As a human you are pretty complex and interesting, and have access to multiple capacities within you. For our purposes here, you might consider that you are a three-centred being, capable of the instinctual responses of your gut, the emotional terrain of your responsive open heart, and the curiosity thoughts and imagination of your mind.
you might not have much explored these places. We tend to favor the immense skill-sets of the directed rational mind located within the pre-frontal cortex. Indeed, without this part of my intelligence, and the access it gives me to self-organisation, language and technologies, I would not be conveying this message to you today.
I want to invite Trees into this unchartered territory of self alongside us, as sharers of our external landscape, and as our companions that might help us to get to know it and ourselves better. This is because trees have the capacity to occupy space in our inner landscape too, if we choose to pay attention to them, to spend time with them, and form relationships with them. It is my belief that it is a very good idea to do so, and has considerable benefits for human well-being, and by extension, for the trees themselves: We do not harm what we come to care about.
These relationships won’t be identical in dynamics to the relationships we form with other humans, because Trees offer us something very different.
The way I imagine such a process of getting to know the trees in our home location is by creating a kind of an interior deep map, using the three centres I have mentioned. My book, ‘Take it to the trees’ is an invitation and handbook that might support such a journey in you.
For some of us it’s easiest to start in one particular centre when forming any relationship. You might need a strong feeling and be heart driven, or for something to make sense in your mind first, or for a strong gut feeling to give you the drive to take yourself into new territory. But usually, most of us need a bit of all of these to really feel compatible with something or someone. When I map a tree, it’s with attention to all of these points of connection. And there is creative space in the book for you to do this too.
There is much more to say about Deep-Mapping, but space is limited here. The cornerstone of what I am suggesting is that you will get a felt-sense of it as a way of approaching inner balance and well-being, if you approach the trees with your whole self engaged.
The gut centre and instinctual self.
This project isn’t about studying trees intellectually, (although you might wish to include this in your mapping) but about walking with trees, recognising that it is by being near trees that we can get to know them. Each chapeter in the book has a kind of tree to explore in real time and space, and a practice you might explore to connect with the tree. you will perhaps already have some awareness of the trees near your home, and this is an opportunity to vist them and come into contact with them much more.
The heart centre and its emotional domain
Here we can turn to art, poetry, story and music. Our own creating, and the legacy of what has come before. Artists have long imagined trees as the archetypal presences they can be for us, recognising their capacity to tap into our deepest selves. When I emotionally connect with the beauty and character of a tree (for example the power and resources of a mighty mature Oak) I can feel deeply moved. Each chapter of the book contains artwork and extracts of poetry to inspire you and perhaps to begin a journey of exploring the words and imagery that the trees have inspired.
The imagination and reflective mind
From here, and often building on the experiences in the first two centres, I might have new ideas and thoughts come to me. I might reflect on that Oak and realise that it can help me access my own strength and courage, or I might see a leaf falling from a tree and recognise in it my own capacity to go with the flow of the currents of life around me, to practice more surrender. This wisdom when experienced within in real time, can be a deeply enriching experience, and far more so than any I can be taught from the outside.
If you would like a one to one experience that invites you into this kind of correspondence with the trees around you, then you might like to book a couple of one to one sessions of deep-mapping with me. Here is what a recent participant said about her experience:
Two wonderful sessions, with a lot of inspiring information. I loved the time with Sam and can say that this deep mapping taster was just what I needed to encourage me after a long period of fallow creativity... Thank you Sam.
Here is a link to learn more about this offering:
Your Free Chapter
If you are interested in exploring this further, you may wish to access a free chapter of my book 'Take it to the trees'. In your free chapter you will see a grid which maps Apple in different ways, and visually reveals aspects of how humans have seen this tree, in both words and imagery. You will also see an invitation to approach an Apple tree with a very human question in mind. Thirdly you will see a blank grid, which is an invitation for you to fill it with content of your experience of Apple - your own imagery, artwork, words, of the Oak tree you spend time with. And fourthly, a page to journal on about what you witness, and how you feel witnessed, by The Apple Tree.
These incredible beings offer us humans so much that is both inspiring and practically helpful on multiple levels of our being, that every day I am more and more in awe of them. It seems to me that if we allow ourselves to become re-sourced by these amazing beings that supply us with the oxygen we breathe, this relationship has the potential to become increasingly two-sided. They have been witnessing us for centuries. Let’s learn to give them witness.
©Samantha Taroni December 2021
I do hope you enjoy the free chapter of ‘Take it to the Trees’ and if you would like more, please find at Amazon UK and in many other countries worldwide, and on Kindle. And for more content to connect you with your creativity and intuitive wisdom please visit The Soul Shed For updates on 'Take it to the Trees' follow us on Facebook
Acknowledgements
I am indebted in this exploration to both the work of M.Pearson &M. Shanks on the concepts of 'your square mile' and 'the deep map' in their book Theatre/Archaeology. Routledge.London.2001, and to the work of Cicci Luckow-Backman on the 3 centres. you can learn more about her work at her website Exploring the Enneagram
Here is your link to the free chapter:
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