Find a comfortable, quiet place, totally free from interruptions. Lie or sit down and take some deep breaths until you feel relaxed and calm. Try to still your mind. When you are ready, close your eyes if you wish and begin the guided meditation.
You are sitting beneath a mighty oak tree. You can feel the firmness of the trunk against your back. The earth beneath you feels soft and springy and the roots of the tree seem to extend around you, as if embracing you. You inhale the woody scent and feel a sense of security and empowerment.
You look up toward the canopy of the tree. As you watch, the tree begins to flush and the leaves grow until they are luxuriant and plentiful. You are aware of the strength of the tree and its ability to regenerate, to radiate life in all its fullness.
As you look upward, a face forms in the leaves. Leaves shape its cheeks, eyes, nose and lips; leaves form its hair and small branches issue from its mouth, as if it is generating their growth. You are aware that the face is smiling, promising bounty and potential.
Beside you, you hear a sound of something small falling to the Earth, with a soft thud. This happens again, and for a third time. You look around and you find three seeds. Yet are these seeds? They are gold in colour, warm and woody to the touch. You pick them up and look upward. The face in the tree has disappeared.
Looking outward from your shelter beneath the tree, you see there is a path, leading into a sunlit meadow. Picking up your seeds, you walk down this path a short way, until you come to a small, cultivated bed of earth, in the shape of a heart.
You plant your seeds in this bed, using your bare hands as you feel the soft richness of the earth between your fingers. Remember, these are enchanted seeds, not subject to the usual laws of nature. It is springtime and they will grow quickly.
Sit by the seed-bed and watch. Your seeds begin to germinate into three things you wish or need to “grow” in your life (these can be anything).
When your seeds have grown, take note. You may be surprised by what has appeared or the three things may be well-known to you. Rest assured that what you wish for is within your grasp. Resolve that you will “water” your new growth with love and attention.
Turn back to the tree, now glorious in its profuse greenery, and give thanks. Look again at your seedbed and your three gifts, and be thankful for them. Commit yourself once more to nurture and attend to what is important to you on your return to ordinary life.
When you are ready, slowly bring yourself back to everyday awareness. Then write down everything you’ve experienced in your notebook.
Extracted from The Little Book of Nature Blessings, Myths, Rituals and Practices for Finding Calm in the Natural World by Teresa Dellbridge, Watkins
This feature is published in JUNO Magazine, Spring 2019, Issue 66. You can find out more about back issues here.
Making Sense of Spring