April 2011

Enchantment with the Natural World 

Dear Friends, 

I am sitting in the forest. 

There is patchy snow on the ground, though the sun is wonderfully warm on my face in this sheltered place where the wind plays in the treetops, making a constant chorus of noises from whisperings to roarings. Here, I am immersed in this piece of the natural world where people seldom venture anymore. The natural world is ineffably beautiful. Everywhere I look. 

Even scrawny little fir trees exude their delight and present yet another infinitely unique expression of wondrous creation. Every leaf and miniscule branch of moss is a treat for the senses. Every fallen branch and truncated tree stump has its unique personality. The more I give my attention to it, the more enamoured and enchanted I am by the natural world around me. 

It is spring.   

The seasonal birds have been arriving. One morning, there was a flock of little ones pecking the leftover seeds from the ground where Laurie feeds the pigeons. From my normal viewing distance, they appeared to be a light brown colour. I needed to walk across their feeding area and I approached slowly, to give them time to fly safely out of my way.   

To my great astonishment they did not fly off but continued pecking away and, to my even greater delight, as I was looking down on them from a mere four foot distance, I could see that they were not evenly brown at all but had vibrant orange-red patches on their heads, rosy shading on their breasts and a very distinctive black and white band on their wing feathers. They were stunningly beautiful miniature gems of artwork. 

Enthralled, I watched them sparkling in the sunlight among the winter yellow grass, their little heads bobbing up and down, pecking at the seeds. 

I am enchanted by: 

the first snowdrops and crocus blooming,  

green shoots emerging from the soil, 

the first taste of chives and sorrel, 

the first loon calls heard in the clear cool pre-dawn morning, 

the first drips of sap from maples and birches, 

the lengthening of the days with their expressive sun rises and settings, 

golden light dancing on the newly thawed Lake water. 

One of the gifts of Winter is the Joy of Spring! 

It has been the grace and blessing of these past months of my life to have had the luxury of time to do research about what people are saying about the consciousness of the Spirit Beings that inhabit the Natural World.   

Reading what others have written and sharing of their experiences in my imagination, has enhanced my perception of the Nature that surrounds me. It is amazing to me how engaged and interactive the consciousness of Nature is with human thoughts and intentions, healing and well-being; how we simply need to make time in our lives and a place in our hearts and minds for it, to receive the benefits of energy and joy that are the legacy of the Natural World. 

It is becoming a more and more conscious practice for me "to act as if" I am wholly intertwined with my natural surroundings, at One with all the Spirit Beings that reside there. The more I resonate with them, expressing my love and delight, the more they respond to me, returning my love, magnified, in ever more palpable ways. 

Gerrard, whose Historie of Plants was first published in 1597 and Culpepper with The English Physician or Herbal in 1653, talk about the "invigorating effect" that working with plants had on them. 

Dorothy Maclean, one of the founders of Findhorn, said in a recent speech in honor of her 90th birthday: "The bottom line of my life is unshakeable knowing that each and everyone of us can have a personal and direct relationship with the Divine, and through that relationship we can have a co-creative relationship with the soul essence of Nature. (My definition of God, by the way, is as the "Lifeforce in everything")" 

The above quoted were a few of the human consciousness gems I uncovered.  You may read about others. 

I am posting my research results on my website under the title: Plant Spirit Medicine: an introduction and historical perspective, (when ever Laurie puts it on (check in a few days if it's not there right away) :) 

Meanwhile: enjoy your present moment, and whatever catches your eye or ear or smell or taste or feel or perception! 

May the Enchantment with the Natural World enhance your life! 

Blessings, 

Rita