Thank God for the Tree.
(Originally posted Aug.26, 2018)
I love this statue and laughed out loud when I saw it. I appreciate how it would take nothing for him to shrug off the load, yet he remains and keeps it perfectly balanced. Whatever his motivation, he is thereby choice and maintaining balance under load.
Since I last connected with you, so much has occurred. As I look back over the past eight weeks, I would have to say that my stress levels were the highest that I can remember for the first time in many years. Like all things with stress, it seems to attract more pressure. The more that came, the more I went within and connected with my Tree.
However, all these experiences, in retrospect, would make more sense to me in the quiet of my inner self, my meditation. On one level, it would seem like the world was conspiring against me, yet on another, I could see where unaware of what I was experiencing, people blissfully unconscious or just willing to add to my stress. Either way, they were asking more from me than was available. Then, there were those few close friends who went above and beyond their busy schedules to assist me. Thank God for them.
The Tree of Life is a series of teachings that remind me that my life and the world around me are expressions of my choices and desires. When my life is bumpy and the route unclear, I know I am getting a powerful signal. I am being told that I have consciously (or unconsciously) created a series of events that aren’t in alignment for me. How can that be? I mean, I planned so well, right? Well, every new path or foray into uncharted territory reveals to me a limited knowledge or experience base in that area. I have no map to access. So what I say and do creates my outcome, and since I am out of mastery, I tend to make more of what isn’t serving. My evident frustration arises from not knowing what to do and resolving it: net result, stress.
“The Tree” supports me by providing structure and a path where none seems to exist. The ten plus one energy spheres, known as Sephora, reveal to me where I am and what is available to me. For example, this blog started by my seeing how only a few people offered assistance. The others saw frustration and, rather than engage and support. They choose another option. On one level, the lower part of the Tree, I would see things from my “all about me” perspective. Any creations I create from here, like an annoyance, would net me an understandable and predictable outcome of more hassle. It becomes an inescapable loop where relief is found by doing something different. In this case, the Tree encourages me to seek an outcome that benefits me and those seeking from me. Is it fair? Surprisingly, YES. There is a way to have your cake and eat it too. When I move to the teachings found in the top part of the Tree, I can see an outcome by which I am honoured, and those “wanting” are supported.
So how does this happen? Each of the Sephora (and in further teachings, the “Paths”) show me that I have experienced something similar, even if it feels different. Then by accessing these memories or energies, I can see how I already know what to do to ensure a more positive outcome, especially when I am unsure. When I am unsure or lost, I often project my uncertainties out into the world, and they are delighted to reflect them to me. So no matter how uncomfortable I am, a change of tack nets a more uplifting outcome. Does it remove everything? No. The Tree reminds us that we are still here, physically, the world is still the same, yet I see it differently. Bad things will happen, and so will good.
One of the events in the past month was that my less than masterful side revealed itself during a stressful situation. It would have been understandable if I rejected the problem and spoke about how I felt. The Tree teachings reminded me that my emotions (the Sephora of Netzach) were out of alignment. Though being provoked and feeling vulnerable, I could quell the building storm and find an internal serenity. I was beginning to find Peace even though those around me had other agendas. Did my world get better? No, not at all, though I was getting better. Peace found me.
It took some time, yet day-by-day, the stressors started lifting. Those situations or persons encouraging a lesser outcome faded. People started showing up because I either asked from a place of Gratitude for help, or perhaps they could see I had been struggling. The world around me is still in flux. There are good days and some less than so. There are some substantial stressors around me right now. It would be understandable if I decided to pitch everything, yet I also have a vision that this all works out. The Tree guides me and reminds me that the world outside of this body will meet me wherever I am. Thanks to the Tree, I have at my fingertips a series of paths and insights that support a healthier outcome, a calmer, more appreciative me, no matter what is presenting. Like this past month has reminded me, there is more to me than stress. The light at the end of the tunnel is guiding me.