Vision
Planting Sacred Groves
Many of us carry a vision of the sacred groves within ourselves. It is a gift from the earth’s fertile dream. For generations it has been steadily building inside the hearts and minds of those who are open and listening…those who know the pain of the world they call home, and remember the inevitable end of all empires. Beyond civilization’s polluted skies, there exists a verdant field of imminent light. Its tidal force rushes to embrace us as we flail and flounder within a virtual sea of fabricated life.
planting sacred groves
Many of us carry a vision of the sacred groves within ourselves. It is a gift from the earth’s fertile dream. For generations it has been steadily building inside the hearts and minds of those who are open and listening…those who know the pain of the world they call home, and remember the inevitable end of all empires. Beyond civilization’s polluted skies, there exists a verdant field of imminent light. Its tidal force rushes to embrace us as we flail and flounder within a virtual sea of fabricated life.
The sacred groves are bastions of this imminent light: places where the seeds of our future are being safely kept and lovingly cultivated. Some of these groves have existed since the beginning of humanity’s forgetting. Caring for the seeds so that life may continue to bear fruit for a time beyond our own.
The seeds often travel along the underground railroads of fireside song and story. In the language of food, music, and intact earth-connected culture. In the recipe and flavors of those who never truly forgot. Hidden at times with those who knew or cared not at all.
So many of these sacred groves have come to rise and fall over the millennia, burned to the ground and then refreshed in the path of cosmic wildfire. It is only in the hands of the indigenous that such wisdom seems to have been preserved unbroken through time. And yet, the wellsprings of natural wisdom are not fixed in some distant past of ancestral enlightenment.
They bubble up ever-lastingly all around us…and within us. Up from the holy earth that lives and breathes beneath each and every single human being. We simply have to slow down and quiet ourselves long enough to receive the communion.
In this unstable, amazing time, the planet needs new groves to be planted and established: to hold in place what still remains, and to build new earth from this foundation. So that one day great forests of illumination will once again spread out across the land, uniting everything through the roots and branches of a life-giving way of life.
And it is happening. In so many myriad ways, people are stepping forward amidst unbelievable chaos and confusion in order to fulfill this need. Each one following the soft thread of joy that is felt within a vision of nature-connected living. The promise held within the possibility of living every day in the awareness of an intimate interconnectedness with the entire web of life and light.
The sacred groves are bastions of this imminent light: places where the seeds of our future are being safely kept and lovingly cultivated. Some of these groves have existed since the beginning of humanity’s forgetting. Caring for the seeds so that life may continue to bear fruit for a time beyond our own.
The seeds often travel along the underground railroads of fireside song and story. In the language of food, music, and intact earth-connected culture. In the recipe and flavors of those who never truly forgot. Hidden at times with those who knew or cared not at all.
So many of these sacred groves have come to rise and fall over the millennia, burned to the ground and then refreshed in the path of cosmic wildfire. It is only in the hands of the indigenous that such wisdom seems to have been preserved unbroken through time. And yet, the wellsprings of natural wisdom are not fixed in some distant past of ancestral enlightenment.
They bubble up ever-lastingly all around us…and within us. Up from the holy earth that lives and breathes beneath each and every single human being. We simply have to slow down and quiet ourselves long enough to receive the communion.
In this unstable, amazing time, the planet needs new groves to be planted and established: to hold in place what still remains, and to build new earth from this foundation. So that one day great forests of illumination will once again spread out across the land, uniting everything through the roots and branches of a life-giving way of life.
And it is happening. In so many myriad ways, people are stepping forward amidst unbelievable chaos and confusion in order to fulfill this need. Each one following the soft thread of joy that is felt within a vision of nature-connected living. The promise held within the possibility of living every day in the awareness of an intimate interconnectedness with the entire web of life and light.
As with so many others, this vision has taken root inside of me. The Dream of our Mother the Earth has filled and intoxicated my mind with a sense of how truly beautiful and magnificent life can be here.
As I follow the dream thread, holding the seeds that I have been given to guide the way, my mind travels out to one of these bastions: a tiny bright bloom amongst many. All of them flowering within a vast field of luminescent darkness. This particular dot of light shows itself to be a village, set out upon the land: in a swirling geometric cluster of small, well-loved homes made from wood, clay, hay and stone. The hills and valleys surrounding this village seem to smile for the people that walk the trails and tend to the trees here. Gardens full of food and medicine grow happily beneath a sky that is generous to the people with both sun and rain. A gift for these ones who radiate such love and gratitude to the elemental beings that compose their abundant lives.
The children roam across the natural wonder of this landscape, playfully sewing their bright innocence into the hidden dimensions that only they can see. Raised in the ways of their village, the children grow quickly in knowledge, skill and ability. Blessed by the persistence of an invisible education interwoven throughout their daily existence.
To them, the greatest adventure is life, and life is a synonym for learning. As they become stronger and more capable, this culture empowers them to take on more and more responsibility in service to their beloved, ever-expanding world. Mentors and teachers reveal themselves organically as the inherent gifts of each child are revealed. These are some of the most honored relationships in the village, as they are known to ensure the future wellbeing of the entire community.
Soul initiations and sacred rites await each individual, catalyzing an enlightening passage from one phase of life into the next. Through these processes, the whole human is effectively developed. Every facet of their multi-dimensional being receives the attention it needs. This so that every member of the village has what it takes to support and care for themselves, their community, and the natural world to which they belong. For them, this belonging is the highest expression of personal empowerment and collective resilience: each one standing as a noble tree within the vital weave of a vibrant forest.
These ways of consciously evolving the human being inevitably create a deep sense of meaning and purpose within the life of every person in this community.
Their eyes shine with clear perception and a deep understanding for the role that they have come to play, and the way that they will fulfill it: tending, protecting and making beautiful this wild earth that is their home. Co-creating with the divine that moves and shines in all things. Emanating the immense love and blessing that spills forth from the depths of a grateful heart. In these ways, both heaven and earth receive the luminous gift inherent to these beautiful people.
The stories of this sacred grove are handed down around the communal fires, and told with great reverence. They speak of the beginning of this grove, and the need from which they were born. These stories pour the ancestral spark into each new generation, reminding everyone of the lessons that have been learned. Celebrating the wisdom now embedded within this way of life that they embody. Through time and space, the stories may shift and change, but the hard copy is written into the world that surrounds them: in the dark rich depths of their soils, in the clean clear flow of their waters, in the bright buoyant movement of their sky, and in the warm welcoming radiance of their hearth fires…. Truly, the spirit is happy here. It is their living legacy.
At the end of the day, this vision is not one of a utopia. The challenges are real, and the human soul must increase its capacity: facing the great unknowns of life on earth with as much wisdom and grace as possible. It is the only way forward. Learning to dance and create within the Mystery. Along the edges of this village, the people stand open and grateful before every sunrise– and every storm– embracing all that comes their way.”