| Old
growth and spirit |
Monica
Jakuc |
| Jan
28, 2006 19:35 PST |
Dear ENTS,
I think for many of us being in the presence of an old growth
forest
takes our breath away, puts us in touch with the sacred. I love
this
quote from spiritual teacher Eckhart Tolle's newest book,
"A New
Earth," pp. 194-5:
"When we go into a forest that has not been interfered with
by man, our
thinking mind will see only disorder and chaos all around us. It
won't
even be able to differentiate between life (good) and death
(bad)
anymore since everywhere new life grows out of rotting and
decaying
matter. Only if we are still enough inside and the noise of
thinking
subsides can we become aware that there is a hidden harmony
here, a
sacredness, a higher order in which everything has its perfect
place and
could not be other than what it is and the way it is.
The mind is more comfortable in a landscaped park because it has
been
planned through thought; it has not grown organically. There is
an
order here that the mind can understand. In the forest, there is
an
incomprehensible order that to the mind looks like chaos. It is
beyond
the mental categories of good and bad. You cannot understand it
through
thought, but you can sense it when you let go of thought, become
still
and alert, and don't try to understand or explain. Only then can
you be
aware of the sacredness of the forest. As soon as you sense that
hidden
harmony, that sacredness, you realize you are not separate from
it, and
when you realize that, you become a conscious participant in it.
In this
way, nature can help you become realigned with the wholeness of
life."
Monica |
| Re:
Old growth and spirit |
windbear@juno.com |
| Jan
29, 2006 03:50 PST |
Dear
Monica,
Well said - from the heart. And a good quote. I feel that when
we step into an old growth forest we sense the immensity of the
family of Earth - something we cannot now find in abundance in
many other places. We recognize one of the last remaining places
where we can feel, with all of our senses, the power and love of
the Oneness of Earth's children, and at the same time the
tremendous diversity of expression of that Oneness. It has
always struck me as the feeling of coming home. It is akin to
being immersed in the most beautiful music and feeling it to the
depth of your being, eh?
Warmest regards,
Bear
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