Take it to the trees is now two years old and can be a wonderful time to journey with the beautiful Apple tree. What a needed resource it is. For many of us, our hearts have taken quite a pounding over the last few years. It seems as thought the whole world and everyone in it needs our compassion, and that includes ourselves. I am often in awe at some peoples capacity to keep on giving and understanding, and have come to realise that this is a gift of an open heart. I am not the most open-hearted of people, this I know, but I can tell you with certainty that the trees help me with this enormously. And apple, in particular is a tree I am repeatedly discovering is here for us humans, in a powerful heart-centred way.
The kind of love im talking about with Apples is less about the deeply nuanced feeling and romantic kind or the transcendental merging kind (more of those another time) rather the active, giving kind, rooted in compassion. Of course, there are clues! you might have recently noticed apples blossom, and its relationship with bees - another benefactor to our lives, and the most wonderfully abundant and fluent reciprocal collaboration going on between them. If you are interested in the enneagram, im suggesting that apple links us with the 'holy idea' of point two. These come from Almaas, and the holy idea of point two is offered as Holy Will- Our remembrance that the unfoldment of the universe has its own direction and momentum, and that what occurs within each of us and within each of our lives is part of that divine will.
The product of that collaboration is of course the fruit - the apple, and the quote that springs to mind for me here is a Biblical one :Ye shall know them by their fruit. Matthew 7:15–20 (KJV). Heres an apple tree after its vivacious pollenation stage - now quietly get on with growing its apples!
It seems to me that those truly benevolent humans have that abundant capacity for giving because their hearts have opened into that kind of reciprocal flow.
So - trees and the opening heart. If you're not one of those abundantly giving souls that gives without even thinking, you might find what I've been discovering helpful too.
A very immediate way you can connect with whats going on with your heart - whether its constricted or open, is to breather deeply and see how that feels. Any tensions will become obvious and emotions might come up. It you do this while leaning with your spine connected with a tree trunk it is possible you will feel more supported than you have in a long time. This tree might be an apple, or it might be any tree you have a strong heart connection with - a tree that you love. of course this connection doesnt replace human connection and compassion - it is my experience that it makes me more available for it.
Here is a link to a video I have made of a short heart opening tree meditation with a Sweet Chestnut tree.
Take it to the trees (by Samantha Taroi if you do a search) is available on Amazon in many countries and free on Kindle Unlimited. If you already have a copy, I would love it if you could write a review, and help otherst it's meant for to find it!