Today, during a “Power of Treatment” workshop put on by my spiritual center, we were brought to a forest during a guided meditation were we prompted to seek out a piece of nature that would speak to us. I choose the Dogwood in my meditation for two reasons. First, in my meditation It was there as a bright, colorful Being against a rather dark green backdrop. The Dogwood existed even before I was prompted to seek it out, and it clearly evident as I moved through the forest we were guided to. Second, it now has special meaning in my Heart, and has helped fill a void as I am wondering through these present moments. I am lifted up when I see it, and I feel a connection to this tree that goes behind mere physical beauty.
We were instructed to write about our meditative experience immediately afterwards, and this is what I experienced. Allow me to pick up the vision from where we were instructed to communicate with our piece of nature.
I walk up to the Dogwood. It’s bright pink flowers are rustling softly in the breeze as dark, foreboding trees surround it. Even though it is dwarfed by the surrounding forest, it still looks mighty and strong in its beauty, and I feel drawn to its power and grace.
“I’ve missed you,” I said softly to the Dogwood. “You’ve left me feeling so alone and helpless, and I am not sure what the message is. I need you, I want you, and yet it seems like your message to me is just the opposite.”
The Dogwood replied, “You want to love purely, absolutely. You are burdened by the fear your ego had layered upon your Soul. Let go, become one with Me and know Love as if for the very first time.
I have been here all along – waiting – and will be here when you return, ready to accept this joy.”
Tears filled my eyes and spilled onto my body as I let go of the Dogwood. The Tree began to get further away from me until it faded into the forest beyond. I sat there, feeling helpless and alone, waiting for a sign that I was loved. As I looked around me, I noticed that where the tears had fallen on my body there were bright, pink petals. They were the flowers of the Dogwood, and they were with me as It had always been.
Sometimes in our very human existence, we let our human fears control our vision. We lose sight of the importance of Pure Love in our souls. We let anger, fear, and the past dictate terms to us despite the knowledge we have of this moment. We lose our grip on what is real as our ego controls our reality. We are lost and alone because our egos tell us we are regardless of how much love and companionship we have in our lives.
Love is a tricky and frightening thing for the human Being, well the human (ego) part anyway. Ego plays tricks on us, causing us to see threats where none exist and find disharmony where none resides. Ego also plays tricks on use when we decide to reject ego. The rejection of anything is an egoic act that will only serve to perpetuate the negative experiences in our lives (rejection is a negative). Rather, acceptance is the key to taming the ego, or as a wise woman said to me today, “taking the large dog in the room (ego) and making it a small puppy easily controlled.”
So, I love. I love everyone even if I have a special place in my heart for some one. With that love, I don’t need to reject anything but can embrace only those things that are in line with who I am. Nothing else is important. I may not have a single “thing” in this Universe, but if I have love, and am love, I don’t need a thing either.
I will simply walk with the bright, pink petals of my Dogwood reminding me of the beauty I have in my life. Or at least try to.