provide clean water and habitat for endangered salmon to lay their eggs.

You grow in what is called fairy rings or family circles sprouting from a parent tree.

Your parent tree helps to nourish your sprouts with water and sugars through its root system while you grew.

Redwoods like you help each other,

Even when you aren't quote unquote family.

Welcoming,

Shielding,

Stabilizing and nourishing all trees,

Young,

Sick and old,

Whether or not you are genetically identical.

You have your own way of communicating amongst each other and working together that humans are just beginning to understand.

You and your redwood family clean trillions of gallons of rainwater each year,

Acting as a giant Brita filter.

Imagine yourself pumping as much as 500 gallons of water a day from your roots to your crown,

Transporting it through your own filtration system.

As you feel yourself pumping water from your roots to your crown,

Imagine nourishing yourself and your community this way.

What is rooted is easy to nourish.

How does it feel to be nourished this way within family and community?

To be a resource,

To be resourced.

Imagine yourself being held down through the strongest of life storms through an interconnected root system.

Family,

Circles.

Imagine being held and also standing tall,

Dignified and strong.

Imagine taking up the space that is meant just for you,

Honoring your experiences and open to whatever is next.

Because she let go of herself,

She is perfectly fulfilled.

Imagine yourself always surrounded by family,

Chosen and otherwise.

Imagine yourself always having enough,

Nourished,

Overflowing,

Perfectly fulfilled.

Just remain in this space for a few more moments.

Bringing your attention back to the forest floor of your feet on top of this amazing ecosystem.

Hidden,

Yet always present.

Noticing with new eyes what the ground looks like.

With an expanded awareness what the ground feels like.

Is it muddy,

Squishy,

Soft?

Coming back to center.

And then returning your attention upwards.

Noticing the sky.

Connecting with your crown.

Are there clouds in the sky?

Can you feel the sun shining despite the weather?

And as you make your way back to where you began,

Let these words from Mark Nepo rain down on you.

It takes inner fortitude to stand firmly in what we're given,

No matter where it leads.

That we can stand at all in the face of pain and fear is nothing short of magnificence.

So never diminish or underestimate your worth or connection to the nature of things because stress or pain blocks your sureness.

An archer's bow is always stretched before it releases its arrow.

As the arc of the soul is always stretched before releasing its wisdom.

Redwoods do not grow to be the tallest tree on earth alone.

They need the support and protection of other trees in the forest to grow tall.

Redwood trees thrive together and so do we.

Let that nourish you as you make your way back to your body,

Back to this moment.

Bringing a gentle smile to your face,

Hands on your heart.

Gently allowing your eyes to open when they are ready.

And when you are ready,

Locating the item in your space that brings you ease,

Comfort,

Or joy.

See the world as yourself.

Have faith in the way things are.

Love the world as yourself.

Then you can care for all things.

Thank you for journeying among the redwoods as the redwood.

Take a moment to give yourself gratitude for tending to yourself and for activating your inner magic.

Be well.