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Back Home in the Mountain Forests
Yesterday we came to rest at 3144 elevation in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains surrounded by the forest.
Just driving up the highway – an old passageway for me back when I lived in Lake Tahoe and Reno to visit Laura for Faery feasts and fun and the way to finding Joy and crystal friends – was invigorating and feeling like I was home again.
We’re now in an area called Dutch Flat, which is a good place to be without getting too high in elevation and snow, since we don’t have the RV winterized, yet still can be in the forest and mountain energy and close enough to drive in to where ever we feel called.
I’ll also be able to visit my family in Reno.
We had a glitch with our towing mechanism yesterday – maybe a fuse, which was good to happen before actually getting on our way – so rather than take a chance I drove the SUV and Dave drove the RV.
It was actually a really cool perspective and with me behind, I felt like the strong anchor and guardian, protecting my home and family…safely getting them to our next landing.
And I was actually sending energy all along the way – to guide them, as well as to infuse everyone’s hearts with peace that were inside the RV.
I also enjoyed driving on my own, as it reminded me of the many drives I used to do, which gave me time for a lot of reflection and receiving of insights.
I saw over 60 hawks along the drive…I lost count. I wondered if anyone else paid attention to these magnificent ones that were perched in both visible and not so visible ways. Like a hawk, my eyes locked on to them easily. And of course I wasn’t surprised, as a hawk is part of a sacred tattoo design I’m creating today.
It was our longest drive so far, as we’ve been taking our time in increments so as not to do more than 2 – 3 hours at a time…yesterday was about 6 hours with a stop at a rest area to make lunch.
Kind of a lot for the little ones, yet we felt a straight shoot and not stopping just for a day somewhere we didn’t really want to be made more sense. Plus, we really just wanted to get to the mountains.
Sunset
Sunrise
It was worth it, as I was really craving being in the forest and mountains and it ended up as lovely as I had hoped. Everyone is really happy.
The park is very quiet with mostly full timers living here and we got to choose our site, which is by itself surrounded by trees and has a trail literally steps behind it.
After settling in last evening, I prepared a homemade vegan potato leek soup from the produce I picked up at the veggie stand in Moss Landing. That felt like the perfect cozy meal to enjoy for our first chilly night in the forest.
We will be in the outlying area of Lake Tahoe and Reno for the next three weeks, but my schedule is pretty full between designs, clients, prep for one of the first private retreats taking place at our next forest stop, end of the month stuff and February’s newsletter preparation, and visiting with both my family and Dave’s family who are coming up for our yearly ski trip week. Woo!
All of that mixed in with the day-to-day and some balance of nature time for ourselves hiking and snow shoeing, etc., will make for quite the full experience. We’ll see how much I can blog, although I usually put aside my mornings for emails and blogging, alongside caring for the babies.
So I don’t have the ability to do any other private retreats in this area, as the only time I could, has been filled.
Again, that is on a first come first serve basis, so for anyone who has placed a deposit or is thinking of creating one of these with me, you’ll need to please make your desires known as to the type of locations and the time of year preference so that I can arrange putting days aside for you.
I didn’t plan it as such, but today is a special day, which I’ll share in a short separate post.
I’m so grateful to be here and to celebrate this day in such a perfect place.
For those of you who share a love for trees, the forest, and mountains, I hope these images are inspiring and invigorating for you, perhaps solidifies a calling you have to go visit the mountains too, and will light the fire within you to do so.
“The mountains are calling and I must go.” ~John Muir
Ancient Trees
These photographs by photographer, Beth Moon, taken over the course of 14 years of some of the  most magnificent trees from around the world are absolutely stunning, mystical, magickal, deeply symbolic, and meaningful.
They reflect to us quite the story when listened to and breathed in.
A sneak preview of some of the photos from her book “Ancient Trees: Portraits Of Time” can be found here:
Ancient Trees: Woman Spends 14 Years Photographing World’s Oldest Trees
Lake Tahoe Enchantment Etched in My Heart Always
The last couple of days were very special to me on many levels. I had a chance to explore the most magickal places that I love on my memorable return to Lake Tahoe. Waterfalls, lake, trees, stones, mountains, snow flurries of delicate pixie-dusted flakes kissing my face…they all spoke to my heart.
It was so beautiful, mystical, and faery-filled, infusing my soul with remembrances of ancient times and infusions of the new to come.
I felt myself go even deeper within, as these months and days of late have continued to bring much introspection to my experience – at times not knowing myself at all, while knowing myself even better.
And I found myself feeling out of sorts a bit and honoring the voices I haven’t always given the space to speak. This brought more exploration, at times confusion and at times more clarity, yet I was willing to be with that even if it meant seeming uncharacteristic because I know the way in is the way out.
As I sat in silence at the water’s edge, on my favorite prehistoric rock formations, I gazed into the waters of Lake Tahoe and could see and hear the ancient ones speaking to me in each lapping ripple.
I know I’ve been missing a piece of my soul that I’m in process of recovering. And everything is triggering me to come one step closer.
It is hard to leave and yet anything I need, I know I carry within the deep and flowing well of my heart – knowing that is what always brings me comfort when there seems none to be found.
It doesn’t feel right to say goodbye and so instead I say, until next time…..my heart is always with you, come what may.
 
Tree Wisdom
Magickal Tree in High Park, Toronto I found on my visit there in 2013
“For me, trees have always been the most penetrating preachers. I revere them when they live in tribes and families, in forests and groves. And even more I revere them when they stand alone. They are like lonely persons. Not like hermits who have stolen away out of some weakness, but like great, solitary men, like Beethoven and Nietzsche. In their highest boughs the world rustles, their roots rest in infinity; but they do not lose themselves there, they struggle with all the force of their lives for one thing only: to fulfil themselves according to their own laws, to build up their own form, to represent themselves. Nothing is holier, nothing is more exemplary than a beautiful, strong tree. When a tree is cut down and reveals its naked death-wound to the sun, one can read its whole history in the luminous, inscribed disk of its trunk: in the rings of its years, its scars, all the struggle, all the suffering, all the sickness, all the happiness and prosperity stand truly written, the narrow years and the luxurious years, the attacks withstood, the storms endured. And every young farmboy knows that the hardest and noblest wood has the narrowest rings, that high on the mountains and in continuing danger the most indestructible, the strongest, the ideal trees grow.
Trees are sanctuaries. Whoever knows how to speak to them, whoever knows how to listen to them, can learn the truth. They do not preach learning and precepts, they preach, undeterred by particulars, the ancient law of life.
A tree says: A kernel is hidden in me, a spark, a thought, I am life from eternal life. The attempt and the risk that the eternal mother took with me is unique, unique the form and veins of my skin, unique the smallest play of leaves in my branches and the smallest scar on my bark. I was made to form and reveal the eternal in my smallest special detail.
A tree says: My strength is trust. I know nothing about my fathers, I know nothing about the thousand children that every year spring out of me. I live out the secret of my seed to the very end, and I care for nothing else. I trust that God is in me. I trust that my labor is holy. Out of this trust I live.
When we are stricken and cannot bear our lives any longer, then a tree has something to say to us: Be still! Be still! Look at me! Life is not easy, life is not difficult. Those are childish thoughts. Let God speak within you, and your thoughts will grow silent. You are anxious because your path leads away from mother and home. But every step and every day lead you back again to the mother. Home is neither here nor there. Home is within you, or home is nowhere at all.
A longing to wander tears my heart when I hear trees rustling in the wind at evening. If one listens to them silently for a long time, this longing reveals its kernel, its meaning. It is not so much a matter of escaping from one’s suffering, though it may seem to be so. It is a longing for home, for a memory of the mother, for new metaphors for life. It leads home. Every path leads homeward, every step is birth, every step is death, every grave is mother.
So the tree rustles in the evening, when we stand uneasy before our own childish thoughts: Trees have long thoughts, long-breathing and restful, just as they have longer lives than ours. They are wiser than we are, as long as we do not listen to them. But when we have learned how to listen to trees, then the brevity and the quickness and the childlike hastiness of our thoughts achieve an incomparable joy. Whoever has learned how to listen to trees no longer wants to be a tree. He wants to be nothing except what he is. That is home. That is happiness.”
~Hermann Hesse,  Baume. Betrachtungen und Gedichte (Trees. Reflections and Poems)
Getting to the Root of Things
Photo I took of a magickal tree in High Park, Toronto
Going back to our “roots” is a theme I feel speaking loudly. We’ve been so focused on the wider perspective and being of service, that we’ve forgotten that all of this stems on how fortified our core “well of life” that supplies the resources to do so, is.
And to say it’s been off balance, depleted, and overlooked I feel is an understatement.
The consciousness of a tree is innately and automatically aware of its inner city circuitry that needs all of its parts and that all parts work together and optimally, if above and below are in balance.
And just as a tree grows expansively when its roots are strong and nourished from the Earth, it receives sunlight and water, and it unconditionally welcomes all of the elements that make it possible, so too do we when our roots are firmly grounded and we receive the rich, balanced nurturing and integrative love needed from the relationship synthesis we have with the nature of ourselves and all that surrounds us.
If you feel your energy has been leaking everywhere but to you, that you have poor boundaries (or no idea you even needed some healthy ones intact to discern with), have been living in scarcity consciousness, have fears of letting go, are struggling with emotional dysfunction, stress, anxiousness, insecurity, frustration, and restlessness, then your Root Chakra is in need of your love and integration.
A healthy Root Chakra would sustain you in vitality and support healthy growth from a balanced sense of self that is very self-empowered and self-aware. It is your grounding force for overall well being, determines how you function in life, and is the foundation for development of your individual expression of personality.
Our limiting beliefs from old rooted patterns of our early years and “past” lives affect how we are operating in the world and with others today.
Any unfinished business and unconsciously seeded hidden layers are still running the show now, whether you are aware of this or not.
This is why only concentrating in the upper Chakras and expanding our consciousness in these areas will only get us so far. And this is why we are needing to slow down and start listening to the messages within our very flesh and bones that are stored deeply in our DNA, as integrating these frequencies, and giving rise to their ancient wisdom, will assist us in fully shifting into new realities.
Right now, some of the frustration and challenge is because we are split with part of us in a new reality and parts of us still in the old. You can only remain split for so long, before something’s gotta give.
Every day the things and people that trigger us and ruffle our feathers, are the very ways and reminders that we show ourselves what we need to work on within, by their reflection of our own rejected or denied emotions and old patterned beliefs we thought were no longer there.
But in fact, we had simply focused energy elsewhere with a bombardment of well meaning positive thoughts that simply kept them at bay.
As we expand and nourish parts of us, let us not forget ALL of our parts, as the only way that we function most beneficially is as a WHOLE.
We can utilize the stronger, more developed, wiser parts of ourselves to access and support those that are in need. And when we welcome these parts into the dance with us, we will develop a new rhythm that will no longer be missing any beats.
Let us create an equal partnership and healthy relating family within ourselves, and not neglect any one of the children that need our loving attention.
Answers are revealed when we courageously journey back to the root of things. This calls for slowing down, taking care of your needs and well-being, letting go of the “have to’s”, being more still and listening to what you are truly feeling in every moment.
Truth will reveal itself, if you invite it.
A Little Nature “Time Out” for Inspiration and Well-Being
Some days I just feel like sharing the beauty of life and Mother Earth…all the miracle joys of creation and vitality that are all around us always. I feel that nature is so important to honor, be in harmony with, and to receive guiding wisdom from. It gets us in touch with our own true nature and teaches us the value of creative energy, cycles of life, and life force energy.
I truly believe that time spent in nature or in any way surrounded with all things natural would support balance and well-being in ways inexpressible.
Because my life is about creating beauty and seeing all of life to be natural creations of art, I am constantly in awe (like a little child) of the brilliance around me and see everything as a masterpiece, being and unfolding, before our very eyes.
So today I felt guided to simply share some of the photos (as always, click on each to enlarge for detail) from all of my time in nature over this long weekend so you can enjoy a bit of natural beauty and immerse yourself in smelling the “roses” even if just for the moments you come across this post. Images have a way of touching us in deep ways.
one of the dolphins from the 3 dolphin pod – where’s your good camera when needed?
monarch butterfly that glided through my photo as i took it
I spent enormous amounts of time Friday through Monday out with nature, feeling the need to take time off from work and explore. I saw many of Mother Earth’s children and came across some magical gifts as well, including a full shedded snake skin and a road runner’s tail feather. They will become part of some sacred shaman ceremonies indeed, to add to my collection 🙂 Some of the magical creatures included seeing a roadrunner (actually not long before the tail feather), a horned toad lizard (wow), a toad, (love amphibians!), a huge pod of like 100 dolphins and then a small pod the next day of 3, and many Monarch butterflies that were gracefully gliding into me at the garden grounds of the Mission we visited.
This all took place while I spent a day in Catalina, did a 5 mile Full Moon hike, a beach walk, an 8 mile day hike, and spent time outdoors in Camarillo on a property full of trees, gardens, koi pond, and tortoise sanctuary. Loved it!
I hope you enjoy these images and quotes of nature and that you come to experience more of the magic that is available to you always.
If you truly love nature, you will find beauty everywhere. ~Vincent van Gogh
Come forth into the light of things, let nature be your teacher. ~William Wordsworth
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better. ~Albert Einstein
Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. ~Lao Tzu
Nature holds the key to our aesthetic, intellectual, cognitive and even spiritual satisfaction. ~E.O. Wilson
Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves. ~John Muir
In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks. ~John Muir
Keep close to Nature’s heart…and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean. ~John Muir
The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness. ~John Muir
There is that in the glance of a flower which may at times control the greatest of creation’s braggart lords. ~John Muir
The mountains are calling and I must go. ~John Muir
Like John Muir I find myself most at home in the wilderness of life….the great outdoors. A place where timelessness is the blending of horizons between sea and mountain, land and sky, Earth and Cosmos, body and soul.
More and more the experience of life for me no longer feels contrasting, as much as it seamlessly is becoming a living meditation of harmony between all things.
