Has nature helped you heal?
 

Hi everyone,

I had this experience today and I was wonering if anyone could help me...

Today I connected with a tree, and before I knew it it was making me realise that I am going through my life searching for a father, because I feel like I don't have one. I am searching for that love and support everywhere. I cant even explain how the tree made me see all this, but then i was seized with a fear of abandonment. I was terrified that the tree didnt like me and wanted to leave me (I know that sounds ridiculous) :lol:

Anyway, I'm not really sure what happened. I was holding the tree and it felt like we were breathing in unision. I felt very connected to it. Did nature bring up this deep-seeded fear I have so that I could start to heal it? Or did the tree want me to go away?! Or was I picking up on some of its attricbutes (male / father figure, unhappy?)

Has your time in nature helped you to heal emotional wounds? How do you differentiate between what's yours, and what is the trees? (Im an empath so this is something I struggle with all the time with people).

ocean - What you wrote here really touched me. I think trees are so majestic and stand tall growing along side us all for years and years, getting just that much bigger and stronger. I feel at peace when standing next to a tree of any kind. It makes perfect sense to me that a tree can have the effect of taking on the image of one that you can count on. Fatherly? For sure. It's dependable and always there in the same spot for one to rest against when weary and look up to. I see the 'tree' as being quite symbolic of a parent figure. That's not to say that a tree can replace a male father figure in your life, but being in the presence of one can help one experience some form of inner healing if what you describe happens when near a tree.

Nature has helped me heal a great deal. I used to live in a really congested neighborhood and had awful experiences with neighbors. So much so, I started staying inside the house all the time and not enjoying the outdoors in my yard. I'll spare you the details. Anyway, I was fortunate to move to a house on a bigger slice of property with tons of trees everywhere around the house and animals of every kind appearing daily. At first, I was shell-shocked and didn't notice all that lied outside my window. Eventually that person went away and a new, renewed person emerged from within me all due to having nature surrounding me. It's healing properties are priceless. I wish everyone on the planet could experience this.

Thanks for sharing your very touching experience.

Oh, thanks Blackraven... I'm really glad it touched you!

What you say makes total sense... I just intuitively feel like I need to revisit that particular tree a few more times... I feel like it has something to teach me.

I'm very glad that nature has helped you heal too! I'm honestly so new to this - only had my first conversation with a tree yesterday. It showed me how the concrete jungle it's growing in used to be a gentle forest, and how much it misses the presense of other trees. I really felt for it. Then the experience today was so different, and more intense. These are very powerful creatures. I cant believe that I havent really known we could chat before.

Hi Ocean,

I do love the forest, I am from the Mid West so it's a lot of forest land and nature. Curious, your name is Ocean, do you have a connection to the waters too? I would say the waters(Lakes/Ocean/Rivers) have always been my biggest sanctuary. I was raised near the Great Lakes and I have always found a deep and profound connection with the Water/ Ocean. I strongly feel there is a lot of healing power with our deep oceans and It always amazes me how connected the moon is with the rhythm of the tides. Its all a very strong connection. So yes, this part of nature has helped me heal a great deal and I have done a lot of photography near the oceans for years. I also write messages to the ocean on the sand. If your familiar with some of my photos on the forum, I always share pics of sending messages away to the ocean/river. Some are old innocent pagan rituals (call them affirmations) other messages to the sea are just my gratitude and appreciation to the Universe.

Hi ocean,
That was a lovely and moving experience, even though it brought out of you some uneasy feelings.

I resonate very strongly with the woods and the mountains. Not so much with water.
I have often found help, support, answers, healing, steadiness....etc from the woods and the mountains.
I wonder if it's because natural environments and natural beings like that are incapable of the slightly confused energies of humans. They steady us out and encourage a positive introspection. They don't judge and they don't confuse us further. They listen and accept us and hold us quietly (or stormily!) while we come to terms wth our own deepest feelings?

Dear Tobi and Clover,

Thanks for your responses :)

I'm planning on revisitng the tree and seeing what happens.

Clover, I went to a huge forest outside London yesterday and took some pics! I'll post them here.

I have a story about a tree to... when i was very young i use to get an axe and cut and chop at this big tree in the yard for no reason, but years later i was in that yard looking at all the plants and trees feeling very euphoric and seeing how great everything was... then i noticed the big tree with all the scars on it and i felt so sorry for what i had done to it all those years ago, i went over and hugged it, said im sorry, cried and as i did i could feel the tree pulsing with very calm energy, i feel like i made friends with that tree that day.

I also like forests, mountains and the ocean aswell, i like to go out into the fields at night to.

Thanks for sharing your story, Naturegrows!

I've been visiting my tree, plus a few others, and I cannot believe how powerful nature is...

I've learned something very valuable... I feel unworthy of Nature's love. When I connect to the trees I feel lke there's nothing I can offer them, so why would they want to talk to me? The trees have gently shown me that because of my feelings of unworthiness, I cannot connect fully, because I'm mostly focusing on my insecutiries. And the trees showed me that this is exactly the pattern that I bring into my relationships!

Not sure where to go from here, other than to keep visiting them. Maybe I can ask them to heal my wounds of unworthiness?

No problem.


Yea, and don't forget that your apart of nature aswell.


Trees are pretty humble if you think about it, they give out oxygen, fruit, they are homes for animals like birds and stuff, does that sound like something that wouldn't allow you to talk with it if you wanted to? if you want to do something nice for them you could bless them, give them a big hug or water them maybe... :biggrin:


Oh ok.


Don't be so harsh on yourself you are worthy, go do some nice things for yourself that you enjoy and will cheer you up.

Poem,"Tree of Life"
 

Hello Ocean,
I really loved reading your post,really feel good effect.
I asked permission to post a poem I wrote in May 1987 here in the thread,hope you enjoy it!

Tree of Life.

Two hundred years I've stood on this spot,watching,waiting.

My girth is such that no man can embrace my trunk.

I grow bigger all year round,in breadth as well as height.

My massive roots reach out under this fertile soil,stretching,extending,unseen by most.

My lifeline to the earth,my medulla,my earthly anchor.

I watch this picture show in amusement,the passing parade of fools.

Only the wise take time out from such a humdrum existence, to sit at my base and lean against my uneven trunk.

Some sit just for the shade,others seem to be refreshed by my company.

Other's listen to the sap coursing through my veins,my life force,my essence.

Occasionally, though very seldom,I may shake my massive bough's, or rustle my leave's in sympathy with such thought.

But for most of my life I just stand here,a silent sentinel, watching,waiting!

Kind Regards Billy.