In the Shadow of a Tree

In 1752 William Stukeley, a personal friend of Sir Isaac Newton, wrote about Newton’s aha moment involving gravity and an apple. Most of us are familiar with Mr. Newton’s gravity theory and how an apple bonks him on the head while sitting under a tree.

Isaac Newton and others like him excelled in the exploration of self and the world around them. I am unclear if he ever studied The Tree of Life (“The Tree”) or was even aware of it. I do know that, among other things, he was an astronomer and theologian. Still, it is interesting that Mr. Stukeley confidently states that an apple falls, yet nowhere does he or any other factual document say it lands on Sir Isaac’s head. They all state, however, he saw an apple fall. I feel the liberty of telling the story is similar to the misconceptions we share in telling our own stories.

It must have seemed so simple, a cartoon drawing perhaps of Newton sitting under a tree, the apple bouncing off his head. It may be justified as art suggesting that the clarity he received was like a bonk on the head. However innocuous the imagery, the retelling changed our belief in what actually occurred.

I can tell you that in my many years of personal exploration within the Tree, I have seen how the stories we tell ourselves shift as we look at them. In structured review, we see both the truth and the stories we made up about past events. Even if the stories we tell ourselves seem innocuous, how is this an asset if they keep recreating negative patterns in your life? The Tree invites each person to look at their role in specific events, past and present.

Energy, like Newton’s falling apple, flows from top to bottom. The Tree encourages us to be the observer and then make sense of the journey. To explore key points, known as Sephora, along the way and shed light on what is truly occurring. Like Newton’s bonk, some believe that to receive insights or wondrous aha moments, there must be pain first, then clarity. The Tree sees it differently.

When we encounter stressful events in our day, The Tree teaches us to free ourselves of those limiting thoughts and beliefs about the world, our Creator and ourselves. Then allow what is truly occurring to be revealed. With this clarity, we can see distractions for what they truly are and what follows becomes clean and succinct.

Then, we are able to live our lives equipped with a clearer sense of purpose. We may now see what we thought was previously unknown.

Ok, I admit this seems simple, and it takes a special person to walk this path. It takes someone willing to look at themselves in the mirror and see what they are really creating for themselves. It helps to walk with others on this journey. In a group, others are able to help you see what may be unclear to you, and in return, you for them. Together, the aha becomes a group experience, and the insight is received effortlessly. No bonking apples are required.

Mr. Stukeley was a personal friend of Sir Isaac Newton and shares what he believes to be the truth of what occurred. Nowhere does he say an unpleasant experience accompanied the aha moment. If we could be Isaac Newton, resting under our Tree, we would watch the apple fall, see the trajectory and decide what we would like to do with the apple, catch it or let it be. Either way, it’s just an event, and we have found peace in being able to observe it.