Category Archives: Nature as Healer

You Are the Candle

I am, Light and Love, Mystery, Nature as Healer, , ,

This morning while already sitting for meditation I realized that I had not lit my candle. Then inside the little voice said, “You are the candle.” 

A candle that can shed light when burning, as it grows smaller each day, until nothing remains. A beautiful and poignant message of what it is to inhabit the human form. 

At this point I have burned through 77 trips around the sun. And still stumble daily in being as useful as a candle. My dear Sufi teacher often repeats that we are designed to be a lamp, a ladder, or a lifeboat for others. Jamal has such a lovely way of making me look inward and outward at the same time. Sweet metaphors for living a good and useful life.

For some time now my primary metaphor has been ‘the bridge’. At key moments I have somehow been available to be a bridge for others. Sometimes for close friends, or family, but most surprisingly in unexpected moments with strangers who just open up a window into their pain, grief, and confusion. Those moments have taught me some key things about what it means to be a bridge.

I am there to help someone cross from one place to the next. I must hold steady for that crossing, and when it is complete I must be content to be left behind.

Being left behind is the hard part for me. To let go. To continue my own crossings. Keep moving. Stay open. Be available to the next moment to be the light in some way for another.

— Helen

 

 

 

In the Woods

Mystery, Nature as Healer, , , ,

There are times when being barefoot on the earth is my best choice. The need for a retreat from everyday duties and responsibilities calls and fortunately the woods are close by. The place is lush with Stair Step Moss, the river far below fills the air with the rush of its flowing. Tall trees stand watch, Cedars, Firs, Alder, Maples along with delicate Huckleberry bushes and Red Elder.

My mind slows down. Here I write a bit, sing a little – sometimes songs with new melodies appear in the inner concert hall, and I scramble to get them down on paper. Am I fearful they will never come to me again? “Go slow,” I tell myself, “Just be. Let the energy of time and place take hold.”

This time away is re-connection, allowing, and trust. It is drifting, and also the clearing away of old worn-out stories – working with the mind while allowing the body to deeply rest. Let’s just call it Forest Napping; My Let it Be practice for an hour or so.

When I can’t get away to the forest I visit that place in my inner vision – see the trees swaying overhead, smell the musky scent of mushroom and loam, touch the rough stone, taste the berries, and hear the heart of silence that beats there. This mental worship bridges the gaps and renews me for the next task that wants to be done.

In the wild there is a pulse that quickens the heart, and a depth that allows the inner voice to be fully heard. The mind rests, the body is at ease.

— Helen