LITMIR.BIZ

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of the role of ideals and attunement in even the most natural of the methods of communion.

      A practice similar to meditation but with more of a focus on gaining insight or inspiration from one’s communion with nature begins again with attunement. First consider this general recommendation Cayce once made that suggests various details of a total attunement process: As you walk in nature, listen to the sounds you hear. Imitate these sounds aloud. Gradually cease the outward sounding, but continue imitating the sounds mentally in silence. Imitating the sounds in silence directs your attention more inwardly. Cayce made the surprising assertion that this practice—meditating on your own silent imitation of the sounds in nature—would develop your receptivity to inwardly hearing the “song of the spheres,” which is the auditory version of the creative or unseen forces guiding the physical world. Cayce suggested that a high degree of imitation of nature would help facilitate attunement with it and allow an individual to realize deeper experiences of communion. When we apply this idea, we get some very interesting results.

      Suppose a person wished to explore the possibility of gaining insight or inspiration from some aspect of nature, such as a tree. Let’s describe in detail the process implied in Cayce’s suggestions. First, find a tree that attracts you, and become that tree in your imagination. Begin by approaching that tree respectfully—approaching it as a living being puts you into the proper frame of mind. Acknowledge that it is expressing its creative nature with no reservations. Thank it for being willing to share its secrets with you openly. Wouldn’t you be more willing to share with someone who approaches you respectfully than one who demands your attention? The Golden Rule applies here, too.

      Botanical research has demonstrated that plants have ways of communicating with each other, and indigenous peoples claim that plants talk to them. Prominent American botanist Luther Burbank declared that the way he was able to get plants to grow new features was by his loving communication with them. Edgar Cayce, an avid gardener, also believed that our attitude around plants had an effect on them. He also stated that vegetables grown by a grouchy gardener are hard on our digestion. Better, he said, that the gardener tell jokes in the garden, even if they were dirty jokes, than to grumble and grouse!

      Approach the tree with the respect you’d show a learned elder if you were hoping to receive kind and helpful advice. Stand in front of the tree and begin to imagine what it is like to be that tree. Imagine the roots, deep underground, and then the tree itself rising from the earth and growing into the multiple branches upward and outward. Imagine growing leaves. Imagine being a new little leaf, reddish purple in color and changing to green as it matures. Imagine growing a blossom that turns into a fruit. Feel what it is like to draw nutrients from the ground, from the air, and from the sun.

      Make your pretending active. As you imagine being the tree, allow your images to work themselves into your body. Mimic the feeling of the tree in the position and movements of your body. Empathize with the creative miracle of the tree; spread your feet apart, feeling the earth feed you. Spread your arms out like branches and feel energy rise up through your feet and out through your outstretched hands. Let your hands circulate in the breeze and your fingers play with sunbeams. Your body, as a tree, moves to the cycle of life—relaxing and dropping leaves in the fall, shrinking during winter, and then experiencing sparks of new life in the spring. As summer brings greater warmth, your leaves radiate, blossoms bloom with wonderful aromas, and your fruit ripens.

      As you join your tree in a dance, allow your mood to express itself in sound. Sing the tree’s song. It’s a matter of improvising in sound to the attunement you feel with the tree. Begin with a quiet hum, as you feel the nutrients rising up your trunk and branches. Begin making an “ahhh” sound as the leaves dance in the sunlight. As you imagine beginning to blossom, a smile may accompany the sounds of “ahhh.” Give yourself over to the spirit of life flowing in the tree, and express that life in your own way—openly, fully. It’s a feeling of quiet exuberance, yet charged with energy.

      Now sit quietly with your tree. Just be there with it in the experience of your communion. As you do so, recall the purpose for your visit to the tree. Was there a concern? A question? Listen now, and you will feel, or hear, or otherwise sense the tree’s response. It may come as thoughts you find yourself thinking, memories you find yourself exploring, or a daydream that takes you on a journey of discovery. Don’t be surprised if you hear the tree talking!

      When Judith tried this experiment, she was concerned about some of her personal failings. She shared with the tree her sense of frustrations over her lack of perfection. She found the tree responding to her notion of perfection. After she had made her attunement, she sat with her back against the tree and rested. Soon she was involved in a Disneyesque type of daydream in which the tree had a face and talked to her. The tree pointed out several places where events had wounded the tree in various ways. The tree showed her where it had continued to grow through these wounds, healing them and moving onward. Although there were scars, they formed part of the natural beauty of the tree. More importantly, the tree showed her how both it and she were still full of creative juices. She saw that she, too, was still growing forward, and her wounding experiences were adding to her wisdom. She was still “perfect” but in a way she had not seen before, because she had based her opinion of perfection upon her expectations and external measures rather than upon the spiritual essence of her being. The tree set her straight.

      Talking to trees, communicating with animals, perceiving the unseen forces of creation—all of these activities rely upon a measure of intuition, and the Cayce material on working with intuition and intuitive guidance apply here as well. An aspect of intuition that is very important in communing with nature is the imagination. Traditional psychologists know that being in nature excites the imagination, especially of children. What psychology is only recently including in its study, however, is something that is implicit in the Cayce material concerning the imagination—it can serve as a channel of perception of those dynamics in nature that are invisible to the eye: the “unseen,” the “creative,” and the “imaginative” forces Cayce describes as being the behind-the-scenes shaper of what manifests physically—the stuff that we can see with our eyes.

      When communing with nature from the heart, feeling the oneness with all life, people are discovering that they become aware of dynamic activity around them. Some, like Edgar Cayce as a child, perceive the “elementals” that are the spirits of plants. Others may perceive the energy of the creative forces pulsing through and around the trees. One may go on “journeys” with animals. When such a special moment of communion happens spontaneously, amazing us with the seemingly magical appearance of things normally unseen, it is easy to focus on this special phenomenon. In the idealism of the Cayce readings, however, it would be a waste to merely marvel at our perceptions. It is more important to realize that these perceptions arise from our essential unity with nature. Whether these magical perceptions arise spontaneously or come from a dedication to developing the art of deep attunement, Cayce would render them of little use spiritually unless these moments inspire in us a renewed respect for nature. He would echo the prayers of native peoples who affirm that nature is like a mother to us and that we need to serve her with gratitude and respect for all that she provides.

      Communing with nature for no other reason than to share the love of the Creator is perhaps the best reason of all.

      6

      Working with Ideals:

      Your Creative Spiritual Partner

      THE CAYCE MATERIAL IS A STRONG PROPONENT OF THREE TOOLS FOR personal spiritual growth and transformation: ideals, attunement, and application. Of these three, ideals are the most imperative; in fact, Cayce once told a 40-year-old clerk that the “most important” thing that any of us could undertake was to know (and work with) our spiritual ideal. This individual had come to Cayce seeking advice on her health, her work, her home life, and her general welfare. Cayce’s response was that if she would focus first on her ideal, many of these questions would be answered in the process. Since the readings indicate that ideals are a central component of everything we do—from making everyday decisions to our personal spiritual growth—it’s important for us to understand exactly what ideals are and how we might work with them in our daily life.

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