A Little Guide to Talking with Trees #

Nothing happens outside of nature. A subway station 100 meters underground is as natural as a forest or bird nests. Believing ourselves separated from nature is a symptom of our blindness that extends to all areas of our lives. It is the expression of the ego. The same ego that can make us believe a Palestinian is different from an Israeli.

We need the ego to protect ourselves and to develop individuality¹, but we have lost balance. Believing that we can solve everything from the rational mind and individuality is a “modern” mistake, but it doesn’t have to be a fatal one. We can still recover our sensitive capacities that go beyond the rational mind and reconnect with our essence, which is intrinsically linked to life.

Life is a pulse that vibrates from the Big Bang, or the Om, within each of us. This life is also a bridge to speak with the other beings that accompany us. Feeling life within us is a step towards feeling it moving among us.

Listening to the Forest #

The invitation is not to return to an idealized nature separated from humans, but to return to life. To connect with the inner impulse to live and establish a dialogue with other beings through that movement that cradles us all and that we can hear in the silence. Life will guide us to balance.

The forest is a place full of life and wisdom. It is easier there to feel that life flowing around us. The trees, the flow of water, plants of all sizes, and the animals that inhabit the space are a constant flow of life².

Allowing the encoded message of life’s wisdom to seep into a work is a way for art to awaken consciousness. This path is based on meditation and intuition as guides in a conversation with life, where we can learn, ask for guidance, or let ourselves be carried away. If we let ourselves be flooded with life, our actions will align towards balance and regeneration.

Meditation #

You cannot feel a kiss in a verse: it will never be a kiss. The best poet can evoke a memory. If you haven’t kissed before, they will be empty words.

Meditation or life cannot be described with words. They must be experienced.

If we are fortunate as artists, we can evoke the longing so that whoever hears us feels the impulse to live, or to meditate.

Preparation #

In this form of meditation, comfort is very important. If the posture causes any pain, you can try to enter there for a moment, listen to what you feel, and see if the pain dissolves. If this takes too long or you don’t know how, change your posture to be more comfortable, as many times as necessary, as long as it doesn’t distract you too much. If you cannot avoid the pain, stop the practice. Maybe tomorrow will be easier. There is no rush.

Breathe as you feel it, through your nose or mouth, or combining. It is more important to pay attention to how you breathe than to direct your breath. We seek an attitude of listening.

At the end of the session, you might want to write or draw. Have your notebook handy.

If you are going to do the meditation in a place with poor connection, you can download the guide or follow it on YouTube. (Links pending)

If you have quartz crystals, you can use them. If you know Tameana, this is an opportunity to make a triangle and activate the Hanena symbol.

Think about your intention, the question you want to ask the forest; it can be anything, about what you want to talk about with life.

The Directions of Attention #

When we are told about meditation, it almost always refers to a practice of attention inward. Vipassana and mindfulness go in this direction.

To explain this technique, I like to use Shastro’s teachings on the 4 anchors. These anchors help us find a place to put our attention and dissolve textual thought.

The nature of the rational mind is to constantly return to textual thought. This is not a problem; it will always happen. Without judgment or “punishment,” we will kindly try to return our attention to the anchors. The practice consists of returning attention to the anchors again and again. If we can maintain attention on several or all at the same time, even better.

The anchors are: the body, consciousness in the breath, sounds, and awareness of inner space (interoception).

Returning again and again to the anchors is the work.

Once we have achieved a relative inner tranquility, we can slowly open our eyes, let the world enter us, and feel that we are the world, changing direction outward.

When opening our eyes, we use the expanded gaze. This consists of expanding attention to the largest part of the visual field we can encompass. An exercise that helps develop this gaze is:

1. Extend your arms directly in front of you with thumbs up, just in front of you.
2. Slowly open your arms to the sides while keeping your gaze on both thumbs.

It’s not about competing to see how far you can go; the purpose is to explore and expand attention.

The expanded gaze is the fifth anchor.

We can choose which part of the outside we want to listen to more, as if tuning our attention. What happens outside always happens inside too, but some things are easier to perceive externally.

Energy, life, or whatever one wants to call it (chi, ki, prana, breath of life, etc.), is usually perceived as a wave. Sometimes it manifests as heat, especially through touch. The interesting thing is that it is not a single note, but a symphony.

Many believe there was an original note from which all others are harmonic resonances (the Om, the Word made flesh, the Big Bang, etc.).

Cristina Ratti uses the analogy of the sea to explain this symphony of movements:

• The waves on the surface: fast, more or less strong, always constantly changing.
• The currents, a few meters deep: slower movements with more stable directions.
• The tide: even slower, with differences that can span several meters depending on the observation, silent but powerful.
• The depths of the ocean: a space of dynamic stillness, dark and seemingly motionless, but full of life and movement.

Listening to the Other #

When we have achieved inner tranquility and shift our attention outwards, we can tune in to the other – the forest, a tree, an animal, or another person.

The Forest #

The forest is a network of life that connects many beings and extends beyond what we can see. In reality, every forest, every tree connects us with all life on the planet.

In the ebb and flow of your breath, if you have something to ask, do so. Then, forget the question and avoid anxiously waiting for an answer. The answer will come in its own time: perhaps instantly, or later, when you are cooking, showering, or even dreaming.

Answers usually speak in symbols; they are probably not words. They might arrive as unusual memories, images, or sensations in the body. Sometimes, forgotten songs appear, and their message is revealed when you read the lyrics. If answers are quick or abundant, it’s helpful to write them down: what you saw and how you interpreted it.

If you open yourself to listen without asking questions, you may receive messages for others. In such cases, you will know that you need to tell someone something or call them.

The Companion #

Just as with the forest, we can connect with another human being. In fact, it is something we are constantly doing, though we are not always aware of it.

To read about how to connect with other beings you can continue reading here.

Step-by-Step Guide #

Before You Begin #

Ensure your comfort in the place where you will meditate. You can practice the expanded gaze before you start. It might be helpful to have a notebook; after the session, you might want to write or draw.

You can follow the instructions by downloading the audio guide or, if you have a connection, on YouTube.

Inward #

Sit comfortably. If you have an intention, now is the time to recall it. If you are doing the practice to ask questions, the moment will be to connect with the forest.

Begin to bring your attention to the anchors.

Anchor 1 - Feeling the Body #

1. Body weight being pulled by gravity: Earth.
2. Natural tendency of the spine to stretch and be more comfortably straight, allowing for better inhalation: Sky.

You can use any sequence of body “exploration.” One possibility would be to direct awareness towards:

1. Your feet.
2. Your legs.
3. Your chest.
4. The posture of your back.
5. Your head.
6. Repeat the same sequence only on the right side.
7. Then on the left side.
8. The spine and its connection to the sky.
9. Return to the perception of the entire body.

Anchor 2 - Awareness of Breath #

1. Inhalation: life, energy, vitality.
2. Exhalation: letting go, relaxing, death.

Each time we inhale, life enters us. Each time we exhale, life leaves us and we let go: tensions, ideas, the body… We die… and are reborn in the next inhalation.

Anchor 3 - Sound #

1. Sounds: none is better than another.
2. Silence: the space between sounds.

Try to listen to everything happening around you, near and far. It doesn’t matter where you are. Expand your perception towards details, both close and distant. Then, if you can, listen to the silence between the sounds.

Anchor 4 - Feeling the Inner Space #

1. From form to formless.
2. From skin to space.

Outward #

Gently open your eyes and let the light in slowly. Open your expanded gaze.

Now, our attention is simultaneously inside and out: on the breath, sensations, sounds, the body, and the totality of what we can see.

Imagine entering that connection. Perceive its shapes, its colors. Breathe deeply and let that life enter you: the smells, the sounds, a drop, a leaf falling near or on you. The forest’s time is different.

Open your heart with each breath and allow the life from outside to meet the life within. You are the forest, you are life. Everything is within you; you just need to remember it. It has never been anywhere else.

Translated into English by Gemini